|
|
The
foreign policy of the Hugo Chávez government concerns the policy initiatives made by
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
towards other states under its current President,
Hugo ChávezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation...
. Chávez's foreign policy may be roughly divided between those concerning
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
-Venezuela relations and those concerning Venezuela's relations with other states, particularly those in
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and developing countries on other
continentA continent is one of several large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criterion, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents – they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s. In many respects these policies are a substantial break with the previous
foreign relations of VenezuelaThe foreign relations of Venezuela have since the early twentieth century been particularly strong with the United States. However with the election of Hugo Chávez as President of Venezuela in 1998, the foreign policy of the Hugo Chávez government has differed substantially from that of previous...
.
Latin American integration
Hugo Chávez has refocused Venezuelan
foreign policyA country's foreign policy, also called the international relations policy, is a set of goals outlining how the country will interact with other countries economically, politically, socially and militarily, and to a lesser extent, how the country will interact with non-state actors...
on
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n economic and social integration by enacting bilateral trade and reciprocal aid agreements, including his so-called "oil diplomacy". Chávez stated that Venezuela has "a strong oil card to play on the geopolitical stage..." He said, "It is a card that we are going to play with toughness against the toughest country in the world, the United States."
Chávez has made Latin American integration the keystone of his administration's foreign policy. Venezuela worked closely with its neighbors following the 1997
Summit of the AmericasThe Summits of the Americas is a series of international summit meetings bringing together the leaders of countries in North America, Central America, and South America...
in many areas—particularly energy integration—and championed the
OASThe Organization of American States is an international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States. Its members are the thirty-five independent states of the Americas with two countries suspended...
decision to adopt the
Inter-American Convention Against CorruptionThe Inter-American Convention Against Corruption was adopted by the member countries of the Organization of American States on 29 March 1996; it came into force on 6 March 1997....
, also being among the first to ratify it (in 1997). Venezuela also participates in the UN Friends groups for Haiti. It is pursuing efforts to join the
MercosurMercosur or Mercosul is a Regional Trade Agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto...
trade blocA trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.-Description:...
to expand the hemisphere's trade integration prospects. The Venezuelan government advocates an end to Cuba's US-imposed isolation and a "multi-polar" world based on ties among developing countries. Exemplars of this prioritization have come in the cooperative multinational institutions Chávez has helped found:
PetroCaribePetrocaribe S. A. is a Caribbean oil alliance with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched in June 2005. The payment system allows for a few nations to buy oil on market value but only a certain amount is needed up front; the remainder can be paid...
, Petrosur, and
TelesurLa Nueva Televisora del Sur is a pan-Latin American terrestrial and satellite television network headquartered in Caracas, Venezuela...
. Bilateral trade relationships with other Latin American countries have also played a major role in his policy, with Chávez increasing arms purchases from Brazil, forming oil-for-expertise trade arrangements with Cuba, funding an approximately $300 million
ex gratiaEx gratia is Latin and is most often used in a legal context. When something has been done ex gratia, it has been done voluntarily, out of kindness or grace...
oil pipeline built to provide discounted natural gas to
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
, and initiating
barterBartering is a medium in which goods or services are directly exchanged for other goods and/or services without a common unit of exchange . It can be bilateral or multilateral, and usually exists parallel to monetary systems in most developed countries, though to a very limited extent...
arrangements that, among other things, exchange Venezuelan petroleum for cash-strapped
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
's
meatMeat is animal flesh that is used as food. Most often, this means the skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also describe other edible tissues such as organs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, or lungs...
and
dairyA dairy is a facility for the extraction and processing of animal milk—mostly from cows or goats, but also from buffalo, sheep, horses or camels —for human consumption. Typically it is a farm or section of a farm that is concerned with the production of milk, butter and...
products. Most recently, Chavez's re-election in December 2006 has been seen as a boost to Cuba.
Despite Chavez's active foreign policy, a 2007 Pew Research poll showed that majorities in Bolivia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and a slim plurality in Argentina had little or no confidence in Chavez's handling of world affairs, along with 45% in Venezuela itself. In 2008 confidence in Chavez as a world leader declined to 26% in Argentina, 12% in Brazil, and 6% in Mexico.
Antigua and Barbuda
Antigua and BarbudaAntigua and Barbuda is an island nation located on the eastern boundary of the Caribbean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean. It consists of two major islands Antigua and Barbuda and a number of smaller islets...
enjoys close relations with Venezuela. As of June 2009 it became a formal member of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas (ALBA) international cooperation organization and the Caribbean oil alliance
PetrocaribePetrocaribe S. A. is a Caribbean oil alliance with Venezuela to purchase oil on conditions of preferential payment. The alliance was launched in June 2005. The payment system allows for a few nations to buy oil on market value but only a certain amount is needed up front; the remainder can be paid...
. In 2009 Antigua and Barbuda received US$50 million from Venezuela because of the country’s membership of these initiatives. After the American billionaire fraudster
Allen StanfordSir Robert Allen Stanford, KCN is a prominent financier, philanthropist, and sponsor of professional sports who has been charged with fraud. Stanford is the chairman of the privately held, wholly owned Stanford Financial Group of Companies. A fifth-generation Texan who resides in St. Croix, U.S...
became embroilled in scandal, Hugo Chavez sent urgent financial assistance to Antigua and Barboda, which was heavily dependent on Stanford's investment when his business empire collapsed.
“We have benefited from these relationships and so we will continue to forge these alliances, whether it is with Venezuela, Cuba or whoever else that we feel is in the interest of Antigua and Barbuda and the sub-region,” said the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
Baldwin SpencerWinston Baldwin Spencer is the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. He has been Prime Minister since March 24, 2004, when his party, the United Progressive Party , which he had led as the opposition party for several years, won a parliamentary election...
.
Colombia
Colombia and Venezuela share a wide and heavily populated border. They are strong commercial partners and share a long-reaching common history, starting from the colonization of the
New Kingdom of GranadaThe New Kingdom of Granada was the name given to a group of 16th century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the Audiencia of Bogotá, an area corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Panama. Originally part of the Viceroyalty of Peru, it became...
to the formation of
Gran ColombiaGran Colombia is a name used today for the nation that encompassed a great part of the territory of northern South America and part of southern Central America during the years 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic encompassed the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and Panama...
after Simon Bolivar's liberation campaign. Colombia, which receives millions of dollars for anti narcotics purposes from the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as part of
Plan ColombiaThe term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling by supporting different Drug War activities in Colombia. Plan Colombia also refers to a wider aid initiative originally proposed by Colombian President Andrés Pastrana Arango, which contemplated...
, is governed by a popular rightwing administration. Although Colombia is heavily devoted to dealing with its own internal affairs, the conflicts with Hugo Chavez have been common and heated.
Chavez's dealings with President Álvaro Uribe Velez have been rocky and turbulent at times, although at first they both maintained a cordial and professional relationship, even as Chavez lavished against Bush's international policies in South America and the Middle East. But as several international incidents developed over time between the two countries, both leaders have developed animosity against one another, often recurring to direct and indirect insults and personal attacks.}
Colombia is the second country against which Mr Chavez has laid out the biggest criticism, after the United States.
One of the first impasses occurred in late 2004 when Colombian happened after the capture by Venezuelan officials of
Rodrigo GrandaRicardo González also known as Rodrigo Granda is a Colombian Venezuelan member of Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia . He serves as international spokesman of the guerrilla organization.-Arrest in Venezuela:...
, a high-ranking representative of the FARC terrorist organization. After being taken by the officers in Caracas, Granda was delivered to the Colombians on the bordering city of Cucuta in a case known as the
Rodrigo Granda affairThe Rodrigo Granda affair was an international incident that increased tension between Venezuela and Colombia between December 2004 and February 2005.- Events :...
