Simon Bolivar's Latin America.

[TsarSamuil]

;D

Latin America unites in new bloc, US not invited.

Timur Zolotoev, RT
4 December, 2011, 09:58



Thirty-three Latin American leaders have come together and formed a new regional bloc, pledging closer economic and political ties. The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) pointedly excludes the US and Canada.

On the second day of a summit in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, all Latin American leaders, both right and left, officially signed into effect the formation of the CELAC bloc. The foundation of the bloc has been praised as the realization of the two-centuries-old idea of Latin American “independence” envisioned by Simon Bolivar.

Analysts view CELAC as an alternative to the Washington-based Organization of American States (OAS) and as an attempt by Latin American countries to reduce US influence in the region.

“As the years go by, CELAC is going to leave behind the old and worn-out OAS,” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said at the inauguration of the bloc on Friday.

“It's the death sentence for the Monroe Doctrine,” said Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega said.

However Washington does not see CELAC as a replacement to OAS. US Department of State spokesman Mark Toner said the US will continue “to work through the OAS as the pre-eminent multilateral organization, speaking for the hemisphere.”

Political analyst Omar Jose Hassan Farinas told RT’s Spanish channel the US views CELAC as a potential threat to its hegemony in the region.

Chavez also read out statement opposing the US trade embargo on Cuba. Havana, which is not a member of the OAS, has joined the new regional bloc.

“No more interference. Enough is enough! We have to take shape as a center of the world power and demand respect for all of us as community and for each one of our countries,” Venezuelan leader said.

The 33 leaders pledged to withstand the financial crisis that has struck Europe and other developed countries.

Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff stressed that the Latin American countries would need to rely more on their neighbors amid the global economic turmoil.

“The economic, financial crisis should be at the center of our concerns,” Rousseff said Friday night. She said Latin America should “realize that to guarantee its current cycle of development despite the international economic turbulence, it means that every politician must be aware that each one needs the others.”

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, who assumed the initial rotating presidency at CELAC, expressed hopes that the bloc would help build regional cooperation despite the differences between some of the 33 member states.

The leaders also discussed cooperation in the field of drug trafficking and climate change.

CELAC should be a “political union to build a large power center of the 21st century,” the Venezuelan president said, stressing strong regional growth as many countries in the region develop closer ties with Asia or Europe and reduce their traditional reliance on the US.

The formation of CELAC was warmly welcomed by rising global power, China. Chavez read aloud a letter from Chinese President Hu Jintao congratulating the leaders on forming the new bloc.

Hu pledged to deepen cooperation with the CELAC and underlined that in the 21st century the relations between China and Latin America have seen all-round and fast development with expansion of mutually beneficial cooperation, according to Xinhua news agency.

The countries of CELAC have a combined population of nearly 600 million people, and a combined GDP of about US$6 trillion – about a third of the combined output of the US and Canada.


Ecuador's President Rafael Correa, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, Bolivia's President Evo Morales, Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and Cuban President Raul Castro (From Lto R, first row) pose for the family picture of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit on December 2, 2011 in Caracas (AFP Photo / LEO RAMIREZ) / AFP

[boroslav]

Excellent.

[TsarSamuil]

Chavez mulls over U.S. cancer plot.

Tanjug
World | Thursday 29.12.2011 | 14:33

CARACAS -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has questioned whether the U.S. has developed a secret technology to give cancer to left-wing leaders in Latin America.

Would it be strange if they had developed the technology to induce cancer and nobody knew about it?" Chavez asked in a televised speech to soldiers at an army base, the BBC has reported.

Treated for cancer this year, Chavez broached the subject a day after news that Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner had thyroid cancer.

“We will live and we will conquer!" he told her.

The 58-year-old Argentine president is due to have an operation on January 4, but doctors say her prognosis is very good. She will transfer the presidential power to her deputy for the next 20 days.

Aside from Venezuelan and Argentine presidents, Paraguay’s President Fernando Lugo, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her predecessor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva have been diagnosed with cancer, the BBC reports.

Chavez, who is 57, has often accused the U.S. of plotting to overthrow or even kill him.

Lula and Chavez previously joked that they would hold a summit of Latin American leaders who had beaten cancer.

Fernandez has now said that she will insist on being the "honorary president" of the summit of cancer survivors.

