U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will visit five Latin American nations next week, seeking to foster relationships with some newly elected leaders and cement ties with others. Clinton will start her week in Uruguay with Monday's presidential inauguration of Jose Mujica. Clinton is expected to meet with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner and other Latin American leaders while in Uruguay. The secretary of state next will travel to Chile, which also recently elected a new president. Sebastian Pinera beat former President Eduardo Frei in a January runoff and will take office in March. Clinton will bid farewell to President Michelle Bachelet, Chile's popular leader who will be leaving with high approval ratings for steering her country through the global economic downturn and promoting progressive social reforms. Under Chile's constitutional term limits, a president cannot run for a second consecutive term. After Chile, Clinton will travel to regional powerhouse Brazil, which will hold presidential elections in October. She is expected to talk with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about his upcoming trip to Iran. Costa Rica, which elected its first female president this month, will be Clinton's next stop. The secretary will meet separately with President Oscar Arias and President-elect Laura Chinchilla, who takes office in May. Hillary Clinton will wrap up her five-nation trip with a stop in Guatemala. She will meet with President Alvaro Colom before heading back to Washington on Friday.
