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Chavez and Washington Post on Venezuela Recall<br>
<br>
1. Ready for a Recall Vote (By Hugo Chavez)<br>
2. Mr. Chavez's Claim (Editorial)<br>
<br>
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<br>
Ready for a Recall Vote <br>
By Hugo Chavez<br>
<br>
Washington Post<br>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp" eudora="autourl">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp</a>-<br>
dyn/articles/A55957-2004May25.html<br>
<br>
Wednesday, May 26, 2004; Page A27<br>
<br>
CARACAS, Venezuela -- For the first 24 hours of the<br>
coup d'etat that briefly overthrew my government on<br>
April 11, 2002, I expected to be executed at any<br>
moment.<br>
<br>
The coup leaders told Venezuela and the world that <br>
I hadn't been overthrown but rather had resigned. I<br>
expected that my captors would soon shoot me in the<br>
head and call it a suicide.<br>
<br>
Instead, something extraordinary happened. The truth<br>
about the coup got out, and millions of Venezuelans<br>
took to the streets. Their protests emboldened the pro-<br>
democracy forces in the military to put down the brief<br>
dictatorship, led by Venezuelan business leader Pedro<br>
Carmona.<br>
<br>
The truth saved my life, and with it Venezuela's<br>
democracy. This near-death experience changed me. <br>
I wish I could say it changed my country.<br>
<br>
The political divisions in Venezuela didn't start with<br>
my election in 1998. My country has been socially and<br>
economically divided throughout its history. Venezuela<br>
is one of the largest oil exporting countries in the<br>
world -- the fourth-largest supplier to the United<br>
States -- and yet the majority of Venezuelans remain<br>
mired in poverty.<br>
<br>
What has enraged my opponents, most of whom are from<br>
the upper classes, is not Venezuela's persistent misery<br>
and inequality but rather my efforts to dedicate a<br>
portion of our oil wealth to improving the lives of the<br>
poor. In the past six years we have doubled spending on<br>
health care and tripled the education budget. Infant<br>
mortality has fallen; life expectancy and literacy have<br>
increased.<br>
<br>
Having failed to force me from office through the 2002<br>
coup, my opponents shut down the government oil company<br>
last year. Now they are trying to collect enough<br>
signatures to force a recall referendum on my<br>
presidency. Venezuela's constitution -- redrafted and<br>
approved by a majority of voters in 1999 -- is the only<br>
constitution in the Western Hemisphere that allows for<br>
a president to be recalled.<br>
<br>
Venezuela's National Electoral Council -- a body as<br>
independent as the Federal Election Commission in the<br>
United States -- found that more than 375,000 recall<br>
petition signatures were faked and that an additional<br>
800,000 had similar handwriting. Having been elected<br>
president twice by large majorities in less than six<br>
years, I find it more than a little ironic to be<br>
accused of behaving undemocratically by many of the<br>
same people who were involved in the illegal overthrow<br>
of my government.<br>
<br>
The National Electoral Council has invited<br>
representatives of the Organization of American States<br>
and the Carter Center to observe a signature<br>
verification process that will be conducted during the<br>
last four days of this month. That process will<br>
determine whether the opposition has gathered enough<br>
valid signatures to trigger a recall election, which<br>
would be held this August. To be frank, I hope that my<br>
opponents have gathered enough signatures to trigger a<br>
referendum, because I relish the opportunity to once<br>
again win the people's mandate.<br>
<br>
But it is not up to me. To underscore my commitment to<br>
the rule of law, my supporters and I have publicly and<br>
repeatedly pledged to abide by the results of that<br>
transparent process, whatever they may be. My political<br>
opponents have not made a similar commitment; some have<br>
even said they will accept only a ruling in favor of a<br>
recall vote.<br>
<br>
The Bush administration was alone in the world when it<br>
endorsed the overthrow of my government in 2002. It is<br>
my hope that this time the Bush administration will<br>
respect our republican democracy. We are counting on<br>
the international community -- and all Venezuelans --<br>
