Rallied by anti-free trade Venezuelan firebrand President Hugo Chavez, a five nation bloc consisting of the two largest South American economies, Argentina and Brazil, along with Uruguay, Paraguay, and Venezuela formed a bloc to prevent U.S. trade policies at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina. Over 80,000 thousand protestors assembled at the Summit in Mar de Plata to hiss and boo U.S. President George W. Bush, and after the defeat of the FTAA proposal Chavez proclaimed that Bush had “left with his tail between his legs” and that “FTAA is dead forever” to cheering crowds outside the Summit. Chavez points to his country’s socialist revolution as the counterpoint to U.S. free trade, which according to Chavez works only to the benefit of wealthier nations. Chavez has stated that he intends to eliminate poverty in Venezuela in a generation.