CubaMinrex. Sitio del Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores de Cuba

• World Women Focus on Cuban Social Missions in Venezuela
• Chavez Accuses Bush of Plotting another Coup
• A Day of Brotherhood and Unity
• Jamaica Invited to Join ALBA
• Anti-Bush March Repressed in Guatemala
• Chavez Dedicates Landslide Victory to Fidel and Cuba
• Bolivians Take Land, Minerals Next
• Bolivia, Brazil Dickering Gas Pact
• Venezuela Elections Count on 60 OAS Observers
• Morales to Netherlands, Nigeria, Cuba
• Latin American and the Caribbean to Back Panama in UN
• Brazilian Grassroots Back Lula
• Iran and Venezuela Sign Numerous Cooperation Agreements
• Bolivia and Transnats Parley Oil
• US Should Fess Up to Paid Venez Groups
• Hugo Chavez Arrives in Angola
• Throngs Greet Chavez in Syria
• Chavez Praises China Cooperation
• China Defends Energy Accords with Venezuela
• Hugo Chavez Opens Children’s Hospital
• Venezuela Promotes Changes in Agriculture
• Panama Prez Thanks Cuban Cooperation
• US Souring Venezuela Election
• Chilean Patients to Venezuela
• Mexico in Electoral Court´s Hands
• Landmark MERCOSUR Summit Set for Argentin
• MERCOSUR Summit Begins Today
• A Million Mexicans Rally for
  Lopez Obrador
• "I’m gong to fight to the end"
• Mexican Election Hangover
• Ecuador, Venezuela Fuse Energy
• Day Two of Mexican Electoral Truce
• Hugo Chavez with African Summit
• Legislators Greet Cuban Medical Collaboration
• Latin American Parliament
  Raises Regional Issues
• Latin Parliament Meets in Cuba
• Caribbean Moves Forward towards Integration
• Evo Morales Leads Tribute to Che Guevara in Bolivia
• Morales for Cuba and Venezuela Solidarity
• Bolivia Widely Backs Cuba Doctors
• More than 2000 Jamaicans Benefited from Cuba’s Free Surgery Program
• Ecuador Readies Chavez Visit
• First ALBA Fair started in Bolivia
• Venezuela to Open Latin American Medical School
• Venezuela Prefers MERCOSUR to G-3
• Nobel Winner Backs Bolivia Oil Recovery
• Operation Miracle Opens Fourth Ophthalmic Center in Bolivia
• Four-party summit backs Bolivian nationalization
• Alarcon: Bolivian Hope for Latin American.
• Bolivia Takes Control of Gas
  and Oil
• Final result in the Peru elections will take two more weeks
• Chavez Defends Right to Nuclear Energy
• Argentina Annuls Private Water Contract
• Indigenous Wrath for Ecuador FTA
• US and Bolivia at Odds before Talks
• Bolivia Launches Literacy Campaign with Cuban Assistance 
• Bolivia Calls for Latin American Integration to Counter US Aggression
• Cuba Medical Brigade Arrives in Bolivia
• Dramatic situation caused by heavy rainfall in Bolivia
• Cuba Offers Help to Bolivia Storm Victims
• Chile: Bachelet Settles in
• Venezuela's Hugo Chavez Praises Success of WSF
• Fidel Castro Sends Condolences to Relatives and Comrades of Schafick Handal
• WSF Demands Cuban Five Solidarity
• World Social Forum and the People of El Salvador Pay Tribute to Schafik Handal
• Legendary Salvadoran Leader Shafick Handal Dies at 75
• Cuba-Venez in Solidarity at WSF
• Huge crowd marches against neo liberalism and war
• Morales: Argentina Lightning Visit
• Venezuela to Eradicate Poverty
• Bachellet, Chile´s First Woman President
• Evo Morales Makes Friends in South Africa
• Evo Morales Tours the Globe
• Venezuela Hosts World Social Forum
• Evo: Bolivia and South Africa Similar
• Venezuela Boosts 2006 Social Plans
• Evo Morales Holds Talks With Chinese President Hu Jintao
• Morales Holds Talks with Javier Solana
• Morales Leaves Spain for Belgium
• Venezuela and Bolivia Got Closer
• Venezuela Welcomes Morales with Open Arms
• Evo Morales Visits Venezuela
• Spain 's Zapatero Welcomes Morales
• Spain and Bolivia to Tighten Relations
• Evo Morales Victory in Bolivia Grabs Headlines
• Bolivia: Evo Morales Ready to Take Office
• Venezuela Presents New Parliament
• Fidel Castro in Montego Bay for Petrocaribe Summit
• TELESUR to Open Mexican Office
• Dominican Republic To Integrate With Petrocaribe
• Ecuadorian FM to Reconnect in Colombia
• Dominican President Defends Right to Deport Illegal Immigrants
• One in three urban residents lives in extreme poverty
• Latin America and the Arab world strengthen ties
• Marches against Mesa and Congress paralyze La Paz
• Venezuela, Brazil support combat against terrorism in Colombia
• Ibero-American leaders meet on security, integration
• Venezuela Favors South American Financial Integration
• Thousands of Chileans Pay Gladys Marin their Last Respect
• Chavez: If they assassinate me, only one person is to blame: Bush
• Fox Gives Priority to Relations with Guatemala
• Colombia-Venezuela Relations Boosted
• Colombia and Venezuela Agree to Push Bilateral Relations Ahead
• Alliance with Venezuela and Rapprochement to Caribbean, Lula´s Tour
• Brazilian President Meets with Chavez in Venezuela

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Fidel Castro Sends Condolences to Relatives and Comrades of Schafick Handal

Havana, Jan 30, 2006 (AIN) Fidel Castro sent a message of condolence to the relatives of Schafik Handal and to El Salvador's Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), following the passing away of the revolutionary leader last week.

"Schafik was a great leader of workers, a great revolutionary leader and an extraordinary human being", reads the letter sent by Fidel Castro and read at the funeral by Cuban Communist Party Central Committee member Jaime Crombet.

The message, reproduced in Cuban newspapers on Monday, adds that the Communist Party, the government and the people of Cuba always admired Schafik for his strong personality and his personal commitment to justice and progress and as well as his restless struggle for his country and Latin America.

"Cuba feels proud to have had Handal as one of its most generous and active friends. We will never forget his brave and passionate statements in defense of the Cuban Revolution as well as his firm response to US aggressions against our country," reads the message.

"The world pays tribute to a man who lived with dignity, faithful to his principles, and who never gave in," adds the statement from the Cuban leader.

"Schafik will continue to live among us because his exemplary life will be like a seed that will fertilize the upcoming struggle of the people for social justice, independence and peace," concluded the Cuban President.

Thousands of Salvadorans paid their last tribute to former guerrilla commander Schafik Handal accompanying his remains through the streets of the San Salvador up to a community cemetery where he was buried on Sunday.

Delegations form some 20 countries attended the funeral service given for the historic FMLN leader.

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WSF Demands Cuban Five Solidarity

Caracas, Jan 27, 2006 (Prensa Latina) Attendees at the 6th World Social Forum (WSF) taking place in this capital demanded the immediate release of five Cuban anti-terrorist fighters unfairly imprisoned in the US.The solidarity meeting, held Thursday at the Caracas´s Energy and Mining Ministry´s Theater, was also attended by some of the Cuban Five relatives and extensive representation of the National Youth Coordinator and the Venezuela-Cuba Solidarity Committee.Magalys Llort, mother of Fernando Gonzalez, gave a detailed account of the extreme measures imposed on her son, similar to those used for high-security prisoners, when his sentence was to serve only 19 years in prison.Maria Eugenia Guerrero, sister of Antonio Guerrero, explained how the defense team needs a united voice to shatter media silence against them, and released the email address [1503@ohchr.org] HOTLINK, which gathers personal letters to be presented at the UN Commission on Human Rights.Eda Marina Babaresco, on behalf of the Venezuelan solidarity organizations, delivered US Solidarity Committee president Gloria de la Riva a contribution to an ad on the Cuban Five case.Babaresco told Prensa Latina of the necessity to join forces to demand the liberation of these men just as the US people did for Angela Davis in the 70s.The ceremony also included the screening of two documentaries with the most significant aspects of the Cuban Five case, including the one related with the recent verdict that reversed their convictions.Antonio Guerrero, Rene Gonzalez, Ramon Labañino, Gerardo Hernandez and Fernando Gonzalez, universally called the Cuban Five, were detained on September 12, 1998 in Miami, and convicted and sentenced in a rigged trial in that city to harsh sentences ranging from 15 years to double life terms.Their real crime was gathering information about terrorist plots by anti-Cuban organizations in Miami, Florida, in an effort to prevent the deaths of Cuban and even United States citizens.

