Posted on 04/14/2002 4:01:40 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
LINKS to Hugo Chavez's "government" June 2001 - March 2002
I'm keeping track of Hugoland formally known as Venezuela. Please LINK any stories or add what you wish to this thread. The above LINK takes you to past articles posted before the new FR format. Below I'll add what I've catalogued since that LINK no longer could take posts.
(March 1, 2002)-- Venezuela's strongman faces widespread calls to step down
By Phil Gunson | Special to The Christian Science Monitor
[Full Text] CARACAS, VENEZUELA - The man who won Venezuelan hearts three years ago as a strongman who could deliver a better life to the masses is now facing them in the streets.
More than 20,000 people turned out this week calling for the resignation of President Hugo Chávez, while some 2,000 supporters marched in a rival demonstration of support. The demonstrations come after months of building discontent with a president who has managed to alienate the labor class, the media, business groups, the church, political parties, and the military.
Four military leaders have publicly called for his resignation.
In November, Chávez introduced 49 "revolutionary" decrees. The package of laws - affecting everything from land rights and fisheries to the oil industry - unified virtually the whole of organized society in a nationwide business and labor stoppage that paralyzed the country on Dec. 10.
The protests this week have a note of irony, because they started out as a commemoration called by President Chávez. In his eyes, Feb. 27 is a milestone of his so-called revolution - "the date on which the people awoke" in 1989. That is when thousands of rioters and looters took to the streets in protest of an IMF-backed austerity plan, in which the government hiked gas prices.
In what became known as the caracazo, or noisy protest, thousands of rioters and looters were met by Venezuelan military forces, and hundreds were killed. Three years later, Chávez and his military co-conspirators failed in an attempt to overthrow the government responsible for the massacre, that of President Carlos Andres Perez. Chávez was jailed for two years.
"But the elements that brought about the caracazo are still present in Venezuela," says lawyer Liliana Ortega, who for 13 years has led the fight for justice on behalf of the victims' relatives. "Poverty, corruption, impunity ... some of them are perhaps even more deeply ingrained than before."
Chávez's supporters consist of an inchoate mass of street traders, the unemployed, and those whom the old system had marginalized. This, to Chávez, is el pueblo - the people.
"But we are 'the people' too," protests teacher Luis Leonet. "We're not oligarchs like he says. The oligarchs are people like Chávez, people with power."
On Wednesday, Leonet joined a march led by the main labor confederation, the CTV, to protest what unions say is a series of antilabor measures, including one of the 49 decrees dealing with public-sector workers.
Chávez won't talk to the CTV, whose leaders, he says, are corrupt and illegitimate. So he refuses to negotiate the annual renewal of collective contracts with the confederation, holding up deals on pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of union members like Leonet.
Across town on Wednesday, a progovernment march sought to demonstrate that the president's popularity was as high as ever.
"For the popular classes, Chávez is an idol," says marcher Pedro Gutierrez.
Pollster Luis Vicente Leon, of the Datanalisis organization, warns that marches are no measure of relative popularity. "There is a lot of discontent among ... the really poor," Leon says, adding that so far the protests are mainly among the middle class.
But the middle class can be a dangerous enemy. It includes the bulk of the armed forces, and the management of the state oil company, PDVSA.
This month, four uniformed officers, ranging from a National Guard captain to a rear-admiral and an Air Force general, called on the president to resign, while repudiating the idea of a military coup of Chávez, himself a former Army lieutenant-colonel.
But senior "institutionalist" officers "are under severe pressure from lower ranks frustrated at the lack of impact" that these acts have had, a source close to military dissidents says. In other words, a coup cannot be ruled out, although the United States publicly denounces the idea.
Meanwhile, the president's imposition of a new board of directors on PDVSA this week sparked a virtual uprising by the company's senior management. In an unprecedented public statement, managers said the government was pushing the company "to the verge of operational and financial collapse" by imposing political, rather than commercial, criteria.
The political opposition remains relatively weak and divided. But in the view of many analysts, a president who offends both the military and the oil industry is asking for trouble. In the bars and restaurants of Caracas, the debate is no longer over whether Chávez will finish his term, which has nearly five years to run. It is when and how he will go - and what comes next. [End]
Powell calls for democracy in Cuba - Nations reluctant to discuss Castro's record *** SANTIAGO, Chile -- Secretary of State Colin Powell called on Western Hemisphere nations Monday to help "hasten the inevitable democratic transition in Cuba" and protest a recent wave of arrests and executions by President Fidel Castro's government. Powell, raising the Cuba issue in a forum long reluctant to debate it, told the 34-nation Organization of American States: "The people of Cuba increasingly look to the OAS for help in defending their fundamental freedoms against the depredations of our hemisphere's only dictatorship."
