Caracas, 3 de octubre de 2003 - Offnews.info

8A candidate country must secure two-thirds of the votes in the generalassembly to win.Indefinite rounds of voting are allowed.In 1979 Colombiaand Cuba battled for the seat in 154 rounds; a third party (Mexico) steppedin and ultimately won the race.The election for one (of two) rotating Latin American seats at the UnitedNations Security Council (UNSC) started in earnest yesterday, only to endwith 10 inconclusive rounds of voting. Indeed neither of the Latin Americanrivals for the post, Guatemala or Venezuela, secured the two-thirds backingof the UN hemicycle required for an outright win. On the whole Guatemaladominated the vote, as it led over Venezuela in all rounds but one, the sixth,when a tie between the two countries was reached. The 10th vote ended withGuatemala garnering 110 votes, 15 short of the qualified majority, andVenezuela securing 77 ballots. The result in this final round of voting wasvery similar to the first, tending to suggest that, despite some fluctuations,the overall support base for both countries is generally constant.By-and-large, Venezuela's support comes from countries with which itenjoys strong partnerships, on political and economic levels, and those witha similar viewpoint on U.S. foreign affairs policies, These includes Russia,China and many Arab nations. Others are expected to have cast a "thankyou"ballot for Venezuelan's cheap oil deal, with the Caribbean Community(CARICOM), being the best example of Venezuela's seductive petrodiplomacyefforts. However, considering the degree of lobbying fromPresident Hugo Chavez, and the large sums of money poured in to cheap oildeals and other accords, Venezuela's performance yesterday is likely todisappoint. Understandably intense lobbying from the United States andglobal leverage is playing against Venezuela, but other factors account forthis poor showing. The polarised nature of the race has put off some UNmembers from voting one way or another. The choice between twoextremes, and largely antagonistic to boot, is too much for some countries totake in, especially those that seek to maintain good relations with both theVenezuelan and the U.S. administrations. Chile is an notable case in point.The Southern Cone country boasts strong ties with the United States,including a free-trade agreement, but the left-of-centre Concertacióngovernment also wants to avoid locking horns with leftist Venezuela. The