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| Caribbean-Latin America | |
| Left-wing Uruguay leader welcomed by S American 'comrades' | |
| 2004-11-02 | |
| Latin American leaders have welcomed the election of Tabare Vazquez to the Uruguayan presidency. The victory for his leftist coalition brought two-party rule in Uruguay to an end for the first time in 170 years. Venezuela's left-wing President Hugo Chavez said Mr Vazquez's election heralded a step towards the shaping of a new South America. Cuba said diplomatic ties might be restored after two years of strained relations. A triumphant Mr Vazquez appeared in front of thousands of celebrating supporters in Uruguay's capital, Montevideo, after official results gave him 50.69% of the votes cast. (Are these election results shades of our own? Some 30,000 ballots remain to be counted before the Court of Elections could confirm his victory, but his two main rivals have conceded. Venezuela's president Hugo Chavez welcomed victory for the left-winger as "a milestone" in Latin American history. Oh, just wonderful! "What has happened in Uruguay is one more step on the road to building a new South America, a new Latin America, a new world that is being born," Mr Chavez said. "a new world"
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| Posted by:Mark Espinola |