Maduro uses summit of non-aligned countries to bash US
VENEZUELA’s embattled President Nicolas Maduro opened a summit of the Non-Aligned Movement on Saturday, warning world leaders that his country was being lashed by a US economic war aimed at toppling him.
His closest regional ally, Cuban President Raul Castro, echoed the charges despite renewed relations with the US.
“Venezuela is facing an onslaught … that is against all of Latin America and the Caribbean — that is trying to reimpose and recolonise the politics, economy, culture and life of our countries,” Maduro charged in his speech after taking over the movement’s rotating presidency from Iran.
Leaders from the 120-nation group gathered for two days on Venezuela’s Caribbean island of Margarita.
Venezuela, an Opec member and home to the world’s largest proven oil reserves, will seek backing for its campaign to slash abundant global crude production in a bid to raise prices. Also present at the meeting was Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.
Analysts say that while sounding the alarm about a purported international campaign to topple him is not new, Maduro looks keen to recast the Non-Aligned Movement — a Cold War relic that has consistently less support — as a bulwark against recolonisation.
Founded in 1961 to represent countries resentful of being squeezed in the power struggle between the US and the Soviet Union, the Non-Aligned Movement has struggled in recent years to remain relevant in a post-Cold War world.
The Venezuelan opposition is seeking to oust Maduro at the ballot box with a referendum. The socialist president, who has made the economy increasingly state-run, maintains that the US, allied with conservative local interests, wants to oust him.
Castro, who backs Maduro’s allegations, voiced dismay at the US failure to end its embargo on Havana. He said regional allies would derail “subversive and meddling” US plans. He did not elaborate.
Castro, Maduro, Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa and Bolivian President Evo Morales all slammed the recent impeachment and removal of former Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff for budget irregularities.
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 Maduro and the socialist revolution launched in 1999 by his late predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
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 pushing for a referendum on removing him from power by the end of 2016. Polls indicate Maduro would lose by a hefty margin.
But his opponents say electoral officials are dragging their feet to protect him. They held fresh protests on Friday after the authorities delayed announcing the timeline for the next step in the process for a second time.