Chilean interior minister Jose Miguel Insulza has emerged as the frontrunner to lead the Organisation of American States (OAS), following a renewed boost to his bid from several key states. The position, one of Latin America's top leadership posts, is set to be decided tomorrow, when its representatives will vote in Washington for a new secretary general for the multilateral.
The ballot was postponed from Thursday as many of the hemisphere's foreign ministers, who were set to cast their votes, travelled to Rome for the Pope's funeral on Friday.
Insulza is running against Francisco Flores, a former president of El Salvador and Luis Derbez, Mexico's foreign minister. Insulza's victory would dash Washington's hopes that Flores will get the job. The US has been fervently lobbying governments to back Flores, who was seen as one of Washington's closest allies in the hemisphere. Flores was a strong supporter of the US invasion of Iraq in March 2003. However, he lacks unanimous support in Central America.
Insulza's bid reportedly enjoys the backing of the majority of Caribbean states. He has the official backing of Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Venezuela and Uruguay, in addition to that of his own country. According to OAS rules, he needs the backing of only one more country to win – 18 are needed for an absolute majority.
If Insulza fails to win an absolute majority, voting will be pushed to a second round. Analysts believe the outcome is still uncertain, since the decision of several states, including Panama, Paraguay and Peru, is still not known. Last minute lobbying attempts from the US, especially by John Maisto, its ambassador to the OAS, and Roger Noriega, assistant secretary of state for western hemisphere affairs, may yet pay off.
Noriega believes the OAS, the region's leading forum for multilateral dialogue and action, has a key role to play in promoting what he described to Emerging Markets as the US "freedom agenda" for the continent. This means ensuring a continent " not only where governments are democratic but where people are genuinely free."
Noreiga also said that US commitment to Latin America will be reinforced this year, especially when the US hosts the OAS general assembly this June. This is the first time in 30 years that the US has hosted the assembly. Noriega says the meeting will provide President Bush the opportunity "to show his abiding commitment to the region."
The top job at the OAS has been open since last October when the organization's previous head, Miguel Angel Rodriguez, was forced to step down to fight allegations of corruption, while he was president of Costa Rica.