MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Maduro visits Uruguay on his first overseas trip since becoming elected president

The Venezuelan leader will be meeting Mujica and former president Tabaré Vazquez

Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro begins next Tuesday an official one visit to Uruguay when he will be meeting with head of state Jose Mujica and former president Tabare Vazquez.On Wednesday he plans to fly to Argentina and the following day, Brazil.

The visit, the first overseas trip of Maduro since his disputed presidential election also comes ahead of another event at the end of June when he will officially take the Mercosur rotating chair in Montevideo from President Mujica.

Tuesday morning Maduro will hold a first half hour private meeting with Mujica and later they will be joined by their ministers and advisors to review a long list of cooperation programs many supported by the Artigas-Bolivar fund which is financed by Venezuelan oil sales to Uruguay.

The two leaders will hold a joint press conference, later share lunch and in the afternoon Maduro will visit a local company recovered with the special fund and sign a letter of intent for further areas of cooperation.

In the evening the Venezuelan leader will meet former president Tabare Vazquez (2005/2010) who has great chances of regaining the presidency in October’ 2014 elections as candidate for the ruling Broad Front coalition.

The day ends with a protocol visit to Montevideo town hall which will give him the keys of the city and later a meeting with union leaders at the seat of Uruguay’s organized labour PIT-CNT headquarters, where apparently he will participate in an open debate. Maduro is a former bus driver and union leader.

Union leader Gustavo Signorelle revealed that it was Maduro who asked to be received by the PIT-CNT. “We have many companies recovered and several financed by the Artigas-Bolivar fund, which are basically grants from Venezuela. We must be grateful”, said Signorelle.

Maduro also will be visit Argentina and Brazil.

However contrary to protocol President Maduro will not be visiting the Legislative or the Judiciary branches. President Maduro, his deceased political godfather Hugo Chavez, and his policies, are a highly controversial issue in Uruguayan public opinion.

The Uruguayan opposition is not pleased that the Mujica government recognized Maduro’s victory immediately and want to see the promised vote-recount before he is considered the ‘legitimate’ president of Venezuela. Social networks have been insistently twitting rejection of Maduro’s visit: hashtag/FueraMadurodeUruguay.

Mujica and Vazquez had very close personal relations with the deceased Chavez. One of the sons of Vazquez established close business contacts with Venezuela and Mujica was one of the speakers at the burial of Chavez. He also attended Maduro’s inauguration last April 19.

This weekend Maduro bashed Barack Obama calling him the “grand chief of devils” after the US president declined to recognize his contested re-election.

“Coming out of Central America, Obama let loose with a bunch of impertinent remarks, insolent stuff... He is giving an order, and his blessing, for the fascist right wing to attack Venezuela’s democracy,” Maduro alleged in an address.

But “we are here defending our institutions, peace, democracy, the people of Venezuela... and we can sit down with anyone, even the grand chief of devils: Obama,” Maduro said.