- Gonzalo Fernández (Uruguayan politician)
Gonzalo Fernández is a
Uruguayan politician and theForeign Minister ofUruguay , having been appointed in March 2008 [ 'Gonzalo Fernández (político)', Wikipedia (in Spanish) [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_Fern%C3%A1ndez_(pol%C3%ADtico)] , ] .Background
Fernández was previously a senior aide to the
President of Uruguay Tabaré Vázquez from 2005 to 2008.His professional training was as a lawyer. Prior to working at the Secretariat of the Presidency, Fernández had worked as a lawyer for Dr. Vázquez when the latter was a practising medical doctor.
A
Socialist , he was noted for his pragmatism and mastery of complex negotiations, and was seen as less ideological than his fellow-Socialist predecessor asForeign Minister ,Reinaldo Gargano .Issues
A number of salient foreign affairs issues which Fernández inherited as Foreign Minister could be identified. These included:
Trade liberalization
Proposed moves for the liberalization of trade with the
United States which he was thought to favour personally, but to which many of hisleft-wing party colleagues were viscerally opposed. A wider issue related toUruguay 's membership of, and hosting of the Secretariat of,Mercosur , the regional trade agreement. The challenge of Fernández was thus to pursue stable relations withUruguay 's regional trading partners with the goal of a climate favouring economic growth, while seeking not to disabuse openly the aspirations of the statist and protectionistUruguayan Left, which supported the government in which he served.Relations with
Cuba andVenezuela These were championed by his predecessor
Reinaldo Gargano . Fernández's appointment came asFidel Castro , long regarded as a mythical, cult figure by theUruguayan Left, particularly after Castro's associateChe Guevara visited theUruguayan city ofPunta del Este , stepped down asPresident of Cuba . His appointment also coincided with the deterioration of relations betweenVenezuela andColombia amidst threats of war, withVenezuela 's sharp differences with theUnited States coming especially into focus. While Fernández's presumed less ideological approach to links withVenezuela andCuba may not have been greatly significant at a personal level, it was thought that Fernández is likely to press hard forUruguay to avoid becoming embroiled inanti-American political rhetoric. While in September2008 Venezuela andBolivia expelled their respective US Ambassadors, it was hard to envisageUruguayan foreign policy under Fernández, though rhetorically very pro-Venezuela , taking such an anti-American line.Arms from
Iran controversyA related matter was the loading of
Iranian arms onto aUruguayan military vessel inVenezuela in late 2007, in contravention of aUN -sponsored arms embargo, about which no evidence emerged that Fernández had any knowledge. (See also:Tabar%C3%A9_V%C3%A1zquez#Arms_from_Iran_controversy )Reference
* [http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_Fern%C3%A1ndez_(pol%C3%ADtico)]
ee also
*
Politics of Uruguay External links
*Photo: [http://www.uruwashi.org/images/AF04B.jpgGonzalo Fernández (centre)] at a meeting in
Washington, DC .
* [http://mercopress.com/vernoticia.do?id=12799&formato=HTML Uruguayan ministerial appointments, March 2008]
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