[StJacques]

While my first thought is that I might be wasting time publicizing news of the opposition to Hugo Chavez while "democracy circles the drain" (to steal a line from the Caracas Chronicles) in Venezuela, I have decided that if the opposition intends to make a fight of it, then they deserve to have their voices heard. El Universal (Caracas) has a short English overview in a few paragraphs of the substance of this article, but it doesn't go into nearly the detail of their full Spanish version, which is why I've translated the larger article to post instead.

Today's interview is the first time Rosales has surfaced in any major way since his defeat in a less than clean election this past December. And what he is at least proposing, we'll still have to wait and see if he and his people can succeed, is the creation of an organized mass movement of no less than 30,000 separately-organized units to resist Chavez's "Bolivarian Project" for Venezuela. Obviously, this is an ambitious undertaking. But we do remember that very large crowds did attend Rosales rallies during the campaign and over time, the examination of the voting data from the election has done little to inspire confidence in the fairness of the contest, though Rosales has accepted the overall result. If this conclusion is settling in among the opposition, they may be emboldened to once again step up and challenge Chavez, a development that would turn the election itself into a prelude to the real decision about the country's future and they could succeed in returning a level of "contestability" to Venezuelan political life. I've spoken of this in the abstract because it is hard to envision exactly how this might unfold, and Chavez holds so many of the trump cards at the moment, but in light of what Rosales has postulated as their likely course of action, it sounds as though a passive resistance campaign is now being organized. I personally doubt the potential for the success of such an effort because winning through passive resistance requires fortitude, persistence, and patience, all of which imply success over time, and Chavez seems to be in a very big hurry right now.

I would especially like to draw everyone's attention to the fact that the proposed restructuring of the political map of Venezuela Chavez plans to implement, and he will get to decree it in the wake of the passage of the Enabling Act, is viewed by the opposition as the single greatest threat they now face. This is made very clear in the above interview and, for that reason, it will remain a development upon which we should keep a close eye in the future.

So it's time for the Venezuelan opposition to brush off the setback they suffered last December and once again shoulder up to the burden of their struggle to restore democracy and true freedom in their country. Today's statement is nothing but a first step and, perhaps in full recognition of the long odds against them at present, we should all wish them success in their efforts.

[StJacques]

A Latin American Left Watch ping for you all.

Anyone wishing to be included on the ping list may either ping me from this thread or contact me via Freepmail.

[Bahbah]

Good for you. I appreciate your keeping us informed. The people of Venezuela are not the only ones for whom this is a very bad thing.

[volunbeer]

I hope they have good life insurance!

We are asleep behind the wheel on this one as usual and when we finally decide to address it he will be firmly entrenched.

[Dog Gone]

I don't predict a happy end to Chavez's life, but I fear it might be a long one. Too long for the good of the people of Venezuela.

[domenad]

The American Left needs to take a lesson from Rosales. THIS is what courage looks like. Protesting Bush does not take an iota of courage - it has been proven time and again that you can call the President of the US anything you want, no matter how vile or disgusting, and absolutely nothing will happen to you in any way, shape or form. Rosales, by contrast, is now in danger. He can expect formal repression by the dictatorial state of Chavez. He will be attacked verbally, financially, and physically both by government and "private" entities. If he survives two years, I will be pleasantly surprised. This is what courage looks like, NOT JANE FREAKING FONDA.

[tanuki]

Thanks for posting. Every ray of hope.....

[marron]

Chavez has been President for Life since the moment he took the podium on inauguration day, 1998. He is playing for keeps. Reading between the lines, I believe Rosales is also.

Thats what its going to take.

As has been famously pointed out, what matter in an election is "who" counts the votes. Chavez has learned that lesson, and so has Rosales. Democracy died in 1998, but it took a while for the last true believer to get the message. And maybe it was necessary for Rosales to go through the motions, and I admire him for the way he has handled himself so far. He was right not to contest the election on election day. There was no point. But once you realize that the polls are meaningless, you are through the looking glass, you either accept the new totalitarian reality, you get your family out of the country, or you face the fact that your new role is to lead the revolution.

Rosales' life is on the line now. May God bless and preserve him.

[Lusis]

We should send them rifles.