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World Social Forum and the People of El Salvador Pay Tribute to Schafik HandalTaken from Granma
Jan 25, 2006CARACAS— Delegates at the Sixth World Social Forum paid tribute to Schafik Handal, the leader of the Farabundo Marti Front for National Liberation of El Salvador (FMLN), who died yesterday in his natal San Salvador.After learning of Handal’s death, Ricardo Alarcon, speaking on behalf of the Cuban delegation participating at the Caracas forum, stated that Handal had fought all his life for a better world and was a tireless combatant both as a guerrilla fighter and as an intellectual and political leader.Leonel Gonzalez, member of the Political Commission of the FMLN, told Prensa Latina news agency that the death of Schafik Handal was a great loss for all Salvadorians."Our organization’s offices have been full of people since last night; it has been an explosion of solidarity and appreciation for the popular leadership of Schafik Handal," Gonzalez said during a telephone interview.A news dispatch from Agence France Presse (AFP), reported that hundreds of Salvadorians with flowers and red flags cued in a long line Wednesday to pay a final tribute to the charismatic FMLN leader.One by one members of the FMLN, women and men of all ages, passed by the coffin holding the remains of Handal in the Capillas Memoriales funeral home in San Salvador.Father Jose Maria Tojeira, president of the Jesuit Central-American University (UCA), described Schafik Handal as an exemplary person in the sense that his way of thinking was "very coherent and open to dialogue —an important quality—, and honest, another quality that can serve as an example to the politicians of this country that are so often not."Ecologist Ricardo Navarro said that he was surprised by the way the Salvadorian public has reacted to the death of Handal."I think that Schafik has been the most important politician in the last 50 years. He is of the breed of politicians that possess qualities not easily found in others, like his determination to fight against all odds," Navarro said.Thursday morning, Handal’s remains will be taken to the Legislative Assembly, where they will rest in a funeral chapel, flanked by his fellow members of parliament. In the afternoon, they will be taken to the main hall of the University of San Salvador’s Faculty of Law, where it will remain until Friday morning.Friday afternoon, the remains will be transferred to the Gerardo Barrios Square, in front of the San Salvador Cathedral, where Handal used to go every Friday to "inform the people" about the weekly work done by the Legislative Assembly.The burial of Shafik Handal is scheduled for Sunday at the San Salvador Cemetery.

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Legendary Salvadoran Leader Shafick Handal Dies at 75

San Salvador, January 25 (RHC)-- Salvadoran revolutionary leader Shafick Handal has died of a heart attack in San Salvador at the age of 75. Following confirmation of his death by the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN), many people gathered at the party's headquarters in the Salvadoran capital to express their sadness. Sigfrido Reyes, a member of the FMLN Political Commission, told reporters that Shafick Handal suffered a heart attack at the Comalapa airport in San Salvador upon his return from La Paz , where he had attended Bolivian President Evo Morales' swearing-in ceremony on Sunday. Reyes said that this is "a moment of profound shock because Shafick was not only the leader of a political party or a revolutionary movement who led the armed struggle but also a personality our entire society greatly admired." Speaking with Prensa Latina news agency, the FMLN leader referred to Shafick's moral authority, political stature and human quality, as well as his recognition as a prominent leader of Latin America. Shafick Handal entered the Salvadorian Communist Party in 1944 and joined the strike that overthrew the dictatorship of then President Maximiliano Hernández. He studied Law at the University of El Salvador, where he headed the movement for university reform and autonomy. He later went into exile, first to Chile and then to Guatemala, before clandestinely returning to his homeland and continuing the revolutionary struggle. Among other responsibilities, he directed the guerrilla organizations making up the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front and fighting the military governments strongly supported by Washington. At the time of his death, Shafick Handal was a deputy on the Legislative Assembly and was internationally recognized for his integrity and revolutionary commitment.

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Cuba-Venez in Solidarity at WSF

Caracas, Jan 26, 2006 (Prensa Latina) Cuba and Venezuela are showing Thursday their supportive ties as part of the activities scheduled for Caracas´ 6th World Social Forum. Delegates from both nations are meeting at Andres Bello High School to exhibit bilateral cooperation advances. Venezuela is hosting the WSF 2006 from January 24 to 29, analyzing proposals implemented in various nations as an alternative to face neoliberalism. The WSF was founded 2001 in Porto Alegre, Brazil with a thematic base dealing with resources´ domain and global production, to counter the Davos´ World Economic Forum. Since then, new concerns are treated each year and this event will focus on six thematic axes entailing politics, people´s resistance against neoliberal models, intercultural links, the media and others. The forum will also include views on the US government´s double political morality in the anti-terror fight related with the case of the five Cubans jailed in that country. Likewise, political assassination against third world leaders and the right to energy will have space at Venezuela Central University. On Wednesday, a workshop on terrorism was in session, facilitating denunciation and reflection over US administration´s prominence in terrorist actions. In parallel with political debates, culture, as a means to reach real and inevitable globalization, continues its extensive program. This includes exhibitions of plastic arts and cinema as well as traditional groups, rap, reggeton and popular bands.

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Huge crowd marches against neo liberalism and war CARACAS, January 24, 2006- Like an overflowing river, in whose turbulent water the ideas for a better world bubble, a crowd representing different political and economic sectors of over 50 countries staged a gigantic march Tuesday in Caracas, for the official inauguration of the World Social Forum (WSF). Banners, placards, photographs of the Cuban Five, images of Che, and slogans against war and proclaiming "A better World is Possible" engulfed Caracas. For the next six days the city will become a symbol of struggle against the evils of capitalism, and in rejection of the wars the United States wages against innocent peoples around the world. The Cuban delegation was one of the first to march. Among the islanders that demanded the extradition of terrorist Luis Posada Carriles to Venezuela, were a group of children, another of social workers, and the relatives of the Cuban Five and other victims of terrorism, artists and intellectuals. Also present were Cuban doctors and other internationalists currently working in Venezuela. Before joining the march the Cuban contingent stopped over at the "Casa Cuba" --set up for the WSF-- to hear the address of President Fidel Castro from Havana and support the island's demands to the US government. Throughout the march from the Tres Gracias Square to the Promenade of the National Heroes, the Cuban delegates were accorded a warm welcome by the inhabitants of this beautiful city, who set up a huge exhibit on Bolivar Avenue extolling the main achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution led by President Hugo Chavez. At the end of the march, representatives of various delegations spoke during a political and cultural activity to voice their opposition to war and neoliberal policies. One of the speakers was Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a US soldier killed in Iraq, and who has become a symbol of the US people's opposition to the war unleashed by the Bush administration on the Arab nation. Thousands also enjoyed the music of Cuban singer-songwriters Amaury Peres and Santiago Feliu, Venezuelan Lilia Vega, and other renowned musicians and bands from different countries. The WSF Organizing Committee in Venezuela informed that representatives from 2,000 NGOs, social movements, alternative networks and other organizations are on hand and in the upcoming days will be discussing different strategies for the struggle that is expanding around the world against injustice and for a better world. According to the event agenda, Wednesday's debates will begin at various locales in Caracas on the WSF's six main issues of discussion which include politics, resistance against neo-liberalism, inter-cultural ties and the media. The WSF in Venezuela, which runs through Sunday, is the sixth annual gathering of civil society organizations from around the world. The first WSF was held in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in 2001. This year the WSF is being held on three different continents: in Caracas; in Bamako, Mali, where the gathering ended Monday; and in Karachi, Pakistan where it will take place in late March.