Powell reminded the gathering of its past commitments to democracy, including the 2001 Inter-American Democratic Charter. That document "declares that `the people of the Americas have a right to democracy.' It does not say that the peoples of the Americas, except Cubans, have a right to democracy," he said.
Many nations of the OAS, which suspended Cuba's membership in 1962, are opposed to discussing Castro's human rights record without also debating the four-decades-old U.S. embargo of the island. ***
"In a solemn public ceremony, he improvises with a tirade that discredits one of the [three] branches of government, and precisely the branch not involved with party politics, which has the constitutional role of addressing disputes between individuals and institutions. With accusations of biased verdicts, the existence of 'black boxes' and venality in sectors of the Judiciary, the president endangers the wise and time-honored principle of independence of the three branches, a basic principle of democracy. A democracy without respect for the limits of each branch is not a democracy but an authoritarian regime typical of dictatorships" ("Crise de Poderes," Correio do Povo, 4/26/2003).***
In small steps, political parties and many community organizations opposed to Mr. Chávez have started to gear up political activities in poor districts in preparation for the referendum on Mr. Chávez's rule. Though a date has not been set, Mr. Chávez and his adversaries last month agreed to allow Venezuelans to vote on whether they want him to continue in power.
At First Justice, which started as a civic organization and became a political party two years ago, those who work in Catia and other poor districts are under no illusions. But Armando Briquet, who oversees operations in much of the metropolitan area, said the strategy is simple: to focus on the growing economic and crime problems and not overtly criticize the president. "We are telling people, `We understand your problems, that we can help you look for solutions,' " Mr. Briquet said in an interview in his office. "That there is a different way of doing things, different from the old way and the current way."***
Hundreds of national guard troops and police in riot gear launched tear gas grenades to disperse more than 100 rowdy government backers. Columns of black smoke rose from tires burning in the street and mingled with thick clouds of white tear gas. One police officer was wounded by gunfire from an unknown source and two others were hurt by rocks, said Pedro Aristimuno, the city's health secretary. The tear gas forced the evacuation of 25 children from a nearby hospital, he added. ***
Mr. da Silva's confidence in him is such that Mr. Dirceu exercises more authority than any chief of staff since the military dictatorship from 1964 to 1985. Mr. Dirceu balks at comparisons with the military government, noting that he has been an elected state legislator and a member of Congress and that he "lost an election for governor" of São Paulo, the country's largest state.
But his power has also been enhanced by Mr. da Silva's governing style. In contrast to his predecessor, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, "who wanted to be minister of everything," but very much like Ronald Reagan, Mr. da Silva "likes to talk about the big issues, mobilizing people, rather than getting involved with the minutiae," said Alexandre Barros, a political analyst here.***
South America's new-style military coup*** This neomilitarism is characterized by a profound hostility to democratic society and to an open economy. It also seems to have a pronounced populist accent and a dangerous dose of communist infiltration. In essence, it represents the popular dissatisfaction with democratic policy in Latin America.
The paradox is that this doesn't seem to worry the United States. Of course, that's historically typical - more so now, because after Sept. 11, American foreign policy seems to be based exclusively on national security criteria. If in the past, Washington was not bothered by Somoza, Trujillo, and Duvalier, why should it be bothered now by Chávez, Gutierrez, or whoever else might come along?***
"No dictatorship can exist without external support but no dictatorship can be brought down either without external support," said Alina Fernandez, an exiled daughter of Castro, who will lead the trip. "We are asking the world to help us with the situation in Cuba," said Blanca Gonzalez, whose journalist son, Normando Gonzalez, was recently sentenced to 25 years in a Cuban prison. Tears streaming down her cheeks another dissident's relative said she would tell European leaders that "Fidel Castro is a murderer." "Until now, they have been blind and deaf to the tragedy in Cuba," said Isabel Roque, her voice choked with emotion.
