Venezuela's Power Shift Condemned

yahoo.com ^ | Apr 13, 2002 1:28 AM ET | FABIOLA SANCHEZ, AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's military tapped a leading businessman Friday to replace former leftist president Hugo Chavez, whose combative rule was ended by army commanders after a bloody repression of a huge street protest.

Pedro Carmona - a figure straight from the economic elite Chavez had demonized during his three-year rule - said he would hold legislative and presidential elections within a year to replace Chavez.

But Carmona's appointment was challenged by Venezuela's attorney general as unconstitutional, and several Latin American nations condemned Chavez's ouster Friday.

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said Chavez was still president because he had not, in fact, resigned but was forced out by the military. Rodriguez said the constitution calls for Chavez's resignation to be accepted by Congress.

In Costa Rica, leaders at the summit of the 19-nation Rio Group of Latin American countries condemned "the interruption of constitutional order" in Venezuela.

Mexican President Vicente Fox said his country would not recognize Venezuela's new government until new elections are held, though he said diplomatic relations continue. Brazil, meanwhile, urged Venezuela to hold new elections as soon as possible.

Both Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde and Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez called Venezuela's new government illegitimate.

There was no immediate response from the high command or Carmona, who was sworn in late Friday after his supporters issued a declaration accusing Chavez of violating democratic norms and human rights.

Carmona dissolved the formerly Chavez-controlled congress, Supreme Court, attorney general's and comptroller's offices, and he declared a 1999 Constitution sponsored by Chavez null and void. Venezuela will return to a bicameral legislature under the previous constitution, he said.

Carmona also suspended 48 laws decreed by Chavez in November that generally increased the state's role in the economy. A 25-member advisory council was appointed.

Chavez, who could face charges for the deaths of protesters, was detained at an army base after being taken from his palace before dawn. His daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, told Cuban television early Saturday that he had been moved by helicopter to an undisclosed location, but the report could not immediately be confirmed.

The former paratrooper's strong-arm drive to impose a "revolution" had polarized Venezuela, and his friendships with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Iraq's Saddam Hussein had angered the United States.

In 2000 Chavez officially renamed the nation "The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela," in honor 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar.

At Carmona's swearing-in, hundreds roared with applause as one official announced: "the name of the Republic of Venezuela is re-established."

A 35-member advisory council was appointed to oversee the transition, and an interim Cabinet of politicians previously allied with the opposition was announced.

Carmona promised an end to anti-Chavez strikes that had severely cut oil production by Venezuela, the third biggest supplier to the United States and the world's fourth biggest oil exporter.

"Everyone will feel that there exists plenty of freedom, pluralism and respect for the state of law," the mild-mannered 60-year-old Carmona said. He urged Venezuelans to help him restore stability to the struggling economy.

Generals said Chavez, 47, was forced to resign by his military high command overnight after his civilian supporters opened fire on protesters in an 150,000-strong anti-Chavez march on Thursday. At least 14 people were killed and 240 wounded.

However, Chavez's allies on Friday denied he resigned and called the army move a coup.

The United States called for calm and blamed Chavez for his own ouster. The State Department said "undemocratic actions committed or encouraged by the Chavez administration" provoked Thursday's crisis. President Bush said "now the situation will be one of tranquility and democracy," White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said.

Streets were quiet Friday after a night of celebrations. Venezuelans' triumph on Friday was mixed with sorrow as vigils were held for the dead and wounded. "Day of Sorrow," read newspaper headlines.

Angered by the order to turn their weapons on civilians, the military rejected Chavez's request for exile in Cuba and took him from the palace to an army base before dawn.

Security forces conducted house to house searches Friday for members of so-called "Bolivarian Circles," citizens' groups said to have been armed by Chavez's government. Anti-Chavez politicians said they still feared assassination by the "Chavistas." Police searched the home of Chavez supporter, Caracas Mayor Freddy Bernal, who was missing.

Miguel Dao, head of Venezuela's security police, said his forces were looking for 1,500 rifles missing from a police station and allegedly given to Chavez supporters.

Police captured former Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin, and a mob tried to attack him as he was led away.

