MANAGUA, NICARAGUA Venezuela’s populist president Hugo Chavez has been accused of using his country’s oil wealth to help elect like-minded leaders in Bolivia, Peru, Mexico, and Nicaragua. But there’s been little evidence, until now.

A cooperation agreement signed last week between Nicaragua’s Sandinista leader – and longtime US nemesis – Daniel Ortega and Mr. Chavez is being touted by many here as an initiative to sell oil to Nicaragua on credit, allowing the country to invest more in poverty-fighting projects. Critics call it a blatant attempt to buy the Nov. 5 presidential election for Mr. Ortega.

“Central America is important for Chˆvez because the rest of his influence is concentrated in the Andean countries [of South America],” says Michael Shifter, vice president for the Washington-based Inter-American Dialogue. Mr. Shifter says Chˆvez is clearly on a mission to challenge US influence in the region, but that he also appears genuinely concerned with helping the poor – two traits that don’t necessarily contradict one another. “This shows a larger ambition, and he is focusing his resources on Nicaragua and calculating that Ortega has a chance to win [elections in November].”
csmonitor.com

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