. At the time, Colombian President
Álvaro UribeÁlvaro Uribe Vélez is the 39th President of Colombia and is currently serving his second term in office.Before his current role in politics Uribe was a lawyer. He studied law at the University of Antioquia and completed a post-graduate management program at Harvard University.Uribe started his...
condemned what he called Chávez's lack of cooperation in implementing law enforcement actions against the FARC. Chávez responded by temporarily cutting diplomatic and
tradeTrade is the voluntary exchange of goods, services, or both. Trade is also called commerce or transaction. A mechanism that allows trade is called a market. The original form of trade was barter, the direct exchange of goods and services. Later one side of the barter were the metals, precious...
ties with Colombia.
The issue was put to rest in a summit of the two presidents in February 2005.
Chavez has also played an important role in mediating with the FARC for the release of hostages. In the past he had tried to get FARC's most high-profile
hostageA hostage is a person or entity which is held by a captor. The original definition meant that this was handed over by one of two belligerent parties to the other or seized as security for the carrying out of an agreement, or as a preventive measure against certain acts of war...
Ingrid BetancourtIngrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian-French politician, former senator, anti-corruption activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee....
released, only to come out blaming the Colombians. This occurred after Chavez, contrary to agreement with Uribe, called and spoke directly to the Colombian Army chief of staff General Mario Montoya. The agreement called for direct talks with just the heads of state. However some prisoners were released including
Clara RojasClara Leticia Rojas González is a Colombian tax lawyer, university lecturer, and campaign manager for former senator and presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. She was kidnapped along with Betancourt by the FARC guerrilla group near San Vicente del Caguán on February 23, 2002, while Betancourt...
, Betancourt's top aide who was kidnapped with her. Later the
Andean crisisThe 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Beginning with an incursion into Ecuador territory across the Putumayo River by the Colombian military on March 1, 2008, which led to the death of over twenty militants, including Raúl Reyes and...
led to military moves by Venezuela in conjunction with Ecuador after a raid by the Colombians on FARC bases inside the Ecuadorian border. Later, Colombian officers said they had evidence of support of FARC by Hugo Chavez. It took diplomacy by
Leonel FernándezLeonel Antonio Fernández Reyna is a Dominican politician and the current President of the Dominican Republic.-Early life and beginning of political career:...
, President of the
Dominican RepublicThe Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries...
, to smooth things over.
The possibility of an U.S.
military baseA military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations.- Etymology :...
being established near the Colombian border with Venezuela also led to tensions.
Brazil
Though relations remain cordial, Venezuela was seen to compete with the other bid economic leader in the continent to rally forth more support. However, relations took a somewhat ominous turn in November 2008 when Venezuela slapped a $282 million tax bill on Brazilian construction giant
OdebrechtOdebrecht is a Brazilian business conglomerate in the fields of Engineering & Construction and Chemicals & Petrochemicals. The company was founded in 1944 and the group is present in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, North America, Africa, Europe and the Middle East.The...
, which embroiled the company and the country in its second dispute in just a few weeks. Odebrecht responded that it had already paid its full tax bill for the year and did not need to pay the new bill. Venezuela's Seniat tax authority gave Odebrecht 15 days to appeal. Otherwise the two countries were also working together on grander regional projects. Both Venezuela and
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
were seen to be leading an initiative to form the
Bank of the South (BancoSur), an institution that would pool a portion of participating countries' reserves, and ultimately seeking to replace the
International Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an international organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rates and the balance of payments...
, as well as its onerous insistence on cutting social and infrastructure programs as conditions for its loans, in return for a more development-friendly approach. Other regional states have also signaled an interest in the project, these include: Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
Peru
In 2001, newly elected Peruvian President
Alejandro ToledoAlejandro Celestino Toledo Manrique is a Peruvian politician and economist. He was President of Peru from 2001 to 2006. He was elected in 2001 defeating former President Alan García. Toledo came to international prominence after leading the opposition against President Alberto Fujimori, who held...
's suspicion that the Chávez administration was protecting and hiding
Vladimiro MontesinosVladimiro Lenin Montesinos Torres was the long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional , under President Alberto Fujimori...
provoked a major diplomatic confrontation between the two countries. The crisis started when Peru's Interior Minister Antonio Ketin Vidal blamed Venezuelan intelligence officers of disrupting a secret joint operation by Peruvian and US agents to capture former Peruvian intelligence chief Montesinos. The right-wing
Venezuelan pressThe ' comprise the mass and niche news and information communications infrastructure of Venezuela. Thus, the media of Venezuela consists of several different types of communications media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and Internet-based news outlets and websites...
reported the presence of Montesinos in Venezuelan territory months before the capture, although
José Vicente RangelJosé Vicente Rangel Vale is a Venezuelan leftist politician. He ran for president three times in the 1970s and 1980s, and later supported Hugo Chávez, successively becoming foreign minister, defense minister, and Vice President in Chávez's government.-Political activism:His political activism...
, representing the position of the Venezuelan government, denied his presence and the rumors that suggested that Montesinos was inside Venezuela. An April 2001 article by the journalist Patricia Poleo (for which she was awarded 2001's "King of Spain Journalism Award") described firsthand accounts of Montesinos' presence in Venezuela. Venezuelan security forces captured Montesinos in June of that year and later deported him to Peru to face charges of
corruptionPolitical corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
,
briberyBribery, a form of pecuniary corruption, is an act implying money or gift given that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an...
and
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
violations. Further diplomatic disputes ensued as Venezuelan security forces claimed most of the credit for finding Montesinos while Peru claimed its own forces and US FBI agents deserved credit. Chávez withdrew his envoy to Peru in response to this affair, in part because he accused Peru of having undertaken security operations in Venezuela without previous approval.
Gustavo GorritiGustavo Gorriti is a Peruvian journalist who has worked extensively on coverage pertaining to the politics, culture, and social issues of Central and South America, and the Caribbean...
, advisor to President Toledo, said that President Chávez had no other option but to order the arrest of Montesinos following the pressure of a lead provided by the FBI after the capture of a former Venezuelan army officer who was withdrawing
moneyMoney is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment...
from a
bankA bank is a financial institution licensed by a government. Its primary activities include borrowing and lending money.Many other financial activities were allowed over time. For example banks are important players in financial markets and offer financial services such as investment funds...
in Miami, allegedly for Montesinos. When Chávez attended Toledo's presidential inauguration, he was called a "dictator" by members of the
Peruvian congressThe Congress of the Republic of Peru or the National Congress of Peru is the body that assumes legislative power in Peru.Congress consists of 120 members of congress , who are elected for five year periods in office on a proportional representation basis...
.
Between January and March 2006, Chávez commented on the candidates of the 2006 Peruvian Presidential election, openly backing
Ollanta HumalaOllanta Moisés Humala Tasso is a Peruvian left-leaning politician who ran for president in 2006 but lost in a runoff to Alan García. The son of Isaac Humala, a labour lawyer, he joined the Peruvian Army in 1982...
(
Union for PeruUnion for Peru was originally a liberal or centrist political party in Peru.At the legislative elections held on 8 April 2001, the party won 4.1% of the popular vote and 6 out of 120 seats in the Congress of the Republic....
, nationalist-left) while referring to Alan García (APRA) as a "thief" and a "crook" and considering
Lourdes FloresLourdes Celmira Rosario Flores Nano is a Peruvian politician and lawyer. She currently leads the Unidad Nacional ' alliance and the Partido Popular Cristiano ' in Peru, which is the most well-known right-of-center party of the country.-Biography:Lourdes Flores was born in Lima on 7 October 1959...
a "candidate of the
oligarchyAn Oligarchy is a form of government in which power effectively rests with a small elite segment of society distinguished by royal, wealth, intellectual, family, military, or religious hegemony. The word oligarchy is from the Greek words for "few" and "rule"...
