Three days of mourning for Chavez; DM will go to Venezuela
Diario Libre
SANTO DOMINGO. While the Dominican government declared three days of official mourning for the passing of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, President Danilo Medina announced that he would travel today or early tomorrow morning to Venezuela in order to take part in the funeral services.
Days 6, 7 and 8 March should see the national flag at half mast in all of the military and public buildings.
Yesterday afternoon Medina visited the Venezuelan embassy in Santo Domingo in order to sign the Sympathy Book. He also met with the Bolivarian Ambassador, Alberto Castelar for a few minutes.
As he left there, the President stressed the leadership of his counterpart in the region, at the same time as he said he was confident that the PetroCaribe Agreement would not be affected by the death of Chavez. "Latin America has lost a great ally", he said.
Collective leadership
Political leaders said yesterday that only the collective leadership of the Latin American presidents that follow the ideals of the so-called "Century XXI Socialism" could continue and successfully develop the ideas and the commonwealth project pushed with initiatives by Chavez like the "Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America" (ALBA).
Former President Leonel Fernandez said that the countries of latin America should imitate the "Chavez model" with regard to solidarity, and he said he felt that, as did the deceased Venezuelan president, the leaders should look after their people.
The former Dominican president offered these statements after signing the Condolence Book at the Venezuelan embassy, where he spoke for several minutes with Ambassador Castelar.
In relation to PetroCaribe, Fernandez seemed optimistic that there would be no changes in this agreement, "because it was a legacy from Chavez."
A half an hour later, the Vice President of the Republic, Margarita Cedeño arrived at the Embassy to sign the Condolence Book.
The atmosphere at the diplomatic compound was one of sadness among the personnel, the majority dressed in black. Several funeral wreaths were placed in the hall where the Sympathy Book was set up.
Jose Ernesto Oviedo, a member of the Sao Paulo Forum, said that the charismatic leadership of Chavez is practically irreplaceable, but that what the (Latin American) leadership that follow his line should seek is to achieve a collegiate leadership regarding a unifying party.
He considered the leadership of President Rafael Correa in Ecuador, of former President Lula da Silva and President Dilma Rouseff in Brazil, of President Evo Moralez in Bolivia, of President Jose Mujica in Uruguay and of former President Leonel Fernandez.
Fidel Santana, the president of the Broad Front, said that only through the union of the Latin American leaders and of the Venezuelan United Socialist Party can they occupy the space and the imprint left by Chavez, after nearly 20 years of public advocacy in that country after the attempted coup dé ètat which he headed.
For the head of Alianza Pais, Guillermo Moreno, the passing of Chavez represents an irreplaceable loss for the nations and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, who since his rise to power found in him a friendly hand and solidarity.
Hipolito offered asylum and a plane
Former President Hipolito Mejia revealed yesterday that although he had differences with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "over his pathological fight he had with Carlos Andres, when the coup de ètat failed, I obtained an airplane in Venezuela and I opened the doors of the Dominican Republic in case he did not have any place to go in exile."
He remembered Chavez as an extrovert, who said what he thought, but who was capable of making things right, as he did on the occasion in which "some kids went into the Dominican Embassy and he wanted them to be handed over and I told him no, and then he recognized the right thing."
Days 6, 7 and 8 March should see the national flag at half mast in all of the military and public buildings.
Yesterday afternoon Medina visited the Venezuelan embassy in Santo Domingo in order to sign the Sympathy Book. He also met with the Bolivarian Ambassador, Alberto Castelar for a few minutes.
As he left there, the President stressed the leadership of his counterpart in the region, at the same time as he said he was confident that the PetroCaribe Agreement would not be affected by the death of Chavez. "Latin America has lost a great ally", he said.
Collective leadership
Political leaders said yesterday that only the collective leadership of the Latin American presidents that follow the ideals of the so-called "Century XXI Socialism" could continue and successfully develop the ideas and the commonwealth project pushed with initiatives by Chavez like the "Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America" (ALBA).
Former President Leonel Fernandez said that the countries of latin America should imitate the "Chavez model" with regard to solidarity, and he said he felt that, as did the deceased Venezuelan president, the leaders should look after their people.
The former Dominican president offered these statements after signing the Condolence Book at the Venezuelan embassy, where he spoke for several minutes with Ambassador Castelar.
In relation to PetroCaribe, Fernandez seemed optimistic that there would be no changes in this agreement, "because it was a legacy from Chavez."
A half an hour later, the Vice President of the Republic, Margarita Cedeño arrived at the Embassy to sign the Condolence Book.
The atmosphere at the diplomatic compound was one of sadness among the personnel, the majority dressed in black. Several funeral wreaths were placed in the hall where the Sympathy Book was set up.
Jose Ernesto Oviedo, a member of the Sao Paulo Forum, said that the charismatic leadership of Chavez is practically irreplaceable, but that what the (Latin American) leadership that follow his line should seek is to achieve a collegiate leadership regarding a unifying party.
He considered the leadership of President Rafael Correa in Ecuador, of former President Lula da Silva and President Dilma Rouseff in Brazil, of President Evo Moralez in Bolivia, of President Jose Mujica in Uruguay and of former President Leonel Fernandez.
Fidel Santana, the president of the Broad Front, said that only through the union of the Latin American leaders and of the Venezuelan United Socialist Party can they occupy the space and the imprint left by Chavez, after nearly 20 years of public advocacy in that country after the attempted coup dé ètat which he headed.
For the head of Alianza Pais, Guillermo Moreno, the passing of Chavez represents an irreplaceable loss for the nations and peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean, who since his rise to power found in him a friendly hand and solidarity.
Hipolito offered asylum and a plane
Former President Hipolito Mejia revealed yesterday that although he had differences with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez "over his pathological fight he had with Carlos Andres, when the coup de ètat failed, I obtained an airplane in Venezuela and I opened the doors of the Dominican Republic in case he did not have any place to go in exile."
He remembered Chavez as an extrovert, who said what he thought, but who was capable of making things right, as he did on the occasion in which "some kids went into the Dominican Embassy and he wanted them to be handed over and I told him no, and then he recognized the right thing."
Diario Libre
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