Politics
Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez Frías harshly criticized the Latin American governments that support a so-called "progressive" trend. He bashed particularly the Chilean government and its contacts with leaders of the United States and the United Kingdom. "Chile's President (Michelle Bachelet) met in Santiago with the US Vice president and the British Prime minister -two representatives of two empires. I cannot understand that. I think that this threatens the union of South America," Chávez said.

According to Chávez, the main challenge of the 2nd Arab-South American Summit (ASPA) can be summed up as "the creation of a multipolar world. This is a historic moment with global consequences (...) A new world is born while the empires are falling apart."

Chávez is attending the ASPA summit this week and he will travel later to Iran, where he will stay until April 3. The Venezuelan President is scheduled to arrive in Japan on April 5, according to his agenda.

Chávez could make an unexpected stopover in China between his visits to Iran and Japan this week, local media said on Monday, citing "sources linked to the President's Office," as reported by AFP. Chávez would meet with his counterpart Hu Jintao.

Oil stability
Chávez said that one of the great achievements made by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was to halt the collapse of oil prices. "They (oil prices) will increase steadily until they reach a fair price range. At this moment I consider the fair price to be USD 80 per barrel," he said.

Chávez supported the creation of a new global currency that would replace the US dollar as a reserve currency, as proposed by Russia and China.

No plan to restore ties with Israel
Some hours before his departure from Venezuela, Chávez ruled out any possibility to restore ties with Israel in an interview with the pan-Arab TV station Al-Jazeera. Venezuela broke diplomatic ties with Israel early this year. The Venezuelan President said that he would only reconsider his position if Israel's leaders stop being a "genocidal elite."

Translated by Gerardo Cárdenas