This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/americas/6053984.stm

The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 1 Version 2
Deadlock in Latin America UN race Deadlock in Latin America UN race
(30 minutes later)
The first round of a struggle for Latin America's United Nations Security Council seat has ended in a stand-off. A crucial fight for one of Latin America's UN Security Council seats remains deadlocked.
Guatemala won 109 votes from UN members to Venezuela's 76, but neither country gained enough votes to win a seat on the 15-member body. Guatemala leads the race even though its share fell to 110 votes in the fourth round, ahead of Venezuela's 75 but short of the 124 needed to win.
The US has strongly backed Guatemala, fearing that Venezuela would use the seat as a platform to denounce the US. The race can now be thrown open to other regional candidates, including Costa Rica, Panama and Uruguay.
Regional seats, which are rotated every two years, also went to Indonesia, South Africa, Italy and Belgium. The US has strongly backed Guatemala, fearing that Venezuela would use the seat as a platform to denounce it.
Mexican standoff? The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan says the race between Venezuela and Guatemala has been the most dramatic at the Security Council since Cuba ran against Colombia in 1979, at the height of the Cold War.
With Iran, Darfur and North Korea on the agenda of the council in the coming months, a position on the Security Council gives some influence over key decisions.
The BBC's UN correspondent Laura Trevelyan says the race between Venezuela and Guatemala has been the most dramatic since Cuba ran against Colombia in 1979, at the height of the Cold War.
That battle took three months of voting to resolve, with Mexico eventually winning as the compromise candidate.
A candidate must win at least 124 votes, or two-thirds of all those cast, to earn its place on the Security Council.
Venezuela and Guatemala will now proceed to a run-off vote, which is likely to mean further lobbying on council members.
Lobby politicsLobby politics
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a sharp critic of the US, has already toured countries to rally support for his country's candidacy. Diplomats told Associated Press news agency that the campaign of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez may have hurt his country's chances.
The US has been working behind the scenes to lobby support for Guatemala. President Chavez denounced George W Bush as "the devil" in a speech at the UN last month.
The Venezuelan president denounced George W Bush as "the devil" at the UN last month. But Venezuela's UN ambassador Francisco Arias Cardenas put the poor performance of Venezuela's candidacy down to lobbying by the US.
But it is uncertain whether that performance helped or hindered Venezuela's chances. "We're not competing with our brother country [Guatemala]," he said. "We are competing with the most powerful country on the planet."
Guatemala says it will be a constructive member of the council, but the overt US lobbying could prove counter-productive. The US has been working behind the scenes to raise support for Guatemala, but the intensity of Washington's lobbying may have been counterproductive, our correspondent said.
Western diplomats fear that if Venezuela wins a temporary seat on the Security Council, it will use the post as a platform for anti-US rhetoric, making it impossible to get any work done.Western diplomats fear that if Venezuela wins a temporary seat on the Security Council, it will use the post as a platform for anti-US rhetoric, making it impossible to get any work done.
Mexican standoff?
With Iran, Darfur and North Korea on the agenda of the council in the coming months, a position on the Security Council gives some influence over key decisions.
Five of the UN Security Council seats are held permanently by China, the US, Russia, the UK and France.Five of the UN Security Council seats are held permanently by China, the US, Russia, the UK and France.
The others are held by regional blocs from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.The others are held by regional blocs from Africa, Latin America, Asia, Western Europe and Eastern Europe.
The 1979 battle between Cuba and Colombia took three months of voting to resolve, with Mexico eventually winning as the compromise candidate.
In Monday's series of votes, both Latin American candidates ended up close to where they started.
Guatemala won 109 votes in the first round but rose to 116 in the third, before dropping back to 110 in the latest round.
Venezuela started on 76 votes but dropped to 70 before ending up on 75.
Other regional seats, which are rotated every two years, went to Indonesia, South Africa, Italy and Belgium in the first round of voting.