[boroslav]

I could imagine that he has a point there.

[TsarSamuil]

Vid,
rt.com/news/hugo-chavez-charity-venezuela-435/

Hugo Chavez: Warming Americans’ hearts.

RT.com
10 January, 2012, 10:32

Hugo Chavez is one of leaders Washington most likes to paint as an enemy of America, but contrary to this logic, there are thousands in the US who have warm feelings for the flamboyant Venezuelan leader.

A winter’s morning in South Bronx, New York City. Outdoors the temperature is near freezing. Indoors, 77-year-old Alice Maiotis is bundled up, brewing a pot of coffee and raising the heat enough to take the chill out of the air. The retired grandmother of seven lives alone on a fixed income and each winter, as federal programs continue to be slashed, the struggle to afford warm comfort gets harder.

“I go around screaming and yelling,” the elderly lady says. “All they do is raise, raise, raise, raise and it is the same dollar you are getting, so how far can you push it? A hundred and fifty gallons of oil is right now about close to $600.”

However, Venezuela has been stepping in to make Alice’s life a bit easier by delivering 100 gallons of free heating oil each winter. She is a four-year beneficiary of the Citgo-Venezuela heating oil program, which provides free heating oil to 500,000 poor Americans living in low-income neighborhoods and shelters throughout the country.

President Hugo Chavez, often demonized by Washington, helped launch the program in 2005, following hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“All I know is that he was kind. He was kind to the people of the United States,” Alice says. “I am sure he rules differently, like Obama rules differently, and who are we to tell these people how they should live? Are they invading our country? They are not. They are being generous to give us what comes out of their earth, at no charge, so could you really have ill feelings against them? I am thankful for it. I really am.”

In an interview with a Venezuelan newspaper, America’s leader fell short of expressing similar sentiments of gratitude. In an interview with El Universal, President Barack Obama accused the Chavez government of restricting human rights and taking threatening steps against democratic values. The Venezuelan president did not mince words while recently responding to his us counterpart.

"You know what, Obama? I feel sorry for you,” Chavez said. “Just ask the black communities of your country what you mean to them. You are the greatest disappointment of recent years. Go ask the poor people of your country. You are a great disappointment to them.”

Chavez’s words echo the skepticism Alice Maiotis expressed to RT over the US politics. “It is time that we stop minding everyone else’s business and took business here,” she said. “We have children graduating from college with 80-, 90-, 100,000-dollar debts that they have to pay back. It is ruining them and they cannot get a job.”

And getting a job is a struggle that is getting that much harder in the “land of opportunity”.

[TsarSamuil]

Chavez says Venezuela has started making drones, assembling Kalashnikov rifles.

By Associated Press, Thursday, June 14, 2:33 AM

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday that Venezuela has begun to assemble Kalashnikov assault rifles with assistance from Russia and started producing surveillance drones.

Venezuela has spent billions of dollars for Russian arms and military aircraft since 2005, including 24 Sukhoi fighter jets, dozens of attack helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.

“We are a free and independent country,” Chavez said.

Army Gen. Julio Cesar Morales Prieto, president of Venezuela’s state-run arms producer, said 3,000 AK-103 assault rifles have been assembled since Venezuela and Russia signed the 2005 agreement for the construction of a Kalashnikov assembly factory.

The factory has begun production, but construction of the facility has not yet been completed, Morales Prieto said.

The factory eventually will have the capacity to produce 25,000 rifles annually.

Chavez, a former paratroop commander, said that Venezuela has also started making grenades, ammunition and surveillance drones for its military. Three drones has been built so far, he said.

“We do not have any intentions of attacking anybody,” he said. “These projects are for defense, for peace.”

One of Latin America’s most outspoken critics of U.S. President Barack Obama, Chavez has repeatedly warned that the United States could invade Venezuela to seize control of its immense oil reserves.

Chavez, whose anti-U.S. stance has been a defining feature of his 13-year presidency, has often used vehement condemnations of American “imperialism” to appeal his supporters’ nationalist sentiments.

Chavez’s political opponents have strongly criticized his government for spending billions of dollars to buy and produce weapons, saying the money should instead be used to build schools and infrastructure.

[TsarSamuil]

Americas bloc takes UK threats to Ecuador for international discussion.

