Colombia’s raid into Ecuadorian territory and the subsequent revelations about the files on Raúl Reyes’ computer have done more damage to President Chávez’s grand hemispheric projects than anything Washington in its wildest dreams could have conceived of. Among other things, it has killed his ALBA defence pact proposition, which he had put forward to his ALBA partners as a possibility before the Colombian incursion. While Mr Chávez has beaten a tactical retreat for the moment at least, his new less combative posture has created space for the continental colossus to enter the defence arena with its own South American Defence Council (CDS) proposal.
It is not that Brazil has suddenly seen the opportunity to draw up plans of its own in this regard; the idea has been gestating in Brasilia for at least a year, according to reports, and was intended to assuage elements in the Brazilian military which wanted President Chávez and his military spending curbed. What has happened is that in the aftermath of the Ecuadorian incident Brazil was unexpectedly presented with an ideal moment to promote the idea, and given the revelations exposing him, the Venezuelan head of state perceived it as being in his interest to support it.