Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday said Venezuelan financial aid to Latin America had surpassed US commitments in the region.
His comments follow a tour by US President George W. Bush widely seen as an attempt to curtail the fiery Venezuelan leader's spreading influence in the region.
Chavez, who argues that Latin America has long suffered from US domination, has used his government's booming oil revenues to finance infrastructure projects, oil shipments and donations in what he describes as a bid toward greater regional sovereignty.
Chavez provided for the first time on Wednesday the estimated value of oil deals with 17 Caribbean and Latin American countries.
Venezuela is now sending some 200,000 barrels a day of oil under the deals, which provide low-cost, long-term financing, and allow recipients to settle part of the bill in non-cash payments like nutmeg and bananas, according to Chavez.
Calculated at an average oil price of US$60 a barrel -- because much of it includes more costly refined products than crude, Chavez said -- that amounts to US$4.8 million a day in financial assistance solely through oil shipments, or US$1.6 billion a year.
"Venezuela, as modest as it is, is helping Latin America much more than the United States," Chavez said on his weekday radio address.
Bush, before embarking on his tour of Brazil, Uruguay, Colombia, Guatemala and Mexico last week, said that aid to Latin America last year from the US -- which has an economy 90 times the size of Venezuela's -- was US$1.6 billion.
The White House said Bush's trip was aimed at underlining the US government's commitment to Latin America, but Chavez repeatedly accused his US foe of coming to divide the region and isolate his government.
"It's true they scorn Latin America because they have always considered us their backyard," Chavez said. "We're sick of being ... the backyard where they toss their garbage. That's over."
A bulk of US aid to the region is military and counter-drug trafficking assistance. Chavez contrasted that to recent Venezuelan commitments like donations for flood victims in Bolivia.
Critics at home say Chavez's generosity is excessive because about a third of Venezuelans live in poverty.
Meanwhile, the Chavez administration's purchases of some US$3.5 billion in Argentine bonds have helped cover that government's deficits but have also allowed Venezuela to profit handsomely by reselling the bonds through its own banks.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
RSS