Venezuela trying for rotating UN Security Seat
he Bush administration is lobbying to prevent Venezuela from securing an open seat on the U.N. Security Council because of concern that its leading South American rival could confound plans to step up pressure on Iran.
Under United Nations rules, Latin American governments are entitled to pick a country from the region to fill the rotating seat that comes open next year. Venezuela has been campaigning for the post.
Venezuela wants the job, the US is lobbying hard to block it. No surprise there, but it will be interesting to see how this plays out. And it will have an impact on how the situation in Iran plays out.
The US has lost a lot of power in South America. But Venezuela isn't as universially popular as some people make it out to be. And several of the governments are activly trying not to get caught be Venezuela and the US. It wouldn't surprise me if one of those countries ends up winning as a last minute compromise.
The US is pushing for Guatemala to get the job, which would essentially give the US another vote on the Security Council. On the other side, Venezuela has been playing friendly with Iran. They may go further in rejecting any action against Iran then Russia or China will. A compromise canidate would probably fall someplace in the middle, taking a carefully selected posistion away from either extreme.
Jay