Colombia's President
Congratulates Chavez on Referendum Victory
Rio de Janeiro - Colombia's President
Alvaro Uribe on Monday congratulated his Venezuelan counterpart Hugo
Chavez on his victory in Sunday's referendum that allowed for his
unlimited re-election.
"Congratulations to Chavez, because it is a democratic victory,"
Uribe who is in Brazil on a three-day visit, said at a press
conference in Sao Paulo.
The constitutional referendum, which convoked almost 17 million
people, lifted the limit on presidential terms and enables Chavez to
run again in the presidential election in 2012.
Chavez was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2006. The
constitution was amended one year after his first election to allow
him to run for a second term.
Uribe is now serving his second consecutive term as the Colombian
president. When asked on Monday whether he would try to run for a
third term, which is currently forbidden under Colombianlaw, Uribe
said that though he did not want to stay as president indefinitely,
he did not wish to "be irresponsible about the future of Colombia"
either.
On Monday, Uribe also attended a meeting with more than 200 local
businessmen, during which he appealed for leaving aside the
ideological differences in Latin America in searching for a way of
tiding over the current global financial crisis.
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