Spain's king tells Venezuela's Chavez to "shut up"

[Marcus Marulus]

Spain's king tells Venezuela's Chavez to "shut up"

By Manuel Farias and Pav Jordan

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Spain's King Juan Carlos told Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Saturday to "shut up" during closing speeches by leaders from the Latin world that brought the Ibero-American summit to an acrimonious end.

"Why don't you shut up?" the king shouted at Chavez, pointing a finger at the president when he tried to interrupt a speech by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero.

Zapatero was in the middle of a speech at the summit of mostly leftist leaders from Latin America, Portugal, Spain and Andorra, and was criticizing Chavez for calling former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar a fascist.
Chavez, a leading leftist foe of Washington, also attacked Spanish businessman Gerardo Diaz Ferran earlier in the week after he questioned the safety of foreign investments in Venezuela.

"I want to express to you President Hugo Chavez that in a forum where there are democratic governments ... one of the essential principles is respect," Zapatero told the leaders gathered in the Chilean capital, Santiago.

"You can disagree radically, without being disrespectful," Zapatero, a socialist, said sternly, drawing applause from some of the other heads of state.

Chavez, a former soldier, made his mark on the three-day summit from the start, announcing his arrival earlier in the week with defiant lyrics from a Mexican ballad.

"With the truth in hand, I do not offend, I do not fear," Chavez said on Saturday. "The government of Venezuela reserves the right to respond to any aggression."

PULP MILL FIGHT

The 19 leaders at the summit were nearly all leftists and the gathering was mostly friendly, although tension flared between neighbors Argentina and Uruguay over a controversial pulp mill along a border river.

Uruguay granted a long-awaited start-up permit to a Finnish group for the pulp mill on Thursday, drawing swift criticism from Argentina and deepening a long-running dispute.

The official theme of the summit was social cohesion, but many of the region's top leaders took advantage of the event to hold bilateral meetings on energy.

Latin American economies have expanded rapidly in recent years, putting pressure on energy supplies due to rising consumer demand and factory output in countries such as Chile and Argentina.

While most heads of state were due to leave Chile on Saturday, Chavez joined some of South America's most left-leaning leaders at a rally of about 3,000 people gathered for a "People's Summit" in a Santiago stadium.

Chavez interrupted his speech at the rally to call Cuba's Fidel Castro, who he considers his mentor. Chavez paraphrased a message from Castro congratulating Chileans who fought against former dictator Augusto Pinochet.

"Well Fidel, what a shame that we don't have speakerphone on this mobile, the people wanted to hear you," said Chavez, dressed in a red T-shirt.

Joining Chavez at the rally were Bolivia's Evo Morales, Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage and Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. In his closing remarks from the leaders summit, Morales accused other countries of perceiving him as a lackey of the Venezuelan president.

"They treat us like animals because of the unconditional cooperation from comrade Hugo Chavez ... him as the big one and me as the little one," Morales told summit leaders.

(Additional reporting by Magdalena Morales and Ines Guzman; editing by Xavier Briand and Todd Eastham)

[source]

[Menydh]

Most I can say is that things in South and Central America are becoming quite entertaining.

What appalls me most from Chávez is ignorance of his own history. He is an indigenist of sorts yet he reveres Simón Bolivar, a hero of the independence from Spain.

The fact is that the independence was organized by Criollos, not by the indigenous population. And it was from that moment on that the indigenous population lost their protection and rights as subjects of the Crown.

Anyway, at least he opposition to the US in the area is something positive.

[Errigal]

I saw a story recently on BBC World discussing a new film being made on a hero of Venezuelan independence as part of Chavez's national pride movement:

BBC NEWS | Americas | Venezuelan cinema, Chavez style

[Menydh]

That's Bolívar. He has even renamed Venezuela to República Bolivariana de Venezuela.

About the film studios to produce Venezuelan films to break the monopoly of Hollywood, I would fear. You would have to be very proficient in the Spanish language and have watched one Venezuelan soap opera to understand..

[Elysium.]

Finally! Someone involved in politics said those magical words.

[IrishThirdPosition]

Hmmm, the Freemason king stepping in to protect his Communist prime minister.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

That's Bolívar. He has even renamed Venezuela to República Bolivariana de Venezuela.

This first historical film will be about another figure, Francisco de Miranda.
Francisco de Miranda - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Originally Posted by Mynydd

About the film studios to produce Venezuelan films to break the monopoly of Hollywood, I would fear. You would have to be very proficient in the Spanish language and have watched one Venezuelan soap opera to understand..

I don't think I've seen any Venezuelans soaps but the Brazilian ones I've seen have been bizarre (people transforming into angels etc.)

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Errigal

This first historical film will be about another figure, Francisco de Miranda.
Francisco de Miranda - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Another Freemason. Like all the other instigators of the independence.
CategorÃ*a:Masones de Venezuela - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

[Kernunnos]

Originally Posted by IrishThirdPosition

Hmmm, the Freemason king stepping in to protect his Communist prime minister.

They were both protecting spanish investments.

Anyway, nice thing.

[Errigal]

Originally Posted by Mynydd

Another Freemason. Like all the other instigators of the independence.
CategorÃ*a:Masones de Venezuela - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Yes, it is remarkable how often the Freemasons come up when looking at the history of this era.

Originally Posted by IrishThirdPosition

Hmmm, the Freemason king stepping in to protect his Communist prime minister.

I am more doubtful of this though.

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by IrishThirdPosition

Hmmm, the Freemason king stepping in to protect his Communist prime minister.

Hugo Chavez is not a Communist.

[Menydh]

Originally Posted by Errigal

I am more doubtful of this though.

His father was. That was among the reasons why Franco resolved to resume the monarchy with Juan Carlos and not with his father.

Originally Posted by Plethon

Hugo Chavez is not a Communist.

Hugo Chávez is not Spain's Prime Minister either.

[Strengthandhonour]

Chavez is all talk.
He speaks of nationalism yet he spends all his countries resources on stupid little projects while his people starve and move to other countries.

[Menydh]

Over here, the reaction of King Juan Carlos telling Hugo Chávez to shut up, and then leaving visibly angered when Nicaragua's president Daniel Ortega started to go about Spanish entrepreneurs, has gained him an overwhelming popular support. All critiques go against PM Zapatero for his wishy-washy answer to Chávez.

The official Venezuelan press has prompted to define the reaction as ... "the king" tells his ex-colonies to shut up. With the words "the king" purposedly among quotes.

It is going to be very interesting to see how things develope from now on. Zapatero had bet strong on the Chávez-Morales-Ortega gang. But they have slapped him in the face like the idiot that he is. The same that happened to him in Europe with Chirac and Schröder.

The fact is that Chávez could have achieved much in South and Central American, and in general in the entire American continent. But obviously God forgot to give him a fully functional brain.

The more he sees himself cornered, the more that his reactions will become unpredictable.