MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Royal “Why don't you shut up”, ring-tone hit in Spain & Latam

King Juan Carlos leans forward to tell Hugo Chávez 'Why don't you shut up?'

The King of Spain's undiplomatic outburst at the Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during the recent Ibero-American summit in Chile has become a ring-tone hit across Spain and much of Latinamerica.

An estimated 500,000 people have downloaded the insult featuring the words "Why don't you shut up?", generating a reported 1.5 million Euros. King Juan Carlos asked Hugo Chavez to "shut up" at the summit in Chile last week after the president said Spain's former President Jose Maria Aznar was a "fascist". Branded mugs, t-shirts and websites featuring the row are also profitable. In Venezuela, a group of students who oppose Mr Chavez's government have also been downloading the ring-tone, a US newspaper reported. "It's a form of protest" a 21-year-old student in Caracas told the Miami Herald. "It's something that a lot of people would like to tell the president." Companies selling the ring-tones have avoided legal problems concerning breach of the King's image rights by using an actor to voice the line. The spat began at the Ibero-American Summit last Saturday when Chavez insisted in calling former Spanish President Jose Maria Aznar, a close ally of US President George W Bush, a fascist, adding "fascists are not human. A snake is more human". Current Spanish president Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero then said: "(Former Prime Minister) Aznar was democratically elected by the Spanish people and was a legitimate representative of the Spanish people so I demand respect for the Spanish people". When Mr Chavez repeatedly tried to interrupt, King Juan Carlos leaned forward and said: "Why don't you shut up?". The row escalated when Mr Chavez said the King was "imprudent" and asked if he knew in advance of the 2002 coup against him. In the exchange President Chavez also misused quotes from Uruguay's national hero. President Chavez later accused the king of "arrogance" but said he did not want a political crisis with Spain - only that Venezuela's head of state be respected. Chavez also warned he would be looking "more closely" into Spanish companies in Venezuela and reminded that "we don't need Spanish investments". Spain has since tried to downplay the incident Foreign Affairs minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has said he is hopeful for a swift return to normal diplomatic relations.