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Chavez: the FTAA is dead

RealWorldRadio | 09.07.2004 19:21 | Venezuela | Globalisation | London | World

Venezuelan president, Hugo Chavez, expressed again that US project of completing a Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) is definitely dead. This time, the Venezuelan president made this balance at his arrival to Puerto Iguazu, in Misiones, Argentina, where he will participate on the Summit of MERCOSUR presidents.

“Luckily, the FTAA, as I see it, is already dead, as happened with Cid Campeador, who died in the battle but his dead body was tied to his horse to made his enemies believe he was alive”, said Chavez.

Months ago, Chavez had already expressed that FTAA’s negotiations were definitely in crisis and that it wouldn’t be concreted as US planned it.

The Venezuelan president will participate of the XXVI Summit of MERCOSUR presidents, where he expects to concrete a strategic alliance by the creation of an inter-state oil company with Argentina.

According to Chavez, this agreement on energetic matters with Argentina could be the first step in a more general process of integration with the MERCOSUR countries.

“We want to create the company Petrosur, which would be an energetic-oil integration between Argentina and Venezuela, as a first step to a physical real integration, not only commercial and political, but the whole energetic potential”, assured Chavez.

Several diplomats from the Venezuelan chancellery are working in the elaboration of a proposal of alternative integration to the FTAA, known as Bolivarian Alternative of the Americas (ALBA).

“The FTAA is the death certificate of our people, so we need to find the Bolivarian alternatives”, he said.

Within this context of rejection towards the FTAA impulse by US, the Venezuelan president expressed that the MERCOSUR is “a big step”, although it should advance towards an integration that includes the countries “from all the south”.

According to Chavez, this kind of integration within the MERCOSUR scenario could become a true Latin American integration. “These are the old ghosts that are coming back; the ghosts of Bolivar, San Martin and Artigas, coming back in order to make the American union possible. We are here with great expectations of keep supporting a regional integration”.

As Chavez affirmed, this “dream of the great (integrated) America” is the idea that should be opposed to the “US pretension of devastating it all”.

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