". His support in fact backfired when Alan García used it to attack Ollanta Humala; García won the election. The Peruvian government admonished Chávez for interfering in Peru's affairs. Chávez's comments led the Peruvian government to state that he was interfering in Peru's affairs in breach of
international lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
. Both countries recalled their
ambassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. They are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country....
s. Garcia and Chávez have reconciled their differences, ending the feud, and relations between Peru and Venezuela were restored. In 2007, normal diplomatic relations were restored, until April 2009 when Peru granted political asylum to Manuel Rosales, an opponent of Chávez and under charges of corruption. This in turn led Venezuela to again recall its diplomat from Peru. The dispute is ongoing.
Mexico
Although Chávez generally enjoys fair to excellent relations with his Latin American counterparts, there have been examples of heated disputes. On November 10, 2005, Chávez referenced Mexican President
Vicente FoxVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected President of Mexico in the...
during a speech to supporters in
CaracasCaracas is the capital and largest city of Venezuela. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range . The valley's temperatures are springlike. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m above...
, saying "the president of a people like the Mexicans lets himself become the
puppyA puppy is a juvenile dog, whose size varies among breeds: smaller puppies may weigh , while larger ones can weigh up to . All healthy puppies grow quickly after birth. A puppy's coat color may change as the puppy grows older, as is commonly seen in breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier...
dog of the empire" for what he alleged was Fox's support of U.S. trade interests in his promotion of the newly stalled FTAA. Additionally, on the November 13, 2005 episode of his weekly talk show,
Aló PresidenteAló Presidente is a talk show hosted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez which is broadcast on Venezuelan state television and radio stations every Sunday at 11:00 AM....
, Chávez stated that the Mexican president was "
bleedingBleeding, technically known as hemorrhaging or haemorrhaging is the loss of blood or blood escape from the circulatory system...
from his
woundIn medicine, a wound is a type of injury in which skin is torn, cut or punctured , or where blunt force trauma causes a contusion . In pathology, it specifically refers to a sharp injury which damages the dermis of the skin.-Types of wounds:-Open:Open wounds can be classified according to the...
s" and warned Fox not to "mess" with him, lest he "get stung." Fox, upon hearing the remarks, expressed his outrage and threatened to recall the Mexican ambassador to Venezuela if the Chavez did not promptly issue an apology. However, Chávez simply recalled Venezuela's own ambassador to
Mexico CityMexico City is the capital city of Mexico. It is the economic, industrial, and cultural center in the country, and the most populous city, with about 8,836,045 inhabitants in 2008...
, Vladimir Villegas. The Mexican ambassador to Caracas was recalled the following day. Although ties between the two countries have been strained, neither country will say that diplomatic ties have been indefinitely severed. Several groups in both Mexico and Venezuela are working to restore the diplomatic relationship between the two countries. In August 2007, each country reinstated her ambassador to the other, restoring full diplomatic relations.
There have also been heated disputes between Chávez and other Latin American leaders, including one with former
MexicanThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
President
Vicente FoxVicente Fox Quesada is a Mexican politician who served as President of Mexico from 2000 to 2006 and currently serves as co-President of the Centrist Democrat International, an international organization of Christian democratic political parties.Fox was elected President of Mexico in the...
over what Chávez alleged was Fox's support of US trade interests. The dispute resulted in a strained diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
Ecuador
As another leftist leader in Latin America
Rafael CorreaRafael Vicente Correa Delgado is the President of the Republic of Ecuador and the current President pro tempore of the Union of South American Nations. An economist educated in Ecuador, Belgium and the United States, he briefly served as his country's Finance Minister in 2005. He was elected...
also has close ties with Venezuela and Chavez. The strongest show of support for the Ecudorean leader was during the
Andean crisisThe 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis was a diplomatic stand-off between Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela. Beginning with an incursion into Ecuador territory across the Putumayo River by the Colombian military on March 1, 2008, which led to the death of over twenty militants, including Raúl Reyes and...
. At a time of escalating tensions with Colombia and Uribe's government due to an incursion on Ecudorean sovereignty, Chavez came out strongly in support of the former as he increased tensions on Colombia's other border with Venezuela to deflect the pressure on Ecuador, while supporting them every step of the way.
Bolivia
The strongest support for a Latin America has been reserved for
Evo MoralesJuan Evo Morales Ayma , popularly known as Evo , has been the President of Bolivia since 2006. He has been declared the country's first fully indigenous head of state in the 470 years since the Spanish Conquest....
. In 2005 Morales, was said to be receiving funds from Chávez as Bolivia faced a series of strikes and blockades that threatened its stability.
In 2006, Morales said he was uniting with Venezuela in a fight against "
neoliberalismNeoliberalism is a synonym of classical economic liberalism. The term was coined in 1938 at the Colloque Walter Lippmann by the German sociologist and economist Alexander Rüstow, one of the fathers of Social market economy. The label is referring to a redefinition of classical liberalism,...
and
imperialismImperialism, as defined by the dictionary of human geography, is “the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” Imperialism, in many ways, is described...
". He agreed to work with Venezuela in sharing information and resources in agriculture, healthcare, education and energy.
During the
2008 unrest in BoliviaThe 2008 unrest in Bolivia began with protests against President Evo Morales and calls for greater autonomy for the country's eastern departments. Demonstrators escalated the protests by seizing natural gas infrastructure and government buildings...
, Chavez came out strongly in support of Morales by accusing the US of being behind the agitation in the provinces opposing Morales, where there are also secessionist demands. After Morales declared the U.S. ambassador, Philip Goldberg,
persona non grataPersona non grata , literally meaning "an unwelcome person," is a term used in diplomacy with a specialized and legally defined meaning...
for supporting the provinces and instigating violence, and the U.S. reciprocated. Chavez in turn ejected the U.S. ambassador in Caracas as well, and recalled the Venezuelan
ambassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents their country. They are usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of their country....
from Washington DC. In doing so, Chavez said: "They're trying to do here what they were doing in Bolivia. That's enough ... from you, Yankees." He added that Venezuela's ambassador to Washington, Bernardo Alvarez, would return to the U.S. "when there's a new government in the United States."
Paraguay
As Paraguay's new leftist
PresidentThe President of Paraguay is according to the Paraguayan Constitution the Chief of the Executive branch of the Government of Paraguay...
Fernando LugoFernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is the current President of Paraguay and the former Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of San Pedro.-Early life and history with the Church:...
was inaugurated, a change from 61 unbroken years of
Colorado partyThe National Republican Association – Colorado Party is a political party in Paraguay, founded in 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. It is usually known as the Colorado Party. It was defeated in elections held in April 2008 after 61 years in power.- History :It initially ruled the country from 1887...
rule, Chavez and Correa were together in the country to support another regional left leader. Chavez tried to woo the president with promises to fill Paraguay's imported oil gap. President Lugo has supported Venezuela's entry into
MercosurMercosur or Mercosul is a Regional Trade Agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto...
however the Colorado Party's influence in Paraguay's Congress and Senate retards this expansion.
StratforStrategic Forecasting, Inc., more commonly known as STRATFOR, is a global intelligence company founded in 1996 in Austin, Texas. Barron's once referred to it as "The Shadow CIA"....
also theorized that Chavez was trying to pry Lugo away from Brazil as the two were working on the Itaipu energy partnership. Doing this, they said, would weaken the other South American giant's, Brazil, efforts to extend its influence throughout Latin America. Paraguay and Venezuela have restarted negotiations on an unpaid debt of $250 owed by Paraguayan oil company Petropar to its counterpart Petróleos de Venezuela after the Presidents of Paraguay and Venezuela met to deal with the financing.
In September 2009 Paraguay's President
Fernando LugoFernando Armindo Lugo Méndez is the current President of Paraguay and the former Roman Catholic bishop of the Diocese of San Pedro.-Early life and history with the Church:...
revoked plans for US troops to hold joint military exercises and development projects. President Lugo referenced strong regional opposition from countries such as Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Ecuador to the expansion of US military bases in Colombia in his decision. President Hugo Chavez is an outspoken critic of US "imperialism", military activity and expansion in Latin America.
Relations with the U.S.
