Living in Peru : your everyday companion

(LIP-jl) -- Peruvian President Alan Garcia stated he found to have “good feelings, or as they say, good chemistry,” with his Venezuelan counterpart, President Hugo Chavez. At the same time, he insisted that all of verbal turmoil between the two South American leaders is in the past.

During a speech at the II South American Community of Nations Summit >>read more on summit>> being held in the Bolivian city of Cochabamba, Garcia referred to the spirit of the summit of the region’s nations as a catalyst in his move to make up with Chavez.

“The spirit of the summit has inspired my friend President Chavez and I, to strengthen our relationship and close this chapter of misunderstanding and senseless verbal confrontations,” announced Garcia spawning a round of applause from the presidents and dignitaries attending the summit.

“And with this, we pay homage to Bolivar,” referring to the South American revolutionary hero given credit in establishing independence in Bolivia, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela.

The recently reelected leftist President Chavez left the door open to reconciliation if Garcia showed a similar attitude, thereby ending the exchange of verbal jabs based on ideological and trade differences between the two leaders.

When Chavez addressed the summit, he referred to Garcia as “Alan, my friend beginning today.”

Both presidents were seen laughing together during an official summit dinner Friday night. They shook hands after taking the official photograph of the summit in a small open-air theater in the Palacios de Portales area.