Another fine mess

Talk about a political mess committed by Venezuela´s Hugo Chávez Frías. This self-proclaimed successor of Simón Bolívar wants to continue basking in the limelight because he believes he scored big time at the recent Summit of the Americas in Mar del Plata, Argentina. But he crossed the diplomatic line on Sunday when he threatened Mexican President Vicente Fox and then divulged a confidential video of a closed door meeting between Latin American leaders.

Mexico has now announced that it will severe diplomatic ties with Venezuela if Chávez doesn´t apologize for calling Fox "a puppy" of the United States and unleashing a dire warning against the Mexican leader.

Fox has been critical of Chávez´s behavior at the summit and blamed Argentine President Néstor Kirchner for allowing the Venezuelan leader to try to divert attention from work at the conference. Chávez led a protest rally against free trade in which 40,000 people attended at a nearby stadium (see Nov. 7 post). Fox told the BBC World Service that Kirchner should have never allowed such a spectacle in his own backyard.

During his weekly radio show on Sunday in Caracas, Chávez warned Fox not to mess with him. "I am like a thorny wildflower. I give off aroma to those who pass and thorn-prick those who move me. Don´t mess with me, sir, or you will get thorn-pricked," Chávez told Fox in his program. At the same time, he showed a video of the various reactions of the region´s leaders, including that of George Bush, during a closed door conference in which a free trade proposal was discussed. "Sir, your initiative was defeated," he said in reference to Bush´s push for an agreement. "It was a knockout, gentleman, a knockout, sir."

Chávez´s unabashed comments toward Fox can be seen as a not-so-subtle declaration of war. Not only has Chávez increased political tensions between his country and Mexico, he has put in jeopardy relations with other Latin American nations that consider Mexico an important ally. Chávez also violated the confidence of many of his Latin American colleagues who no doubt will question whether they can ever again trust this Venezuelan leader.