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Morales: Argentina Lightning VisitBuenos Aires, Jan 17, 2006. (Prensa Latina) Bolivia´s President-elect Evo Morales is arriving in Argentina to tackle various cooperation issues with President Nestor Kirchner.During his short stay, Morales will be received by Kirchner at the Executive headquarters to talk about the improvement of prices and quantity of the natural gas supplied by Bolivia to Argentina.Bolivia sits on South America´s second-largest natural gas reserves, after Venezuela, and Brazil and Argentina are among its main receptors. This is the last stop of the Movement towards Socialism leader´s journey before taking office January 22.After sweeping to victory in the December 18 elections with 54 percent of the vote, the Bolivian progressive kicked off a globe-trotting tour in Cuba, where he signed with President Fidel Castro several cooperation accords.Havana will offer Bolivia 5,000 scholarships for future doctors and specialists and provide the setting up of a non-profit Cuban-Bolivian entity to guarantee free, high quality eye surgery to poor Bolivians, plus high-tech equipment and experts.Meanwhile, Venezuela offered Bolivia 30 million dollars for social projects and 150,000 barrels of oil for agricultural products.

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Caracas, Jan 15, 2006. (Prensa Latina) Venezuela began an offensive against poverty, starting the "Negra Hipolita" Mission, which is financially supported by the high profits of oil, like other official social programs there.The initiative made official  by President Hugo Chavez is part of a long-term plan to end the paradox of a nation that in spite of being the fifth world oil exporter, has 37 percent of its population living in poverty.According to estimates released by Chavez in his report to the Parliament last week, 13.3 percent of Venezuelans live in abject poverty, although his government has lowered that rate, which reached 48 percent in 1997.The purpose now, as the first stage of poverty eradication, is to declare the country free of abject poverty by July 5, 2011, within five years, an objective that can be compared to eradication of illiteracy in the country, which was achieved in two years.Chavez said it is necessary to “work hard” to achieve that objective, announcing that it goes together with a wide social-program networks to render services to the population like health, education, subsidized food and other aspects.The Black Hipolita Mission is part of those plans.It was named after the wet-nurse that breastfed Simon Bolivar, the Liberator, who considered her his black mother.The new program is also included in Chavez´ government strategy for a better distribution of the country´s profits from oil, currently produced at three million barrels a day.

The project includes creation of the Social Protection Committees, composed of social activists in charge of locating the poor and supervising the solutions.

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Bachellet, Chile´s First Woman President

Santiago, Jan 16, 2006. (Prensa Latina) With the ballot count almost complete, Michelle Bachellet has clearly won the elections with 53,5 percent of the vote to become Chile's first woman president. The center-left candidate and former health and defense minister of outgoing President Ricardo Lagos polled 3,631,448 ballots for 53,51 percent of the total vote, while conservative billionaire Sebastian Pinera got 46,48 of the balloting, according to the Interior Ministry's second official report. Trailing by 6 points, businessman Pinera conceded defeat and congratulated Bachellet, 54, for her victory. Lagos called Bachellet's triumph a historic day for Chile and Latin America. Her electoral showing was better than Lagos', who won the second round over Joaquin Lavin with 51,31 percent of the polling. Thousands of people flooded into the streets waving flags, blowing whistles and chanting slogans, with many more honking their horns as they drive round the city of Santiago and other towns to celebrate her victory. After wishing the victorious candidate success in her future role as president at a television address, Pinera said he wanted to "pay homage to all those millions and millions of women who with much strength and tenacity have finally achieved the place and the situation they deserve in our society". Daughter of an Air Force official who was arrested, tortured by General Pinochet's cronies during the 1973 bloody coup and later die in prison, Bachellet also suffered detention together with her mother and had to live in exile for several years. The former health and defense minister will become the fourth consecutive president from the centre-left coalition known as the Concertacion, which has governed Chile since the end of military rule in 1990. A doctor and a single mother, Bachelet was seen initially as an unusual choice for the presidency in a country considered one of the most socially conservative in South America. Political analysts have pointed out that her win consolidates a swing to the political left in Latin America. The election is the fourth since Chile returned to democracy in 1990 after 17 years of military rule. The second official report tells that 6,982,976 voters casted their ballots for a 97,52 percent turnout of the registered electorate.

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Pretoria, Jan 11, 2006. (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales met with President Thabo Mbeki, who invited him back for a longer visit.
After the meeting Morales told press that full sovereignty demands that Bolivian oil and gas be nationalized -for the third time- but denied this means expropriation or eviction of oil companies from the territory.

He invited all interested to invest as partners, certain they will recover investments and make a profit.Morales pardoned Washington for the humiliation and accusations against his country, and accepted a State Department invitation to dialogue, as long as the efforts would end poverty and discrimination, he said.

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Johannesburg, Jan 12, 2006.  (Prensa Latina) Bolivia´s President elect Evo Morales is leaving South Africa, after a two-day visit, for Brazil, the last stopover of his first global tour before the January 22 inauguration. The Movement towards Socialism (MAS) leader met with President Thabo Mbeki and African National Congress general secretary, Kagalema Motlante.Morales´s journey, which has resulted in worldwide political-economic support, kicked off in Cuba and Venezuela and took him since January 3 to Spain, France, Brussels, Holland, Belgium, China and South Africa, leaving Argentina and Brazil near his presidential taking office.With President Fidel Castro he signed an 11 point cooperation accord on health and education while Venezuela offered 30,000 million dollars for social building projects and 150,000 oil barrels for agricultural products. On his next stop, Spain, the newly-elected president was received by King Juan Carlos, President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero plus Foreign and Industry ministers Miguel Angel Moratinos and Jose Montilla, respectively.That nation cancelled part of Bolivia´s foreign debt to be used in education.Meanwhile, Brussels, Holland and Belgium, his next destinations, backed his plans to eradicate poverty in Bolivia, and high-ranking EU official for Foreign policy and Common Security Javier Solana expressed that bloc´s commitment to support him.In France, the progressive Bolivian repeated his government´s nationalization means neither expropriation nor confiscation, rather partnering and foreign investment to help Bolivia progress.For his part, President Jacques Chirac offered him help in economic and financial matters, both bilaterally and through the EU.Once in China, the MAS leader met with President Hu Jintao, current State counselor Tang Jiaxuan and Wang Jiarui, chief of the Chinese Communist Party Central Committee´s International Department.

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Evo: Bolivia and South Africa Similar Johannesburg , Jan 10, 2006. (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales noted the similarities between the struggles of the indigenous people in his country and the South African blacks during apartheid. The struggle of our South African brothers against apartheid is the same as that of our people, he emphasized in his declarations on arrival in Johannesburg for a two-day visit to South Africa . Morales, 46, is in South Africa to exchange experiences in Pretoria with President Thabo Mbeki, whose government invited him and, although he wanted to meet Nelson Mandela, the first black president of this nation is not in the country at this time. Morales met with Kagalema Motlante, general secretary of the African National Congress and visited the Museum of Apartheid where he showed great interest on the 1990 liberation pictures of Mandela, the leader of the anti-apartheid struggle. Before he leaves, the president-elect will stopover in Ciudad del Cabo (southeast) to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu, another tireless fighter against racism. It is expected Morales will finish his international tour in Brazil , where he will be welcomed by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Morales long journey began in Cuba and was extended to Venezuela , Spain , Belgium , Holland , France and China .

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Venezuela Boosts 2006 Social Plans Caracas, Jan 9, 2006. (Prensa Latina) The Venezuelan social programs aimed at strengthening the country’s most humble sectors will receive a special boost this year.In its  TV and radio program Alo Presidente, President Hugo Chavez said that on February 2, after seven years since he took office, the country will start a new stage to strengthen the Bolivarian project.Among his aims for 2006 is the recovery of 1.5 million hectares through the Land Law and distributing over 1.3 million to farmers, among them 647,000 hectares of large landed estates.Other projects mentioned by the president are the "Zamora" and "Vuelvan Caras" missions, aimed at recovering idle lands and against unemployment.The "Barrio Adentro II" program, a second phase of health care, will increase Integral Diagnostic and Rehabilitation Centers with the latest technology and free services.

"Ribas", "Sucre" and "Robison" missions, of the education sector, will also receive priority attention, particularly the latter, which will soon graduate the first students of primary education.

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Evo Morales Holds Talks With Chinese President Hu Jintao

Havana, Jan 9, 2006.  (AIN) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales asked for China's assistance "to fight for justice" during a meeting with China's President Hu Jintao, according to EFE and AFP news agencies.

Morales arrived in Beijing on Sunday for a two-day visit as part of a five continent tour before taking office in La Paz on January 22.

"I never imagined being received with the honors of a head of state in the Great Palace of the People," stated the first indigenous leader in Latin America to be elected president.

"I have a new responsibility. It is a new experience for me, and I hope to have the support of your government and your Party," Morales said to the Chinese president.