The long-standing close diplomatic relationship between the U.S and Venezuela progressively worsened during the
George W. Bush administrationThe Presidency of George W. Bush began on his inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
. It showed signs of improvement in 2009 with the election of the new US President
Barack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office, as well as the first president born in Hawaii...
, including the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in June 2009, which had been broken off in September 2008.
Russia
Russian-Venezuelan relations were tightened during the reign of Chavez with energy and military cooperation. The latter led to joint exercises between the two militaries and a visit by a Russian naval ship to Venezuela. Furthermore, Venezuela also acquired billions of dollars of arms from Russia. Following Chavez's two visits to Moscow in July and September 2008, Russian Deputy Prime Minister
Igor SechinIgor Ivanovich Sechin is a Russian politician and businessman, who is considered a close ally of Vladimir Putin...
arrived in Venezuela to pave the way for a third meeting within five months between their two presidents. In November 2008, Venezuela and Russia discussed 46 potential cooperation agreements during an Intergovernmental Commission. Venezuelan Vice President
Ramon CarrizalesRamón Alonso Carrizales Rengifo is a Venezuelan politician and the current Vice President of Venezuela. Carrizales is a former Colonel of the Venezuelan Armed Forces educated at the Venezuelan Academy of Military Sciences where he graduated in 1974...
and Sechin reviewed a series of initiatives that Chavez and Russian President Dimitri Medvedev would sign later in the month. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro added to aggressive foreign policy initiatives sought by Chavez in saying that "the unipolar world is collapsing and finishing in all aspects, and the alliance with Russia is part of that effort to build a multipolar world." The two countries discussed the creation of a bi-national investment bank, the opening of a direct air route between Caracas and Moscow, the building of an aluminum plant, the construction of a gas platform off the Venezuelan coast, plans for automobile production, and Venezuela's acquisition of Russian planes and ships. While the two countries also reached agreements on the development of outer space and the use of nuclear energy. Maduro added that the two countries "will develop all what has to do with technology and satellite in the space," while still continuing to work at using nuclear energy with peaceful means to generate alternative energy.
Venezuela sought to develop mines at its largest gold deposits with help from Russia. Venezuelan Mining Minister, Rodolfo Sanz, told a Russian delegation that a
memorandum of understandingA memorandum of understanding is a document describing a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action...
would be signed with the Russian-owned Rusoro to operate the Las Cristinas and Brisas mine projects with the Venezuelan government. The former, one of Latin America's largest gold projects, was under contract to Canada's Crystallex, which had waited in vain for years for an environmental license to start mining. The minister, however, said the government was taking control of the mine to start work in 2009. Further ties were in the offing when Chavez said an agreement for the Humberto Fernandez Moran Nuclear Facility would be signed upon Russian President Medvedev's visit to Venezuela accompanied by a Russian fleet of warships in mid to late-November 2008. Chavez also revealed that Russian nuclear technicians were already at work in Venezuela. As a Russian
flotillaA flotilla , or naval flotilla, is a formation of small warships that may be part of a larger fleet. A flotilla is usually composed of a homogeneous group of the same class of warship, such as destroyers, torpedo boats, submarines, gunboats or minesweepers...
, including the nuclear-powered warship Peter the Great, was on its way to the Caribbean for naval exercises with Venezuela, analysts saw the move as a geopolitical response to US support for Georgia following the
Russo-Georgian WarThe 2008 South Ossetia War, also known as the Russia–Georgia War, was an armed conflict in August 2008 between Georgia on one side, and the Russian Federation together with Ossetians and Abkhazians on the other....
. In September 2009, Venezuela became one of three nations worldwide to recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as countries independent of Georgia. Russia is one of the other two. Russian fighter jets have also been sold to Venezuela, while Caracas bought 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles for its military. However, the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov downplayed the relevance of such moves "It looks like everyone has been accustomed for a long time to our warships being in naval bases and our warplanes in hangars, and thinking it will be like that forever," Ryabkov stated.
On July 27, 2006 Hugo Chávez and Russian president
Vladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
announced an agreement in
MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
which enabled the import of military equipment from Russia to Venezuela.
Serbia
On February 21, 2008 Hugo Chávez said that Venezuela will not recognize an independent
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
, warning that the southeastern European
nationA nation is a body of people who share a real or imagined common history, culture, language or ethnic origin. The development and conceptualization of the nation is closely related to the development of modern industrial states and nationalist movements in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries,...
's separation from
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
could spark
warWar is a reciprocated, armed conflict, between two or more non-congruous entities, aimed at reorganising a subjectively designed, geo-politically desired result...
in the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
and that it could end in a disaster. He said "This cannot be accepted. It's a very dangerous precedent for the entire world.". He compared the situation with separatists in the state of
ZuliaThe Zulia State or Estado Zulia is one of Venezuela's 23 states . The state capital is Maracaibo. In 2007 it had an estimated population of 3,620,200, giving it the largest population among Venezuela's states. It is located in the northwestern part of the country...
and
Santa CruzSanta Cruz, with an area of 370,621 km², is the largest of the nine constituent departments of Bolivia. In the 2001 census, it reported a population of 2,029,471. The capital is the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. The state is one of the wealthiest states in Bolivia with huge reserves of natural gas...
in
BoliviaBolivia, officially Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is bordered by Brazil to the north and east, Paraguay and Argentina to the south, and Chile and Peru to the west....
. He called Kosovo a region of Serbia which is recognized by
historyHistory is the study of the human past, with special attention to the written record. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns...
and
geographyGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. He attributed the decision of the Kosovars to an imperialist plan to continue weakening countries in the world. Chávez stated that Venezuela supports the position of
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, that it has the same position as the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
and many other countries and he also expressed satisfaction with the position of the government of Spain. He stated he cannot understand how there are countries that accepted Kosovo's move.
He accused Washington on March 24, 2008 of trying to "weaken Russia" by supporting independence for Kosovo despite opposition by Serbia and Russia. He called Kosovo's new leader,
Prime MinisterThe Prime Minister of Kosovo is the Head of Government for Kosovo.The Prime Minister and the Government of Kosovo, which he or she heads, are responsible for their actions to the Assembly of Kosovo, of which they must all be members...
Hashim ThaciHashim Thaçi is the Prime Minister of Kosovo, the Leader of the Democratic Party of Kosovo , and former political leader of the Kosovo Liberation Army .-Early life and education:...
, a "terrorist" put in power by the US, and noted that the former rebel leader's nom de guerre was "The Snake." Chavez had strongly opposed the NATO intervention in Kosovo in 1999 when he first became president.
Netherlands
In August 2007, Chávez came in conflict with the
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a country in Northwestern Europe, constituting the major portion of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east...
concerning the Dutch Antilles. Chávez gave a number of public speeches in which he said that the region ought to be 'freed from
colonialismColonialism is the building and maintaining of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. Sovereignty over the colony is claimed by the metropole...
' and claimed that every piece of land within of the Venezuelan coast belongs to Venezuela. Since the Dutch Antilles are positioned off Venezuela, this was interpreted by some Dutch officials as a threat of invasion of Dutch sovereignty, and several political parties requested that the Dutch army be prepared for war, a VVD official referring to the Antilles as "the Dutch Falklands"
while other parties dismissed Chávez' speeches as
populismPopulism is a political discourse that juxtaposes "the people" with "the elites." Populism may comprise an ideology urging social and political system changes and/or a rhetorical style deployed by members of political or social movements...
with no real intention of invading the Dutch Antilles. According to
Radio NetherlandsRadio Netherlands Worldwide is a public radio and television network based in Hilversum, producing and transmitting programmes for international audiences outside the Netherlands...
, Chávez was not referring to the
Netherlands AntillesThe Netherlands Antilles , previously known as the Netherlands West Indies or Dutch Antilles/West Indies, is part of the Lesser Antilles and consists of two groups of islands in the Caribbean Sea: Curaçao and Bonaire, just off the Venezuelan coast, and Sint Eustatius, Saba and Sint Maarten, located...
or
ArubaAruba is a -long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, north of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, Venezuela. Together with Bonaire and Curaçao, it forms a group referred to as the ABC islands of the Leeward Antilles, the southern island chain of the Lesser Antilles.An...
but to the
Isla AvesIsla de Aves , or Aves Island, is a Caribbean islet claimed by Venezuela. It has been the subject of numerous territorial disputes between the neigboring independent islands, such as Dominica, and European mother countries of surrounding dependent islands, such as the Netherlands. It lies to the...