RT.com
18 August, 2012, 02:20



British threats to invade Ecuador’s embassy will be discussed at international-level talks between the foreign ministers of the Organization of American States. The proposal was adopted despite the US saying OAS has nothing to do with the issue.

Ecuador’s resolution to convene a meeting of the OAS member nations' foreign ministers was adopted with 23 voting in favor, three against and five abstentions.

The US and Canada were among those who opposed the measure, stating that the dispute over Assange's fate is a bilateral matter between Ecuador and the United Kingdom, and should not be dragged to the international table.

The US State Department stated earlier on Friday that the OAS has “no role” to play in a “bilateral issue between Ecuador and the United Kingdom.” Not party to the 1954 OAS Convention on Diplomatic Asylum, the United States “does not recognize the concept of diplomatic asylum as a matter of international law,” the statement read.

The foreign ministers of the bloc's thirty-five member states will convene at the OAS Headquarters in Washington, DC, on August 24.

A special meeting of the Permanent Council of the Organization of American States was held on Thursday and Friday. The bloc discussed Ecuador’s proposal to arrange a ministerial meeting of the member states to address the issue as a matter of international law.

Ecuador called for an emergency OAS meeting after it received a memorandum from the UK that included a threat of an assault on the country’s London embassy to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who was seeking political asylum there, if he is not handed over to the British authorities. The contents of the letter were revealed the day before Ecuador publicly announced its decision to grant Assange political asylum.

While the UK maintains that it has a right to extract Assange from Ecuador’s embassy, the Latin American country says any entry by British authorities onto its ambassadorial premises to arrest Assange would constitute a violation of Article 22 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

The Russian Foreign Ministry also weighed in during a press conference on Friday: “The events cannot help but give cause to contemplate the observance of the spirit and letter of the Vienna convention, in particular article 22, which enshrines the immunity of diplomatic premises.”

The Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 1961 established protocols to ensure that international diplomats could perform their duties without fear of coercion. Both the UK and Ecuador ratified the convention.

“But there is a different question that arises. It is commonly known that many individuals suspected of committing grave crimes have found a haven in Great Britain, the release of whom has been demanded by several countries, including Russia. How then are we supposed to evaluate the rights of the fugitive Assange, when London turns the observation of those rights for such individuals into an absolute?” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

On Thursday, British Foreign Minister William Hague said that the UK "remains committed” to its obligation to extradite Assange to Sweden, and that the Ecuadorian government's decision will not change anything as Assange's diplomatic immunity is not recognized by the UK.

Ecuador promised to pursue all legal avenues, including an appeal to the International Criminal Court, if the UK refuses to grant Assange safe passage from the country.

But as long as London refuses to give him safe passage, Assange will stay at the Ecuadorian Embassy, the country’s president Rafael Correa said in a radio interview on Friday. Correa asserted that Ecuador won’t hand Assange over to the UK authorities as there is no legal basis for such demands.

In search of regional support, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino also called on the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our Americas (ALBA) to hold meetings with a similar agenda.

The ALBA countries responded to the call with a statement expressing their solidarity with Ecuador and a “most resounding rejection” of the UK's threats against the country. According to a press release published by Ecuador, the ALBA governments warned Britain of “the serious and irreversible consequences the execution of these threats would have on the political, economic and cultural relations” with its member countries.

The executive secretary of the ALBA, Rodolfo Sanz, confirmed that an emergency meeting on the issue would take place on Saturday. Sanz said the majority of ALBA member states support Ecuador and believe the UK authorities should recognize Assange's political asylum status in full accordance to the international law.

[TsarSamuil]

Chavez Warns UK against Storming Ecuador Embassy to Get Assange.

Novinite.com
World | August 21, 2012, Tuesday| 639 views

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has threatened the UK with radical measures in case British authorities attempt to storm the Embassy of Ecuador in order to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

Assange has been holed up in Ecuador's embassy in London for two months as he fights extradition to Sweden on sex crime charges, which he denies.

Last Thursday Assange was granted asylum in Ecuador but he still faces arrest the minute he steps out of the building of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

"If Britain decides to violate the sovereignty of Ecuador, our response will be radical. We advise the British government to think well over this since the epoch, when empires did whatever they wanted to, is long over," Chavez told a Venezuelan national TV, as cited by RIA Novosti.