Hu Jintao congratulated Morales, the leader of the Movement to Socialism (MAS), for his electoral victory less than a month ago.

"Under your leadership, Bolivians will be able to obtain great success in the building of your country," stated Hu Jintao while expressing the hope for closer relations between Bolivia and China in the 21st Century.

Morales invited Chinese firms to invest in Bolivia, especially in the hydrocarbons sector, said Carlos Villegas,economic advisor to Evo Morales.

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Morales Holds Talks with Javier SolanaBrussels, Jan 5 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales started an official visit to Belgium and met with high-ranking European Union official for Foreign policy and Common Security, Spain´s Javier Solana.The meeting took place in the EU headquarters right after Morales´ arrival from Madrid, where the Bolivian dignitary held intense work sessions, including meetings with President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos.Solana and Morales briefly attended a meeting with press where the visitor expressed his respect for the European authorities and the talks they would hold on his government's future plans. Interviewed on his possible preference for Europe instead of the US, Morales said: "the indigenous movement, our political movement, has the culture of dialogue and we are going to dialogue with everybody."Solana described the meeting as positive and the victory of the indigenous leader as overwhelming, saying Morales was a man born of the people and so with the willingness to work in favor of them. The official also expressed the EU´s commitment to support the progressive Bolivian plans within established norms.

Evo Morales will now visit Paris, South Africa, China and Brazil. His first trips abroad took him to Havana, where was received by President Fidel Castro, and to Caracas to hold similar talks with President Hugo Chavez.

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Morales Leaves Spain for BelgiumMadrid, Jan 5/2006 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President elect Evo Morales is winding up his Spain visit Thursday, to then continue the second leg of his European tour in Brussels, Belgium.The leader of Bolivia 's MAS (Movement towards Socialism) began the last part of his agenda here very early today, holding a meeting with the general coordinator of the United Leftwing, Gaspar Llamazares, on different topics of interest such as bilateral cooperation.Shortly afterwards, Morales met with union leaders Candido Mendez, and Jose Maria Fidalgo.On Wednesday, he was welcomed by President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, King Juan Carlos and Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. He also talked with Minister of Industry and business executives.He also received a phone call from Iran 's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who congratulated him for his landslide electoral victory and conveyed his desire to meet him to exchange views on issues of interest."Fortunately, the Bolivian people came out victorious in the recent polling and we share their joy," the Iranian head of state told Morales, who invited Ahmadinejad to attend the inauguration ceremony on January 22 in La Paz .After leaving Madrid at midday, the recently elected Bolivian leader will head for Brussels , the next stopover of the world tour he is making before taking office. He's also visiting France , China , South Africa and Brazil .

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Venezuela and Bolivia Got Closer

Caracas, Jan 4/2006 (Prensa Latina) The visit by Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales to Venezuela on Tuesday is considered today very important and, according to experts, will promote the integration of millions of alienated Latin American people.Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, and Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales signed a large cooperation plan including all the diesel fuel needed by Bolivia , 150,000 barrels a month, to be supplied by Venezuela in exchange for Bolivian agricultural products, necessary for Venezuela 's strategic reserves.Both leaders expressed their support for the current democratic changes being performed in Latin American countries.After visiting Venezuela , Morales is in Madrid , Spain , Wednesday, where he is meeting with President Jose Luis Zapatero y King John Charles. He then will continue his tour to France , Belgium , China , South Africa and Brazil .Morales will be sworn in on Sunday, January 22nd.

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 Venezuela Welcomes Morales with Open Arms

Caracas, Jan 3/2006 (Prensa Latina) Beyond his official reception, Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales received a warm welcome from hundreds of Venezuelans gathered at the National Pantheon to welcome him on his first formal visit to Venezuela Tuesday.The homage paid by Morales and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the tombs of Simon Bolivar and indigenous chief Guaicaipuro was seen as symbolic and the fulfillment of the Liberator´s dream of a united America .Although, unlike the 60 percent indigenous population of Bolivia , Venezuela has barely two percent, representatives of these hitherto marginalized indigenous ethnicities were visible among the crowd enthusiastically welcoming the first fully indigenous president of Latin America .The new Constitution and land legislation initiated during Chavez´ term of office recognize all the rights of the indigenous peoples, including to the land from which they were dispossessed.Morales´ election victory is seen as a continuation of the Latin American integration process, in which Venezuela has become an important reference.These are new times, we are in new epochs, a new millennium for the peoples and not for the empire, Morales asserted on his arrival adding, "We are here, incorporating into the anti-neoliberal and anti-imperialist struggle."Chavez commented that the triumph of the socialist alternative in Bolivia is part of "the re-foundation: the return of the peoples awakening with a great consciousness."

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Evo Morales Visits VenezuelaCaracas, Jan 3/2006 (Prensa Latina) On his second foreign trip before his inauguration on January 22, Bolivia´s president-elect, Evo Morales, is scheduled to meet Tuesday Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, an encounter that will foster relations between the two countries.The two leaders are expected to sign a series of bilateral declarations of intent, covering areas such as energy cooperation and trade before the new Bolivian leader embarks on a 10-day tour of seven countries in three continents.Morales, who first visited Cuba last Friday, will be welcomed with full honors by President Chavez. As part of the visit's program, the two leaders will attend cultural events performed by Venezuelan indigenous dance groups and Morales will lay a wreath on Simon Bolivar's tomb at the National Pantheon, in Caracas .He will also pay tribute to the indigenous cacique Guaicaipuro who led the resistance against the Spanish colonization in the area where Caracas now sits.Chavez and his guest will hold talks at the Miraflores Palace , the Executive's headquarters, where they will sign agreements on bilateral economic, commercial and political issues.In addition, the Movement towards Socialism (MAS) leader is meeting with top officials of the Bolivarian government and will finally hold, along with Chavez, a press conference with national and foreign media.Morales was elected president with 54 percent of the vote, the biggest support for any candidate since democracy was restored in Bolivia in the 1980s.While in Havana , the MAS leader inked several cooperation agreements with President Fidel Castro particularly on health and education.After Venezuela , Bolivia 's president-elect will travel to Spain as part of a European tour before flying to South Africa , China and Brazil .According to a MAS communique, he held a meeting with the US ambassador to Bolivia in La Paz .The note refers the encounter had been cordial and the two men had agreed on the importance of fighting the illegal drugs trade. MAS spokesman said Morales would have gone to Washington had he been invited.The new Bolivian leader has stressed his government will fight drug-trafficking, but will not follow up with Washington 's formula to massively eradicate coca plantations, the main source of income for Bolivian indigenous farmers.Instead, his administration will encourage its production for traditional and industrial purposes.

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Spain 's Zapatero Welcomes MoralesMadrid, Jan 4/2006 (Prensa Latina) Bolivia's President-elect Evo Morales is meeting with President of the Spanish Government Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero in La Moncloa on Wednesday, in a nearly two-day visit in the third stop of his world tour.He arrived in Madrid with a few hours delay for his stay in Caracas , Venezuela , took him longer than scheduled. He's first meeting with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos before being welcomed by Zapatero and King Juan Carlos.After Spain , Morales will visit France , Belgium , South Africa , China and Brazil .A press release from the Spanish Executive office informed that after meeting Zapatero, Morales will brief La Moncloa journalists, and Secretary of State for Communication Fernando Morales will deliver a speech.The first fully indigenous president in Latin America is in Europe following his visits to Cuba (Friday 30th) and Venezuela (Tuesday 3rd).After his meeting with Zapatero, Morales is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos and executives of the powerful Spanish Confederation of Business Organizations, as well as with union leaders Candido Mendez and Jose Maria Fidalgo.Meetings with the chief of Ibero-American Office Enrique Iglesias and with Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism Jose Montilla are also expected to be on the agenda.Sources from the business sector have not ruled out a brief meeting with chiefs of Repsol-YPF oil firm as, along with Iberdrola and Red Electrica Espanola, they are the three Spanish businesses with a presence in Bolivia 's energy market.The only politician who has refused to meet with Morales so far is rightwing Popular Party leader Mariano Rajoy.At the end of his visit to Spain , Morales will continue his world tour, which will take him to Belgium , France , South Africa , China and Brazil .

