Hugo Chavez is an outsized personality with a bit of Don King about him. His foolish policies, anti-Americanism and devotion to a walking cadaver earn him a tremendous amount of attention in the United States. Less noticed, however, is that his attempt to remake Latin America after his own image has led to opposition from the region’s largest player: Lula Inacio DaSilva. The Los Angeles Times reports that Lula is traveling around South America seeking to promote Brazil’s role as leader of the region. He is at pains to make clear that this is not aimed at Chavez:
Though Lula has denied any effort to undermine Chavez’s petro-diplomacy, South American analysts see the Brazilian president responding to his Venezuelan counterpart’s oil-funded strategy to become a regional power broker – a role Lula believes should rightly be his because his nation is Latin America’s largest and most populous.
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