Posted on 04/12/2003 1:22:53 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
Venezuelan national guard soldiers guard a street near the Miraflores Presidential Palece in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, April 11, 2003. A year after soldiers temporarily ousted President Hugo Chavez, Venezuelans find themselves in economic crisis, bitterly divided and with Chavez's hold on power stronger than ever. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez challenged his foes on Friday to try to oust him through the ballot box as his government and the opposition agreed to work to hold a referendum on his rule after Aug. 19.
The left-wing former paratrooper on Friday commemorated the first anniversary of a short-lived coup against him by rebel military officers. He said his brief overthrow a year ago was like "losing my virginity" and that he would not allow any new coup to succeed.
The referendum announcement by government and opposition negotiators, meeting in Caracas under the auspices of the Organization of American States, boosted hopes for a peaceful, electoral settlement to Venezuela's political crisis, although a date for a poll still has to be fixed.
The United States welcomed the agreement as "positive."
"We call on all Venezuelans to support this carefully negotiated agreement and to work assiduously over the coming months to turn it into a reality," State Department spokesman Philip Reeker said in Washington.
While Chavez hailed his survival of the April 2002 coup as a "victory," several hundred opposition protesters rallied in east Caracas on Friday to mourn the deaths of 19 people who were shot to death during a big anti-Chavez march a year ago.
On April 11 last year, generals and admirals opposed to Chavez's self-styled "revolution" in the world's No. 5 oil exporter took the populist leader prisoner after the killings of opposition supporters near the presidential palace.
Loyal troops and supporters restored Chavez to power after 48 hours. He later survived a crippling two-month strike by opponents that slashed the country's oil production and exports in December and January, plunging the economy into recession.
In Friday's demonstrations, opposition protesters, many wearing black and carrying crosses and coffins, occupied a highway, chanting "Justice! Justice!" and "Freedom! Freedom!"
Chavez, who was democratically elected in 1998 on a platform of fighting poverty, urged his foes to collect signatures to hold a recall referendum on his rule after Aug. 19. They accuse him of ruling like a dictator and of trying to install Cuban-style communism in Venezuela.
The constitution allows for such a referendum halfway through his current mandate, which is due to last until early 2007. The opposition must collect the signatures of at least 20 percent of the electorate to trigger such a recall poll.
"Let them collect the signatures, one by one. If I lose the referendum, I'll go, but they have to beat me fair and square," Chavez told a news conference.
POLL DETAILS YET TO BE WORKED OUT
Describing his dramatic reinstatement last year as a "kind of miracle," a buoyant Chavez vowed that he would not be caught out again by another attempt to overthrow him by force.
"I was a bit like a virgin. We lost our virginity on April 11," he said. He added that both the armed forces and supporters living in poor neighborhoods around the palace now had plans to respond to any new coup attempt.
OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, speaking to reporters in Washington, hailed Friday's referendum agreement as an important step forward in his long-running efforts to broker a solution to the bitter Venezuelan political conflict.
The formal agreement to hold a recall referendum after Aug. 19 was due to be signed by the two sides after Easter.
Chavez said that before a referendum could be held, the National Assembly needed to appoint a new National Electoral Council, which would have responsibility for organizing the poll and setting a date.
The country's electoral register would also have to be revised because it contained many errors, Chavez said, including false identities and foreign nationals and even dead people listed as voters.
Opponents have said they fear the government might use delaying tactics to try to stall or sabotage the referendum.
Chavez's government and its foes blame each other for the April 11 shootings last year, which killed both government and opposition supporters.
No one has so far been convicted of the killings although four pro-Chavez militants who were filmed firing during the opposition march are facing trial for firearms offenses.
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