Latin American Leaders Mourn Chávez as Obama Cites New Chapter
Latin American Leaders Mourn Chávez as Obama Cites New Chapter
AS/COA’s Eric Farnsworth points out that U.S. response to President Hugo Chávez’s passing “has to be nuanced as too much advocating a certain direction in Venezuela could backfire.”
Latin American leaders mourned the death of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez as U.S. President Barack Obama said it creates a chance to build a constructive relationship with the U.S.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, who came to power with Chavez’s support, struggled through his speech in La Paz, his voice breaking as he declared seven days of official mourning. In Brazil, the region’s biggest economy, President Dilma Rousseff said Latin America’s poor lost an important ally, and Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto sent his condolences to Chavez’s family and the Venezuelan people via Twitter.
The tone struck by Latin America’s leaders contrasted with the one emerging from Washington, where Obama said Chavez’s death opens “a new chapter” for Venezuela and that the U.S. wants a better relationship with the nation….
The response from Chavez’s neighbors is typical of Latin America’s historic reaction to leadership changes, said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Council of the Americas, a New York-based business organization. Farnsworth also worked at the White House on issues affecting the region during the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton.
“Latin America is very adept at pulling together to show solidarity when countries go through changes like this,” he said in a telephone interview. “It almost doesn’t matter if Chavez was from the left or the right.”
The U.S. reaction “has to be nuanced, because if it comes off as too much advocating a certain direction in Venezuela that could backfire,” Farnsworth said….
