Brazil seeks to lure Bolivia away from Venezuela

By Raymond Colitt and Guido Nejamkis

BRASILIA, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will promise Bolivia major new investment programs in a visit aimed at wresting it from Venezuela's influence and securing its natural gas supplies.

Government sources say the leftist Lula, who travels to Bolivia on Sunday, will announce investments of around $1.5 billion and tell President Evo Morales that "your partner is Brazil, not Venezuela".

Lula and Venezuela's more radical left-wing president, Hugo Chavez, have vied for the leadership of South America for years and Chavez has made most ground with a growing anti-U.S. bloc in the region.

Bolivian President Evo Morales once called Lula his "big brother" but later turned to Chavez for advice and the promise of Venezuela's petrodollars.

But Brazil's government now feels that things may change after Chavez last week lost a referendum vote that would have given him vast constitutional powers.

There are indications his popularity in the region could be waning. Angry Bolivians stoned a Venezuelan military aircraft last week to protest Chavez's influence in the country.

Meanwhile, a gas shortage in Rio de Janeiro in October reminded Brazil how much it needs Bolivian gas.

Lula's investment plans in Bolivia, the poorest country in South America, include a $600 million credit line to build roads and bridges as well as loans for farmers to buy tractors, a government official said, asking not to be named.