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Spain and Bolivia to Tighten Relations

Madrid , Jan 4 /2006 (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales and Spanish Minister for Industry, Commerce and Tourism Jose Montilla voiced their interest in strengthening bilateral ties at their meeting in Madrid on Wednesday.The parties agreed on improving cooperation and Morales paid special attention to matters like technological development and tourism.The meeting was also attended by state Secretary for Trade and Tourism Pedro Mejia, Spain 's Ambassador to Bolivia Juan Francisco Montalban, and two aides of the Bolivian president-elect.Evo Morales will complete his visit to Spain tomorrow, Thursday, as part of a world tour that includes Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa prior to his January 22 inauguration.

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Evo Morales Victory in Bolivia Grabs HeadlinesBy Julio Juan LeandroHavana, Dec 20, 2005. (AIN) The triumph of indigenous leader Evo Morales in the Bolivian presidential elections had a worldwide impact according to the analysis presented on The Round Table program.In one of his first statements to the media after his election, Morales spoke to the Cuban radio and TV audience live via telephone from La Paz."Personally I had and have lot of confidence in the people of Bolivia; it was a great surprise and I feel happy, very happy and will work for unity," he declared.The Bolivian people, "know who I am and those dirty campaigns didn't achieve results, because the poor and marginalized could see through them," Morales emphasized.Morales declared that the most immediate task of his Government will be recovering the country's natural resources, currently in foreign hands, and fighting against neoliberalism. He said he would have an open minded attitude towards international politics, talking with diverse governments and peoples on a wide range of topics.The president-elect said he has already begun to organize his cabinet and that before taking office he plans to travel abroad to make contact with other leaders.Morales thanked the people and government of Cuba for their permanent solidarity with the people of Bolivia, and also used the opportunity to reiterate his condemnation of the US economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba.Journalist Orlando Oramas from Prensa Latina news agency noted during The Round Table that Horacio Serpa -head of the Organization of American States election observers in Bolivia-, recognized the legitimacy of Morales victory and that several Latin American presidents and ambassadors had also made similar statements..Marina Menendez, a journalist at Juventud Rebelde newspaper, recalled the struggles against the governments that had taken place in Bolivia over the past several decades, and said that Morales victory is one of the most significant moments in Bolivia's history.Round Table moderator, Randy Alonso read excerpts from several newspapers, news agencies, TV news programs and other media that covered Morales' victory.Alonso also underscored that the Andean Community of Nations, the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front of El Salvador and other organizations immediately expressed their support for the Movement to Socialism that took Evo Morales to victory in the Bolivian elections.The panelists recalled how the masses of indigenous people and miners had kept up their struggle since October 2003 when they were able to remove President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada from power, a significant defeat for the neoliberal forces and the US transnational corporations.They also noted how Carlos Meza, who stepped into the presidency after Sanchez de Lozada, had to resign a little more than a year later under the pressure of the masses. Then, his successor Eduardo Rodriguez Veltze had to compromise, agreeing to call for early elections.The Cuban journalists noted that neither Sanchez de Lozada, Meza or Rodriguez met the peoples' demand for the nationalization of Bolivia's natural resources, thus setting the stage for Morales' victory.

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Bolivia: Evo Morales Ready to Take OfficeLa Paz, Dec 19, 2005. (Prensa Latina) Bolivian President-elect Evo Morales started to make up the government he will lead as of January 22, following a historic election win that surpassed predictions.After 80 percent of the ballots have been counted, congressman Morales, leader of the Movement toward Socialism (MAS), obtained 51 percent of the voters´ support, so he doesn´t have to wait for Congress to choose between the two most voted presidential hopefuls.That majority, which should shortly be officially confirmed, ensures the MAS leader the presidency without a runoff.Under the law of the land, for a presidential hopeful to win the elections must have more than 50 percent of the votes. In case none of the running candidates reach that figure, then Congress decide who is the next president between the two most voted politicians.MAS landslide victory, considered the most crushing of the last decades, thwarted predictions by the right that predicted a low margin between Morales and neoliberal ex President Jorge Quiroga, who won 31 percent of the ballots.People´s voting also did away with the US predictions of a likely post-election string of violence.Following the announcement, people rejoiced at the MAS win, and tensions only came from Otto Reich, US special envoy to Western Hemisphere for the Secretary of State, who threatened to take reprisals if the movement implements its policies.Thousands of Morales supporters chanting "We feel it, Evo president," set off fireworks and danced in the streets of La Paz, as well as the eastern cities of Cochabamba and Santa Cruz as election results were announced. The new government will surely faced the rightwing hostility opposing changes, as they won important provincial governments.We are living a new time "and the Third Millennium belongs to peoples, not to the Empire," stated the indigenous leader.Results proved the MAS will ensure governance, he pointed out, and ratified he is willing to receive the cooperation of legislators from other parties seeking to change the nation. He said he´s open to talk with all sectors.The new president elect vowed to solve the thorniest problems of the majority, restructure the economic model and fight neoliberalism because it will be like combating the blockade of the economic growth.He pledged to open a new Bolivian chapter of equity, justice and peace with social justice, tasks he considered attainable only with the work of leaders, lawmakers, social bodies and the entire nation.Morales also called to raze discrimination, historic hatred and contempt for indigenous people "to live in unity and diversity by changing the neoliberal model and eliminating the neocolonial state."

The Bolivian people´s victory can become a paradigm in Latin America "because we need allied triumphant movements in the region to rebuild the Tahuantinsuyo (Inca Empire) and the Great Motherland Bolivar dreamed of.

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Venezuela Presents New Parliament

Havana, Dec 5, 2005. (AIN) With peaceful elections of Venezuela's new parliament, the people of the South American country has reaffirmed its confidence in the current government and president. The nationwide vote to elect 167 legislators to be part of the new National Assembly was successfully carried out in Venezuela despite a few attempts of the opposition, tailing badly in the polls, to halt the process. Sporting their now customary battle-worn red shirts, the supporters of the government turned out in large numbers despite the rain, in a voting day that took place for the most part without incident, thanks to some 100,000 soldiers and reservists that guarded against sabotage, reported Granma daily newspaper. Taking its cue from Washington, six opposing parties withdrew from elections in the days preceding the vote. However, the boycott by the traditional political parties and other allies has led them to a state of non-existence, says the paper. Referring to a US-driven act of terrorism seeking to sabotage the voting, President Hugo Chavez said "Venezuelans are vaccinated against their poison and against attempts to sabotage the country's democratic process by way of boycotts or violence." He added, "We are structurally, mentally, spiritually and physically immunized." Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel denounced, "the US embassy had advised the opposition to create an electoral vacuum in order to de-legitimatize the legislature and foment destabilization." Rangel's premise was confirmed when Steve Johnson of the pro-Republican Heritage Foundation said from Washington: "There is no transparency in the Venezuelan electoral process. Participating would only legitimatize Chavez' victory. Not partaking will at least generate doubt about his victory and provoke international scrutiny."

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Fidel Castro in Montego Bay for Petrocaribe SummitMontego Bay, Jamaica, Sept 5 (Prensa Latina) President of Cuba Fidel Castro arrived in this resort city to attend the first summit of Petrocaribe, an integration mechanism promoted by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.The Cuban Revolution was met at Donald Sangster international airport by Minister of State Wykeham Mcneill.The Cuban delegation includes Vice President Carlos Lage, Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque, President of the Central Bank Francisco Soberon and Minister of Government Ricardo Cabrisas.Also attending are Secretary of the Council of State Jose Miyar, member of the Council of State Carlos Valenciaga, director of the World Economy Studies Center Osvaldo Martinez and Cuba´s ambassador to Jamaica Gisela García, among other officials.During the creation of the integration mechanism in Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, Fidel Castro said he felt optimistic and sure of its success.

