Chávez hosts CELAC summit, snubs US, Canada

Displaying new vigor after cancer treatment, Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez hosted fellow Latin American leaders to launch a new regional body on Friday that pointedly excludes the United States.

The inauguration of the 33-member Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), which also does not include Canada, was the Venezuelan socialist's biggest moment on the world stage since he underwent surgery in June.

Fifty-seven-year-old Chávez, who wants to win re-election next October in the OPEC nation, embraced and lavished warm words on his counterparts, including Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, Argentina's Cristina Fernandez and Cuba's Raúl Castro.

"As the years go by, CELAC is going to leave behind the old and worn-out OAS," Chávez said, referring to the hemisphere-wide Organization of American States that leftist governments say is under Washington's thumb.

The new group has lofty aims including the creation of a regional reserves fund for economic crises and a body for human rights monitoring. But critics say it unnecessarily adds yet another acronym to the plethora of overlapping, "alphabet soup" organizations that already exist around Latin America.

Exuding confidence, Chavez spoke at length and even made light of his health problems. "Whose bald head is the most elegant? Lula's or mine?" he joked of his and former Brazilian leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's chemotherapy.

The CELAC nations have nearly 600 million people and a gross domestic product of about $6 trillion. Analysts said the new body shows the region's wish to move out of the shadow of Washington.

"This has been aided by a progressive disengagement from the region by the US since the end of the Cold War, allowing other countries -- most notably China -- to increase their footprint," said Robert Munks of global think tank IHS Janes.

Chávez's fellow leftists gave the meeting an immediate political slant. "It's the death sentence for the Monroe Doctrine," said Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega, referring to a hated 19th century US policy that many Latin Americans regard as justifying meddling in their region.

More conservative leaders, though, are believed to have watered down the summit's final declarations, and the next meeting will be hosted by Chile's right-wing government.