Chile's candidate convinced of enough votes to become OAS chief

January 18, 2005

Chile's Interior Minister José Miguel Insulza said that he is convinced that he has enough support to become the next Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), and that he sees himself as a consensus candidate.

Speaking in Brasilia, Brazil, he claimed to have the support of Venezuela after meeting President Hugo Chavez last Friday. He already has the support of Argentina and Brazil. He is the more left-wing of the three officially declared candidates, the other two being El Salvador's Francisco Flores and Mexico's Luis Ernesto Derbez, so it comes as no surprise that he has the support of other South American left-wing governments.

It remains to be seen whether he can gain consensus of the member states. It is Francisco Flores who has the important support of the USA, though some see this as a disadvantage.