Diplomacy

President Obama Lands in Brazil

Wants to “open markets.”

President Obama has landed in Brazil, the first stop on a three-nation tour of Latin America. He's expected to largely talk trade. In his weekly radio address, Obama noted Latin America's fast economic growth and increasing demand for imports, saying, “I want to open more markets around the world so that American companies can do more business and hire more of our people.” But an Obama adviser's assertion that the trip is “fundamentally” about export promotion offended Brazilian officials, who are proud of their country's increasingly influential role on the global political stage. In Brazil, Obama will meet with a group of U.S. and Brazilian business executives to discuss trade. He'll also visit the slums of Cidade de Deus, or City of God. After Brazil, he'll travel to Chile and El Salvador.