Venezuela is at Empire's heart

Venezuela is important for the US. No matter who wins the presidential election in that country. Apart from having a geo-strategic position in political, economic and security matters, our country is still one of the United States oil main suppliers, despite the difficult diplomatic relations, nowadays in the hands of deputy chiefs of mission, under Hugo Chávez's government.

But the US is also important for Venezuela. No matter who wins in the October 7 election, the US is our main trade partner. The US role is very important, to such an extent that it exports to the anti-imperialist government million barrels of oil refined products including gasoline, heavy fuel, liquefied gas and dopes.

Therefore, the next new presidents of both countries will have to understand each other. The use and significance of that understanding will be better with the opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles Radonski, than with Hugo Chávez. Under Henrique Capriles Radonski's government, the diplomatic links would get back to normal and this key bilateral relation would prosper to benefit both countries as well as the continent, under a respectful, egalitarian and sovereign treatment.

If Chávez is reelected, the diplomatic confrontation will deepen, even though Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro said the opposite a few days ago. The relations will not get out of their current stagnation. Chávez's government program highlights it.

Assuming that Mitt Romney wins, the bilateral situation will get worse and the incendiary rhetoric of George W. Bush's times will come back. Romney's campaign and the Republican platform towards Latin America are hard and they have focused on Venezuela, deeming it as a narcoterrorist State, as well as a real threat against US security.

With Barack Obama in power, the forced and limited bilateral understanding will be more or less the same. Obama's policy concerning Chávez will promote freedom, but at the same time it will encourage peace, minimization of risks, and it will avoid the aggressive discourse against Chavezim.

Either Republican or Democratic, the occupant of the White House will act, beyond the rhetoric and oil, if the Venezuelan Government seriously compromises US national interest. There is a State foreign policy in the United States and a bipartisan one in any case.

MATERO1955@GMAIL.COM

Translated by Karina Salas