Klayman also called for the ouster of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. "Chavez is a terrorist, removing him in any particular way would probably be beneficial," he said. ***
Neither President Hugo Chávez nor Gov. Gray Davis has committed an impeachable crime. But both men's popularity has plummeted as a result of a sloppy or mismanaged economy, many voters' sense of betrayal and in Chávez's case, ever-deepening division among the electorate.
Is "recall" of a leader - elected by a majority for a fixed term but supported only by a minority - a good idea? Or should voters stare decisively at election returns and wait for retribution on a regular schedule?
First consider oil-rich Venezuela, long run by a corrupt oligarchy. Chávez and his populist party rode in on a wave of reform, captured the National Assembly and started packing the courts. His reach for greater power led to strikes, riots, capital flight, an abortive coup and, despite high world oil prices, an economy nose-diving by 10 percent a year.
Chávez is an ardent admirer of Fidel Castro. Like the Cuban dictator, he intimidates those who dare to oppose, encouraging violent attacks on his critics by thuggish supporters.
In a deal to permit re-election, he agreed to a referendum on his rule. But now Chávez is throwing up procedural roadblocks. His party is denying the National Assembly a quorum (an old Texas trick). Chávez is resisting a recall vote because he presumes that if the referendum to oust him succeeds, his currently divided opposition will unite against him in the election to follow.
California's governor, Gray Davis, though not a Castro follower, is in a similar position. Last year, as Republicans were about to choose a strong candidate in a primary to oppose him, he poured millions into TV advertising to tear down Mayor Richard Riordan of Los Angeles; when a weaker Republican candidate won, Democrat Davis easily defeated him. Picking one's opposition, though unprecedented, was considered a nifty trick.
Not so nifty was Davis's failure to disclose a looming huge deficit, necessitating nearly $40 billion in budget cuts or tax increases. Now that his heavy-spending chickens are coming home to roost, a bipartisan he-lied-to-us crowd is out in force and his approval rating is in the low 20's.***
"FAN and the people have the authority to reestablish the chain of consitutionality broken by the Government and to establish a provisional and temporary civilian-military government with a civilian president," they said, according to the Sunday edition of the paper.
They stated that they believed that Chávez would not allow a referendum to be held on the continuation of his presidency, and that the Government will "bog down the electoral process and continue to postpone it through inertia" until finally it is never held. The Bloque Democrático is made up of 34 military, business and labor groups that recently joined together and left the majority group, Coodinadora Democrática, which they accuse of "entering into a deal with the Government without realizing it."
With the aid of the Organization of American States and other international agencies, the Coordinadora Democrática negotiated with the Government several weeks ago to find an electoral solution to the national political crisis. [End]
The populist president regularly pillories the city police force, run by anti-Chavez mayor Alfredo Pena and known by its Spanish initials "PM," as a murderous, subversive band of coup plotters bent on trying to topple him. Other regional units controlled by opposition state governors, who under the Constitution can run their own police forces, are also viewed by Chavez as hostile. "If I have to take over these police again, I will. ... We, as the state, hold the monopoly of force," Chavez said recently. ***
Gunfire erupted in the center of Caracas when about 40 military police officers briefly overran the station and tried to force out a commander who a day earlier had arrested an army lieutenant, Caracas Metropolitan Police chief Lazaro Forero told Reuters by telephone.
"The metropolitan police faced off with them and rescued the commander," he said.
There were no immediate reports of injuries although four military officers were arrested, officials said. Local television showed images of an armored police van pockmarked with bullet holes.
It was not clear if the police had returned fire at the soldiers.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, has been rocked by political conflict for more than a year between Chavez and opponents who accuse him of amassing dictatorial power.
Friday's clash came seven months after President Hugo Chavez ordered the military to temporarily take over the metropolitan police run by anti-Chavez mayor Alfredo Pena.
Chavez, a former paratrooper who survived a coup in April last year, accuses his foes of using the police as a hostile paramilitary force.
Populist Chavez recently threatened to take over control of the 9,000-strong autonomous metropolitan force for the second time after they clashed with his radical supporters during a violent street protest.
Several rival police forces in the capital are run by municipal mayors -- both supporters and opponents of the president -- often leading to confusing law enforcement turf squabbles.
Chavez ordered the Metropolitan Police force to submit to military control last November. The Supreme Court overturned the takeover five weeks later but the Caracas force is still "policed" by army detachments in some of their major stations. [End]
Former PDVSA workers hailed the court ruling, but few seem to think they will ever work for the oil company again. Some say they don't want to.
