Former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores late Friday withdrew as a candidate to head the Organization of American States, saying a three-way race for the post has caused deep division within North, Central and South America and the Caribbean.
Flores, who left office last year, was the US government's choice to lead the Washington-based organization. Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez and Chilean Interior Minister Jose Miguel Insulza have also campaigned heavily for the job.
Ambassadors from the organization's 34 member states are scheduled to meet in Washington tomorrow to elect a new secretary general and the race for the post that had pitted Flores against Derbez and Insulza was the most-disputed in decades.
dangerous situation
At a news conference in the Salvadoran capital, Flores said he was leaving the race "in the face of a dangerous situation where, instead of uniting the [Americas] region, it turned out we have divided it."
"The realities are that one candidate is running with the support of the Southern Cone and two others are fighting over the same region," Flores said, referring to Insulza's perceived popularity in South America and his own scramble for votes with Derbez in Central America.
"I want to sacrifice my aspirations to give the region an opportunity to unite and begin a renewed effort to join together," Flores said. "My resignation could result in the true objective which is [an Americas region] united. That is where its future lies."
Flores' withdrawal means that, for the first time, Washington's candidate will not win the election for OAS secretary general. The former Salvadoran president was seen as running third, however, behind Insulza and Derbez, who has already been endorsed by Canada and Belize.
Flores was thought to enjoy the support of most of Central America. While who the countries of that region will support in a race between Insulza and Derbez remains to be seen, in Washington, the immediate reaction to Flores' withdrawal was that it strengthens Derbez's candidacy.
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