Cuba and Venezuela for the Latin American Integration
The Spanish daily El Pais Sunday issued an article on Cuba and Venezuela's efforts for the integration of the region and wonders if a united Latin America is possible without the United States´ interference.

The daily replies to itself, thought many people doubt it, that Cuban and Venezuelan leaders Fidel Castro and Hugo Chávez, respectively, bet for the integration and they are not waiting with their arms crossed.

Since a long time ago, says El Pais, both leaders have been boosting an economic and political integration initiative based on cooperation and inspired by the ideas of Simon Bolivar and Jose Marti, to thwart the influence of Washington in the region.

Few days ago, both leaders made from Cuba a generous offer to the Latin American peoples: to give free medical assistance for the next ten years to six million Caribbean and Latin Americans with vision problems, says the daily.

Likewise, adds El Pais, Hugo and Fidel committed to train together 200,000 doctors in the same period, a friendly contribution to Latin America to face the neo-liberalism supported by the US with the Free Trade of the Americas (FTA).

El Pais also refers the 12,000 Latin American young people who are currently studying in Cuba, as well as thousands of Cuban doctors working in twenty countries of the region.

The Spanish daily also refers Chavez´ strategy to strengthen an energy alliance in the South, which has begun to come to fruition with Petrocaribe.

The idea is that the oil, turned into a strategic weapon due to its high prices, can be the sector to boost the integration project.

Caracas and Havana's plans are progressing, emphasizes the daily. Chavez visited Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay last month, where