"I wouldn't go back to work for this government, even if they called to offer me a job," De Freitas says.
Many executives from the company's upper echelons are now living off their savings while dedicating themselves to the opposition's push for a referendum on Chavez's rule, an effort that, they hope, will push him from office by the end of the year.
"Right now I'm unemployed, but I'm conspiring full time," jokes former PDVSA production manager Ignacio Layrisse, who collaborates with a group of former oil workers.
Many of PDVSA's fired mid-level managers and engineers now work odd jobs.
Jose Enrique Salazar, a former materials engineer, sells wooden picture frames in Caracas' street markets. Santiago Zerpa, an accountant employed by the oil company for 22 years, earns money by waiting in long vehicle registration lines for people who don't want do it themselves.
"I feel good about what I'm doing," says Zerpa, who also is involved with the opposition. "Fighting against this government keeps me going."
Many former PDVSA employees say they share Zerpa's spirit of resistance. Still, losing the prestige and security the oil company provided has taken its toll, many quietly acknowledge. ***
And the Bush administration is sending its special ambassador to Latin America, Otto J. Reich, to Spain, Italy and France next week to discuss the region's hottest crises, as well as lingering financial troubles in Brazil and Argentina, White House officials and Palacio told me.
Among the people who have been asked to meet with Reich is French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, the diplomat whose public criticism of the Iraq war so exasperated the White House. Others will be Spanish Ibero-American Cooperation Minister Miguel Angel Cortes and Italian and Vatican officials.
The most pressing issue on Reich's agenda will be Venezuela, U.S. officials say.
The administration fears that Venezuela's populist leftist President Hugo Chávez will renege on an internationally brokered agreement to convene a national referendum on the duration of his term, and that he will provoke a violent clash with the opposition in order to suspend constitutional guarantees and radicalize his ``Bolivarian revolution.''
''He is trying to create an incident where he can call out the military and say that democracy has been threatened,'' a U.S. official says. ***
They say at least 94 farms have been invaded by squatters, some with quasi-legal documents from the government; others with no paperwork. At three farms visited by Reuters, rural workers on the land had no deeds from the state or said they were waiting for one.
At Hato Viejo, farm administrators say peasants have forced them to abandon some pasture land and have starved cattle to death. But peasant cooperative leaders deny they are to blame and counter they have been threatened.
At the nearby La Batalla farm, where employees busily process milk into cheese, three men have taken over a small plot in a clutch of trees. Farmers say appeals to regional authorities that the land is in use have gone unheeded.
For some peasants, though, necessity takes precedence over law. A few yards from a desolate roadway that weaves through Barinas, Jose de la Rosa Lugo has taken over a plot of land near his shack to sow maize.
The leather-skinned 70-year-old appears to have little time for legal squabbles or politics forged in the distant capital.
"These people have so much land and they don't want to let people work," he said. "Everyone has to have a piece."
Seventy-four Cuban literacy experts were to train 100,000 Venezuelan teachers to give classes in reading and writing to 1.5 million Venezuelans -- nearly 9 percent of the population -- who are currently illiterate.
The Cuban participation is opposed by foes of leftist Chavez. They accuse him of ruling like a dictator and trying to replicate Communist-ruled Cuba in Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
In a video conference broadcast from Caracas to schools around the country, the Venezuelan leader praised the literacy program as a major advance in his so-called "revolution" to improve the lives of the country's poor.
"This has nothing to do with indoctrination," he said, dismissing allegations by opponents that the campaign would seek to impart Marxist ideology along with reading and writing skills.
The campaign, providing two hours of classes a day at teaching centers around the country, will be headed by Eliecer Otaiza, a Chavez loyalist and former chief of Venezuela's DISIP security police.
Chavez thanked his friend and political ally, Cuban President Fidel Castro for donating texts, videos and 50,000 television sets to help the Venezuelan literacy drive. The Venezuelan leader briefly visited Havana during the weekend for talks with Castro.
In a growing alliance that has irked the United States, the biggest buyer of Venezuelan oil, several hundred Cuban doctors, sports trainers and farming experts have been working in Venezuela under a bilateral cooperation treaty.
Venezuela also supplies up to 53,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil to Cuba on preferential terms, making the South American nation the Caribbean island's single biggest trading partner.
Chavez, who was first elected in 1998 and survived a coup last year, frequently praises Castro and Cuba but denies that he shares the Cuban leader's Communist convictions. [End]
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