Who is responsible for presidents embarrassment in Latin America?
By Liz Mathew. Delhi, India, 07:30 PM IST Who is to blame for the embarrassments President Pratibha Patil faced during her recent visit to Latin American countries? The president, who was on her maiden foreign visit, had to face an almost empty senate in Brazil during her address and had to call off her address to the Mexican parliament at the last minute. The Indian officials involved have since then been in a blame game. Embarrassed Brazilian diplomats tried to downplay the issue. ‘Our practice is to invite the leaders of main political parties, who were all present on this very solemn occasion,’ claimed Brazilian Ambassador to India Marco Antonio Brandao. However, the 20-odd media members accompanying the Indian president were not briefed about the ‘practice’ either by the Brazilian side or by the Indian officials. The envoy also could not explain why there were no instructions – on the lines of a whip – from the party leaders to their members to be present in the house. He was also