Popular resentment toward Chavez, who was elected in 1998 on an anti-poverty platform and whose term was to expire in 2006, had been building for months.

The armed forces - with traditionally strong ties to the U.S. military - resented Chavez's distancing of Venezuela from Washington. Many also resented Chavez's ties with leftist Colombian guerrillas, who allegedly sometimes operated in Venezuelan territory, and with Cuba: Many senior officers had fought Cuban-backed communist guerrillas in the 1960s and early 1970s.

The pugnacious president alienated Washington with his close ties to Castro, visits to Iraq, Iran and Libya, criticism of U.S. bombings in Afghanistan and opposition to free trade.

He exasperated Venezuelans by implementing economic policies by decree and accusing the media and Roman Catholic Church leaders of constantly conspiring to overthrow him. He squandered an opportunity to improve the lot of 80 percent of Venezuelans who live in poverty.

Chavez's one-time 80 percent popularity ratings had plunged to below 30 percent.

Monsignor Baltazar Porras, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference, said Chavez called him at midnight to the palace Thursday to ask him to guarantee his life as the military turned against him.

Porras, who sparred frequently with Chavez, said Chavez asked him for forgiveness for his clashes with the church.

Chavez's daughter Maria Gabriela told Cuba's state-run television that her father had contacted her and denied that he resigned. His arrest was "simply a coup," she said. The attorney general, Isaias Rodriguez, said Chavez was still considered president since Congress had not accepted his resignation.

Chavez's replacement was a leader of the general strike this week that eventually sparked the former president's removal.

Carmona's business chamber, Fedecamaras, joined the 1 million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation in calling the strike in support of executives at the state-run oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, who were protesting moves by Chavez.

The strike culminated with Thursday's giant march through the capital, Caracas.

Carmona is an economist who has degrees from Caracas' Andres Bello Catholic University and the University of Brussels. He has represented Venezuelan commercial and diplomatic missions abroad.

Inspired by Chavez's ouster, workers at Petroleos de Venezuela moved quickly to bring production and exports of crude oil and refined products back to full capacity. Monopoly executive Horacio Medina estimated that operations will be normal within a week.

Management had been protesting a reshuffle of the company board by Chavez six weeks ago.

Analysts predicted that Carmona will abandon Chavez's strict compliance with Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries quotas and revamp, if not abolish, an oil law that made foreign investment in Venezuelan oil more costly.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Then Venezuelan President-elect Hugo Chavez, left, listens to former President Jimmy Carter during their meeting in Caracas, Venezuela, in this Dec. 7, 1998 file photo. Chavez, the former army paratrooper who polarized Venezuela with his strongarm rule and whose friendship with Cuba and Iraq irritated the United States, resigned under military pressure Friday, April 12, 2002 after a massive opposition demonstration ended in a bloodbath. (AP Photo/Andres Leighton)

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, center right, and Iraqi President Saddam Hussein inspect an honor guard at Saddam airport in Baghdad, Iraq in this Aug. 11, 2000 file photo. Chavez, the former army paratrooper who polarized Venezuela with his strongarm rule and whose friendship with Cuba and Iraq irritated the United States, resigned under military pressure Friday, April 12, 2002 after a massive opposition demonstration ended in a bloodbath.(AP Photo/INA, Pool)

Cuba expresses concerns for Chavez's safety, calls ouster illegal - Sat Apr 13, 1:23 AM ET By ANITA SNOW, AP

[Full Text] HAVANA - Cuba's foreign minister expressed concern for the safety of the ousted Venezuelan president and said the Organization of American States should investigate what he called the illegal overthrow of a democratically elected leader.

"In this moment, Cuba considers (Chavez) to be the constitutional president of Venezuela," Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque told a news conference on Friday. "Cuba is worried about his physical integrity."

Chavez's ouster early Friday alarmed Cuban officials, who considered the Venezuelan leader their greatest regional ally. To Cuban President Fidel Castro, Chavez was a friend, a revolutionary heir, a surrogate son - Castro celebrated his 75th birthday with Chavez in Venezuela.

The foreign minister confirmed that Chavez had talked with Castro by telephone since the huge protests that led to his ouster, but declined to offer details.

