Stuart Munckton
Venezuela's push to join the United Nations Security Council has triggered a new conflict between the government of socialist President Hugo Chavez and Washington, which is desperately manoeuvring to stop this from occurring. According to the June 20 Financial Times, the US is pushing for Guatemala to take the seat that traditionally goes to a Latin American country. Guatemala has a terrible human rights record and abuses have continued under the current government of President Oscar Berger.
Washington is strongly opposed to the revolutionary process led by Chavez, known as the Bolivarian revolution, which seeks to mobilise the poor in Venezuela to take control of the nation's resources in order to eradicate poverty. Chavez, who was elected in 1998, has also sought to organise other countries in the region to challenge the endemic US domination of Latin America.
The Venezuelan example has made it harder for Washington to force other nations to implement policies in favour of US corporations. Venezuela was central to organising the successful opposition to the Free Trade Area of the Americas, which would have opened the continent up to even greater exploitation by US corporations.
On June 3 Venezuelanalysis.com reported that, according to the World Bank, Venezuela has reduced the number of households living in poverty since 1995 from over 40% to 30%. The World Bank highlighted the social missions introduced by the Chavez government — which redistribute Venezuela's oil revenue to pro-poor programs — as being largely responsible for this drop.
The US has responded by backing a military coup against Chavez in 2002 (which was defeated by a mass uprising by the poor majority), by providing millions of dollars to the pro-US opposition responsible for the coup, and by publicly attacking Chavez.
In January, US secretary for defence Donald Rumsfeld compared Chavez to Hitler, and, soon after, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called for a "united front" of nations in the region to isolate Venezuela. The push to prevent Venezuela from securing a seat on the Security Council is part of Washington's campaign.
Venezuelanalysis.com reported: "Five of the 10 rotating seats on the security council are opening up in October, and one of them traditionally goes to a Latin American nation. Although the UN general assembly formally votes on the council members, the candidate is usually selected beforehand by a consensus among the countries of the region." The position would be for two years.
The Financial Times reported that the Venezuelan ambassador to the UN said the country would be able to represent the interests of the Third World on the council. He said the US campaign showed a "lack of respect". "The US already has excessive power: a permanent seat plus the power of veto", he explained.
Argentina and Brazil have openly backed Venezuela. Argentina has claimed that US support for Guatemala has harmed, rather than helped, Guatemala's chances, as it is seen as another example of Washington interfering in the region.
Evidence that the US campaign to isolate Venezuela is struggling came when the June 4-6 meeting of the Organization of American States failed to support a US-pushed motion that implicitly condemned Caracas for supposedly interfering in the affairs of other nations.
Washington's campaign has targeted Chile. Venezuelanalysis.com reported on June 9 that, during a meeting between Rice and Chile's foreign minister Alejandro Foxley, Rice claimed Venezuela's candidacy for the UN seat "aims at the heart of US interests". Rice warned that "Chile could fall into a group of losers against US interests" and that the US would "not understand" a Chilean vote for Venezuela.
The article reported that in May, Chilean President Michelle Bachelet appeared to oppose US attempts to get her government to join its campaign against Venezuela, telling a meeting of Latin American and European nations: "I would not want us to return to the Cold War era where we demonise one country or another. What we have witnessed in these countries [Bolivia, where the government of President Evo Morales has nationalised the nation's gas reserves, and Venezuela] is that they are looking for governments and leaders that will work to eradicate poverty and eliminate inequality." Following his meeting with Rice, Foxley said the Chilean government had not made any decision on which nation to support for the Security Council.
However, the Los Angeles Times reported on June 19 that Washington had upped the ante, telling Chile that the US would cease military cooperation if it backed Venezuela. Washington has sold Chile F-16 fighter jets, but now says that if Chile supports Venezuela's bid, the US would not help train Chilean pilots. The June 20 British Guardian reported that the US State Department has denied this claim.
There is a lot at stake for the US. A victory for Venezuela would be viewed by the Latin American people as a victory for the poor of the region, who see their interests represented by the Chavez government. It would also be a victory against the US campaign to isolate Venezuela.
From Â鶹´«Ã½ Weekly, June 28, 2006.
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