Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, second right, with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Ecuador's Rafael Correa at the meeting in which they talked about regional integration in Manaos, Brazil. (Photo: Antonio Lacerda / EPA)From The L.A. Times:
The Brazilian president has emerged as the chief mediator in the region, riding a wave of popularity and galloping economic growth at home and acting as a counterweight to Venezuela's Hugo Chavez.
SAO PAULO, BRAZIL -- Buoyed by a robust economy and his ability to work with leaders across the ideological spectrum, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has emerged as the chief power broker and mediator in South America.
Lula's rise has paralleled the decline of U.S. influence in its "backyard," analysts say, a result in part of Washington's plummeting global prestige and the Bush administration's unremitting focus on the Middle East.
A moderate with an unassailable leftist background, Lula has become the point man for healing regional crises such as the current turmoil in Bolivia and the recent escalation of tensions among Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.
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My Comment: Bolivia wants to break and renegotiate a hydroelectric and gas deal with Brazil, including the nationalization of Brazilian industries. Brazil is critical of Venezuela's arms buildup, and Ecuador has been criticized by Brazil for harboring FARC guerrillas. Brazil also received criticism when it signed a security pact with Colombia. In the public there is a show of unity, but in private there are numerous tensions and disputes that will not be easy to resolve.
Brazil is the regional superpower. I am sure that everyone in the regions knows that .... and that isl causing some friction.
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