MEXICO CITY – When the United Nations voted for what was known as partition and created the State of Israel 64 years ago, subsequently granting it full membership, several Latin American countries – Brazil, El Salvador, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Honduras – abstained, or, in the case of Cuba, voted against the relevant resolutions. Mexico abstained on partition, though it voted in favor of admitting Israel to the UN a few months later, and subsequently recognized the Jewish state, acknowledging that its national interest was best served by not taking sides in the Middle East imbroglio.