Peru withdraws Caracas envoy

[cal04]

PERU has decided to "immediately withdraw" its ambassador to Venezuela, accusing Caracas of persistently interfering in its domestic affairs, the foreign ministry said overnight.

The decision was made due to "the repeated statements made by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez about the Peruvian electoral process and the ones made today about President Alejandro Toledo," the ministry said.

The ministry complained of the "persistent and flagrant interference by Caracas in the internal affairs of Peru in clear violation of the principals and norms of international law." Peru had recalled its ambassador in January after Mr Chavez voiced support for Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, a leftist populist, ahead of the country's April 9 elections.

This time, Peru withdrew the envoy, who had returned to Caracas, after the leftist Venezuelan leader called social democratic candidate Alan Garcia a "thief" and again praised Humala. Mr Garcia will face Mr Humala, who led the first round of voting, in a runoff in late May or early June.

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,18978249-1702,00.html

[Robbien]

1. Chavez really had no business

meddling in Peru's election. But there is the fact the US has pumped resources into Garcia's campaign. Two wrongs do not make a right.

But then again, Peru complains about Chavez but not the US.

Sheesh.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

2. Why is free speech considered to be "meddling"?....

...and why would the rightwing government-sponsered Peruvian media report anything negative about their good friends, the NeoCon Junta?

[Robbien]

4. A head of state routinely endorses a candidate in a race

of another country, but they do not slur the opposition. Or at least not publicly.

Chavez endorsed Humala a few days ago. Okay, good. Now this article reports he is slamming Garcia.

I support Chavez, but in this one instance I believe he mis-stepped.

[1932]

13. If the US is going to support the RW'ers in Nicaragua,

how can anyone complain about this?

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. I suspect there may have been a phone call or two from the WH

.
.
.

They've been known the odd time to interfere in other countries' politics before,

no?

[Toucano]

5. Protocol be damned

He's entitled to an opinion, as any other person.

He's entitled to voice it, as any other person.

People have to stop being so afraid of hearing the truth.

[Judi Lynn]

6. There's something behind the headlines in this story.

I don't want to buy the story from the Buenos Aires Herald, at $26.00 per month just to read from their Latin America section, but here is the one hint they allow themselves to print without a purchase:

Sunday, April 30, 2006
Chavéz threatens to cut Peru ties if García wins polls

Chávez’s warning came after García criticized him as "shameless" for attacking US free-trade deals with Peru and Colombia while continuing to sell his country’s crude oil to the United States.
"If by some trick of the devil Mr. García gets to be elected as Peru’s president, I would withdraw my ambassador...
(snip/)

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/the_world/note.jsp?idContent=275657

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Wouldn't you agree it appears someone encouraged Garcia to take a shot at him? Chavez has been speaking out against the agreement _Bush has been trying to ram down everyone's throat in Latin America for a LONG time.

I think it appears Garcia is getting encouragement to go after Chavez, hoping to whittle away support from his opponent, Humala before the run-off in May, as the LAST THING in the world _Bush wants is for another staunch left-wing populist to be elected in South or Central America, or Mexico.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the same edition, another interesting look at how Republicans do in South America:

Sunday, April 30, 2006

US denies condoning ‘torture of innocents’

"The US never supported the violation of human rights or that innocents be tortured," said outgoing Ambassador Lino Gutiérrez at a diplomatic and business lunch.

He was asked by the Herald to comment on documents recently declassified in the US that said the then US secretary of state Henry Kissinger had sought immediate support for the Argentine dictators.

Asked whether the US was planning to issue a mea culpa, such as the Argentine military forces have made for the dictatorship’s aberrations, Cuban-born Gutiérrez said, "I have no instructions about that."

He also said: "Those events occurred in 1976 and 1977. It was before my posting. History will tell what happened. However, some articles I have read are not accurate."

Also attending the lunch were several former officials of the dictatorship, among them Jorge Zo-rreguieta, a former agriculture secretary, who is the father of Argentine-born Dutch Princess Máxima Zorreguieta.
(snip/)

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/argentina/note.jsp?idContent=275392&hideIntro=true

_Bush's Cuban-American apointee, Lino Gutiérrez is avoiding the fact documents have been released which contradict what he told them at the dinner. Americans have already read them. What a lying buffoon.

[Robbien]

7. As if Venezuela has any choice. They have to sell to the US or

be heavily fined. Shameless? Pftt!

Thanks JudiLynn for the extra info. I was disappointed in Chavez's action and didn't want to be. Good to see that it appears he may have been provoked.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Looks as if there's quite a bit more to the story than anyone feels we

need to know, so I had to dig a litte deeper. Figures, doesn't it? :hi:

[Bacchus39]

16. where does it say he was provoked???

