US President George W. Bush braced on Saturday for the second day of the 34-nation Summit of the Americas here, hit by anti-US protests and dogged resistance to his bid for pan-American free trade.Riot police fired tear gas on the gathering’s first day on Friday as demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails, lit bonfires and smashed shop windows outside the hotel where leaders met in this Atlantic resort city.The US leader, faced with record low popularity at home as well as abroad, acknowledged the tensions after meeting with Argentine President Nestor Kirchner. ‘‘It’s not easy to host all these countries. It’s particularly not easy to host, perhaps, me,’’ allowed Bush, whose motorcade whisked past the protests.Market reforms and a proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) touted by Bush have encountered growing skepticism amid persistent unemployment and poverty across the Americas.