, adding that "...there is nothing to worry about as far as the Netherlands Antilles are concerned, but that doesn't fit in with the US's publicity campaign. The media leave out all this kind of information and simply report that Venezuela wants to expand its borders and, in doing so, is intent on swallowing up the
Leeward IslandsThe Leeward Islands are the northern islands of the Lesser Antilles chain of islands, part of the West Indies. They are situated where the Caribbean Sea meets the western Atlantic Ocean...
.[...]
The HagueThe Hague is the third largest city in the Netherlands after Amsterdam and Rotterdam, with a population of 485,818 and an area of approximately 100 km²...
knows there is no claim to Aruba or the Netherlands Antilles, and that President Chávez has not made such a claim in any speech".
United Kingdom
On 8 February 2006, the British Prime Minister
Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
answered a question asked by the
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
Colin BurgonColin Burgon is a British politician. He is the Labour member of Parliament for Elmet in Yorkshire, but has announced that he will not stand for re-election at the next general election.-Early life:...
about the policy of the United Kingdom towards Venezuela, in the
British House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
. Blair said: "It is rather important that the government of Venezuela realise that if they want to be respected members of the
international communityThe international community is a vague term used in international relations to refer to all the governments of the world or to a group of them...
they should abide by the rules of the international community". Blair also said: "I also have to say with the greatest respect to the president of Venezuela that when he forms an alliance with Cuba I would prefer to see Cuba a proper functioning democracy".
President Chávez replied the following day that Mr. Blair disobeyed international rules when the UK invaded Iraq and called him "a pawn of imperialism" and "the main ally of Hitler (George Bush)"
At the same time Hugo Chávez criticized Tony Blair for his alliance with the United States and the
Iraq warThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
he consolidated a strong partnership with the
mayor of LondonThe Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London . Since 4 May 2008, Conservative Boris Johnson holds the position...
Ken LivingstoneKenneth Robert Livingstone is an English politician; he has twice held the leading political role in London local government, firstly as Leader of the Greater London Council from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986 by the government of Margaret Thatcher, and secondly as the first Mayor of...
. In May 2006, Chávez made a private visit to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
where he met with Livingstone, but not with Blair. Defending his decision to host a luncheon in honour of Mr. Chávez, Livingstone declared on
BBC Radio 4BBC Radio 4 is a domestic UK radio station that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967.-Outline:...
that "Chávez had been responsible for significant social reforms and called him 'the best news out of Latin America in many years". When a
journalistA journalist is a person who practises journalism, the gathering and dissemination of information about current events, trends, issues, and people while striving for viewpoints that are not biased.Reporters are one type of journalist...
asked President Chávez why he did not meet with the Prime Minister, Chávez said it is a "very silly question"; "It was a private visit. And, if anyone did not know what that meant, they should look it up in a
protocolIn international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state.A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines...
manual". Livingstone's trip to Venezuela to sign an agreement to provide cheap oil to the poor inhabitants of
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in November 2006 was cancelled because of the
Venezuelan presidential electionsThe Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela held presidential elections on 3 December 2006, to choose a president for the six-year term to begin on 10 January 2007...
.
In February 2007, the agreement between Chávez and Livingstone about the cheap petroleum to London's less well-off was signed. In return, the
Greater London AuthorityThe Greater London Authority is the city-wide governing body for London, England. It consists of a directly-elected executive Mayor of London, currently Boris Johnson, and an elected 25-member London Assembly with scrutiny powers.-Purpose:...
advises Venezuela on
recyclingRecycling involves processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower...
,
waste managementWaste management is the collection, transport, processing, recycling or disposal, and monitoring of waste materials. The term usually relates to materials produced by human activity, and is generally undertaken to reduce their effect on health, the environment or aesthetics. Waste management is...
,
trafficTraffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
and reducing carbon emissions. This deal has come under criticism from the
London AssemblyThe London Assembly is an elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget. The Assembly was established in 2000 and is headquartered at City Hall on the south...
Conservatives. Prices have been slashed by 20%; following this, half-price
busA bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. A bus seats a maximum of 8 to 300 passengers...
travel became available to Londoners on
income supportIncome Support is an income-related means-tested benefit in the United Kingdom for people who are on a low income. Claimants of Income Support may be entitled to certain other benefits, for example, Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and help with health costs...
. Livingstone commented: "This will make it cheaper and easier for people to go about their lives and get the most out of London. The agreement... will also benefit the people of Venezuela, by providing expertise in areas of city management in which London is a world leader."
Vatican
Chávez has had a series of disputes with both the Venezuelan Catholic clergy and
ProtestantProtestantism is a branch within Christianity, containing many denominations with some differing practices and doctrines, that principally originated in the sixteenth-century Protestant Reformation. It is considered to be one of the major divisions within Christianity, together with the Roman...
church hierarchies.
On visiting the Vatican in 2006 Chavez had an extraordinarily long meeting with the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
. The
Holy FatherHoly Father may refer to:*God the Father*The Pope of the Coptic Orthodox Church*The Pope of the Roman Catholic Church...
presented Chavez with a letter detailing the concerns of the
Holy SeeThe Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
regarding the condition of the Church in
VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
. Among the issues most important to the Pope were:
- the freedom of the Holy See to nominate new bishops,
- the preservation of a distinctive Catholic identity at the Church-run University of Santa Rosa in Lima,
- the elimination of religious education from the school curriculum,
- the introduction of public-health programs that undermine the right to life, and the need for independence in the Catholic media
Chavez did offer his assurances that his government would work to ease the tensions that have characterized his relations with the Venezuelan bishops. Among his critics at home is Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara, the most outspoken
prelateA prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who either is an ordinary or ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, literally, "carry before," or "to be set above, or over," or "to prefer," hence a prelate is one set over...
, referring to Chavez as a "paranoid dictator" who has crushed democracy in Venezuela. In the battle of words that followed, the President, in turn, has referred to the critical bishops as "devils" and made a charge against the Catholic hierarchy that the latter were plotting against his government.
In a more terse shift Chavez hit out at the Pope during the latter's trip to
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
where he said the Roman Catholic Church had purified the
American IndiansThe indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Americas, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those peoples...
. This was the first direct confrontation with the head of the church accusing the
PontiffA pontiff was, in Roman antiquity, a member of the principal college of priests. The term was later applied to any high or chief priest and, in ecclesiastical usage, to a bishop, and more particularly to the Bishop of Rome, the Pope or "Roman Pontiff".-Etymology:The English term derives through...
of ignoring the "holocaust" that followed
Christopher ColumbusChristopher Columbus was a navigator, colonizer and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean led to general European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere...
's 1492 landing in the
AmericasThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
. His exact words were, "With all due respect your Holiness, apologize because there was a real
genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
here and, if we were to deny it, we would be denying our very selves."
Furthermore, Chavez's words came only days after the Venezuelan
mediaThe news media refers to the section of the mass media that focuses on presenting current news to the public.These include print media ; broadcast media , and increasingly Internet-based media .The term news trade refers to the concept of the news media as a business...
interpreted other comments from the Pope as singling out Chavez as a danger to Latin America when he warned of autocrats in the region.
Iran
President Chávez has developed strong ties with the government of Iran, in particular in the area of energy production, economic, and industrial cooperation. He has visited Iran on several occasions, the first time in 2001, when he declared that he came to Iran to "prepare the road for
peacePeace is commonly understood as the absence of hostility, or the existence of healthy or newly-healed interpersonal or international relationships, safety in matters of social or economic welfare, the acknowledgment of equality and fairness in political relationships and, in world matters,...
