MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez: Uruguay has joined the continent's “left trend”

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, the self proclaimed leader of the “anti-imperialist” consensus in South America said in Montevideo Wednesday that with the inauguration of President Tabare Vazquez administration, Uruguay is now part of this growing movement.

"Uruguay has joined the new process of independence for our peoples which were cut short 150 years ago" emphasized the former paratrooper after signing several bilateral energy for food and services agreement with the new Uruguayan government.

President Chavez, a close friend and ally of Cuba's Fidel Castro, and a "disturbing force" according to the Bush administration said the "leftist trend" that in recent years has extended to three-fourths of South America is "a resurgence" of local sovereignty which the Venezuelan president claims has been subordinate to pressure and intervention from the United States.

The agreements include supplying Venezuelan oil at discount prices to Uruguay, loans on easy terms to purchase hydrocarbons in exchange for Uruguayan beef and agriculture products. Venezuela has signed similar understandings with Paraguay and Argentina. Mr. Chavez said this is a first step in attracting Uruguay into the fold of a greater project he's sponsoring: creation of Petrosur, a huge multinational government hydrocarbons company comprising Venezuela and Brazil, along with Argentina and other countries of the region.

"Petrosur is moving forward: a company that is national, South American and powerful with government to government sales which can save us 15% of cost because it will eliminate middlemen", emphasized Mr. Chavez who has repeatedly expressed his interest in diversifying markets for Venezuelan crude, preferably to Latin America and China. "Venezuela has spent 100 years selling oil to the north, but never to the south, and that is now going to change".

Venezuela is the world's fifth oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States, but since Mr. Chavez took office in 1999 relations have been increasingly strained with insistent recriminations.

When asked by the press in Montevideo about his latest claim that the Bush administration wants to eliminate him, Mr. Chavez confirmed his statement but immediately added "let's not speak of death; I've come to Uruguay to congratulate its elected government, the Uruguayan people and to talk of hope, celebration and a bright dignified future for all Latinamericans. I'm witnessing the making of history in Uruguay".