Portugal and Venezuela attempt to get closer...again

Caracas, Venezuela, 13 May 2008. Today, Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister José Socrates started a three-day visit to Venezuela. After meeting with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas, PM Sócrates signed five bilateral agreements on energy, food security, tourism, judicial assistance against drug trafficking and diplomatic cooperation.  After few Chavez visits to Portugal, the signing of these new agreements are expected to boost bilateral relations. However, they have been tainted by both timing and political considerations. On the other hand, immigration concerns and common nationality issues have mostly fueled bilateral relations.

Amid rising oil prices and the need to revive the Portugal economy, energy seems to be the driving force of the Socrates visit to Caracas. On the political front, it is difficult to imagine how Socrates and Chavez look into their eyes when in comes to exchanging views on socialism or social rights:  Portuguese "Socialist" Prime Minister Socrates has followed a "cut spending reform" that reduced pensions, rose the retirement age and scrapped civil servant benefits.  On the contrary, Venezuelan Socialist President Hugo Chavez has made all possible efforts to use oil revenues to fund social rights as universal education and health.   Overriding such political differences is the need of Portugal to access better oil prices. While tonight, Portugal increases its petrol price in more than three cents per gallon, Venezuela promises to provide four million barrels of oil in 2009 alone.

The bilateral commercial relation is also pending for improvement. No wonder, Prime Minister Socrates showed up with an important 80-member business delegation and his Minister for Economy and Innovation Manuel Pinho.   Furthermore and during the signing ceremony at Miraflores, President Chavez asked the visiting business delegation to help increase bilateral commerce. Then, he recalled that the US has a political acrimonious relation with his administration. On many occasions, Washington has asked other countries to isolate it; however, it keeps increasing the sales of commercial goods to Venezuela while maintaining its competitors aside. A newly signed agreement on food security promises to grasp the opportunity for better commercial exchanges. Only the future would tell whether it was accomplished or not.

Political bilateral relations have also been affected by changes in the ideological orientation of the Lisbon government. Socialist have been easier to talked to that central right or rightists. However and until now, there was no significant visit on the part of Portugal to Venezuela. The participation of Portugal in the invading force against Iraq and its later ambitions on the reconstruction scheme proved a chilling moment of the bilateral relations. 

 At a local level, relations with Madeira have also been difficult. Despite the fact that most Portuguese citizens - living and settled in Venezuela - come from Madeira, political relations with its Regional President Antonio Joao Jardim have not been good at all. After welcoming Chavez in the island during his visits to Portugal, the President of the Regional Autonomous Government of Madeira, Antonio Jardim showed his real opinion on the Venezuelan President during the attempted coup in 2002. Antonio Jardim backed the coup against Chavez unaware of his prompt return to power few days later.  As Jardim continues to enjoy and interrupted exercise of local power in Madeira, there has been not a single hint of Chavez returning to the island after 2002. 

On the human side, Madeira immigrants that happily settled in Venezuela have been traditionally marked bilateral relations. After France, US and Brazil, Venezuela has the most important Portuguese expatriate community or Diaspora. It is estimated to be made up of more than half a million people now. However, many Portuguese immigrants married Venezuelans. Thus, the contribution of their siblings to economic, cultural and political life in the country overrides such figure.

This Portuguese visit takes place amid the exchanges between President Hugo Chavez and German Chancellor Angela Merkel just days prior to an EU Latin America Summit in Peru.

Sources: VTV, Globovision, Ultima Hora, YVKE, Jornal de Noticias, Expresso, Lusa ,Unionradio, Telesur,

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