Chile confident to win race to head OAS
Chile said on Saturday that the quitting of former Salvadoran President Francisco Flores increases the possibility of the Chilean candidate to win the race for secretary general of the Organization of American States (OAS).

The Chilean Foreign Ministry said in a communiqué that Flores' quitting "reinforces our conviction that it is Chilean Interior Minister Jose Insulza who has the most support."

The document admitted that in face of the new situation, which pits Insulza against the only rival Mexican Foreign Minister Luis Derbez, the possibility of reaching a consensus is dim.

The Chilean government called on the countries originally supporting Flores to turn to Insulza "as he represents the best option to strengthen OAS, is able to erase confrontation and develop the organization into the most important regional forum where the major issues of the hemisphere would be debated."

A candidate needs to net at least 18 votes on Monday's elections to win.

According to the Chilean government, Insulza has acquired the votes of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay and Venezuela as well as most of the Caribbean countries.

At a news conference Friday in the Salvadoran capital, Flores said he was leaving the race "in the face of a dangerous situation where, instead of uniting the (Americas) region, it turned out we have divided it."