Posted on 12/08/2003 11:59:24 PM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuela's opposition warned Monday that President Hugo Chavez Monday would face widespread protests if he disregards a petition calling for a referendum on his recall.
The Democratic Coordinator, a coalition of opposition parties and civic groups, said in a statement that Chavez "doesn't have the strength, either on the streets or in the armed forces" to block the referendum.
Chavez claims the opposition resorted to fraud during the recent drive to collect signatures for a presidential recall vote that would be held next year.
On Sunday, Chavez vowed to personally review every signature - by some estimates, more than 3 million - and said he would reject any that he considers fake, even if the National Elections Council decides they are legitimate.
"I would lay the bat down at home plate and say 'There's no game,'" Chavez said. "They must convince me, signature by signature ... for there to be a game."
Opposition leaders claim at least 3.6 million people signed the presidential recall petition - well above the 2.4 million needed to trigger a vote.
They plan to turn in the signatures by next week. The elections council would then have 30 days to verify the petitions and decide whether to authorize a vote.
Chavez insists there won't be a recall and that he will be re-elected in the next scheduled presidential vote in 2006.
Elections Council Vice President Ezequiel Zamora urged both sides on Monday to respect the panel's autonomy. The council promised to investigate Chavez's allegations that private businesses pressured workers to sign the recall petitions.
Division over Chavez's leftist rule provoked a brief 2002 military coup. A two-month general strike that ended in early February further battered Venezuela's economy. Dozens have died in sporadic street clashes between Chavez supporters and opponents.
So hes going to review every signature (only over 3,000,000) and decided whether they are legitimate or not. I must admit I have to laugh as serious as this is. Does he know how to read? He doesnt look like he can.
No Marxist in history has ever allowed a free election after gaining power -- Chavez is not only no exception, he's archtypical.
The only (tragically) interesting thing about Venezuelan politics these days is arguing about exactly what date the civil war begins.
Reflecting about his ability to read, remember his temporary resignation note a couple of years ago or so? It was as if a first grade child had printed it. He also had difficulty with the left and right margins, and he tried to draw the presidential seal at the top but ran out of room. It was hysterical.
Pardon, Mssr. Saj, but what about Gorby? Granted, his expulsion of Yeltsin from the Politburo was a blantant attempt to maintain control & power, but that doesn't quite count as fiddlin' with an election.
Plus, many Marxists took more or less peaceable paths out of power when the Soviet Union collapsed... Todor Zhivkov comes to mind most immediately, of Bulgaria.
Not that I agree with the tenets of Marxism or anything so silly as that, but plenty of Marxists have allowed free elections, and even allowed those elections to kick them out of office.
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