CARACAS, Friday September 05, 2008 | Update
Republican delegates wore allegorical hats in the framework of the National Republican Convention (Photo: AFP)
Politics
Otto Reich, the policy adviser on Latin America for Republican
presidential candidate John McCain and a a former US ambassador
to Venezuela, under the presidency of Ronald Reagan and George
W. Bush, said that President Hugo Chávez is an enemy
of the US.
Last Thursday, eluniversal.com asked readers whether
they believed Chávez's government should change
its policy towards the US after the US presidential elections.
Reich, in the framework of the National Republican convention
held in Saint Paul, answered to the question: "I think
so. He (Chávez) should change many things. It is evident
that Chávez is destroying a country I deeply love. I
suffer seeing how he destroys the economy and how he undermines
the democratic institutions. I hope that he changes but I
am not an optimist on the matter."
"That is a reality. He has repeatedly insulted our country
and our leaders. He is an ally of US enemies and he takes
actions against our interests," Reich added.
Reich also stressed, "there are people like the Castro brothers
or Chávez who want to create problems and when they do,
someone has to stop them. When I refer to the "21st Century
Socialism," as Chávez calls Venezuelan regime, for me,
when you examine his actions, what he is doing is exactly
what Mussolini did in Italy and Adolph Hitler did in Germany
in 1930 before becoming an expansionist. It is fascism," he
said. Reich also questioned Chávez relationship with
the government of Iran.
McCain's advisor said that the region would not be the priority
for the Republican candidate, although he will pay attention
to Latin America.
05:09 PM. Economy. If any country has cashed in on the Bolivarian revolution, that is Brazil, particularly the private companies of the southern neighbor. Over the past five years, it has been awarded contracts for works to be carried out in Venezuela for over USD 14 billion. This puts it as the first recipient of government-to-government contracts, that is, without bidding, since Hugo Chávez took office.