NAM summit draws few leaders in blow to Maduro
MARGARITA ISLAND Venezuela, Sept 17 (Reuters/ AFP) - Only a handful of leaders have travelled to a meeting of a large Cold War-era bloc in Venezuela this week, in an embarrassment for the crisis-hit socialist government.
The summit opened today, trying to make it relevant in a post-Cold War world as the crisis-torn host country seeks to lessen its growing isolation.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has touted the 17th meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement as one that would “be remembered for centuries,” as the unpopular leftist seeks to bolster his international legitimacy.
Yet turnout has paled compared to past meetings, including the previous summit in Iran in 2012, attended by some 35 heads of state.
The half-century old movement formed by nations wanting to avoid aligning with the United States or Soviet Union has dwindled in relevance over the years.
But it appears that heads of states' attendance at the summit in recession-stricken Venezuela is particularly low, perhaps even in single figures, although the government did not respond to a request for a list of attendees.
Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe, Iran's Hassan Rouhani and Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas, as well as regional allies from Cuba, Ecuador and Bolivia are among the few heads of states who have landed on the Caribbean island.
Venezuela's opposition, vying to remove Maduro in a recall referendum, has jumped on low attendance as a sign of his iso- www. sundaytimes. lk lation. “Millions of dollars of Venezuelans' money spent for the government's ego,” said opposition leader Henrique Capriles.
“Many of the countries didn't come to the show!” In one glaring absence, co-founder and key member India did not send Prime Minister Narendra Modi, only the second time the country's head of state has missed a summit since its 1961 founding.
Venezuelan opposition leaders condemned the summit as a marginal event that will cost millions of dollars the government can ill afford.
The speaker of the opposition-majority legislature, Henry Ramos Allup, dismissed it as a "meeting of dictators," while fellow opposition leader Henrique Capriles called it "a joke to hungry Venezuelans."
Venezuela is undergoing a major economic crisis that has sparked worsening food shortages and triple-digit inflation.
Margarita was once known as the 'Pearl of the Caribbean,' a tourist hub that drew visitors from around the world, but hotel occupancy is under half what it was last year and some islanders recently humiliated Maduro by chasing him in a poor neighborhood, banging pots and pans.
The government has deployed more than 14,000 police and soldiers to the region in a bid to contain any unrest near the summit.
The delegates who did come complained privately of a lack of organization, delays and shabby hotels, despite Venezuela's efforts to make Margarita shine by repainting roads, stocking supermarket shelves and boosting security on the crime-ridden island. ] Venezuela will take over the group's presidency on Saturday, with Maduro due to speak before formal adoption of the summit's final document. A draft seen by Reuters showed it would express solidarity with Maduro.
“In the face of these critics who say Venezuela is isolated, has no cachet, well, here are international leaders,” said Venezuela's Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez.
Venezuela, an OPEC member and home to the world's largest proven oil reserves, was also seeking backing for its campaign to slash abundant global crude production in a bid to raise prices.
"We hope to reach important agreements with other countries that we want to have a fair price for our hydrocarbons," said Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino on the eve of the summit.
"We don't want prices to be in the hands of speculators, as has been happening for the past two years."
The oil crunch has triggered an economic crisis in Venezuela, causing food shortages, outbreaks of looting and riots. The crisis is the biggest threat yet to President Nicolas Maduro and the socialist "revolution" launched in 1999 by his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Founded in 1961 to represent countries resentful of being squeezed in the power-struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union, the NonAligned Movement has struggled in recent years to remain relevant in a post-Cold War world.
Venezuela's crisis has left it increasingly isolated, including in its own region.
On Wednesday one-time allies Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay announced they had stripped Venezuela of the rotating presidency of Mercosur, a South American regional trade bloc.
A furious Venezuela said it refused to recognize the decision.
Venezuela's former largesse with its oil wealth once ensured it staunch loyalty from regional countries that benefited.
But as crude prices have plunged since mid-2014, Venezuela's economy has tanked, and its international influence along with it.
Embattled and unpopular at home, Maduro has nowhere near the international clout once enjoyed by Chavez.
The opposition is pressuring for a referendum on removing him from power by the end of the year.
Polls indicate Maduro would lose by a hefty margin. But his opponents say electoral authorities are dragging their feet to protect him.
They held fresh protests Friday after the authorities delayed announcing the timeline for the next step in the process for a second time.