The Venezuelan leader did not specify the nature of the measures that would be taken in response, but said they were already being prepared.

The world's most famous whistleblower is suspected of sexual assault against two women that allegedly took place in August 2010. He claims the sex was consensual and the accusations against him are politically motivated.

Assange fears that his arrest in the UK and extradition to Sweden might end up leading to his extradition to the USA where he might face a death penalty on espionage charges for leaking hundreds of thousands of secret US diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks since 2010.

[TsarSamuil]

Latin America, Caribbean unite to support Ecuador over Assange.

RT.com
25 August, 2012, 08:47

All the members of the Organization of American States, except for the US and Canada, have stated their solidarity and support of Ecuador’s decision to grant asylum to Julian Assange at a meeting of 35-member bloc in Washington.

Senior officials from all states of the Americas adopted a resolution of solidarity with Ecuador. They reaffirmed their “respect of sovereignty” and denounced “the use of forces in solving conflicts.”

All members approved the full text of the document except for Canada and the United States, which refused to express “solidarity” with Quito.

The meeting was called by Ecuador which stated that Britain had threatened to storm its embassy in London to arrest WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who had taken refuge there.

The final version of the resolution, however, did not include reference to the alleged UK threats due to objections from the United States, Canada, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and others.

Britain, which has observer status at the OAS, insisted it had made no such threats.

"I would like to state unequivocally at the outset that at no time has the British government made any threat against the embassy of Ecuador. Respect for and compliance with international law is at the heart of the foreign policy of the United Kingdom," Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Washington Philip Barton said.

During the debate Ecuadoran Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino condemned Britain for what he called an "assault on our sovereignty."

The United States did not vote against the resolution, but a US State Department representative once again urged the OAS to allow Ecuador, Sweden and the United Kingdom to resolve the matter among themselves.

"It involves matters of criminal justice, European law and the sovereign extradition arrangements between the United Kingdom and Sweden, two nations with very well-respected judicial systems," said US Department of State representative John D. Feeley.

Following the OAS meeting, Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa expressed his gratitude to the Latin American states that backed Quito in a televised address.

"We don't have anything other than words of gratitude to our brothers of Latin America, to their governments, their people for their overwhelming and decided support for the sovereign position of Ecuador, and the rejection of this explicit threat to enter an embassy and arrest a person granted diplomatic asylum," he said on Friday.

Earlier, the Ecuadorian president said in an exclusive interview with RT that “Once we granted asylum to Assange, he is under the protection of Ecuador, and we will do everything to make sure this protection is effective.”

[TsarSamuil]

Hmmm, RT in Spanish,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ae9TkJKlbrM

Chavez Names Successor Ahead of New Surgery.

MEXICO CITY, December 9 (RIA Novosti) – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced on national television late on Saturday he was flying to Cuba for a new cancer surgery and named Vice-President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro as his possible successor.

"If something were to happen that would incapacitate me in some way, in that situation, Nicolas Maduro should not just complete, as the constitution requires, the term, but my firm opinion, full like a full moon, absolute and total, is that in that situation that would require new presidential elections to convene, as the constitution requires, you should elect Nicolas Maduro as president," he said.

Chavez, 58, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, underwent three operations for cancer in the pelvic area and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within a year.

He said the recent tests had showed a return of some malignant cells in the area where tumors were previously removed.

Chavez, who was reelected for another six-year presidential term in October, said the swelling and pain he felt were due to the strain during the election campaign and the radiation therapy treatment, adding a new surgery was vital and an illness like this always carried risk.

[TsarSamuil]

Chavez Has Months to Live - Doctor.

MEXICO CITY, December 11 (RIA Novosti) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has just months to live, a Venezuelan doctor said on Tuesday.

Venezuelan doctor Jose Rafael Marquina, who is based in the United States and is known for his accurate prognoses on Chavez’s health, told RCN radio that Chavez has "between two and three months to live."

“The disease has entered an aggressive stage. He has metastases in the lumbar area, compressing nerves around the lumbar area of his backbone, which may lead to paralysis,” said Marquina, who claims to have access to firsthand sources and information about the president’s health.

Chavez announced on national television late on Saturday that he was flying to Cuba for new cancer surgery, and named Vice-President and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro as his possible successor.

