Venezuela Cites Accord With Guatemala to End UN Race

[muriel_volestrangler]

Guatemala and Venezuela have agreed to drop their bids for a Latin American seat on the United Nations Security Council and back a compromise candidate, Venezuelan Ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas said.

The 48th round of voting in the General Assembly for a Latin American seat on the council, scheduled for 3 p.m. local time today, has been canceled, the UN said.
...
Cardenas said the foreign ministers would consult their heads of state before meeting again at 4 p.m. New York time to decide on a compromise candidate for the contested seat.
...
The Dominican Republic would ``probably'' emerge as the compromise candidate, according to Sully Saneaux, spokesman for the Caribbean nation's mission to the UN. Dominican President Leonel Fernandez said on Oct. 26 that he was contacted by Maduro about becoming a candidate.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=ad..HSZdXtIQ&refer=latin_america

[High Plains]

1. Who will it be? I heard rumors of Bolivia earlier...

[papau]

2. A defeat for the left and a win for the CIA - The Dominican Republic

let the CIA set up a dozen trucks and pay for a couple hundred mercenaries on their soil - then opened their border so that these thugs could go into Haiti and, again with CIA support, remove the elected head of a left of center government because he did not treat the rich that had tried to destroy the country - look at the tree cutting that left little for the rest of the population - he did not treat the rich like we do in the US when they steal from the public.

It is a sad day. The only good news is that the thugs the CIA loves in Guatemala will not be getting the seat.

[Judi Lynn]

3. You're surely right. The D.R. has been zestily used as a pawn against Haiti.

What a dirty, dirty shame that _Bush pulled it off so slickly, while the rest of the world watched. Evil really triumphed there.

It continued after they knocked out Aristide, in attempting to destroy all the ballots favoring the next people's choice in the next Presidential election. It took a miracle for someone to discover those ballots smoldering away in a dump miles from the city, but, by God, something finally went right.

Too bad there isn't enough strength within the population of the D.R. to throw off the corrupt scum controlling that country as well.

And it IS great Guatemala didn't make it. _Bush has used Guatemala before, in forcing it to side with him in other disputes: once against Cuba, when the only OTHER countries he could muscle into supporting him were the Marshall Islands, and Israel.

[druidity33]

4. when's the next election in DR? nt

[Judi Lynn]

5. Looks like the next one will be in 2008.

The current one, President Leonel FERNANDEZ Reyna, was elected in August 2004.

I just remembered something. A couple of years ago, _{Bush the Elder} went for a special holiday there, staying at the resort owned by Cuban "exile" sugar barons, who also own a huge sugar plantation in South Florida, the Fanjuls. The oldest ones, Pepe and Jose "Alfie," have been enormous contributors to the U.S. political system, with one giving huge chunks of change to Democrats, and the other to Republicans.

_{Bush the Elder} went to that resort to meet and confer with the alleged wealthiest man in Venezuela, media mogul, Gustavo Cisneros, who was one of the coup plotters in the attempted coup of Hugo Chavez.

Yep, I finally remembered _Bushes have some very wealthy friends in the Dominican Republic. Yuck, and more yuck. It's easy to imagine how THAT government works, and for whom!

[Bacchus39]

7. it is NOT great that Guatemala didn't win after

getting a clear majority in 46 of 47 votes.

[1932]

8. If they only needed a majority of votes, maybe a few more countries

would have had the courage to vote against the pawn of a neoliberal empire which does so much to hurt the interests of most of the developing world.

[Freddie Stubbs]

11. A few more? Venezuela couldn't even get a majority in every single round

The 2/3 threshold was clearly out of reach.

[1932]

9. If they only needed a majority of votes, maybe a few more countries

would have had the courage to vote against the pawn of a neoliberal empire which does so much to hurt the interests of most of the developing world.

[Eugene]

6. BBC: Panama agreement ends UN seat row

Last Updated: Thursday, 2 November 2006, 04:14 GMT

Panama agreement ends UN seat row

Venezuela and Guatemala have withdrawn their rival bids for a UN Security
Council seat from Latin America, diplomats have said.

They say the move opens the way for Panama to take the non-permanent seat.

-snip-

Now Guatemala and Venezuela are expected to formally endorse Panama at a
meeting of the Latin American group of countries at the UN later on Thursday.

'Setback' for Chavez

The announcement about the deal was made after talks between the foreign
ministers of Guatemala and Venezuela.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6108556.stm

[Freddie Stubbs]

10. If Chavez really had wanted this UN seat he should have

spent millions of dollars in foriegn aid and selling oil at a discount to poor nations.