Paraguay could be in line for low-cost oil supplies; Chavez pledges to “help in any way”

Caracas Daily Journal (Jeremy Morgan): Paraguayan President-elect Fernando Lugo marked the second day of his official visit by calling on the Venezuelans to "go to the end" building a revolution that had begun but wasn't finished. A bishop who stood down to run for office, Lugo drew a parallel with the duty to build God's world as Christ had instructed. He was speaking at a ceremony attended by President Hugo Chavez where financing was handed over to community councils intended to improve living conditions in poor districts.

For his part, Chavez emphasized his willingness to cooperate with Lugo and to "help in any way" the new president when he assumes office in August. Paraguay is a country largely devoid of natural resources, not least of all in energy.

The two presidents had a "working meeting" at the headquarters of the state oil corporation, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). In making his offer of help to Lugo, Chavez took the opportunity to allude to his low-cost deals with neighboring countries, above all the one with Cuba, in the framework of his Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA).

Reports said Chavez told Lugo that he was a "Christian socialist" and had converted Fidel Castro to the same cause.

Earlier, Lugo had a meeting with a Venezuelan Catholic Church's Bishop. This was a private talk with the Archbishop of Merida, Monseñor Baltasar Porras, at the distinctly up-market Hotel Melia Caracas. Porras, a former head of the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference, has long been noted for his outspokenly critical views of the Chavez regime. He's been reported on more than one occasion to have implied the government wasn't doing enough for the poor. What was said when the two clerics met in private wasn't disclosed.