,
justiceJustice is the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, rationality, law, natural law, fairness, or equity.-Concept of justice:Justice... concerns the proper ordering of things and persons within a society. As a concept it has been subject to philosophical, legal, and theological reflection and...
,
stability-Mathematics:*Stability theory, the study of the stability of solutions to differential equations and dynamical systems**Lyapunov stability**Structural stability*Stability of a point in geometric invariant theory....
and
progressProgress indicates generally forward moving and may refer to:-Science:*Progress , a main object of philosophy of history...
for the 21st century". Mohamed Khatami also has visited Venezuela on three occasions. During his 2005 visit, Chávez awarded him the
Orden del Libertador and called him a "tireless fighter for all the right causes in the world". In May 2006, Chávez expressed his favorable view of the production of nuclear energy in Iran announced by
Mahmoud AhmadinejadMahmoud Ahmadinejad is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country.An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the...
and denied that they had plans to develop atomic weapons. His relationship with Iran and his support of their nuclear program has created concern for the US administration.
Chavez paid a two-day visit to Iran, as Iran faced international criticism for its nuclear program and as a backer of the
HezbollahHezbollah is a Shi'a Islamist political and paramilitary organisation based in Lebanon. Hezbollah is now also a major provider of social services, which operate schools, hospitals, and agricultural services for thousands of Lebanese Shiites, and plays a significant force in Lebanese politics...
guerrillas against the Israeli Defence Forces. On Chávez's birthday (July 28), Iranian President
Mahmoud AhmadinejadMahmoud Ahmadinejad is the sixth and current President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the main political leader of the Alliance of Builders of Islamic Iran, a coalition of conservative political groups in the country.An engineer and teacher from a poor background, Ahmadinejad joined the...
presented Chavez with Iran's highest honor for "supporting
TehranTehran is the capital and largest city of Iran, and the administrative center of Tehran Province. Tehran is a sprawling city at the foot of the Tochal mountain range with an immense network of highways unparalleled in Western Asia...
in its nuclear standoff with the international community".
Chávez pledged that Venezuela would "stay by Iran at any time and under any condition." Ahmedinejad called Chávez a kindred spirit. "I feel I have met a brother and
trench-Agriculture:Trenches have long been used to carry water. Trenches can be used for draining purposes, leading water away from a swamp or wetland that is to be dried out. Likewise they can be used for irrigation purposes, directing water into dry areas...
mate after meeting Chavez." Chávez said he "admired the Iranian president for 'his wisdom and strength'," saying,
"We are with you and with Iran forever. As long as we remain united we will be able to defeat (U.S.)
imperialismImperialism, as defined by the dictionary of human geography, is “the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.” Imperialism, in many ways, is described...
, but if we are divided they will push us aside".
Reuters reported that Chávez told the crowd at Tehran University, "If the
US empireAmerican Empire is a controversial term referring to the political, economic, military and cultural influence of the United States. The concept of an American Empire was first popularized in the aftermath of the Spanish-American War of 1898...
succeeds in consolidating its dominance, then the humankind has no future. Therefore, we have to save the humankind and put an end to the US empire". The reports adds that Chávez strongly criticised
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
and labeled the 2006 Lebanon war offensive as "fascist and terrorist." Decorating Chávez with the "Higher Medal of the Islamic Republic of Iran", Ahmadinejad said, "Mr. Chávez is my brother, he is a friend of the Iranian nation and the people seeking freedom around the world. He works perpetually against the dominant system. He is a worker of
GodGod is a deity in theistic and deistic religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
and servant of the people."
At a time when Venezuela and Russia were working on nuclear cooperation, the Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Mohammad-Mehdi Zahedi, headed a delegation to Caracas to hold talks with high-ranking officials in order to follow up on implementation of agreements which had been inked between the two countries in 2006. Additionally, two technical and educational committees for implementing Iran-Venezuela agreements were also set up. The Iranian delegation visited the Venezuelan Foundation for Seismological Research, Caracas Central University, Simon Bolivar University, and the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research. As of the end of 2008, Iran's beneficence to Venezuela had paid dividends in the form of an Iranian ammunition factory, a car assembly plant, a cement factory and even direct air service between Tehran, Damascus and Caracas courtesy of Iran Air, amongst others. Beyond the political-military sphere the two countries also pledged to work together academically in the commissioning of a new university programme at the existing, tuition-free Bolivarian University, with a focus on teaching socialist principles and to promote discussion of "
21st century socialismSocialism of the 21st century is a political term and a slogan coined by Heinz Dieterich in 1996. It was used by Hugo Chávez during a speech at the World Social Forum of 2005 and it has been publicised actively by Dieterich worldwide since 2000, especially in Latin America.-Bolivarian...
." The government of Venezuela said this followed with plans to establish the University of Civilizations under accords recently signed with Iran.
Israel
On August 3, 2006 Chávez ordered the Venezuelan
chargé d'affairesIn diplomacy, chargé d’affaires , often shortened to simply chargé, is the title of two classes of diplomatic agents who head a diplomatic mission on a temporary basis.-Chargés d’affaires:...
to
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
to return from
Tel AvivTel Aviv-Yafo , usually called Tel Aviv, is the second largest city in Israel, with an estimated population of 391,300. The city is situated on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline, with a land area of...
to Venezuela, protesting the
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflictThe 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel-Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War , was a 34-day military conflict in Lebanon and northern Israel. The principal parties were Hezbollah paramilitary forces and the Israeli military...
. Israel responded by recalling its Israeli ambassador to Venezuela. Chávez responded with statements comparing Israel to Hitler and describing their actions as a "new Holocaust", and blamed the United States for their involvement.
In an interview with the
news agencyA news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to organizations in the news trade: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is...
Al JazeeraAl Jazeera , which means "The Island" or "The Peninsula" in Arabic, referring to the network's status as the only independent news network in the Middle East, is a television network headquartered in Doha, Qatar...
in
DubaiDubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous state of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate...
in the
United Arab EmiratesThe United Arab Emirates is a federation of seven emirates situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman and Saudi Arabia. The UAE consists of seven states, termed emirates, which are Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras...
, Chávez made the first of two controversial statements regarding Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, saying, "They are doing what Hitler did against the Jews."
Two days later, on his Sunday radio program,
Hello, President, he said Israel had "gone mad and is inflicting on the
people of PalestineThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
and
LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
the same thing they have criticized, and with reason: the Holocaust. But this is a new Holocaust" with the help of the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, which he described as a terrorist country. He went on to say that the United States refuses "to allow the
[U.N.] Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
to make a decision to halt the
genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
Israel is committing against the
PalestinianThe Palestinian people, also referred to as Palestinians or Palestinian Arabs , are an Arabic-speaking people with family origins in Palestine...
and Lebanese people."
Predictably, accusations of
anti-semitismAntisemitism is prejudice against or hostility towards Jews, often rooted in hatred of their ethnic background, culture, or religion....
have been leveled against Chavez because of these comments, despite them being directed at the state of Israel's policies rather than Jews as a people. The US-based
Anti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States of America. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and...
wrote a letter to Chávez, asking him to consider how his statements might affect Venezuela, and the southern area director of the ADL played down the parallels between Israel and
Nazi GermanyNazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany between 1933 and 1945, while it was led by Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Worker's Party . The name Third Reich refers to the state as the successor to the Holy Roman Empire of the Middle Ages and the German...
highlighted by Chavez, accusing him of "distorting history and torturing the truth, as he has done in this case, it is a dangerous exercise which echoes classic anti-Semitic themes."
The president of the Miami-based right-wing
Independent Venezuelan-American Citizens, said "That's what you expect from someone who surrounds himself with the dregs of the world. He seeks out terrorists and
dictatorA dictator is a ruler who assumes sole and absolute power with military control but, without hereditary ascension such as an absolute monarch. When other states call the head of state of a particular state a dictator, that state is called a dictatorship...
s. It's predictable that he wouldn't defend a democratic country like Israel." Jewish-Venezuelan community leaders in Caracas told
El Nuevo Herald that Chávez's statements have created a situation of "fear and discomfort... The president is not the president of a single group but of Venezuelan Jews as well." The
Federation of Israeli Associations of Venezuela condemned what they claimed were "attempts to trivialize the Holocaust, the premeditated and systematic extermination of millions of human beings solely because they were Jews ... by comparing it with the current war actions."
