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[Judi Lynn]

8. Brazil leads international support for Chavez

Jan 9, 5:13 PM EST
Brazil leads international support for Chavez

By JULIANA BARBASSA
Associated Press

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) -- Brazil and several other South American nations rallied behind Venezuela's decision to defer the inauguration of ailing leader Hugo Chavez, with the presidents of Uruguay and Bolivia and Haiti's prime minister traveling to Caracas on Wednesday in a show of support.

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Brazil's backing as a regional power is especially important as Venezuela tries to manage its political future, said Adam Isacson, of the Washington Office on Latin America, a U.S. think tank.
"Brazil has a record of saying `no' to Venezuela, of being independent," said Isacson. So when Brazil offers its support, "it really counts, it's not a knee-jerk" reaction, Isacson said.

Marco Aurelio Garcia, the top international affairs adviser to Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, visited Havana on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1, meeting with Cuban authorities and Venezuelan Vice president Nicolas Maduro, but not with Chavez himself.

Garcia has said that what he heard in Cuba, and found in additional research, convinced him that the Venezuelan constitution makes provisions for deferring a presidential inauguration if the elected leader cannot attend.

More:
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_CHAVEZ_WORLD_REACTION?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT