MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

“We must help the US manage its retreat as the only global boss”, says Mujica

President Mujica resting from over stress and meditating on world affairs

“We must help the United States because they are on retreat, and they must manage that retreat”, said Uruguayan president Jose Mujica in an interview with a new Argentine newspaper “Tiempo Argentino” launched last Sunday. This is the first interview of the Uruguayan president to an Argentine daily.

Mujica said United States “has begun to loose ground, they must realize that there are others and it is no longer the undisputed chief”. He added that President Barack Obama is facing “a ferocious resistance domestically because of these global circumstances”.

“Obama represents a historic necessity for the US: that of adapting the country and its people to a new reality; adapting to being important, but among others equally important. This is a real crisis for the US society. This is particularly true because the apparent loss of power and influence in the world generates other situations”, continued Mujica, a former pro-Marxist guerrilla leader who spent years in prison.

The Uruguayan president also talked about his neighbour Lula da Silva and his participation and apparent mediation in the Iran situation. “This happens because China is not playing the role they should. There’s a vacuum of which Lula da Silva is taking full advantage”.

“Somebody has to tell the US: are you mad? Do you want another Iraq? Watch out because this one is going to be costlier and more disastrous….And somebody has to tell Teheran: Ok stop with the incendiary speeches! You can’t ignore the Holocaust. Let’ all calm down and cool the match”, Mujica said graphically about the Iran situation.

Mujica also underlined the significance of Brazil for the Union of South American Nations, Unasur.

“How far will Unasur reach? It’s hard to say, there’s a big clue: Brazil. If we begin to understand that Brazil should play a match in accordance with its real hegemony, as Germany learnt after two world wars….good. But if Brazil remains on the side with not much commitment, Unasur won’t help much”.

In its first number presentation Tiempo Argentino said that among its main objectives is the commitment to “Argentina’s development” with the reader as “its main priority”.

Sunday’s front page had a main headline with a scathing attack on one of the opposition leaders, a mention of President Cristina Kirchner’s trip to the Madrid summit; the interview with President Mujica and sports headlines.