By Humberto Márquez
CARACAS, Oct 11 2006 (IPS)

Venezuela’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, which it is disputing with Guatemala, has become a struggle against Washington that is being fought vote by vote, country by country.

From the Security Council Venezuela “will radically oppose U.S. intentions to destroy the world, invade nations, bomb cities and disregard the sovereignty of nations,” said Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Venezuela’s presence “would mean the end of consensus on the Security Council. Now, that’s a serious matter,” said U. S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

“This is about whether or not a state is responsible or simply wishes to have a constant struggle with the United States every day on every issue, thereby making the Security Council unworkable,” she added.

Chávez has accused the United States of fighting Venezuela’s candidacy “with threats, especially against poor countries, such as the withdrawal of financial aid through the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.”

Meanwhile, Washington and other critics of Chávez accuse him of “buying” votes with oil cooperation agreements and financial aid, made possible by today’s record-high oil prices.

Latin America and the Caribbean hold two non-permanent two-year rotating seats on the Security Council.

After Ecuador withdrew in late 2005 its candidacy to replace Argentina, Guatemala was left as the only aspirant to the seat for the 2007-2008 period, until Venezuela presented its candidacy in February. The other regional representative, until the end of 2007, is Peru.

Unless a consensus is reached – which is extremely unlikely in this case – the 192 members of the United Nations will elect the new member on Oct. 16. A two-thirds majority (128 countries) is needed. Venezuela previously made it to the Security Council – through consensus – on four occasions (1962, 1977, 1986 and 1992), while Guatemala has never done so.

Chávez has predicted that if neither country garners the necessary number of votes, the United States will attempt to drag out the process by proposing new candidates, so that more rounds of voting are held.

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal defended the candidacy of his country, saying that “after undergoing an orderly transition, from a society in conflict under authoritarian governments towards a much more tolerant, open and democratic society, we would carry that successful experience to the heart of the Council.”

Guatemala was in the grip of a civil war from 1960 to 1996, in which some 200,000 – mainly indigenous – civilians were killed, the great majority of them by the army.

But human rights groups in Guatemala and abroad are opposed to the Central American country’s candidacy. In a letter to the U.N. General Assembly, the Guatemalan NGO Association for the Study and Promotion of Security and Democracy, the U.S.-based Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala, and nearly 90 other organisations accused the Guatemalan government of failing to respect the rule of law.

“Having failed to solve its own peace and security problems, our country has very little to contribute to solving problems related to international peace and security,” says the letter, which highlighted the Guatemalan government’s continued inability to protect human rights activists.

When the Caracas newspaper El Nacional asked Rosenthal how it was possible to compete with a country flush with oil revenues, the minister responded that “if that were the only criteria, I would say we would be unable to.”

“But there are others, such as the fact that we have never been a member of the Security Council and Venezuela has, four times; our well-earned prestige based on our seriousness, steadiness, professionalism and dignity; and our ability to assimilate our experiences as a post-conflict society, and the positive things we have to offer,” said Rosenthal.

The minister said Guatemala’s lingering border dispute with Belize, a member of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) was decisive in that bloc’s announcement that it would back Venezuela.

In the hemisphere, Venezuela has the expressed support of its partners in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR) trade bloc – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – as well as that of Bolivia, Cuba and the Caribbean states.

Guatemala, meanwhile, has the backing of the rest of Central America, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico and the United States.

Peru has stated that it will abstain, while Chilean President Michelle Bachelet said the decision would be announced at the last minute.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Chile will buy F16 fighter jets from the United States, but has been warned that Chilean pilots “will not be trained to fly them if the (Bachelet) government supports Venezuela’s bid”.

Rice met with Bachelet to discuss the question during the last U.N. General Assembly meeting, in September.

Outside the region, the United States is leading the campaign on behalf of Guatemala among its traditional allies in Europe and Asia, while Venezuela has so far won the support of Russia, Belarus, China, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, the nations of the Arab League, and several African countries.

Rosenthal admitted that “the U.S. campaign to keep Venezuela out of the Security Council has contributed to polarising the election, which has thus become a double-edged sword for us. We are not interested in being perceived as dependent on that country, although we do have very good bilateral relations.”

The left-leaning Chávez continually mentions Venezuela’s bid for a seat on the Council as “a new battle against U.S. imperialism.” Since February, he has visited more than 20 countries and has attended a number of international forums. At every stop, he has promoted his country’s candidacy. The most recent was the U.N. General Assembly meeting itself.

A former foreign minister who did not want to mention his name told IPS that “perhaps Caracas will win a seat, but it will do us no good, because we don’t have the power to influence major global matters.”

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