MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chavez and Peru's Garcia in a fierce exchange

President Hugo Chavez said Friday that he will withdraw Venezuela's ambassador to Peru if Alan Garcia wins next month's presidential election runoff.

The Venezuelan leader announcement in advance of May Day celebrations follows Mr. Garcia's Thursday statement calling Chavez a "scoundrel" for demanding other countries to cut trade ties with United States while oil rich Venezuela makes 50 billion US dollars annually selling oil to the US.

The former Peruvian president (1985/1990) and candidate of the Peruvian Aprista Party (PAP) defined Chavez as "primitive" and called on South American organizations to demand "greater prudence from Mr. Chavez".

The former Peruvian president (1985-90) insisted that President Chavez attitude leaves "the sad impression of someone who lacks the stature to be a head of state".

Chavez recently announced that Venezuela was pulling out of the Andean Community because member countries Colombia, Peru and eventually Ecuador, signed free-trade with Washington making the bloc's purpose "meaningless".

"If by some work of the devil Garcia becomes president of Peru, I'm going to withdraw my ambassador, because we will not have relations with this swine, with this cardsharp and thief" Chavez said Friday. "What he said is part of the White House script. The candidate of the Pentagon and of Mr. Bush in the Peruvian election was Lourdes Flores, but now Garcia is the candidate chosen by Mr. Bush to continue enslaving the peoples of the Americas" blasted Venezuelan leader Chavez.

Peruvians went to the polls April 9 to choose a successor to President Alejandro Toledo.

The winner of the first round was Ollanta Humala, a populist ultra nationalist former army colonel with close ties to Chavez. The run off after weeks of uncertainty will be with Alan Garcia, who edged out Conservative Flores. Chavez in his Friday speech renewed his backing for Humala. "You have to win, Ollanta, not for yourself but for Peru. May God free Peru of a bandit like this (Garcia). May God free Peru from an utterly corrupt man such as Garcia" Chavez said. "Ollanta, push on, win the election, and you will have all our support for the Peruvian people".

Chavez also attacked current Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo saying that Peru is "a country devastated by neo-liberalism, especially under its current government, which knelt before the empire and signed the free-trade treaty with the U.S".

In Latin American left jargon "neoliberalism" refers to open market private sector prominence economic policies strongly advocated by U.S. officials and the International Monetary Fund.

Chavez went on to challenge Garcia's contention that Venezuela is asking Peru and Colombia not to trade with the United States.

"We've only asked that they don't sign trade agreements with United States", insisted Chavez who added that "as sovereign countries they have every right to do what they have done, but we are withdrawing from the Andean Community because the free trade agreements with the US represent the kiss of death for the region".