Venezuelan military leaders who pressured Chavez to resign said they refused a request by him to take exile in Cuba.

The ousted president's daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, told Cuban television in a telephone interview from Venezuela on Friday that her father had not resigned.

She said her father told her in a telephone call to tell "the whole world ... that I am an imprisoned president and at no moment did I resign." She called her father's arrest "simply a coup, and they want to cover it up as a supposed resignation."

In a second interview with Cuban television aired in Havana early Saturday, Chavez's daughter said her family had received information that her father had been moved by helicopter late Friday from the military base where he had been held to an unknown location.

Chavez's ouster threw into doubt the budding trade relationship between the two countries. Venezuela is Cuba's No. 1 trade partner. Venezuela had been exporting 53,000 barrels of oil to Cuba daily at preferential terms.

CNN's Spanish language network showed Edgar Paredes of Venezuela's oil company saying on Friday, "We aren't going to send a single barrel more to Cuba."

When asked about the impact that could have on Cuba, Felipe Perez would only say that the Venezuelan oil authorities "answer to the coup leaders who at this moment are trying to consolidate power by illegal means." [End]

Castro, who once referred to Chavez as "a man worthy of admiration and support," has issued no public statements about his friend's ouster.

[The Great Satan]

Next!

[Jeff Chandler]

Venezuela had been exporting 53,000 barrels of oil to Cuba daily at preferential terms.

Things that make you go Hmmm...

[Cincinatus' Wife]

*** Chavez's ouster threw into doubt the budding trade relationship between the two countries. Venezuela is Cuba's No. 1 trade partner. Venezuela had been exporting 53,000 barrels of oil to Cuba daily at preferential terms. CNN's Spanish language network showed Edgar Paredes of Venezuela's oil company saying on Friday, "We aren't going to send a single barrel more to Cuba."****

EX-president of Venezuelan state oil company accuses government of eroding morale ***Other bones of contention were the central government's demand that the company hand over $4.4 billion in dividends last year, forcing PDVSA to borrow $500 million to pay the bill; and the oil sales to Cuba, whose leader, Fidel Castro, is Chavez's longtime mentor. · Chavez has insisted that oil sales continue to Cuba, despite an unpaid $97 million bill for past sales. ***

______________________________________________

This will put some pressure on Castro. Who will foot the bill for his oil now - Saddam? If he did, would we set up a blockade?
One terrorist helping another terrorist 90 miles from our shores doesn't exactly pass the Bush Doctrine smell test.

[BlackJack]

This was Chavez's biggest crazzy mistake!!!

[Jeff Chandler]

Check this out: HERE

[Cincinatus' Wife]

(August 11, 2001) Venezuela Orders US Offices Vacated***U.S. Embassy sources said the move came as a surprise. In a statement, the embassy said ``we regret this decision as it will make it difficult to carry on our long-standing relationship with the Venezuelan government's military.'' The action came on the eve of President Fidel Castro's two-day visit to southwestern Venezuela. The United States is the biggest importer of Venezuelan oil, and the two countries cooperate closely on counter-narcotics efforts. But President Hugo Chavez vocally challenges what he describes as U.S. political and economy dominance abroad.***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Houston Chronicle CHAVEZ'S REVOLUTION: Egomaniacal power grab disgusted most Venezuelans [Full Text] When Hugo Chavez won a landslide election victory to the presidency three years ago, he enjoyed the good will of the vast majority of Venezuelans and many democratically minded people throughout the world. Finally, it was hoped, here would be a leader who would improve the lot of all Venezuelans, most of whom lived in terrible poverty despite the fact that Venezuela is a rich nation by virtue of being the world's fourth-largest exporter of oil.

But the charismatic former paratroop colonel, who had staged a failed military coup in 1992, betrayed the voters and proved to be more of a pompous, left-leaning egomaniac than a true democrat. His international friends were Fidel Castro, to whom he agreed to ship oil at a cut-rate cost, Saddam Hussein and very probably Colombia's leftist guerrillas. He turned his back on the United States, although Venezuela remained this country's No. 3 supplier of imported oil.

