June 6, 2006

U.S. warns OAS about the "pied pipers of populism"

By Tom Brown

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (Reuters) - The United States, seeking to counter Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and rising anti-U.S. sentiment across Latin America, warned the region on Monday not to be seduced by populists.

"The pied pipers of populism will only lead people backwards, while globalization and the rest of the world looks ahead," said U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick.

He was addressing foreign ministers and delegation heads from 34 member countries of the Organization of American States in the Dominican capital for its 36th annual general assembly.

"The divide we now face is not between left and right, but between democrats and authoritarians, whether or not elected," said Zoellick.

He did not refer directly to Chavez, a close ally of Cuban President Fidel Castro who regularly brands President George W. Bush as imperialist and portrays his self-styled "Bolivarian" revolution as the sole cure for many of Latin America's ills.

But Chavez has thrown his support behind Daniel Ortega, the Sandinista and former U.S. nemesis, in Nicaragua's upcoming presidential race. And Zoellick warned in his speech that "old caudillos of corruption and communism" were seeking to stage a comeback in Managua.

Zoellick also urged the OAS to stand firmly behind Peru in a diplomatic spat with Venezuela.

Peru's Foreign Minister Oscar Maurtua has used the meeting to denounce what he called Chavez's meddling in Peru's internal politics, and he implicitly called for OAS sanctions against Chavez on Monday.

Chavez also supported Ollanta Humala, a populist former army commander, in his bid for Peru's presidency, but a runoff election was won by former President Alan Garcia, an outspoken Chavez critic.

Highlighting U.S. pleasure over outcome of the Peruvian election, Zoellick told reporters, "Chavez has overplayed his hand and people in the region are recognizing it."

However, he acknowledged that Chavez, who the Bush administration accuses of ruling in an increasingly autocratic fashion, was a formidable opponent.

"He (Chavez) still has a lot of oil money and a lot of influence," Zoellick said.

He did not elaborate. But the Venezuelan leader has an agenda that has clashed with the Bush administration on many issues, including free trade and hemispheric security.

Reflecting some of the challenges for Washington, Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim stressed his country's "excellent relations" with Venezuela in comments on the sidelines of the OAS assembly. He also said Brazil backed Venezuela in its campaign to secure a seat on the U.N. Security Council starting in January.

Venezuela's bid is opposed by the Bush administration, which is backing Guatemala for the Council spot representing Latin America and the Caribbean.

Chavez said in April that Venezuela would sever ties with Peru if Garcia won election and the two countries have already withdrawn their respective ambassadors.

But Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez held out a tentative olive branch to Peru, after criticizing Maurtua for airing Peru's differences with Venezuela.

"All the journalists here have asked about the future of relations between the governments of Peru and Venezuela. That depends on the Peruvian government," Rodriguez told the assembly.

He added that any future attacks from Lima against the Chavez government would be met with a swift response.

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