Estoril, Portugal - Ibero-American countries remained divided over the Honduran elections Monday at a summit in Portugal, with some of them recognizing the election result, while others dismissed it as illegitimate. Conservative candidate Porfirio Lobo has emerged as a winner in Sunday's poll, which was staged by the de facto government despite ousted president Manuel Zelaya's call for an election boycott.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said his country would not recognize the elections and would continue hosting Zelaya at the Brazilian embassy in Tegucigalpa until he was given security guarantees.
Zelaya, who was toppled in a June 28 coup, has been staying at the embassy since returning to Honduras from exile in September.
"We need to maintain a firm conviction on things, because this acts as a warning to other adventurers" who could violate the constitutional order in other Latin American countries, Lula da Silva said at the summit, which brought together representatives of 22 countries in the seaside resort of Estoril.
The representatives included 14 heads of state.
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner said the elections had taken place "in the most absolute illegality." But Colombian President Alvaro Uribe said his country recognized them.
The elections had been transparent and free of fraud, Uribe told Colombian media.
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said Spain "neither recognized nor ignored" the elections, explaining that Lobo would play a role in the search for a solution to the Honduran political crisis.
Most of the Latin American countries initially said they would not recognize the elections staged by the de facto government. But some, including Costa Rica, Peru and Panama, see the elections as valid, as does the United States.
Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno said his country recognized the elections, while continuing to regard Zelaya as the legitimate Honduran president.
Other conflicts that were expected to be discussed at the summit included the row between Venezuela and Colombia over the United States' use of military bases in Colombia.
The absence of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was expected to reduce bickering between neighbours Colombia and Venezuela at the summit, but also to lessen chances of mediating in their diplomatic row.
Chavez has called on Venezuelans to prepare for a war against what he sees as a US-Colombian plot to promote "Yankee imperialism" after Bogota authorized Washington to use seven military bases.
Latin America's leftist regimes had a lowered profile at the summit with the further absences of Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega, Bolivia's Evo Morales and Raul Castro of Cuba.
The official motto of the summit was "Innovation and Knowledge" as it prepared to discuss ways to promote new technologies in Latin America.
Activists of the environmental group Greenpeace meanwhile climbed Lisbon's Belen Tower, displaying banners calling on the summit to discuss climate change ahead of the upcoming United Nations climate summit in Copenhagen.
