Chavez-Morales: 'The Axis of Good'
reuters: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Bolivian president-elect Evo Morales met on Tuesday to consolidate ties between socialist soulmates united in their opposition to Washington.
Chavez and Morales, a former coca leaf farmer, have antagonized the U.S. government with their alliances with Cuba and promotion of leftist integration as an alternative to U.S. free-market policies in Latin America.
Morales, elected by more than 50 percent in a December 18 vote, made his short stop in Venezuela as part of a world tour that includes Spain, France, Brazil, China and South Africa. He takes office on January 22.
The Bolivian leader has rejected charges from foes that he received financing from Chavez, who Washington accuses of destabilizing the region by using Venezuela's huge oil wealth to spread his socialist revolution.
"We are joining this anti-neoliberal, anti-imperialist fight," Morales said as he met Chavez and his ministers at the airport. "We are in a new era, we are in a new millennium, a millennium for the people, not for the empire."
Chavez said they would discuss energy and social reforms planned by Morales, who joins the ranks of leftist leaders who have swept to power on the back of regional discontent with U.S.-backed economic policies.
"You know who is the axis of evil? Washington, they are the axis of evil, and their allies in the world who threaten, invade, who kill and assassinate, we are forming an axis of good," Chavez said. Read more
Chavez and Morales, a former coca leaf farmer, have antagonized the U.S. government with their alliances with Cuba and promotion of leftist integration as an alternative to U.S. free-market policies in Latin America.
Morales, elected by more than 50 percent in a December 18 vote, made his short stop in Venezuela as part of a world tour that includes Spain, France, Brazil, China and South Africa. He takes office on January 22.
The Bolivian leader has rejected charges from foes that he received financing from Chavez, who Washington accuses of destabilizing the region by using Venezuela's huge oil wealth to spread his socialist revolution.
"We are joining this anti-neoliberal, anti-imperialist fight," Morales said as he met Chavez and his ministers at the airport. "We are in a new era, we are in a new millennium, a millennium for the people, not for the empire."
Chavez said they would discuss energy and social reforms planned by Morales, who joins the ranks of leftist leaders who have swept to power on the back of regional discontent with U.S.-backed economic policies.
"You know who is the axis of evil? Washington, they are the axis of evil, and their allies in the world who threaten, invade, who kill and assassinate, we are forming an axis of good," Chavez said. Read more
posted by exoplanet at 11:05 PM
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