Chavez, 58, who has ruled Venezuela for 13 years, underwent three operations for cancer and four courses of chemotherapy in Cuba and Venezuela within a year.

He said that recent tests had revealed malignant cells. Chavez, who was reelected for another six-year presidential term in October, said the pain he felt were due to strain during the election campaign and radiation therapy treatment, adding that surgery was vital, and an illness like this always carried risk.

[TsarSamuil]

Phew...

------

Chavez cancer surgery successful: vice president.

AFP Dec 12, 2012



Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is recovering after a successful cancer operation at a Cuban hospital, according to his vice president.

[TsarSamuil]

Ecuadorian president warns of possible 'CIA attack' before elections.

RT.com
6 January, 2013, 15:31



Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa has said the CIA may try to kill him prior to upcoming elections. Citing reports of a plot to “destabilize the region,” Correa said the threats were “credible,” given the history of US involvement in Latin America.

Correa alluded to reports by Chilean journalist Patricio Mery Bell, who allegedly passed on information to the Ecuadorian government that President Correa’s life was “under threat” by a CIA plot.

“There are many cases of [the CIA] interfering” in Latin American affairs, Correa said during a campaign tour in the coastal province of Guayas. “These are credible [reports] because this has happened before in Latin America.”

The head of the US diplomatic mission in Quito, Adam Nann, responded to Bell's claims by saying that Washington “would never get involved” in Ecuador's electoral process.

Although Correa conceded that he believed the statements of the US ambassador, he warned that agencies such as the CIA often follow their own agenda and maintain links with organizations representing the extreme right in the countries in which they operate.

Bell first voiced his concerns for the safety of President Correa three months ago when he released a report claiming the CIA sought to “destabilize” Ecuador. He said that the threat to Correa’s life would be at its height from January 15 and onwards, as Correa applies to run for another presidential term.

“We will have to be three times more vigilant with President Correa,” Bell said in an interview with publication El Ciudadano. Bell maintained that although he was not a staunch supporter of Correa, it was his duty as a Latin American citizen to warn of the alleged $88-million CIA plot to destabilize the Ecuadorian government.

The journalist believes that this money will be divided amongst extremist anarchist, leftist and hardline conservative groups, in the hopes of discrediting Correas.

Bell claimed in his report that the main motives behind the CIA plot were the closing of the US Manta military base, hailed as a victory for Ecuadorian national sovereignty, and the granting of asylum to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

President Correa is often described as echoing the policies of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, especially in anti-US rhetoric. The 49-year-old economist has reduced poverty and increased stability and the overall standard of living in Ecuador during his presidency, winning popularity amongst the country’s poorest as well as the educated middle class.

Correa will run for reelection against six other candidates when campaigning begins on January 15. Ecuadorians will vote for the next president and vice president on Sunday, February 17.

[TsarSamuil]

Vid,
rt.com/news/interview-maduro-chavez-venezuela-716/

‘US should realize that world has changed’ – Venezuelan VP (RT Exclusive)

RT.com
25 January, 2013, 10:30

The US has lots of troubles dealing with other nations as they haven’t come to grips with the new global reality, Venezuelan Vice-President Nicolas Maduro told RT in an exclusive interview. He also spoke about the health of President Chavez.

Speaking to RT Spanish host Eva Golinger in Caracas, Nicolas Maduro shared his views on the political and economic future of Venezuela and Latin America’s fight for independence.

Eva Golinger: We would like to ask you a question that’s on everybody’s mind: how is President Chavez doing? Do you have an update on his present condition? Will he be coming back to Venezuela soon?

Nicolas Ìaduro: We’ve already said that President Chavez’s recuperation period is almost over. It has been a long and difficult process. The president was aware of the odds all the way, but his vigor and energy are simply amazing. The surgery was a very difficult. President Chavez suffered internal bleeding, which was a very alarming sign. I should say that Comandante Fidel Castro and his team were with Chavez and his relatives the whole time. We are very grateful for that. For the concern on the part of Comandante Castro, Cuban President Raul Castro, and the doctors.

Now President Chavez feels better than at any other time during his recuperation. I’m flying to Havana to visit the President soon. He will give me necessary instructions and messages to be announced at the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. So you could say that President Chavez is in the fight.

EG: Is there any hope that he may return to Venezuela any time soon?

