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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | September 2006 
Venezuela's Chavez Says Normal Relations with Mexico Impossible
 Associated Press
| | Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez shows a copy of "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" by American left-wing philosopher Noam Chomsky during his address to the 61st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 20 September 2006. Chomsky's book remained atop of Amazon.com's bestseller list, after its plug last week by Chavez. (AFP/Don Emmert) |
President Hugo Chavez said Sunday it was impossible for Venezuela to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Mexico because president-elect Felipe Calderon led a smear campaign against Venezuela.
The Venezuelan leader also called Calderon's election victory "doubtful," suggesting the candidate belonging to Mexico's ruling National Action Party defeated leftist candidate Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador by resorting to fraud.
"How is the Mexican president going to hope that we have good personal (and) political relations? It's impossible," said Chavez, speaking during a television interview.
"In Mexico, the president-elect's campaign was against me," said Chavez, citing television campaign ads paid for by National Action that compared Lopez Obrador to Chavez and warned that the rival candidate represented "a danger for Mexico."
Mexico is considering breaking off diplomatic relations with Venezuela because Chavez, citing alleged election irregularities, has accused Mexico's ruling party of unfairly influencing the July 2 vote and has refused to recognized Calderon's victory.
Earlier this month, Mexico's highest electoral court declared Calderon winner of the election by less than 0.6 percent of the vote after weighing hundreds of charges of fraud by both sides. Mexican President Vicente Fox hands power to Calderon on Dec. 1.
Diplomatic relations between Mexico and Venezuela have been in limbo since November, when both governments called home their ambassadors during a highly public and personal spat between Chavez and Fox over proposed U.S. free-trade pacts.
Chavez has said that Venezuela doesn't plan to sever diplomatic ties with Mexico. |
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