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TELESUR to Open Mexican Office
Mexico, Aug 31 (Prensa Latina) Latin America´s regional TELESUR television network will open an office in Mexico during the next month, according to Aram Aharonian, Director General of the network.Speaking to Prensa Latina during his visit to Mexico, Aram Aharonian said they will make cable television transmissions.Aharonian held talks with representatives of the Autonomous University of Mexico and Channels 11 and 22 to establish relations and agreements to show the Mexican and Latin American reality."We will receive a concrete response in a month to start broadcasting from Mexico and open the office where we hope young people will work," added the Director General.He stated the project portrays Latin America "in all colors" and not like the media of the North, which portrays it in "black and white", in a biased and limited way.Aharonian said they sought to see and discover Latin America with Latin American eyes.The television network attaches great importance to Brazil, where there are more than ten million viewers, which is why Spanish productions are being captioned into Portuguese and those in Portuguese are being captioned into Spanish."It is time to meet each other, to get to know more about and trust each other, to attain full integration," he emphasized.He described TELESUR as a television channel to open new bridges and build integration for rapprochement. "It is a project to discover ourselves," he added.On the impact of media on our future, he said media dictatorship has tried to replace the former military dictatorships in many countries.The TELESUR director considered that powerful economic groups use the media and decided who has the floor, who take the leading roles and who the antagonists are, while traditional channels´ entertainment and advertisements promote an aggressive ideological speech that limits our rights.The time has come for the South to think big and create a hemispherical audiovisual media that shows the true vision of social diversity through a structure with a world scope that possesses high quality content, he maintained.Aharonian referred to the strategic project called La Factoria Latinoamericana de Contenidos (The Latin American Factory of Contents) to produce Latin American programs for Latin America and all regional television networks.Our goal is to democratize the television scope of Latin America, so there are more channels to become an alternative to the ideological barrage of networks from the North, he emphasized.Brazilian Journalists Demand Freedom for Cuban Five Havana, Aug 30 (AIN) The Brazilian Press Association (ABP) urged the US government to uphold the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals of Atlanta's decision that overturned the convictions of the Cuban Five, unjustly imprisoned for seven years in the US.

Members of ABP's Defense Commission for Freedom of Expression and Human Rights and the Deliberative Council agreed unanimously to forward a motion to the US embassy in Rio de Janeiro, demanding the immediate release of the Cuban Five, reported Granma newspaper.

In addition to throwing out the lower court's ruling, the three judge panel ordered that a new trial be held outside the hostile and biased environment of Miami.

For over four decades Cuba has been the target of terrorist attacks carried out by rightwing extremist Cuban-American groups based in southern Florida. The Cuban Five had infiltrated several of these organizations to uncover deadly plots against the island. When Cuba informed the US government of the terrorists' plans, instead of arresting them, they detained the men who had risked their lives to obtain the information.

In its 93-page ruling the Atlanta Appeals Court said it was obvious that the five Cubans could never have received a fair trial in Miami. However, despite the new ruling, the five Cubans remain imprisoned, isolated and unable to receive visits from family members.

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Dominican Republic To Integrate With PetrocaribeSanto Domingo, Aug 25 (Prensa Latina) The Dominican government announced its integration into PETROCARIBE on September 5, through which it will increase oil imports from 50 to 100 barrels of crude a day. Secretary of Industry and Trade Francisco Javier Garcia said that the implementation of the agreement would help the nation.The agreement was signed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with partners including the Dominican Republic at a ceremony held last May in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela.Garcia said that the agreement would favor consumers as they would have a regular and cheaper fuel supply, and this would help to save national consumption. The official also announced that in a few days the government would release a program of measures to reduce consumption, which "will be drastic but necessary", he noted.
He stressed that the state was not able to withstand an increase from 2,500 to 3,500 million dollars.President Leonel Fernandez said if oil price rises continued, the Dominican Republic and the world would be exposed to "hard social tensions and serious political conflicts".
"We are already exposed to ungovernability situations in importing and consumer countries", warned Fernandez at the opening of the XI Regional Fair of Wholesale Trade in El Cibao sugar mill.Fernandez said the government has closely followed the evolution of oil price rises and prepared measures to save fuel, but he did not go into details."Uncertainty continues influencing oil markets and several analysts predict that oil price will reach 100 dollars per barrel, and if so, it will be a catastrophe for humankind", he added.

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Ecuadorian FM to Reconnect in Colombia

Quito, May 19 (Prensa Latina) Ecuador´s Foreign Minister Antonio Parra will travel to Bogota Friday to analyze, with his Colombian counterpart Carolina Blanco, border security and fumigations in the shared zone.

Parra and Barco will discuss topics of special concern for Ecuadorians, including border security, displacement of Colombian refugees towards the common border, and fumigations in the area, Foreign Ministry´s spokespersons pointed out.

It is expected that during the meeting that Colombia request the extradition of alleged guerrillas arrested in Ecuador with no documentation.

The ministerial meeting will take place after the new Ecuadorian government rejected any interference in the neighboring country´s crisis.

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Dominican President Defends Right to Deport Illegal Immigrants

Santo Domingo, May 19 (Prensa Latina) Dominican President Leonel Fernandez supported the country´s right to deport illegal foreigners, clearly alluding to the border conflict with Haiti and mass repatriations.

Fernandez told the press any State would do the same, following its migratory policy. "The migration topic is an expression of the country´s sovereignty, and this has defined the Dominican Republic," he added referring to the recent deportations of thousand Haitians.

Dominican migration authorities began deporting illegal Haitian workers after three of them killed a woman in Hatillo Palma, Montecristi, and wounded her husband.
Though a migratory agreement with Haiti has not yet been reached, "migration is one of the affairs that the Bilateral Joint Commission, which has existed since my first administration, deals with," he said, calling the repatriations right move.

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IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARRIBEAN

One in three urban residents lives in extreme poverty

• Rural poverty also very marked in the regionBY ALFRED POTTER —Special for Granma International—

POVERTY and social exclusion continue to be daily facets for millions of human beings in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to recent figures supplied by ECLAC, the UN economic commission for the region, which features amongst the most urbanized areas of the so-called Third World.

Studies carried out by ECLAC indicate that 75% of the regional population live in urban areas and 38.4% of that total are vegetating below the poverty line. If we add the rural poor to that figure – who constitute almost all the rest of the non-urban population – the number of people excluded from the benefits of human societies today is infinitely greater.

The ECLAC study warns that there are profound inequalities in the cities of Latin America and the Caribbean, where the poorest – a third of the total – have little possibility of achieving a basic standard of living.

According to this UN institution, the high level of economic and social exclusion of millions of people is generating enormous negative impacts on the rest of the population, including "contagious diseases, public insecurity and social instability."

For ECLAC, municipal administrations could contribute to reducing the number of victims of extreme poverty. However, as the situation currently stands, there are few possibilities of achieving that.

Case studies carried out by this institution in nine Latin American countries revealed that there are pronounced inequalities in terms of economic opportunities available within the diverse regions.

To have some idea of the level of inequality, suffice it to say that, as far as incomes are concerned, the poorest 40% of the population receives just 10% of the total incomes, whilst the 10% most well-off sector devours over 60% of the wealth.

It is worth mentioning that Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the greatest level of inequality with respect to income. At the same time, inequalities with respect to property contribute to the formation of extremely unequal socioeconomic structures, marked by the lack of access to employment and basic services.

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Latin America and the Arab world strengthen tiesBY ALFRED POTTER —Special for Granma International—

AT their recent first summit in Brasilia, 34 Arab and Latin America countries agreed to strengthen their links through international cooperation with absolute respect for human rights, within the United Nations and other relevant regional organizations, and "with the aim of preventing the imposed opinion of one sole country," according to host President Luiz Ignácio Lula da Silva.

The meeting brought together 12 nations from South America and 22 Arab countries from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Terrorism and its definition were discussed by the 16 presidents and heads of state and government attending together with other high-ranking representatives. An important outcome for the Summit of South American and Arab Countries (SSAAC) was a call for an international meeting convened by the United Nations to define the concept of terrorism and methods for combating the phenomenon.

In the introduction to the document, the participating countries expressed their opposition to the adoption of unilateral measures and illegal sanctions imposed on states.

Aside from the case of Iraq, the economic sanctions and diplomatic pressures on Syria were discussed, as well as the necessity of Palestine becoming an independent state with the 1967 demarcated borders and Jerusalem as its capital, which translates into an end of military aggression and Israel’s withdrawal from the illegally occupied territories. Palestine and Israel should coexist in peace as independent states, declared the Summit.

In the case of Iraq, the SSAAC affirmed its support for the unity, sovereignty and independence of this country, although participants emphasized their opposition to "interference in internal affairs". Those present expressed their support for the current Iraqi government as "a decisive step in the peaceful transition towards a democratic government."

The states agreed to increase levels of cooperation in the areas of trade, economy, culture and investments. They also decided to strengthen their links in the fields of sustainable development, science and technology, and the battle against hunger and poverty.