Chavez provoked Garcia by sticking his nose in Peru's business for criticizing Peru for signing a free trade agreement with the US.

[Robbien]

17. Keep poking it with a stick

Not interested in a debate with such an anti-Latin American biased viewpoint.

[Bacchus39]

18. anti-latin american, yo????

por nada.

absolutely no evidence of provocation was provided yet you somehow came to the conclusion that there was.


Venezuela was a member of the Andean Community trade block which comprised Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Boliva

Now why they would withdrawal from that trade agreement is rather odd since the US is not a member of that trade group.

Yet I hear nothing but praises about the Cuba-Ven-Bolivia trade block. what about the Andean group?

[Robbien]

20. same old, same old.

Chavez can do no right in your book

bored now

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

[Judi Lynn]

8. Apparently Garcia has run amock, and is taking pot shots at Bolivia's

President, as well!

Bolivia Hushes Peru Candidate

La Paz, Apr 28 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Liniera asked Peruvian Presidential Candidate Alan Garcia not to talk about Bolivia and focus on his own country´s affairs.


Garcia Liniera was countering attacks on Presidents Evo Morales (Bolivia) and Hugo Chavez (Venezuela), who challenge US-devised free trade agreements.
(snip/...)

~~~~ link ~~~~


Peru's Alan Garcia

That's right, shut the #### up, sir.

http://www.elinformanteperu.com/articuloss/ollanta,evo%20y%20chavez_400.jpg

Evo Morales, Hugo Chavez, Ollanta Humala

(Edited to fix link)

[Bacchus39]

10. Chavez just can't shut up

can he?

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

11. See, you do have something in common. n/t

[dingaling]

12. IS HUMALA

anti-gay. I read something to that effect in an article. I dont know what Chavez thinks about gays. He is a hardcore catholic isn't he? I dont know how gay issues play out in Latin American politics? Or, do they sweep it under the rug like some other countries?

[Bridget Burke]

14. Five questions in your post....

Sounds like it's time for some research.

[Judi Lynn]

15. He has addressed his mother's ultra-Catholic anti-gay remarks to the press

Here's a quote from an earlier article:

In an interview, Humala said he had distanced himself from his relatives. "They are free to express ideas, but I reject them," he said. "My family is the people. The Humalas come second."
(snip/...)

http://freeinternetpress.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=6443

I have NEVER heard any negative anti-gay material about Hugo Chavez.

If you take a second to reflect, you may remember Latin America is still very Catholic, being conquered and settled by people from Spain.

[Judi Lynn]

19. Two leftists appear headed to Peru runoff

Two leftists appear headed to Peru runoff
Mon May 1, 2006 11:59am ET

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - The following are the latest results from the Peruvian presidential election with 99.95 percent of votes counted. It shows left-of-center former President Alan Garcia almost certainly winning a place in a May or June runoff against nationalist Ollanta Humala.

Election officials say they cannot give a final result until some 220,000 damaged ballot cards have been reviewed at the request of conservative candidate Lourdes Flores.

Humala finished first in the April 9 election but failed to win an outright majority. He is guaranteed a spot in the runoff vote on May 28 or June 4.
(snip/...)

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=winterOlympics&storyid=2006-05-01T155912Z_01_N12369983_RTRUKOC_0_US-PERU-ELECTION.xml

[Judi Lynn]

21. Peru's election

Peru's election
Published: May 2 2006 03:00 | Last updated: May 2 2006 03:00

For the past five years, Peru's President Alejandro Toledo has achieved an enviable record of economic success. His country's economy has grown steadily and in stable fashion. Mr Toledo has signed a free-trade deal with the US and many on Wall Street believe the country could win an investment-grade credit rating in the relatively near future.
(snip)

Economic growth may be a necessary condition for political success but Peru's election shows it is not enough. Peru has maintained financial and monetary stability. Average growth of about 4-5 per cent per year has helped reduce poverty levels. Even so its population lives on less than $2 a day. Poverty is especially severe in areas that have supposedly benefited from multibillion-dollar investments in copper and other minerals.
(snip)

Ms Flores' campaign failed to make headway in poorer areas, with voters from the most remote regions of the Andes voting in favour of Mr Humala.

The result demonstrates that politicians must give greater attention to social policies if they are to win popular support for market-based reform. To pretend that the benefits of economic growth trickle down naturally to raise all living standards is naïve.
(snip)

US policymakers in Washington should also take note. An approach based simply on trade, more open markets and a common commitment to de­mocracy and security is not enough to maintain political stability in the region. They need to give a fresh emphasis and urgency to social policy.
(snip/)

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f5f8567e-d977-11da-8b06-0000779e2340,_i_rssPage=3982c8dc-c8f7-11d7-81c6-0820abe49a01.html