NM: We remain optimistic, but there are too many factors at play. We need to talk to the doctors and President Chavez himself to choose the best moment. As we have repeatedly told Mr. Chavez, and the Venezuelan people know it well, the most important thing now is his recovery. Everybody knows how President Chavez has invested all his efforts and energy into his country, into fighting for the independence of Latin America, how he has persevered in his anti-imperialist struggle for social justice worldwide. It was President Chavez who went vocal about global warming, so that everyone could find out the truth. It was he who championed the struggle against global plunder and the neoliberal policies that are killing Europe.

It was President Chavez who adamantly raised the banner of protecting the Palestinian people, when they were attacked. When so many in the Arab world chose to keep silent out of fear, President Chavez raised that banner and the Arab people cheered him.

So President Chavez was at the helm of great campaigns for the sake of humanity, and today his role in the world is recognized by millions. Here’s why this RT interview is so important for all the viewers in the US, Russia and across the world: we know we are speaking to the hearts of millions on the planet, those who believe in President Chavez, admire him, follow him and love him deeply.

We tell them that the president is fighting the illness; that we, his people, are waiting here for him to come back soon. And one day that will definitely happen.

EG: Speaking of struggle, there is another question I want to ask you. Over the last few days, there has been talk of restoring the relations between Venezuela and the United States, and there has already been a kind of negotiation on the subject between the two governments.

NM: The US is, in fact, an empire that was established as a union of 13 independent colonies located on North America’s East coast. Throughout the 19th century, this nation expanded its territory, asserted its military might and imposed its policies and its trade on neighboring countries, and in the 20th century, it emerged as a global superpower. Ever since the Bolivarian era the US has looked down on Latin America and the Caribbean as its backyard. But President Chavez and the Bolivarian Revolutionary Movement expect that, sooner rather than later, the elite that run that mighty empire will find themselves forced to recognize our region’s independence and respect our leaders.

This is absolutely inevitable. Yet it’s not that they will do us a favor and grant us independence, like we are a former colony of theirs, but as a result of our own efforts. Today, the nations of Latin America and the Caribbean are winning independence once more, just as they did back in the 19th century. In Venezuela, we run our own country, thanks to Hugo Chavez and the victorious people’s revolution. And in tune with the other nations of our continent, our government has conveyed a message to President Obama on behalf of President Chavez during a recent ministerial meeting, saying that we wouldn’t mind improving our relations with the US and restoring mutual respect between our nations as far as possible.

But whenever we would attempt a rapprochement with the Obama administration, we would always face sabotage from the conservatives who build the core of the US military-industrial and media complex, which oppressively controls the entire nation, the same way as it oppresses the rest of the world.

That said, we wouldn’t mind restoring a fully functional relationship with the US based on mutual respect. If it eventually works out, we would be happy with that. But we will not be dominated.

The US is the only country in the world that has that much trouble dealing with other nations, because they haven’t come to grips with the new global reality yet. But they will have to soon. We have been telling them for years, and it’s time they should realize that the world has changed, and they can no longer dominate through air strikes and intimidation.

EG: Mr. Vice-President, not long ago President Chavez appointed a new foreign minister, but you held this position for six years. What are the priorities of Venezuela’s foreign policy now?

NÌ: President Chavez has drafted a program that we are calling Our Homeland’s Plan for 2013-2019. It lists five main strategic, or long-term, goals, which are: building a true democracy in Venezuela, achieving independence and establishing a new socialism. The fourth strategic goal has an international dimension. It reflects the vision of Simon Bolivar. He talked about balance in the world, about the need for Latin American countries, which gained independence from Spanish control 200 years ago, to present a strong united front. He wanted our states to create a union that would make aggressive empires with big military clout that dominated in the international arena back then respect our region and our right to development.

President Chavez revived this doctrine and turned it into our foreign policy. It’s very easy to explain. The fourth strategic goal is: to facilitate the creation of a multi-polar world in which there will be no domineering empires. In terms of our region, it means that we need to strengthen the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) and Petrocaribe. These institutions help forge new economic and social models of cooperation and development in our region. We also aim to strengthen the Union of South American Nations – UNASUR – and promote the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (SELAC) that has been set up. It was Bolivar’s dream, and we brought it to life here in Caracas in December 2011.