The final declaration expresses wide-ranging and integral support for the United Nations, in particular for the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, and adds that current globalization has created inequalities that are affecting the developing countries. In this context, the Arab and South American nations are calling for the democratization of multilateral trade so that it is "regulated, transparent, non-discriminatory and just."

Another common concern has been the need to encourage mutually satisfactory trade between the two regions, including investments in strategic sectors, such as telecommunications, energy and transport.

The meeting rejected a proposal from the Iraqi delegation to host the next summit in Baghdad in the second trimester of 2008, and decided on Morocco as the venue. The 2nd SSAAC will be preceded by a meeting of foreign ministers in Buenos Aires in 2007, whilst an initial follow-up meeting is to be organized by high-ranking officials in Cairo in November this year.

The 34 countries did not hesitate to express their commitment to disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and stated their endorsement of an Arab initiative to declare the Middle East a WMD-free zone.

The Summit expressed displeasure at the European Union’s recent identification of the Malvinas islands as an offshore British territory. The sovereignty of those islands – the crux of an armed conflict between Britain and Argentina – is claimed by both nations and, in the opinion of the Summit, constitutes a matter pending negotiation.

According to experts, the first Summit of South American and Arab Countries has introduced a powerful, democratizing ingredient into the international panorama that has aroused genuine interest in the world of developing nations.

In terms of its economic potential and the political and social orientation of many of its members, the SSAAC is destined to become a decisive defender of a more just and equal world for all.

NATIONS THAT PARTICIPATED THE SUMMIT:

Arab countries: Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Yemen

South American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Uruguay, Venezuela.

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Marches against Mesa and Congress paralyze La Paz

LA PAZ.— Tens of thousands of people were still occupying the center of La Paz, protesting against the government and Congress and demanding the nationalization of the oil industry. Meanwhile, grassroots movements such as the coca growers and MAS took part in a march to the capital, whilst other groups blocked two important roads.

The demonstrators attempted to enter Murillo Plaza, where the government and legislative headquarters are located, and threatened to occupy the Congress building.
Police chief General David Aramayo, confirmed that a number of people had been arrested.

Access to the site was blocked by a large police contingent in the face of the threat of the demonstrators, members of the Federation of Neighbors Councils and of the Regional Workers Trade Union of the nearby city of El Alto, that they were going to "close down parliament."

The attempt by the most radical groups was prevented by anti-riot vehicles using tear gas and water cannon, injuring some demonstrators.

President Mesa met with his ministers to discuss this new situation in the country and the response he has to give to Congress by May 18, when the constitutional time frame expires for either signing or vetoing the Hydrocarbons Law.

The regulation sanctioned by the legislative body on May 5 was rejected in a "conceptual" form by Mesa in a message to the nation. However, he stated that on being passed by Congress it would become law, signed by the president of the Senate and that he would respect it.

The modification to the Hydrocarbons Law passed by Congress is being questioned by the social movements who believe it is insufficient in terms of the state’s capacity to recover control of energy resources conceded to oil multinationals over the last decade.
The police confirmed the closure of the roads between Oruro and Potosí, as well as that linking this city with the constitutional capital, Sucre.

According to news agencies, close to 300 demonstrators, including campesino women and retired miners, formed the march, which left for La Paz from the town of Caracollo, some 190 kilometers away.

In a statement to the national media, Evo Morales, leader of the coca growers and the Movement Towards Socialism Party, had called on Mesa to decide once and for all to "take possession of the oilfields" through the state-run YPFB oil company, and "support the call of the people rather than to continue defending the transnationals."

Edgar Patana, executive secretary of the El Alto Workers Trade Union, confirmed that his organization had, until now, "been fighting silently" to nationalize the hydrocarbons industry, but "now the time has come to regain control of it through pressure" until the objective is achieved.

Many of those demonstrating demanded the resignation of President Carlos Mesa and the closure of Congress, describing the head of state and legislators as "traitors", given the modifications they have approved with respect to the nationalization of the hydrocarbons industry.

On May 16, Indigenous, campesino and miners’ groups initiated the blockade of the La Paz –Oruro and Oruro-Cochabamba highways, two of the country’s most important roads.

The demonstrators, dozens of whom initiated a march from Caracollo – 190 kilometers south of La Paz – to the capital, are also demanding the nationalization of and attention to other requirements within the sector.

Meanwhile, several parties, such as the MNR, and private firms called on Mesa to enact the hydrocarbons laws passed by Congress on May 6 which contemplates a 32% tax on the production of fuel. But the Movement Towards Socialism (MAS) is calling for a 50% charge, as it stood prior to the law’s modification by the previous government, which was forced to resign in 2003.

Mesa had convened a multi-sector meeting on May 10 to analyze the law passed by Congress and, as he said, have a "conceptual observation". But refusal by the legislative powers to attend the meeting forced the president to cancel it.

Despite the attacks on the president and his previous offers to resign, Carlos Agreda, deputy minister to the presidency, said that Mesa would not resign and would conclude his mandate in August 2007.

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Venezuela, Brazil support combat against terrorism in Colombia

CARACAS, March 29 (Xinhuanet) - The presidents of Venezuela and Brazil on Tuesday reiterated their support for Colombia's combat against terrorism at a press conference following the Puerto Ordaz summit. Venezuela will help build a path that leads to the consolidation of peace in Colombia, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at a press conference at the end of the summit. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he will arrange a meeting for Brazilian and Colombian defense ministers to help find a way to obtain peace in Colombia. Besides the two presidents, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and Colombian head of state Alvaro Uribe also attended the summit. The one-day summit was designed to secure the volatile border areas between the three South American countries and seek a common position toward Colombian rebels.

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Ibero-American leaders meet on security, integration

(Xinhuanet) March 29 - The presidents of Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil and Spanish Prime Minister met in Venezuela on Tuesday to discuss security, integration and trade. During the meeting at Puerto Ordaz, 720 km southeast of Caracas, the security issue received particular attention from Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Colombian President Alvaro Uribe. Uribe said it is important for countries sharing borders to work together to combat guerrillas and terrorist activities, adding that poverty in his country is driven by terrorism fed by drug-trafficking and corruption. He proposed a "South American integration that includes other economies," and said efforts should be made to promote the integration of the Andean Community and the Common Market of the South. Although he ruled out a prompt monetary integration, like that in Europe, he said such a step is possible as ties and cooperation among countries of the region are further strengthened. While Lula called for a new commercial geography, which would benefit trade cooperation between Latin America and the European Union as well as Asian and Arab countries. Latin America integration means a cooperation to guarantee security and eradicate poverty, said Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero, adding that Spain would work to push forward such a process. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said the summit is very important to the new world geopolitics, as it could lead to the creation of a multi-polar bloc that counterweighs the United States. The leaders signed a declaration after the meeting, which tracked "changes in the world politics," showed evidence of the benefit of an Ibero-American integration and addressed "the problem of poverty and terrorism."

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Venezuela Favors South American Financial IntegrationCaracas, Mar 10 (Prensa Latina) Venezuela maintains a favorable stance over the integration of South American financial markets, as ratified by Finance Minister Nelson Merentes, in charge of applying this policy in negotiations and contacts with the rest of regional countries.Merentes explained Caracas supports such integration and is making new commitments in this sense, as demonstrated with the already announced decision to acquire 500 million dollars in bonds of the Argentinian debt."We are planting the seed for a future integration, not only an economic one, but also commercial and financial," he clarified.The idea is to refine all the necessary mechanisms leading to financial integration, a move never made before by previous Venezuelan governments.While analyzing the situation of the Venezuelan public financial system, the minister announced a new round of negotiations between the state and private banking sectors will take place next week. He said that with Venezuela´s sustained growth it has become necessary to articulate the entire financial system.

