Back on his old hobby-horse
IF EXPELLING ambassadors ever became an Olympic sport, Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, would have few rivals for gold. In almost a decade in power, the garrulous leftist has provoked serious diplomatic breaches with Mexico, Peru, Chile and, repeatedly, neighbouring Colombia. Several other governments have felt the lash of his unbridled tongue.On virtually every occasion, Mr Chávez argued that the true culprit was the Bush administration and its desire to see the back of him. Vicente Fox, then Mexico’s president, was a “puppy of the empire”; Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe “a sad pawn”. The Venezuelan president insists that the United States
But there are limits even to Hugo Chávez’s anti-Americanism
Illustration by Claudio Munoz
Illustration by Claudio Munoz
IF EXPELLING ambassadors ever became an Olympic sport, Venezuela’s president, Hugo Chávez, would have few rivals for gold. In almost a decade in power, the garrulous leftist has provoked serious diplomatic breaches with Mexico, Peru, Chile and, repeatedly, neighbouring Colombia. Several other governments have felt the lash of his unbridled tongue.On virtually every occasion, Mr Chávez argued that the true culprit was the Bush administration and its desire to see the back of him. Vicente Fox, then Mexico’s president, was a “puppy of the empire”; Colombia’s Álvaro Uribe “a sad pawn”. The Venezuelan president insists that the United States
more info:
