PERU REESTABLISHES DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH VENEZUELA.
Peruvian President Alan Garcia has made conciliatory gestures toward Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, apparently ending an ongoing conflict between the two executives. In December, the two presidents publicly reconciled their war of words and in January returned their ambassadors to the other country's capital city. Diplomatic relations had been cut off since April 2006 when a conflict erupted between Chavez and former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006). Official contacts between Peru and Venezuela were limited to business and trade.
South American summit the scene of reconciliation
"The two of us are well-mannered and cordial people, so any kind of argument, any previously made statements, remain a closed chapter," Garcia told Peru's Radioprogramas from Cochabamba, Bolivia, where the second South American summit (Cumbre Suramerica de Naciones, CSN) was held Dec. 9-10. He said that he felt "good chemistry" with Chavez.
As South American leaders explored creating a South American community similar to the European Union (EU), Garcia kept the good vibrations going by making nice with leaders of Venezuela and Ecuador.
Garcia, who won the presidency in June, embraced and shook hands with Chavez--whom several months ago he had called a "historic loser" with "psychological problems."
Their row started in the first half of 2006, when Chavez called Garcia a thief, liar, and lapdog of Washington and openly endorsed Garcia's campaign opponent, Ollanta Humala. Chavez later suggested that Garcia's victory was the result of fraud.
Garcia in return accused Chavez of using Venezuela's immense oil wealth to buy influence across Latin America.
Chavez's comments on the Peruvian election and his open endorsement of nationalist candidate Humala in January 2006 led Peru's government to recall its ambassador from Caracas (see NotiSur, 2006-01-27). Toledo recalled Peru's ambassador shortly after Chavez referred to Toledo and Garcia as "alligators from the same water hole."
Garcia won the presidential race partly by depicting Humala as a pawn of Chavez. A war of words between President Chavez and then candidate Garcia exploded, further straining Venezuela-Peru relations (see NotiSur, 2006-06-16).
Regional relations were also strained because of the embrace by Peru and Colombia of free-trade agreements (FTAs) with the US, leading Chavez to withdraw Venezuela from the Comunidad Andina de Naciones (CAN) trading bloc (see NotiSur, 2006-06-23). Garcia's...
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu pruebaCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