to make a clear and firm commitment to respect and<br>
support the outcome of the signature verification<br>
process, no matter the result.<br>
<br>
The writer is president of Venezuela.<br>
<br>
C 2004 The Washington Post Company<br>
<br>
washingtonpost.com<br>
<br>
====<br>
<br>
Mr. Chavez's Claim<br>
<br>
Editorial<br>
<br>
Washington Post<br>
<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp" eudora="autourl">http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp</a>-<br>
dyn/articles/A55981-2004May25.html<br>
<br>
Wednesday, May 26, 2004; Page A26<br>
<br>
IN A COLUMN on the opposite page Venezuelan President<br>
Hugo Chavez makes the remarkable assertion that he<br>
hopes his opponents will succeed in triggering a recall<br>
referendum that could cut short his term in office.<br>
Remarkable, because polls consistently show that Mr.<br>
Chavez would lose the referendum -- less than 40<br>
percent of the population supports his eccentric,<br>
quasi-authoritarian populism. Contrary to his claims,<br>
he has impoverished as well as polarized his country:<br>
Venezuela's per capita income has declined by a quarter<br>
in the six years he has been in office, and the poor<br>
are worse off than ever.<br>
<br>
More to the point, the president's words conflict <br>
with his actions. He has spent the past year doing<br>
everything in his power to prevent a democratic vote on<br>
his tenure -- and has repeatedly vowed that no<br>
referendum will take place.<br>
<br>
So why would Mr. Chavez claim otherwise? Because the<br>
latest propaganda strategy of this would-be "Bolivarian<br>
revolutionary" is to portray a complicated petition<br>
verification process scheduled for this weekend as an<br>
impartial procedure whose outcome should be accepted as<br>
a fair resolution of the country's political conflict.<br>
In fact, the procedure should not be taking place at<br>
all: It is the result of an attempt by Mr. Chavez's<br>
appointees to invalidate on bogus technicalities 1.6<br>
million out of 3.4 million signatures the opposition<br>
collected to trigger the recall election. By all<br>
rights, the election should have occurred months ago,<br>
because the opposition gathered 1 million more<br>
signatures than required by the constitution and has<br>
now collected more than enough signatures for a recall<br>
vote on two occasions. Instead, after protracted<br>
wrangling, authorities have set aside two days in which<br>
hundreds of thousands of would-be voters must return to<br>
confirm their signatures. Unless at least 600,000<br>
manage to do so despite numerous procedural obstacles<br>
and intimidation by government goon squads, Mr. Chavez<br>
and his cronies will declare the recall a failure.<br>
<br>
Sadly, the odds are that Mr. Chavez will carry out this<br>
coup-by-technicality and thwart a democratic resolution<br>
to Venezuela's long-running political crisis. The<br>
president points out that some of his opponents<br>
previously supported a coup against him (Mr. Chavez<br>
doesn't mention that he also once led a military<br>
rebellion against a democratic government); but now<br>
that the opposition has committed itself to an<br>
electoral solution, Mr. Chavez refuses to allow it.<br>
About the only hope for a fair outcome is the presence<br>
of observers from the Organization of American States<br>
(OAS) and the Carter Center who could call attention to<br>
acts of overt fraud and intimidation; Mr. Chavez tried<br>
to exclude them from the verification process but was<br>
obliged to give in late last week.<br>
<br>
Mr. Chavez swallowed the observers for the same reason<br>
he penned his op-ed: He hopes not only to block the<br>
referendum but also to head off any subsequent decision<br>
by the OAS to invoke its democracy charter, which calls<br>
for sanctions against governments that interrupt the<br>
rule of law. Even if it decided to act, the OAS<br>
probably wouldn't be able to stop Mr. Chavez from<br>
destroying what remains of democracy in Venezuela.<br>
Already, the president's only real friend in the<br>
outside world is Cuba's Fidel Castro. But if he<br>
proceeds to deny his country a democratic vote, Mr.<br>
Chavez should, at least, be denied the pretense that<br>
his actions are legal, or acceptable to the region's<br>
democracies.<br>
<br>
C 2004 The Washington Post Company<br>
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