Most Caribbean countries lined up behind Chile's interior minister as their candidate in the closely contested race to head the 34-member Organization of American States.
The Caribbean's 14 votes could be crucial in determining whether Chile's socialist interior minister, Jose Miguel Insulza, or Mexico's conservative foreign secretary, Luis Ernesto Derbez, wins the needed 18 votes set to take place yesterday, to become the next OAS secretary-general.
The Caribbean region "holds the key to this election, and from all appearances it looks like Chile has the edge," said Albert Ramdin, a former Caribbean Community assistant secretary general from Suriname.
Caribbean Community Secretary-General Edwin Carrington has said Insulza could count on at least 10 Caribbean votes following lengthy talks within the bloc.
Ramdin said Derbez has the support of at least two Caribbean countries, Belize and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Derbez campaigned on promises to make eradicating poverty his top priority, while Insulza wants to make the OAS more dynamic and restore confidence in the organization, which promotes democracy and regional cooperation but has been accused by some of being ineffective.
The race has been one of the most hard-fought in the group's 57-year history, with officials traveling to lobby governments ahead of Monday's special meeting in Washington.
A third US-backed candidate, former Salvadoran president Francisco Flores, dropped out of the race Friday, meaning that for the first time Washington's chosen candidate will not win. US officials had yet to announce whom they will support in his place.
Small nations have expressed concern the planned Free Trade Area of the Americas could lead their economies to be overwhelmed by those of larger nations, and it appeared at least some Caribbean countries saw Insulza as an ally in pressing their interests.
Officials said Insulza could count on support from South American countries whose leaders identify with the left, including Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Ecuador and Uruguay. Until Flores dropped out, Insulza was being widely perceived as having the most votes in hand -- an estimated 16 or more.
Mexico, however, has said it is optimistic Derbez will capture all the votes that would have gone to Flores, except the Dominican Republic's. The Mexican government has said it hopes to receive strong support in Central America, plus the backing of Canada, Bolivia, Paraguay, Colombia, and the US, among others.
"This is shaping up to be a very, very interesting race. It is not going to be over until it is over," said Denis Antoine, Grenada's ambassador to the US.
Panama's foreign minister, who traveled to Washington on Sunday, did not say how his country would vote, but said both candidates were qualified.
"Panama will continue to work in search of a consensus to ensure that the new secretary general is a person who has the support of all member countries," Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis Navarro said in a statement.
If there is a tie, a second round of voting would be held.
Before the vote for secretary-general, OAS members also will vote on the presidency of the group's general assembly, choosing between Argentina and Costa Rica, Antoine said.
The election for a new OAS chief was called after the previous secretary general, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, resigned in October after less than a month in office and returned to Costa Rica to face charges he had accepted kickbacks during his 1998-2002 presidency.
RSS