South American Integration Sealed in Bolivia

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La Paz, Mar 11 (Prensa Latina) The official announcement of the first South American Chiefs of State´s Summit, crucial step for regional integration, will be ratified here Sunday, with the presence of Presidents Hugo Chavez, Venezuela, and Evo Morales, Bolivia.
# Bolivian Govt Destines Funds for Affected People

Presidential spokesman Alex Contreras said that in the face of the historic meeting on June 4 in Cochabamba city, the two leaders will seal the necessary unity today, during a popular act in El Alto municipality, to be also attended by social movements.

Cuban Parliament President Ricardo Alarcon will be at the act as well, as representative of another member country of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), thus ratifying the strength of those agreements, Contreras pointed out.

http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID={13739E07-277D-4101-BCF7-4E47BB14D3B2}&language=EN

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EL ALTO, Bolivia - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called Sunday for a socialist counterattack against the American "empire," taking his campaign to upstage
President Bush's Latin American tour to a packed gymnasium in a poor, indigenous Bolivian city.

Speaking for over an hour in El Alto, which sits on a cliff above the capital, La Paz, Chavez repeated accusations that the U.S. was trying to assassinate him and close ally Bolivian President Evo Morales. The U.S. has denied the allegations.

Chavez donned a traditional Andean poncho and a wreath of coca leaves, and tried on a Bolivian miner's helmet and a traditional Quechua hat looped in neon thread while professing his love for the country named after his idol, the 19th-century South American revolutionary Simon Bolivar.

He and Morales signed a series of agreements strengthening ties between the two nations, pledging closer integration of their petroleum industries and officially naming Bolivia a member of Banco Sur, a South American development bank Chavez sees as an alternative to the
International Monetary Fund.

Chavez held an anti-Bush rally in a soccer stadium Friday in the Argentine capital, then headed to flood-ravaged Bolivia to tout his pledge of $15 million in flood relief — 10 times the amount sent by the U.S.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/chavez_vs__bush;_ylt=AuCDbGWaj.rYK6VPjAQ6k5W4IxIF


Holding Cuban, Bolivian and Venezuelan flags, a crowd of Bolivian indigenous shouts slogans supporting Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's President Evo Morales during a visit to El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, March 11, 2007. While U.S. President George W. Bush travels to friendly Latin American nations to shore up relations and highlight U.S. aid to the region, Chavez appears intent on spoiling the show on his parallel trip, saying at every turn that Venezuela is doing more to help the region.(AP Photo/Dado Galdieri)


(L-R) Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, Bolivia's President Evo Morales and Cuba's National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon attend a ceremony in the flood-ravaged city of Trinidad, in Beni, some 400 km (248 miles) northeast of La Paz, March 10, 2007. Chavez has pledged some $15 million in aid to Bolivia, which has been hit by the worst floods in a quarter of a century. REUTERS/David Mercado (BOLIVIA)


Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, left, and Bolivia's President Evo Morales, cheer to supporters while parading through the streets of El Alto, Bolivia, Sunday, March 11, 2007. While U.S. President George W. Bush travels to friendly Latin American nations to shore up relations and highlight U.S. aid to the region, Chavez appears intent on spoiling the show on his parallel trip, saying at every turn that Venezuela is doing more to help the region.(AP Photo/Juan Karita)


Indigenous men wearing traditional clothes wait for Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez at the airport of Trinidad, Bolivia, Saturday, March 10, 2007. President Chavez's counter-Bush tour reached flood-ravaged Bolivia on Saturday, following up on millions of dollars (euros) in aid the leftist leader has pledged to cope with months of deadly flooding in its eastern lowlands.(AP Photo/Dado Galdieri)

Is South America the future?
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