MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chilean OAS candidate gains ground.

The Chilean candidate for the post of Secretary General of the Organization of American States, OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza has managed the support from three decisive South American countries, Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

According to press reports in Caracas, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez said he was "very positive" about the candidacy of Chilean Interior Minister Insulza. "We spoke about the subject with (Chilean) President Lagos and we think it's very positive to have the candidacy of Mr. Insulza", admitted President Chavez in a press interview.

Brazil's support for the Chilean candidate was confirmed by Foreign Affairs Minister Celso Amorim. "I'm confirming the official and formal support of Brazil for Mr. Insulza", said Mr. Amorim during the weekend Mercosur presidential summit in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

In the coming months OAS will be voting for a new Secretary General and so far there are three strong candidates, Mr. Insulza from Chile; Luis Ernesto Derbez from Mexico and Francisco Flores, a former president from El Salvador.

The previous OAS Secretary General who was in the post for a couple of weeks, former president of Costa Rica, Miguel Angel Rodriguez is under house arrest and faces several corruption charges for allegedly receiving money from several European companies investing in the country.