Brazil & Southern Cone - January 2013 (ISSN 1741-4431)

The political opposition has gone on the offensive after President José Mujica played a starring role in the ‘inauguration’ of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez in Caracas on 10 January. The opposition accused Mujica of essentially attending a “political rally” as President Chávez was unable to leave his hospital bed in Havana to attend his inauguration. It has summoned the foreign minister, Luis Almagro, to appear before the permanent commission of congress to explain Mujica’s actions. Senior politicians in the ruling Frente Amplio (FA) batted away the opposition’s criticism, arguing that Mujica was expressing solidarity with the Venezuelan people, while Almagro suggested he was motivated by a lucrative new trade deal.

“I respect above all a man who is battling for life and he is in the heart of all of you; that makes sense,” President Mujica said, speaking to a large crowd in front of the Miraflores presidential palace, alongside senior Chavistas and the presidents of Bolivia and Nicaragua, Evo Morales and Daniel Ortega. “This afternoon there is an excess of words and when feelings are overwhelming, words are incapable of conveying them, so I beg you let me shut my mouth because I carry the burden of many years on my back and I have seen many demonstrations like this one, and it fills my soul with memories and names of people who are no longer among us,” he added.

In an exclusive interview with Telesur, Mujica called for Venezuelans to show “serenity”, saying that he had seen the country “convulsed with uncertainty”. “Life teaches us a simple thing, there is always a place to get up and start again, and I think that great causes go beyond common men,” Mujica said. “Chávez has made a deep footprint and I hope that he overcomes the illness from which he is suffering, but if he does not overcome it, life will go on,” he added. “You don’t live from either nostalgia or memories.” Mujica said he fully trusted in Venezuelan institutions to take the appropriate decisions, adding that Venezuela under Chávez has staged “14 or 15 elections in recent years”.

The opposition was singularly unimpressed with Mujica’s actions in Venezuela. Senator Sergio Abreu of the opposition Partido Nacional (PN, Blancos) said that obtaining official permission to make the trip was one thing but that defending the interpretation of the constitution made by Venezuela’s politicised institutions (arguing that Chávez need not appear before congress to start his new term) was tantamount to endorsing a coup.

Abreu called for foreign minister Almagro to appear before the permanent commission of congress (the full congress is in recess until 1 March) to explain the import of Mujica’s visit. Senator José Amorín Batlle of the opposition Partido Colorado (PC, Colorados) supported Abreu, saying that Mujica had taken part in “a Chavista event”, which effectively left Uruguay aligned with only the most radical left-wing countries in Latin America, Bolivia and Nicaragua, whose heads of state attended.

Mujica’s wife, Senator Lucía Topolansky, dismissed the criticism as a flagrant attempt by the opposition to get into the media. She said Mujica had travelled to Venezuela not only as head of state of Uruguay but also in his capacity as pro tempore president of Mercosur to deliver a message of solidarity to a people who are “suffering”. She said that Mujica had not intended to speak at the event in Caracas but had been importuned by his hosts.

Almagro pursued a different tack, and one to which he is likely to stick when he appears before the permanent commission of congress on 4 February. He suggested that the trip was about more than just an expression of solidarity, and had a trade dimension. Indeed, he implied that Mujica’s decision to show up for the event was decisive in securing an important accord with Venezuela for the export of powdered milk, and, in future, the sale of other food products.

Almagro said that under the new accord Uruguay would export 4,500 tonnes a month of powdered milk to Venezuela, netting US$16m per month. He said that Venezuela was paying 25% more for the product than any of the other countries to which Uruguay exports. In a sign of the significance of the lucrative new accord, Almagro pointed out that last December Uruguay’s total exports of powdered milk worldwide came to 9,292 tonnes. This will now increase by nearly 50% a month.

Almagro said the visit had not only opened the door for exports of powdered milk to Venezuela but also the sale of other foodstuffs, with an increase in exports of chicken top of the list. In 2012 Venezuela was the fourth biggest market for Uruguayan exports, receiving US$406m of products, up a massive 25% on 2011. Venezuela accounted for 4.6% of Uruguay’s total exports in 2012.

• Medical approval

The opposition questioned the sense of President Mujica’s decision to fly to attend the event in Caracas on 10 January given that he has been advised by his medical team not to take long flights. Mujica pulled out of the Ibero-American summit in Cádiz, Spain last November at the eleventh-hour, citing medical reasons.