Chávez cancels participation in meeting of Quito by internal subjects

09:49 Exempt A.M. - The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, cancelled his participation in the extraordinary meeting of the Union of South American Nations (Unasur), that will be developed today in Quito, to coordinate aid for Haiti, devastated by an earthquake.

A source of the Ecuadorian Chancellery confirmed to Efe that Chávez will not attend because it considers his presence in Venezuela at the moment excellent.

“The president considered that its presence (at this moment) in Venezuela was important and decided to send to his chancellor (Nicholas) Mature”, said the source.

The absence of Chávez is added to the one of the president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, whose announced participation in the appointment it was suspended yesterday without until the moment it has inquired into the reasons.

In replacement of Morals, it attends the appointment the Bolivian vice-president, Alvaro Garci'a Linera, who arrived this morning at Quito.

In Ecuador they are already from yesterday the presidents of Paraguay, Fernando Lugo, and of Haiti, René Preval, it reviewed EFE.

Also it arrived yesterday to participate in the appointment the Secretary General of the Organization of American Estados (OAS), the Chilean Jose Miguel Insulza.

The arrival of the presidents of Colombia, Alvaro Uribe is still expected, and of Peru, Alan Garci'a.

If the representations of Guayana and Surinam are excepted, members of Unasur, of the other ten countries that form the organism already had declined their participation for different reasons, the Argentina president, Cristina Fernandez, and the salient agent chief executive of Chile, Michelle Bachelet, whose successor, Sebastián Piñera, the 11 will take possession next from March.

It did not have either predicted to attend this meeting the president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, nor the salient president of Uruguay, Tabaré Vázquez, to that will replace next 1 of March Jose Mujica.

The extraordinary meeting of Government and Chiefs of State of the Unasur will approach, “exclusively, the subject of Haiti” and will look for to define the action of the Member States of the organism of regional integration from the concrete needs of the Caribbean nation, after the earthquake, according to the Chancellery in Quito.