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Thousands of Chileans Pay Gladys Marin their Last RespectSantiago de Chile, Mar 8 (Prensa Latina) Carrying Chilean and the Communist Party´s (CP) flags hundreds of people pay the last respect to their emblematic leader, Gladys Marin who died Sunday early in the morning of brain cancer.An incredibly large crowd, the biggest gathered in Chile since President Salvador Allende (1973) was overthrown, were walking along with her mortal remains from the old National Congress-where she was exposed- up to the general cemetery in this capital.The ex leader coffin, covered with a red flag and flowers, was taken to the hearse being moved by the members of the PC National Board and her two sons, Alvaro and Rodrigo Muñoz.The scene, marked by the crying and slogans of fight, was accompanied by a song from the national group Inti Illimani "The People United will Never be Defeated" was sang by thousand of Chileans that were expecting the departure since early in the morning.
In its arrival to the Pergola of the Flowers in La Paz avenue, at the west of the capital, the workers made a red carnation carpet the hearse pass through.The travel that lasted for at least two hours and a half was attended by political leaders from all parties, congressmen and the pre-candidates to ruling coalition ex ministers Michelle Bachelet and Soledad Alvear.The overwhelming march went through calmly and with discipline, it was a real proof of sorrow and combat. The demonstrators bore many flags including the one from Cuban and Venezuela as well as banners carrying the image o Gladys Marin.The burial concluded with the entry to the General Cemetery and a huge mass ceremony where one of her sons talked as well as the President of the Cuban Parliament, Ricardo Alarcon and the PC General Secretary Guillermo Teillier.

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Chavez: If they assassinate me, only one person is to blame: BushTaken from Granma International
February 22, 2005THE leader of the Bolivarian Revolution has publicly condemned the continuous aggression by the United States against the Venezuelan people and affirmed that the empire is preparing the way to attack the revolutionary process that is already underway.

Here in Venezuela, there will be a homeland for all or for none, he stated, after commenting on Bush’s plans to assassinate him. "If anything happens to me, the sole and maximum responsibility lies with the president of the United States," confirmed President Hugo Chavez during his weekly program Aló, Presidente, broadcast live from the state of Carabobo.

Hugo Chavez confirmed that every time the empire plans an attack, its first step is to prepare public opinion, initially that of the US people themselves. With respect to that fact, the latest and repeated declarations by officials of that government have been that Chavez is a threat to democracy, to world peace and other such lies.

But if they dare to invade our homeland, the Venezuelan people will ensure they bite the dust of defeat and the cry will sound not just in Venezuela, but throughout the whole continent.

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Fox Gives Priority to Relations with Guatemala

Mexico, Feb 22 (Prensa Latina) President Vicente Fox asserted his country prioritized relations with Guatemala, which he considered a neighboring and friend nation, while receiving his counterpart Oscar Berger.

We, Mexicans, are very close to the Guatemalan people, as we are united by historic profound roots and millenary cultures, Fox noted.

Vicente Fox said the values and interests both countries shared proved the high level of understanding and cooperation between their governments.

He considered joint works at the highest level allowed strengthening and boosting economic links, and promoting cooperation in security, migration and border development.

The Mexican leader maintained they had taken firm firms toward the creation of a Middle American Community of Nations to contribute to regional development and growth.

Thanks to the Tuxtla Mechanism of Dialogue and Coordination and the Puebla-Panama Plan, Guatemala and Mexico have a decisive role in the process of integration of the Middle America Community of Nations, and the Latin American integration, he added.
On Monday, Berger opened a three-day tour of Mexico from which three collaboration agreements are expected to stem.

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Colombia-Venezuela Relations Boosted

Bogota, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Despite detractors, Venezuela and Colombia reactivated bilateral ties following a diplomatic crisis caused by the kidnapping of Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces top officer Rodrigo Granada on December 13.

Along with the US, several Colombian sectors and the Venezuelan opposition did the most they could to worsen the dispute over the abduction of Granda in Caracas, which Venezuela considered a violation of its sovereignty.

The meeting between Colombian and Venezuelan presidents Alvaro Uribe and Hugo Chavez last week put an end to the situation and gave impetus to bilateral relations.
On Sunday, the Foreign Affairs ministers from both sides, Carolina Barco (Colombia) and Ali Rodriguez (Venezuela) met and signed a joint communiqué.

Barco and Rodriguez called for the need of ongoing talks to quickly overcome any situation that may jeopardize bilateral stability.

They agreed to create a bi-national high level commission and hold a round of talks to be held in Bogota next July.

The Colombian Foreign minister ratified Uribe´s invitation to Chavez to visit Venezuela and announced the holding of a three-way summit in March, with the participation of Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva.

Ali Rodriguez said a high level mechanism would be reactivated in defense and security to examine the border situation.

The Joint Communiqué also ratified their intentions to create commissions to accomplish bilateral projects.

In addition, it envisages a meeting between the Bi-national Technical Commission for the Gas Pipeline and the Bi-national Technical Commission for the Multiple Purpose Pipeline or Oil Pipeline and the Cartagena Refinery.

During the next three months, they will sign a memorandum of understanding for the Gas Pipeline.

Other agreements target trade, navigation and aid in case of emergencies.
Both countries supported and expressed solidarity for the victims affected by the recent floods.

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Colombia and Venezuela Agree to Push Bilateral Relations Ahead

Bogotá, Feb 21 (Prensa Latina) Colombian Foreign Minister Carolina Barco and her Venezuelan counterpart Alí Rodríguez have discussed bilateral mechanisms to strengthen cooperation and agreed to begin meetings in March on specific issues.

A joint statement, the two officials assured their six-hour meeting on Sunday went very positively under a friendly atmosphere and mutual understanding.

The document says that both foreign ministers decided to create joint technical commissions to look into projects for a gas pipeline and an oil pipeline as well as the construction of a refinery in Cartagena. The groups will meet March 1 through 5.
Both countries also agree to deal with issues related to power generation, fuels in the border and coal.

Colombia and Venezuela will decide -on the first week of March- over key issues related to trade and a joint technical commission will meet March 15 and 16 for a comprehensive study of rivers for common use.

Barco and Rodríguez agreed that Colombian and Venezuelan representatives would decide in Caracas -before March ends- over the creation of a bilateral fund for emergencies. Both countries will also hold the 4th Science and Technology Mixed Cooperation Commission.

The statement also says that the Venezuelan State of Tachira will host the 33rd Session of Presidential Integration and Border Affairs Commission (COFIAF) on April 14 and 15.

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Alliance with Venezuela and Rapprochement to Caribbean, Lula´s Tour

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 13 (Prensa Latina) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is beginning a tour this afternoon to consolidate a strategic cooperation alliance with Venezuela, try to join Guyana and Surinam to the South American integration, and continue approaching the Caribbean.

Lula said the meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will be very important for the integration process which, he noted, will be determining for areas such as oil, mining, gas, and telecommunications. "We will do the same with Colombia and other countries, so that integration is no longer a piece of an electoral speech and becomes our daily action."

Marco Aurelio Garcia, assessor of the Presidency, highlighted "This way, Brazil is consolidating one of its big political challenges: the creation of a South American Community of Nations."

Meantime, the Foreign Ministry announced Lula´s visit to Venezuela will also focus on the defense and protection of the Amazonia, electricity, oil and gas exploration, the petrochemical and iron and steel industries, ethanol production, science and technology, among other issues.

Several memorandums of understanding are expected to be signed between the two governments, as well as an agreement to avoid doble taxing.

Lula´s tour also aims to include Guyana and Surinam in the South American integration system, which has the participation of Chile as associate member of MERCOSUR and another nine countries as well. This way, no sub regional country would be left out from the scheme.

When evaluating his first two years in power, the president stated today he is happy with the results but not satisfied, as there is still much to be done. Lula noted that what has been done so far surpasses expectations, comparing the current situation with that of January 2003 when he assumed the presidency. The economy was at a standstill, inflation had run out of control, and the debt-Gross National Product relation was likely to be unviable, Lula recalled.

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Brazilian President Meets with Chavez in Venezuela

Caracas, Feb 14 (Prensa Latina) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo Chávez are meeting in Caracas as a new step to boost Latin American integration.

Lula arrived in Venezuela late Sunday accompanied by a large group of business representatives on an official visit invited by President Chavez.

During the visit, both countries will develop a Business Meeting where a great number of business representatives from Venezuela and Brazil will try to identify common working areas.

Chavez -in his program, Aló Presidente- said Lula´s visit will foster a strategic alliance between Venezuela and Brazil.

The Venezuelan leader said the meeting with Lula will include 17 topics linked to the integrationist plans of Latin America, defended by both presidents.

The presidents will analyze cooperation in the oil and gas sectors, elimination of double taxation as well as the joint manufacture of commercial planes and spare parts for military aircrafts.

Both presidents will also discuss the possible creation of the Bank of the South and Brazil´s incorporation to Telesur -Television of the South- promoted by the Venezuelan government.

Chavez and Lula will sign a Joint Declaration and Chavez will offer a lunch to the visitor before he leaves Caracas for Guyana and Surinam.

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