MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

President Batlle apologized

Uruguayan president Jorge Batlle offered a tearful public apology for remarks made last Monday when he called Argentines a “bunch of thieves”, officially putting an end to a diplomatic incident that sent tremors on both sides of the River Plate.

Mr. Batlle met this Tuesday with Argentine president Eduardo Duhalde and apologized for the remarks that were widely broadcasted in national television both in Argentina and Uruguay.

The Uruguayan president was interviewed last week by a Bloomberg Agency team and can be seen pounding on his desk looking into the television camera and saying that the Argentine political system is completely corrupt, "a bunch of thieves from start to finish". He also said it didn't make sense talking to president Duhalde since he has no political support, and "nobody knows how long he will be in power".

Mr. Batlle lost his temper with the reporters, supposedly talking off the record, between interviews, (in Spanish and in English), when they insisted in comparing Uruguay's financial situation with the Argentine crisis, forecasting a similar outcome.

"Uruguay in its 150 years existence has always honored its debts, and there's no reason why this should not be so", stressed Mr. Batlle during the interview.

However in Buenos Aires and next to President Duhalde, Mr. Batlle with tears in his eyes said "I apologize to you and to the Argentine people". The Uruguayan president recalled his long association with Argentina and explained he has been under mush strain because of Uruguay's economic troubles, a direct consequence of the Argentine crisis.

Argentine president Duhalde replied he considered the incident was over and added that given the close links with Uruguay, "nobody will be able to break our common bond".

The Bloomberg team was sent to Montevideo to interview president Batlle following the passing of an austerity package by the Uruguayan Congress that enabled an exceptional financial assistance to the country of over 3,5 billion US dollars between the IMF, World Bank and Inter-american Development Bank.

Uruguay is the country that has most suffered contagion from the Argentine collapse: exports to Argentina have dropped 75% and Argentine tourists were virtually absent from Uruguayan beaches this last summer. Besides, many Argentines who have their money deposited in Montevideo banks and hold Uruguayan bonds fearing an extension of the crisis massively withdrew assets to the tune of several billion US dollars.