Posted on 10/25/2002 1:21:42 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela -- Military officers demanding elections are desperately trying to incite a coup while cloaking themselves in the constitution and they will be defeated, President Hugo Chavez said Thursday.
In his first reaction to the call to rebel by dozens of officers, Chavez dismissed the protest as "a show" and said he had foiled a coup plot linked to a Monday general strike against his government.
"We will continue to defeat them, one after another," he said.
Venezuela is deadlocked between Chavez, who defended his leftist revolution for Venezuela's majority poor, and a growing and increasingly frustrated opposition that wants a fast vote to ease social tensions -- and embarrass Chavez into resigning.
Dissident Air Force Gen. Pedro Pereira said 40 active officers had joined the protest, including 14 generals. Most, if not all, were involved in a brief April coup.
Globovision television put the number at 90, while Army Gen. Rene Sericia Garcia told El Nacional newspaper that 700 soldiers backed the uprising but couldn't speak out because they had been confined to barracks.
The dissident officers are citing a clause in Venezuela's constitution allowing citizens to rebel against an anti-democratic government.
Union Radio reported more than 80 soldiers joined the protest, along with thousands of civilians.
Chavez said he was encouraged that some opposition leaders were "showing signs of reason" by distancing themselves from coup-plotting and collecting signatures for a referendum on his rule. But he didn't respond to demands that he call a vote in December.
He has said the constitution allows a binding referendum on his rule in 2003, halfway into his six-year term.
"This group of officers calling for insurrection and rebellion are committing a crime. The (protesting) civilians aren't committing a crime, but they should know that those in uniform are," Chavez said.
Chavez also defended his revolution against "neoliberalism."
"The world is changing, and for those who don't believe it, look at the results of recent elections in Latin America," Chavez said, citing preliminary wins by populist candidates in Brazil and Ecuador.
Cesar Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, arrives Sunday to broker peace talks.
But the opposition accuses Gaviria of bias after he issued a statement condemning the call to rebel.
Fears of unrest also apparently led Venezuela to cancel a summit of developing nations set to begin Saturday.
The foreign ministry explained that only six of 19 member heads of state could attend the Group of 15 developing nations summit because of problems in their own countries. But the state news agency of Malaysia, a G-15 member, said Venezuela's unrest forced the cancellation.
The Venezuelan Workers Confederation and the Fedecamaras business chamber, with a combined 2 million members, support the rebel officers. So, too, do Venezuela's three biggest opposition parties.
October's marches, strikes and demonstrations have been peaceful, but international mediators worry the world's fifth largest oil exporter can erupt in violence again.
Venezuela's opposition insists Chavez has lost control of the country, which is mired in economic recession.
And from the endless rehashing of the sniper case with the same 'experts' who got the perp's profile totally wrong.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.