However, Israel's critics have hailed Chávez's actions. The vice-chairman of Hezbollah's political council, Mahmoud Komati, called his actions an example for "revolutionaries", and left-wing British
MPA Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a parliament. In many countries the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a unique title, such as senate, and thus also have unique titles for its members, such as senators. Members of...
George GallowayGeorge Galloway is a British politician, author and broadcaster, who has been a Member of Parliament since 1987, and is particularly known for his anti-war views...
said that Chávez was a "real leader of the Arab people."
Currently, in the wake of the
2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflictThe Gaza War was a three-week conflict between Israel and the Gaza Strip that took place during the winter of 2008–2009. It began on December 27, 2008, when Israeli forces launched a military attack, codenamed Operation Cast Lead , on the Gaza Strip...
, Venezuela has broken all diplomatic ties with the state of Israel; condeming its actions. On April 27, 2009, Venezuelan foreign minister
Nicolas Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros is a Venezuelan politician who was appointed foreign minister by President Hugo Chávez on 9 August 2006.- Biography :...
met with
Palestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian National Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip....
foreign affairs minister
Riyad al-MalikiRiad Al-Malki is former Minister of Information, Government Spokesperson, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian National Authority in its 12th Government, and resumed office as Foreign Affairs Minister in the current 13th Government....
in Caracas, where formal diplomatic relations were established between the two.
Taiwan
Relations with
TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
, which Venezuela holds no diplomatic relations with, have become strained because of the increasing partnership between the government of Hugo Chávez and the
People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
, affecting Taiwanese businesses and citizens. In 2007 the Venezuelan government decided not to renew visas for five members of Taiwanese commercial representation in Caracas.
China
When Hugo Chavez came to power, trade with China had peaked under $200mn but since then it has jumped to nearly $10bn. Chinese officials say that Venezuela has now become the biggest recipient of its investments in Latin America. Venezuela has also embarked on a programme of cultural and scientific exchange with China.
In 2008 the governments of Venezuela and the People's Republic of China launched their first joint space satellite, named
Venesat-1Venesat-1, also known as Simón Bolívar, is the first Venezuelan satellite. It was designed, built, launched, controlled and monitored by the CGWIC subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation. It is a communications satellite, which will be operated from a geosynchronous orbit...
. Venezuela's leader
Hugo ChavezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation...
said the satellite would be a tool of integration for
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
and the
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
regions by saying "This satellite is not for us but for the people of Latin America and the Caribbean. It is a further step towards independence," he said, adding that the project would break the mold of "technological illiteracy." In September 2008, Chavez visited PR China where he declared himself to be a "Maoist" and touted what he said was Chinese support to counter U.S. domination of world affairs. He also got China to jointly build oil tankers and help Venezuela build a refinery to process heavy crude oil in Venezuela. He similarly hailed China's plans to launch a telecommunications satellite for Venezuela (Venesat-1) on November 1, 2008. While he also established military-technological ties with the acquisition of two squadrons (24) of Chinese-built Karakorum-8 trainer jets and ground radars, signalling a greater Chinese involvement in Latin America. Further trade agreements worth $12bn were signed in February 2009, and Venezuela's first cell phone factory, built with Chinese support, was inaugurated.
In 2009, China entered into a partnership with Venezuela to launch a railway company in Venezuela which will be 40% controlled by the China Railways Engineering Corporation (CREC) and the remainder by Venezuela. Venezuela outlined the role of the venture as one which would link Venezuela's oil producing regions and agricultural farming areas
Oil exports to China are set to increase substantially. In September 2008 Venezuela signed a series of energy co-operation deals with China with the President of Venezuela stating that oil exports could rise threefold by 2012, to one million barrels a day. In February 2009 Venezuela and China agreed to double their joint investment fund to $12 billion and signed agreements to boost co-operation which include increasing oil exports from Venezuela, China's fourth biggest oil provider. An oil refinery is planned be built in China to handle Venezuelan heavy crude from the Orinoco basin. "It is part of a strategic alliance" Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said, after meeting the visiting Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping who stated that "our co-operation is highly beneficial". In September 2009 Venezuela announced a new $16bn deal with China to drill for oil in a joint venture with PDVSA to produce 450,000 barrels a day of extra heavy crude. Hugo Chavez stated that "In addition, there will be a flood of technology into the country, with China going to build drilling platforms, oil rigs, railroads, houses."
Vietnam
Vietnam and Venezuela set up diplomatic ties in 1989. Since 2006 Vietnam has had an embassy in
CaracasCaracas is the capital and largest city of Venezuela. It is located in the north of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range . The valley's temperatures are springlike. Terrain suitable for building lies between 760 and 910 m above...
and Venezuela an embassy in
HanoiHanoi , estimated population 6.232.940 , is the capital and second-largest city of Vietnam. From 1010 until 1802, with a few brief interruptions, it was the political centre of an independent Vietnam. It was eclipsed by Huế during the Nguyen Dynasty as the capital of Vietnam, but Hanoi served as...
. Though bilateral trade was $11.7 million in 2007 relations show "great potential". Over the past ten years, the two countries have witnessed new developments in various fields, including politics, economics, culture and society, particularly in the oil and gas industry.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez visited Vietnam in 2006 and since then his government has stepped up bilateral relations with the country, which also included receiving the Communist Party General Secretary, Nong Duc Manh in 2007. Petroleos de Venezuela and
PetroVietnamPetrovietnam is the trading name of Vietnam Oil and Gas Group . Petro Vietnam has developed rapidly since it was established in 1977, and its activities, through its various companies and wholly owned subsidiaries, now cover all the operations from oil and gas exploration and production to...
also announced a number of joint projects following the 2006 visit, including PetroVietnam being given a concession in the
OrinocoThe Orinoco is one of the longest rivers in South America at 2,140 km, . Its drainage basin, sometimes called the Orinoquia covers 880,000 km², 76.3% in Venezuela with the rest in Colombia. The Orinoco and its tributaries are the major transportation system for eastern and interior Venezuela...
basin and an agreement to transport Venezuelan oil to Vietnam, where the two would together build an oil refinery that Vietnam lacks. On the 2006 visit Chavez praised Vietnam's revolutionary history as he attacked the United States for its "imperialist" crimes in the
Vietnam WarThe Vietnam War or the Second Indochina War was a Cold War military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1959 to 30 April 1975...
. On the 2008 visit Triet returned similar comments as he lauded a group of Venezuelans who captured a US soldier during the Vietnam war in an unsuccessful bid to prevent the execution of a Vietnamese revolutionary. The two leaders also signed a deal for a $200 million joint fund and 15 cooperation projects.
Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet arrived in Caracas on November 18 2008 for a two-day official visit on an invitation from Chavez. Triet hailed Vietnam's friendship with Venezuela as he sought to focus on tieing up oil and gas deals, including a joint development fund. He said that "We (Vietnamese) are grateful for the support and solidarity that they (Venezuelans) have offered us until now." Triet said.
In March 2008 an agreement was signed to cooperate in tourism between Vietnam and Venezuela. President Nguyen Minh Triet received the PDVSA’s Vice President Asdrubal Chavez and stated that oil and gas cooperation would become a typical example of their multi-faceted cooperation. In 2009 the Venezuelan government approved $46.5 million for a agricultural development project with Vietnam.
Libya
President Chávez's first trip to
LibyaLibya , officially the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya , is a country located in North Africa...
occurred in 2001 after a personal invitation he received in 1999 by
Muammar al-GaddafiMuammar Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi
1 has been the de facto leader of Libya since a coup in 1969....
