Translated material
Presidential vendetta
Chavez showed dirt on his neighbors on TV
Mexico and Venezuela are on the verge of breaking diplomatic relations. On Monday, Caracas urgently recalled its ambassador to Mexico City. After this, the Mexican ambassador was recalled from Caracas. The reason for these movements was the ultimatum that Mexico put forward to Venezuela: to apologize no later than midnight on Monday for President Hugo Chavez's rudeness towards his Mexican counterpart Vicente Fox. Caracas called the ultimatum “senseless aggression.” Mexico City considers Hugo Chavez's statements "an attack on the dignity of the Mexican people and government."The controversy between the two presidents began in early November at the summit of the countries of the Americas in the Argentine city of Mar del Plata. Mexico and 27 other countries on the continent supported the US idea of creating a free trade area of America. However, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay opposed it. Hugo Chavez was particularly vehement - he took part in street rallies against the agreement and said that he had brought a shovel with him to bury Washington's plans.
Vicente Fox called Chavez's position "the euphoria of intolerance," which infuriated the Venezuelan president. He called Fox the “puppy of the US empire.” To prove he was right, Chavez took a rare step in international relations - in the Sunday television program “Hello, President” he showed video footage of closed negotiations in Mar del Plata. “You shouldn’t be offended—we are showing the truth, and Christ suffered for it,” Chavez said, sensing the impending storm of protests. Against the backdrop of a selection of videos of heated presidential debates, the Venezuelan leader made mocking comments. It was especially hard on President Bush, who could not convince his interlocutors that he was right. “You should have seen this mister’s face, I enjoyed it,” Chavez sneered. Bush, he said, left the forum with his tail “tucked between his legs.” Fox, who defended Bush, also got it.
The emergence of video footage of closed negotiations in the hands of Chavez caused a scandal. According to the Argentine newspaper La Nación, the videotape was transferred to Caracas “by decision taken at the level of the President of Argentina.” This intensifies passions even more. Argentine leader Nestor Kirchner also publicly quarreled with Vicente Fox amid the unsuccessful forum in Mar del Plata. Then Mr. Fox said that the host of the meeting, Kirchner, was more trying to please the public opinion of the Argentines than thinking about the success of the negotiations. “It would be better for President Fox to take care of Mexico, and I will defend the Argentines,” Kirchner said in response. “Good diplomacy does not mean bowing to the powerful.” Kirchner himself plans to visit Caracas this Friday for negotiations with Chavez.
This is not the first time Vicente Fox has encountered recordings of political incriminating evidence. In the spring of 2002, he was accused of lying by Cuban leader Fidel Castro. At the time, Mr. Fox denied that he had tried to persuade Castro to leave an international anti-poverty meeting in Monterrey early to prevent even a chance meeting with George W. Bush. But it turned out that the Cubans recorded a telephone conversation between Castro and Fox. Then it didn’t come to the point of breaking diplomatic relations between the countries.