SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters marched through Brazil’s largest city on Thursday calling President Bush a warmonger and planet polluter as he started a tour aimed at winning friends in Latin America.

“No. 1 Enemy of Humanity” and “Get out Bush!” read signs carried by workers, students, peasants and other activists.

To the beat of Afro-Brazilian drums, they demanded an end to the war in Iraq and what they called state’sponsored torture, U.S. imperialism and growing economic inequality.

Bush was due to arrive on Thursday night in Brazil, a country Washington sees as a potential counterweight to the influence of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez and his plans for a socialist revolution in Latin America.

The five-country tour aims to repair Bush’s standing in Latin America, where polls show widespread opposition to the Iraq war and U.S. trade and immigration policies. After Brazil, he will travel to Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico.

“It’s nothing more than to say we want to be your friends,” Bush said in an interview with Colombian television before he set out. “My trip is a chance to tell the people … that the United States cares deeply about the human condition.”

Story continues at Reuters

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