The King and Hugo

Sometimes it takes a monarch to voice the frustration of a continent of republics. On Saturday, during the closing debate of the 17th Ibero-American summit, King Juan Carlos of Spain asked President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela to “shut up.” It was a legitimate question that struck a cord with the attendants, but also with many Venezuelans at home.



First of all because Chávez had repeatedly interrupted Prime Minister Rodriguez Zapatero, accusing his predecessor Aznar of supporting a coup against him in 2002. He called the short moustachioed former PM a “fascist.” Zapatero retorted that although “ I hardly share Aznar’s ideas, he was elected by the Spanish people and I demand that respect.” Chávez interrupted the Spaniard again, and it was then that the highest-ranking soldier in Ibero America demanded that the upstart ex-colonel turn it down a notch.

That was called for. It was the second time the Venezuelan had referred to Aznar in that way during the summit – a stupid insult not befitting any head of state, least of all one claiming the moral high ground. Add to that, during the opening ceremony Chávez had extended his remarks beyond four times the 5 minutes allotted to every speaker. That kind of behaaviour gets on people’s nerves, even if you are the self-appointed beacon on the path to 21st century socialism.

But it wasn’t just delegates at the summit who must have felt represented when Juan Carlos barked his rhetorical question at Hugo Chávez. Among them are the millions of Venezuelans who sit through hours and hours of agonizing Bolivarian soliloquy every Sunday, when the president addresses the nation in his one-man show.

Those Venezuelans, the ones who aren’t a fan of Aló Presidente, as the show is called, this week saw a surprising addition to their ranks. On Monday former defence minister General Raúl Isaías Baduel warned his countrymen that constitutional changes, to be submitted to a referendum on December 2, amount to a coup d’etat.

Coming from Baduel that means a lot. For years he was one of Chávez' closest confidants. Baduel formed part of a select group of brothers-in-arms who conspired to overthrow the government in 1992. That intent failed, with Chávez being carted of to jail, promising to refrain from his attempts seek power, “for now.” After his 1998 election victory, Baduel was at Chávez’ side again, remaining close to him during his first nine years in power. He retired as head of the defence ministry in July this year, the first sign that he and his cohort had grown apart.

His warnings on Monday were especially directed at the military, a key player in current Venezuela where officers have replaced career bureaucrats in many government institutions. General Baduel called on the soldiers as “guarantors of the peace, the independence and the sovereignty of the nation (to) profoundly analyze the text being proposed, ” in reference to the referendum which foresees in unlimited presidential terms and the curbing of private property, among others.

Reacting to the Baduel’s remarks in late night radio show, Hugo Chávez said he was a “traitor,” and added something about a “weak screw” coming undone as a “submarine dives ever deeper” – more Jules Verne than Simón Bolivar.
Back to the summit. Moments after King Juan Carlos’s outburst, Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega took up where Chávez had left off, accusing Spanish energy giant Unión Fenosa of exploiting his country’s ailing electricity grid. The monarch had had enough and stormed out the conference. It was the hostess Chilean president Michelle Bachelet who chased after the fuming and convinced him to attend the closing ceremony.

The whole summit must have left something of a bitter taste in the mouth the man often credited for guiding Spain back to democracy after almost forty years of dictatorship. Not only was his country assailed by two of the regions most relentless leftists (although Ortega’s detractors claim that nowadays his vast holdings make him more of a magnate than a Maoist). The king’s mediating in the River Plate-pulp mill dispute also suffered a tremendous blow.

Uruguayan president Tabaré Vazquez okayed the ignition of the controversial Botnia cellulose plant on Friday, causing accusations of backstabbing and the like from the Argentina. President Kirchner plied the summit attendants with his injuries, saying he “felt hurt,” by Uruguay’s unilateral decision. Meanwhile Argentine protestors along the border continued to strangle the neighbouring country’s economy. (Paraguayan environmentalist Juan Periel reminded readers of ABC Color on Sunday that there are three pulp mills operating in Misiones province just this side of the river Paraná, polluting our northern neighbour’s water)

After being begged to mediate in the conflict, and having brought the parties together both in Spain and New York, King Juan Carlos must have wondered why he had bothered in the first place.

That’s a pity. Not just for the King’s ego, or even for the credibility of the Spanish monarchy, recently under fire. It’s a pity because of the natural role an institution such the Spanish royal family can play in Latin America. Both Juan Carlos and his son Crown prince Felipe are held in esteem across the continent. Both spend an unusual amount of time and effort in strengthening regional ties with Spain. Their role will only become more significant as we near the bicentenary of regional independence from the Spanish crown in 2010. Juan Carlos has already been tipped as the person to play a key role in the possible opening up of Cuba after Castro’s imminent demise. He may think twice about assuming that task, after Chávez en the pulp mill muck up.

First published in the Buenos Aires Herald on 13/11/2007