Opposition Warns Chavez Over Recall - Chavez: I will personally review every signature

The Washington Times ^ | December 9, 2003 | Alexandra Olson, AP

[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.

[Cindy]

Chavez is a pig.
There is a place reserved for Castro, Chavez, Mugabe in the afterlife that won't include us, thank God.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Good morning CW.

So he’s 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 doesn’t look like he can.

[SAJ]

Here's the deal, m'friend. Chavez will NOT allow any sort of balloting for his recall, short of having a gun held to his head. Won't happen, period. I'm not concerned about the excuses he will make/present.

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.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gestures during his weekly broadcast in Caracas, December 7, 2003. Chavez dismissed an opposition bid to oust him through a referendum as a fraud-ridden 'electoral coup.' Opposition leaders say they have collected enough signatures to secure a referendum on his presidency. A populist former paratrooper who led his own failed coup bid in 1992, rejected as biased recent opinion polls which show that two out of three Venezuelans would vote against him if a referendum was held. NO SALES NO ARCHIVE REUTERS/Miraflores Palace/Handout

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Cindy]

Very sad SAJ and so unnecessary.
Chavez, like Mugabe and Castro is bringing his country down.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I LOVE that photo. He is definitely trying to squeeze out a thought from somewhere. He probably had to rest after that.

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.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

And his parents were government school teachers.

[Mudcat]

No Marxist in history has ever allowed a free election after gaining power

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.