Groups across Latin America will hold demonstrations as U.S. President George W. Bush makes his five-nation tour of the region, according to reports reaching here on Wednesday.

Members of Brazil's leftist Liberty and Socialism Party (PSOL) on Wednesday burned an effigy of Bush outside the parliament in Brasilia, the nation's capital.

The protest is a taste of what Bush will face on his March 8-14 tour to Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico. The tour is also expected to spark protests in nations he will not visit, like Argentina and Venezuela.

The PSOL protestors said they were angered by the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the U.S. refusal to implement the Kyoto Protocol which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

They carried signs accusing Brazilian President Luis Inacio da Silva, who leads the leftist Workers Party, of "being friends with a warlord."

Governments of the five nations Bush will visit have taken extraordinary measures to prevent any possible attack on the U.S. leader, deploying thousands of police and soldiers.

Bush will begin his tour in Brazil on Thursday. He then visits Uruguay on Saturday, Colombia on Sunday, Guatemala on Monday and will end his tour with a two-day visit to Mexico starting on Tuesday.

Non-governmental organizations led by women will demonstrate against Bush in Brazil on Thursday, which is International Women's Day, as will legislators and workers' groups. Venezuelan feminists are also planning to take to the streets in Caracas on Thursday.

In Uruguay, 60 workers from cooperatives began a march from the capital, Montevideo, to the city of Colonia de Sacramento, where Bush and Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez will meet.

In Colombia, the Grand Democratic Coalition and the United Workers Union will demonstrate in the capital, Bogota, against the planned free trade agreement and what they call "submission" by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe.

In Guatemala, the National Coordination of Farmers' Organizations will protest against the U.S.-Guatemala free trade agreement and the treatment of Guatemalans in the United States. Activists are already camped out in front of the U.S. embassy where Bush will meet his Guatemalan counterpart, Oscar Berger.

In Mexico, a long list of organizations will stage demonstrations near the U.S. consulates in Monterrey, Acapulco, Guadalajara, Tijuana and Hermosillo and the U.S. embassy in Mexico City.

Even though Bush will not travel to Argentina, his strong critic,visiting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, will host an event in a Buenos Aires stadium to criticize Bush. Evo Morales and Rafael Correa, presidents of Bolivia and Ecuador respectively, have been invited to speak.

Source: Xinhua