by the El Reportero’s news services
Hugo Chávez
CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez will celebrate 10 years in power next week by holding a rare summit with some of his closest leftist allies in Latin America.
Venezuelans will be asked in February whether or not Hugo Chávez should be allowed to run for a third term.
Venezuelans will be asked in February whether or not Hugo Chávez should be allowed to run for a third term.
Attending will be leaders or representatives from a group called the Bolivarian Alternative for the Peoples of Our Americas, better known as ALBA. Chávez and his allies started the group a few years ago in attempt, they said, to counterbalance United States influence in Latin America.
Chavez announced the gathering Monday on state-run Radio Nacional de Venezuela, commonly called RNV. He called it “an extraordinary summit of ALBA .”
Bolivian President Evo Morales, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit will attend, RNV said on its Web site.
Evo Morales
Cuban President Raul Castro will not be there because he is on a trip to Asia, El Universal newspaper said.
Ecuador minister resigns
Sources inside the ruling Acuerdo País (AP) confi rmed on Jan. 29 that the Interior Minister Fernando Bustamente, had resigned in order to run for Congress in the upcoming general elections on April 26. Bustamente is not the only political heavyweight interested in a congressional seat.
Daniel Ortega
Gustavo Larrea, the security minister, is also interested in going into congress and he resigned from the cabinet on Jan. 28. A return to congress for both men would give President Rafael Correa tighter control over the Acuerdo País bloc in the new congress, ensuring that it is made up of a solid base of loyal supporters. This would make the congressional bloc distinct from the broader Acuerdo País movement which, judging from the chaotic party primaries it held on Jan. 25, is far from united behind Correa.
The Brazil bounce
Amid the encircling economic gloom two bullish pieces of data stand out from Brazil. The first is the recovery in bank lending in December. The second is the optimistic forecast from wholesalers about new vehicle sales in 2009.