Friday Chavez either resigned his presidency or was forced from power by Venezuelan military commanders following a national strike and mass march in Caracas that resulted in at least a dozen demonstrators being killed and an estimated 250 wounded. His approval ratings had plunged from 80 percent to 30 percent, even among the poorest of Venezuelans who had once been his strongest supporters.

In effect, the revolution had eaten its young. Power had corrupted. Domestically, Chavez grabbed for power with both hands. He put his old military friends into high positions. He muzzled and intimidated Venezuela's free press, got rid of honest judges along with some corrupt ones, rewrote the constitution and attacked middle-class businessmen, the Roman Catholic Church and labor leaders. He set the nation's state oil monopoly on a path to ruin.

Chavez's revolution turned out to be a lost chance to fix the many wrongs that plague the ordinary citizens of Venezuela. But the former colonel betrayed the people, as do most leaders who seek absolute power.

It is unclear where Venezuela will go from this point. Pedro Carmona, the interim leader who heads the country's largest business association, has promised new presidential and legislative elections within a year.

The future of Venezuelans depends on the rule of law, honest judges, a free press, a more transparent government and a renewed dedication to the principle that all Venezuelans should be treated fairly and humanely and with dignity. On this, history must wait. [End]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Cuban Embassy in Venezuela Besieged

[Cincinatus' Wife]

People wave Venezuelan flags during a Mass to honor the people who were killed during the recent protests that ended in the ouster of President Hugo Chavez, outside the Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) executive offices in Caracas, Venezuela on Friday April 12, 2002.(AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

[The Great Satan]

His international friends were Fidel Castro, to whom he agreed to ship oil at a cut-rate cost, Saddam Hussein and very probably Colombia's leftist guerrillas. He turned his back on the United States, although Venezuela remained this country's No. 3 supplier of imported oil.

This guy has what it takes to be a Muslim. I'm amazed he didn't convert.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

He's a real piece of work alright!

4-10-02 San Diego Union-Tribune Ruining Venezuela - An example of how not to help the poor [Full Text] Time may be running out on the stormy tenure of ex-paratrooper Hugo Chavez as Venezuela's president. Rumors of a coup and speculation on constitutional means of removing the autocratic Chavez are common fare on the streets of Caracas these days.

There is an object lesson in all this.

Chavez, elected president in 1998 after failing to seize power in a 1992 coup d'etat, styles himself a left-wing nationalist. He proclaims his admiration for Cuba's Fidel Castro and reportedly aids neighboring Colombia's Marxist guerrillas. Chavez' so-called "Bolivarian revolution" (after Latin America's 19th century liberator, Simn Bolivar) was supposed to raise living standards for the estimated 60 percent of Venezuelans who live in poverty.

But neither Chavez nor his ill-conceived "revolution" has delivered on its promises. Quite the contrary.

Despite oil wealth that makes Venezuela the No. 4 petroleum exporter in the world and the No. 3 exporter to the United States, the country's mismanaged economy is slumping badly. A zero growth rate is likely this year and inflation could reach 20 percent. The government's budget deficit is large and growing, credit is tight, and foreign investment is down.

Amid the political turmoil which Chavez has incited, Venezuela now suffers from capital flight and a brain drain, as some of the country's brightest move to Miami.

Having alienated most of his country''s influential interest groups - business, trade unions, landowners, the military, the Catholic Church and the press - Chavez is fast running out of supporters. His public approval ratings have fallen from 80 percent in 1999 to 24 percent in February.

Chavez' 49 economic laws imposed by decree last year sharply increased government intervention in Venezuela's already over-regulated economy. Chavez' current drive to put his political cronies in charge of the state-controlled oil industry is prompting spreading strikes. His land reform program looks more like organized theft. Private property rights, so essential to economic development, are declining in Chavez' Venezuela.

Chavez' thuggish tactics also threaten his country's political and civil institutions. He bullies political opponents. He incites mob violence against Venezuela's newspapers and broadcast media, which increasingly oppose his destructive strong-arm rule.

