Chavez Urges South
America To Withdraw
Reserves From U.S.
Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez urged South
American countries on
Saturday to withdraw
their international
reserves in U.S. banks
citing a looming
recession faced by the
world power.
Chavez, who was
presiding over the
Bolivarian Alternative
Summit of the Americas
(ALBA), said South
American countries
should bring back their
reserves since the
United States is facing
an imminent recession.
Otherwise, all South
America could be plunged
into this crisis, the
president said, adding
that Latin America could
better take care of its
own business.
His remarks came as
leaders from Venezuela,
Bolivia, Nicaragua and
Cuba, all ALBA members,
gathered in the
Venezuelan capital for
the summit, during which
the establishment of a
development bank would
be discussed, according
to Venezuelan official
sources.
The bank has a startup
capital of 1 billion to
1.5 billion U.S. dollars
and related documents
might be signed during
the meeting, the sources
said.
The ALBA was initiated
by Chavez in 2001 aimed
at promoting cooperation
and integration among
Latin American and the
Caribbean countries in
trade and economy.
The latest move came
shortly after the Bank
of the South was
formally founded on Dec.
9, 2007 in the Argentine
capital of Buenos Aires
by seven South American
countries, including
Brazil, Argentina,
Venezuela, Uruguay,
Ecuador, Bolivia and
Paraguay.
The Bank of South is
designed to provide
financing to South
American countries and
seen as a counterweight
to the International
Monetary Fund and the
World Bank.
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