. During this short visit, they discussed the international situation, declining oil prices, and
OPECThe Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...
production levels. Felipe Mujica, leader of the opposition party
MASThe Movement for Socialism is a social-democratic political party in Venezuela. MAS was founded in 1971 by a faction of the Communist Party of Venezuela that opposed the Communist Party's use of armed tactics. . Initially led by Teodoro Petkoff, its first congress was held on January 14, 1971...
, accused Chávez of not reporting his trip to Libya and hiding it under a tour of
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
and
AfricaAfrica is the world's second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area. With a billion people in 61 territories, it accounts for about 14.8% of the...
. In 2004, Muammar al-Gaddafi awarded Chávez in the city of
TripoliTripoli is the largest and capital city of Libya.Tripoli has a population of 1.69 million...
the "
Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human RightsThe Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights is an annual prize founded by and named after Libyan leader Muammar al-Gaddafi. It was established by its namesake along with Swiss globalisation critic Jean Ziegler....
" and Chávez called him a "friend and brother", affirming they "shared the same social view". In 2006, during Chávez's third visit, the leaders signed a general treaty of economical and cultural cooperation, and Chávez called for a mutual union against "American
hegemonyHegemony is the preponderance of power, and the construction of consent from the powerless through cultural values.-In politics:...
". Venezuela's former ambassador to Libya, Julio César Pineda, said in 2003 that Chávez was "coordinating an anti-American strategy with terrorist states" following his visit to Libya. Libya has been recently moving to repair ties with the United States (by offering compensations for the
Lockerbie bombingPan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Wednesday 21 December 1988, the aircraft flying this route—a Boeing 747-121 named Clipper Maid of the Seas—was...
, etc.) at a time that Chávez is setting himself up as South America's leading opponent of the Bush administration.
Madagascar
Venezuela and Madagascar established diplomatic ties on November 17, 2008 in a ceremony presided over by Reinaldo Bolivar, Venezuela's vice foreign minister for Africa, and Zina Adrianarivelo-Razifi, Madagascar's ambassador to Venezuela. The two officials signed legally sanctioned the move by signing a joint communique in Caracas. Bolivar said that until 1998, the Venezuelan government had not made an effort to approach African countries, though, since May 2005, Venezuela had started to take the prerogative to deepen political and diplomatic measures with the African continent. In this Venezuela added eleven embassies to the seven that had already existed in Africa. Razafi touched on the common themes Venezuela has made with other newer partners, namely that both suffered colonization and possess similarities in geography and history, as well as the possession of mineral and agriculture resources.
Zimbabwe
In 2008, Venezuela and Zimbabwe signed a cooperation deal to strengthen ties in energy, agriculture, economic, social affairs and culture. Venezuela's Deputy Foreign Minister for Africa, Reinaldo Bolivar, said "These agreements reinforce and strengthen relations between the two countries, south-south cooperation and the opportunity to grow and advance together. Zimbabwe is a country with excellent natural resources and very rich in minerals." The Zimbabwean signatory, Zimbabwe's Ambassador to Brazil, Thomas Bevuma, added support in saying that "Venezuela provides great assistance to our country through donations made through the World Food Program."
Border disputes
Venezuela has longstanding border disputes with
ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
and
GuyanaGuyana officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana and previously known as British Guiana, is a state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean.Guyana was discovered in 1498 by the Europeans,Guyana's past is punctuated by battles fought and won,...
but seeks to resolve them peacefully. Bilateral commissions have been established by Venezuela and Colombia to address a range of pending issues, including resolution of the maritime boundary in the
Gulf of VenezuelaThe Gulf of Venezuela or gulf of Coquivacoa is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and the Colombian department of Guajira...
. Relations with Guyana are complicated by Venezuela's claim to roughly three-quarters of Guyana's territory. Since 1987 , the two countries have held exchanges on the boundary under the "good offices" of the United Nations. The most pressing dispute involves Venezuela's claim to all of Guyana west of the
Essequibo RiverThe Essequibo River is the longest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil-Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,010 km through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean.-Geography:There are countless...
; a maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the
Gulf of VenezuelaThe Gulf of Venezuela or gulf of Coquivacoa is a gulf of the Caribbean Sea bounded by the Venezuelan states of Zulia and Falcón and the Colombian department of Guajira...
is less of a priority. The Chávez administration was making moves to normalize these situations by moving towards repudiating Venezuela's outstanding territorial claims, but has said it will now review this process after the
government of ColombiaThe Government of Colombia is according to the Colombian Constitution of 1991 within the framework of a presidential welfare state and unitary republic, led by the President of Colombia. The President is also the head the executive branch of power, which along the legislative branch, judicial...
announced it was considering allowing the US military to build a base on disputed territory near the current Venezuelan border.
2005 UN World Summit
At the 2005 UN World Summit, Chávez on September 15 mocked and denounced the neoliberal model of
globalizationGlobalization describes an ongoing process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become integrated through a globe-spanning network of communication and exchange....
promulgated by the
Washington ConsensusThe term Washington Consensus was initially coined in 1989 by John Williamson to describe a set of ten specific economic policy prescriptions that he considered should constitute the "standard" reform package promoted for crisis-wracked developing countries by Washington, DC-based institutions such...
as a fundamentally fraudulent and malicious scheme. Referring to such arrangements as
Free Trade Area of the AmericasThe Free Trade Area of the Americas was a proposed agreement to eliminate or reduce the trade barriers among all countries in the Americas but Cuba. In the last round of negotiations, trade ministers from 34 nations met in Miami, Florida, United States, in November 2003 to discuss the proposal...
,
Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade AgreementThe Dominican Republic – Central America Free Trade Agreement, commonly called DR-CAFTA, is a free trade agreement . Originally, the agreement encompassed the United States and the Central American countries of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, and was called CAFTA...
, and the
North American Free Trade Agreement
, Chávez stated that such
"market-oriented policies, open marketIn economics, the open market is the term used to refer to the environment in which bonds are bought and sold between a central bank & its regulated banks. It is not a free market process....
policies" were and continue to be ... the fundamental cause of the great evils and the great tragedies currently suffered by the Third WorldThe term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned or neutral with either capitalism and NATO or communism and the Soviet Union...
".
Chávez went on to contrast the overwhelming hunger,
diseaseA disease or medical condition isan abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and signs...
, and poverty of many capitalist Third World countries that institute Washington Consensus policies —
e.g. the
PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
,
El SalvadorEl Salvador is the smallest and most densely populated country in Central America. It borders the Pacific Ocean between Guatemala and Honduras. It lies on the Gulf of Fonseca, as does Nicaragua further south. It has a population of approximately 5.7 million people as of 2009 on...
,
HondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was formerly known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras...
— with the results garnered over the last six years of his administration's democratic socialist policies:
One million four hundred and six thousand Venezuelans learned to read and write. We are 25 million total … And three million Venezuelans, who had always been excluded because of poverty, are now part of primary, secondary and higher studiesEducation in its broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual...
.
Chávez also listed the accomplishments of his social welfare programs:
Seventeen million Venezuelans — almost 70% of the population — are receiving, and for the first time, universal healthcare, including the medicineMedicine is the art and science of healing. It encompasses a range of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
… More than 1,700 tons of food are channeled to over 12 million people at subsidized prices, almost half the population. One million gets them completely free, as they are in a transition period.
Chávez summarily denounced the global status quo as a mortal threat to
humanityThe term world population commonly refers to the total number of living humans on Earth at a given time. As of , the Earth's population is estimated by the United States Census Bureau to be billion. The world population has been growing continuously since the end of the Black Death around 1400...
, demanding that a new approach be taken towards satisfying the UN
Millennium Development GoalsThe Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that 192 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
. He also stated that both
global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
and imminent
hydrocarbon depletionPeak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. The concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, and the combined production rate of a field of related oil wells...
were also fundamentally threatening mankind's wellbeing. His speech concluded to loud applause and raucous cheering from attending delegates. On the same trip, he also visited
the Bronx