Internationally, we need to bolster our strategic alliances with the countries that play a key role both locally and globally, in this new multi-polar world that is emerging. So the strategic alliance between our region and Russia, China and India is growing stronger thanks to our active interaction and through economic and political projects with BRICS. We are convinced there are a lot of opportunities to create a new world order, which will be the result of a continuous and arduous struggle against imperialistic views and concepts in world politics.

EG: And now could you tell us a little bit about your domestic policies? The new administration has just got down to work in its 2013-2019 term. What issues are still outstanding?

NM: In the social sector we need to continue our fight against poverty. It’s our curse, a painful legacy of the 500 years under foreign oppression. We should not forget about all that destruction that colonial empires had brought to our land. I am talking about Venezuela specifically. This was a difficult burden that our country had to carry throughout the whole 19th century. Then our region suffered from North American hegemony. Venezuela became an oil rig to them, an oil colony. They destroyed the natural economic foundations that our republic enjoyed in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Our specialty was food production, we had rich agricultural traditions. We were also influenced by the military dictatorship, established in our country by US transnational corporations, the so-called Bermuda Companies. So they basically implemented an oil-dependent model by establishing the military dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez. This has set a course for the whole 20th century. The second half of the 20th century was plagued by terrible corruption, our oil resources were misappropriated. Poverty was at 80 per cent. The goal of our revolution is to bring this number down to zero. This is one of the goals set by Comandante Chavez, our president, for the next six years. And we’ll get it done. We have already brought down the poverty level from 27per cent to 7 per cent.

A large number of our people are still below the poverty line, but we are working on solving this problem. For example, we are implementing a new education plan. Good education, that is also free, is one of the major achievements of the Bolivarian government. We are also implementing reforms for such areas as healthcare, food security and employment. We keep an eye on the wage levels of the working people. By the end of 2012, unemployment dropped from between 20 and 25 per cent to 5 per cent. We have achieved a lot in the social care sector. While in Europe unemployment is at 20-25 per cent and governments cut pensions and salaries, our 21st century revolution is helping us to establish a social model that allows the Venezuelan people to build their own country.

EG: Back in December, prior to his latest surgery, President Chavez explicitly announced that you would be his successor in case he can’t remain in office and at the helm of the Bolivarian Revolution any longer. How would you describe the personality of Nicolas Maduro?

NM: Each of us is first and foremost a fighter, a man of the street. We walk to work, or take the subway. We’ve been engaged in struggle ever since we were kids. Caracas and its various locations have been our battleground, where we engaged in the student movement and the alternative union movement, which dates back to the 1990s, just as Hugo Chavez emerged as a leader. Once he came out in public and made his address to the nation on February 4, 1992, wearing his beret, we told ourselves, “This is the road we shall take.” And ever since that day, there wasn’t a day in my life when I wouldn’t be working for Chavez, because working for him means working for the sake of the country.

That will be the case till our last breath.

We don’t believe in “making a successful career in politics,” as some people’s aspirations are described. That kind of thinking belongs in a bourgeois political culture, which is no longer in our country. The only career we know is one of revolutionary struggle, as soldiers fighting for the cause of Chavez. This is who we are: soldiers who fight for the cause of Chavez, and we’ll go wherever our duty takes us.

EG: Mr. Vice President, thank you so much for the interview and for being with us.

NM: Many thanks to you and the RT channel.

[TsarSamuil]

Chavez Recovered from Respiratory Infection.

Novinite.com
Business | January 27, 2013, Sunday| 255 views

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez has recovered from the respiratory infection he suffered after his last cancer surgery, report agencies Sunday.

"45 days after the complicated surgery, Chavez is recovering, and the serious infection has been defeated. The treatment continues, though," stated Venezuelan Minister of Communication Ernesto Villegas.

Villageas said that Chavez is hospitalized in Chile, where a Latin America - EU leaders meeting is taking place.

The minister added that the President is already taking important decisions for Venezuela's internal and foreign policy.

Due to a relapse of his cancer, Chavez was not able to swear in for his 4th consecutive term in office in January 10.

This has sent Venezuela in a constitutional conundrum and embittered divisions between his supporters and the opposition.

Eventually, the Parliament and Supreme Court of Venezuela decided that the oath can be indefinitely postponed due to the circumstances.