Caracas, 3 de octubre de 2003 - Offnews.info

33Mr. Noboa called Mr. Correa a ''friend of terrorists, a friend of Chavez, afriend of Cuba.'' Mr. Correa said Mr. Noboa would rule Ecuador like a''banana plantation.''It has been a challenging week for Mr. Chavez. Venezuela failed to winenough votes on Monday for a seat on the United Nations Security Council,possibly depriving its president of an international platform he desires.The unexpected results in the election here, meanwhile, point to growingunease in some parts of Latin America with political projects whoseambitions coincide too closely with those of Mr. Chavez.''Daniel Ortega must be a little nervous,'' said Michael Shifter, an analyst atInter-American Dialogue, a policy institute in Washington. Mr. Ortega, whois considered the front-runner in Nicaragua's presidential election nextmonth, has been endorsed by Mr. Chavez, who has been relatively quietabout Mr. Correa's campaign in Ecuador.The perception of support from Mr. Chavez has been a mixed blessing inother recent elections. Alan Garcia, whose first term as Peru's presidentended in hyperinflation, mounted a comeback this year to defeat OllantaHumala, an ultranationalist former army officer who had been endorsed byMr. Chavez.Venezuela's relations with Mexico remain tense after Felipe Calderon, aconservative, defeated Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, a leftist, for thepresidency this year. Mr. Calderon used images of Mr. Chavez in televisionads during the campaign to criticize Mr. Lopez Obrador.Now Mr. Noboa, a billionaire who controls more than 100 companies inEcuador and other countries, signaled that he would end diplomatic relationswith Venezuela and Cuba if elected. ''I'm not a hypocrite,'' he said intelevised comments. ''I don't like the double standard.''Issues other than Venezuela have also dominated Ecuador's presidentialrace. Mr. Noboa wants to negotiate a trade agreement with Washington andfavors extending an agreement that would allow American soldiers to