Under pressure at home, Venezuela’s Maduro calls for a more ‘democratic’ U.N.

Under pressure at home, Venezuela's Maduro calls for a more 'democratic'
U.N.
BY JIM WYSSJWYSS@MIAMIHERALD.COM

BOGOTA
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly for the first time since
taking office 17 months ago, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro said it
was time to make good on the dreams of his late boss Hugo Chávez and
shake up the staid body.

Echoing other regional leaders, Maduro, 51, said the United Nations had
been co-opted by imperialist powers and needed a dose of democracy.

"The U.N. charter is one of the most beautiful poems you can read," he
said. "But it's turned into a document that has been thrown aside and is
trampled permanently."

"The countries of the world are clamoring for their voice to be heard,"
he said, noting that the 15-member Security Council needs to be more
representative.

Maduro also used his speech to denounce the U.S. blockade of Cuba, one
of Venezuela's staunchest allies, and its continued attacks on Syria and
Iraq. While Maduro denounced Islamic State terrorists, he also accused
the West of being shortsighted in the Middle East — toppling regimes
only to be alarmed when terrorists move in.

If the West had succeeded in its campaign of ousting Syrian strongman
Bashar Assad, the Islamic State would control a much larger portion of
the Middle East, Maduro predicted.

Maduro was the final Latin American leader to speak on the opening day
of the 69th General Assembly.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who is facing a tight election next
month, inaugurated the day's speeches touting her achievements in
fighting poverty and bolstering the middle class.

But she also touched on the recurring theme of a U.N. overhaul.

She said the global community had been unable to stop massacres and
violence in Syria, Iraq or clashes in Ukraine.

"Each military intervention leads not to peace, but to the deterioration
of these conflicts," she said. "We witness a tragic proliferation in the
numbers of civilian victims and humanitarian catastrophes."

She called for expanding the Security Council "to overcome the current
paralysis."

While the annual meeting is often a straight-laced affair of high
diplomacy, many leaders used it as a chance to vent.

Bolivian President Evo Morales — who is poised to easily win reelection
at the end of October — used the stage to question U.S. foreign policy
and global "capitalism," which he said was responsible for crushing
poverty and the persistence of global hunger.

"It's unthinkable that we might eradicate hunger and poverty without
changing the architecture of international finance," he said.

He also railed against Israel's "genocide" against Palestine and asked
that the Palestinian state be recognized as a full-fledged member of the
United Nations.

Even as President Barack Obama has been calling for global unity in the
fight against the Islamic State, Morales said the approach was doomed to
fail.

"We have to promote a culture of peace to not only eradicate fanatic
extremists but the imperial wars promoted by the United States, which
answers war with more war," he said.

Closer to home, he joined a chorus of regional leaders who denounced the
Cuban embargo.

"The blockade is an act of genocide," he said. "We must put an end to
this colonial blockade."

Maduro's appearance had been much anticipated after he backed out of
last year's meeting at the last minute citing threats to his life.

The international spotlight was likely a welcome break for Maduro, who
has been struggling to contain a series of crises at home. Saddled with
a tanking economy, the region's highest inflation rate and sporadic
protests, Maduro has seen his approval ratings plummet. He's also under
pressure for jailing dissidents, including opposition leader Leopoldo López.

On Wednesday, Maduro tried turning the tables on his hosts and drew
attention to the plight of Oscar López Ramirez, a Puerto Rican
nationalist who has been in U.S. custody for more than three decades.
López Ramirez is being held for "seditious conspiracy," for his role in
a string of victimless bombings in Chicago.

"He's the longest held political prisoner in the world," Maduro said.
"We demand his immediate release. His only sin was fighting for the
liberation of Puerto Rico."

In general, Maduro's speech was more tame than some expected. Chávez
often used the stage to taunt the U.S., calling George W. Bush "the
devil" and "Mr. Danger."

Maduro started his speech by invoking Chávez's legacy and recounting how
"forces of the empire" had plotted against him and his socialist
revolution. He said those attacks have only increased since Chávez
succumbed to cancer in 2013.

"They couldn't finish Chávez," he said to applause. "And they won't
finish us."

Source: Under pressure at home, Venezuela's Maduro calls for a more
'democratic' U.N. | The Miami Herald -
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/world/americas/venezuela/article2237493.html