Original article in Spanish in CLARÍn
MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina: We were like five musketeers, standing our ground and fencing well. And in the duel, we prevailed." These were the words uttered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. He was describing the contentious five-hours of negotiation between Chavez and the presidents of the Mercosur countries to find a consensus on the final document of the Summit of the Americas. "And Nestor Kirchner played Dartagnan," added.All for One and One For All!
[Editor's Note: In the story of The Three Musketeers, Dartagnan was the main character that travels to Paris in order to join "The Musketeers," who were the French King's personal guard. The implication is that Argentina's President Kirchner has now joined Chavez and those Latin American countries that oppose the Bush Administration and its plans for the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas. Mercosur, or the Common Market of the South, was created in 1991 as a way of economically integrating South American countries. It is comprised of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uraguay].
At a press conference that began after a two-hour delay and before answering a single question, Chavez spent over an hour describing the, "unedited, intense and frank debate that was like none other at a Summit."
In concluding his remarks, he assured listeners that the defeated party had been the President of the United States. "The man was beaten and he never saw it coming. The grand defeat went to Mister George "W." Bush, which is why he left ahead of time," he declared, amidst the laughter of his ministers, who had accompanied from their first class rooms at the Republica Hotel.
According to Chavez, negotiations on the document for this Summit had been stagnant for the past year, and the time for Mar Del Plata Summit had arrived with "the FTAA dead." The topic wasn’t even on the Summit’s final session agenda, a session that began at 10 in the morning and adjourned for lunch at 12:30.
"We had to discuss jobs and the fight against poverty. And I proposed that we put in practice a program identical to the one introduced by John F. Kennedy in 1963," said Chavez, amidst several historical and Biblical references.
"Suddenly, the hare jumped, " continued the Venezuelan president as though he was recounting a story to friends in a bar. "Panama left and he [Bush] wanted to give oxygen to the dead. He wanted to revive the FTAA. The glitter of Washington’s proposal was gone. And Mercosur stood its ground. Lula stood very firm. Nestor "Dartagnan" Kirchner, very firm. Tabare [Uruguayan President Tabare Vazquez], calm and firm. [Paraguayan President] Nicanor [Duarte Frutos], firm. It is good, but you already know as I do," he said.
"But the pressure began immediately. The United States and Canada pressed with all the leverage they had. Kirchner, within moments, removed his sword. He said: we don’t like being dictated to," he continued. Chavez said that finally, "they realized when faced with our resolve, they would be unable to browbeat us," and we arrived at a consensus over what the two main issues of disagreement are. "He was incredible, after five hours of debate. Kirchner had to call three recesses, and after all that discussion, our original proposal was adopted. At its heart, it is exactly what we have sought from the beginning, with a few changes at the margins. We fought hard and we prevailed."
"The FTAA is dead. The FTAA is dead," Chavez said, closing out his remarks.