In effect, the results are in on Chavez' brand of left-wing populism and strong-arm government as an answer to poverty and social ills in Latin America. It doesn't work: Not in Chavez' Venezuela, not in Argentina under Juan Pern in the 1950s, not in Peru under that country's left-leaning military junta of the 1970s, not in Sandinista Nicaragua in the 1980s nor, indeed, anywhere. [End]

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Sat Apr 13, 4:13 AM ET - Ally: defiant Chavez struggled to negotiate his freedom in last moments before ouster - By ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP

[Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez, dressed in his trademark military uniform, struggled to negotiate his freedom in the last moments before his ouster and warned those deposing him they would meet the wrath of the Venezuelan people, a witness to the scene said.

Willian Lara, the former president of Congress, said Friday that he was in the room in the presidential palace when Chavez - stunned by a rebellion of top military officials - accepted he had lost his hold on power.

Lara said Chavez, his close ally, at one point offered to fire Vice President Diosdado Cabello and resign to appease his opponents. But Chavez rescinded the offer when it became clear the generals would not let him go free, Lara said.

"The president never resigned. Chavez is still the constitutional president," Lara said in a telephone interview. "We are facing a dictatorship."

Military officials maintained that Chavez had resigned outright.

The confrontation with the generals early Friday came after an anti-government protest by about 150,000 Venezuelans ended in a bloodbath. Authorities are deciding whether to charge Chavez in the violence, which left at least 14 dead and some 240 injured.

After hours of negotiations with military officials who turned against him, Chavez warned them they were restoring a corrupt political establishment that "raided the country for decades," Lara said.

The leftist former lieutenant colonel, who once warned opponents to stop "dreaming of his impossible ouster," was calm as generals led him out the palace at dawn Friday.

"He was serene. He never once showed himself demoralized. He never showed himself depressed," Lara said.

He was held at the Fuerte Tiuna military base in the South American country's capital on Friday. But his daughter, Maria Gabriela Chavez, told Cuban television early Saturday that he had been moved by helicopter to an undisclosed location. The report could not immediately be confirmed.

In Chavez's place, business leader Pedro Carmona was inaugurated interim president Friday, and promptly dissolved the Congress and Supreme Court that Chavez had packed with allies.

Chavez first catapulted to national fame by leading a failed military coup in 1992 - and urging his fellow defeated rebels to put down their arms "for now." He made no bold vows to return to power this time, Lara said.

But Lara said Chavez warned those who ousted him: "The changes I have made are not lost. The people will reconquer the gains." [End]

[samtheman]

In Costa Rica, leaders at the summit of the 19-nation Rio Group of Latin American countries condemned "the interruption of constitutional order" in Venezuela.

What is it about organizations of countries these days? The UN. The Arab Block. Now this from the Rio Group. Is there a requirement that delegates check their brains at the door before entering one of these meetings?

[backhoe]

the results are in on Chavez' brand of left-wing populism and strong-arm government as an answer to poverty and social ills in Latin America. It doesn't work: Not in Chavez' Venezuela, not in Argentina under Juan Pern in the 1950s, not in Peru under that country's left-leaning military junta of the 1970s, not in Sandinista Nicaragua in the 1980s nor, indeed, anywhere

That is correct, and the lesson to be learned from this nasty little dust-up. The casualties are a shame, but it could have been a lot worse.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Is there a requirement that delegates check their brains at the door before entering one of these meetings?

As usual, when you give someone a title, they think everyone cares about their opinion.
The truth is, most of these countries are thrilled Chavez is out on his ear.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The casualties are a shame, but it could have been a lot worse.

Just look at Cuba. A lot of Venezuelans did and left the country thinking what 40 years of a Chavez dicatorship would be like.

[samtheman]

Just like the Arab states actually can't stand the Palestinians and are happy to seem them thrust on someone else's doorstep.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Just like the Arab states actually can't stand the Palestinians and ....

Yes. Oh, the world sorely needs honest, plain talking world leaders.

[samtheman]

In a second interview with Cuban television aired in Havana early Saturday, Chavez's daughter said her family had received information that her father had been moved by helicopter late Friday from the military base where he had been held to an unknown location.

He's on his way to GITMO! He's going to break bread in a cage with Islamic animals, and all so near his great friend Fidel!