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 News from Around the Americas | November 2005 
Venezuela Kicks Ball to Mexico in Diplomatic Spat
 Patrick Markey - Reuters
| | Venezuela and Mexico decided to withdraw ambassadors from each other's country amid a deepening dispute between Venezuela's leftist President Hugo Chavez (R) and his conservative Mexican counterpart Vicente Fox (L), pictured in 2001. Venezuela and Mexico decided to withdraw ambassadors from each others' countries amid a deepening dispute between leftist President Hugo Chavez and his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox.(AFP/File/Joan Barreto) |
Caracas, Venezuela – Venezuela said Wednesday Mexico should take the initiative to resolve a diplomatic standoff after both governments recalled their ambassadors in a dispute over U.S. regional free trade proposals.
Mexico Tuesday declared the case closed, but insisted on an apology after President Hugo Chavez called his Mexican counterpart, Vicente Fox, a "lap dog" of U.S. imperialism and told him, "Don't mess with me, mister, or you'll get stung."
Those remarks were directed at Fox's support of U.S. free trade proposals and came after the Mexican leader criticized left-winger Chavez and Argentina's President Nestor Kirchner for their anti-U.S. positions at a regional summit.
"It seems to me arrogant on their part because the Mexican government opens and shuts the case as it wants. There should be more dialogue between our foreign ministers," Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel told reporters.
"Until now everything has depended on Mexico, they took the initiative to attack President Chavez and President Kirchner and then the decision to move the ambassadors."
Mexico had given Venezuela a deadline to apologize before recalling its envoy, but Venezuela pre-empted Mexico by announcing the return of its ambassador before. Fox recalled Mexico's envoy to Venezuela minutes later.
The worst recent diplomatic crisis between Mexico and Venezuela has underscored deep divisions in Latin America over U.S. trade proposals and the growing gulf between the United States and Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
Venezuela and Mexico will maintain trade and diplomatic contacts but their political relations have been downgraded.
"Problems are solved by talking. They took the initiative, now they should solve the problem and we'll try to help them," Venezuela's Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez said Wednesday.
The spat broke out after the leaders met at the Summit of the Americas in Argentina this month to discuss the U.S.-backed hemisphere-wide Free Trade Area for the Americas initiative.
After the summit, Fox, a conservative ally of Washington, accused left-leaning Kirchner of sacrificing his support for U.S. trade deals to score in opinion polls. He also took a swipe at Chavez's ideology. |
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