Some in the community -- the local Venezuelan community, in particular -- also will be counting signatures in an effort to change the face of government in their country.
In a move reminiscent of the recall petition and election Californians recently held to replace Gov. Gray Davis with actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Venezuelans are attempting to force a recall of President Hugo Chavez.
According to the constitutional framework, the opposition must gather the signatures of 2.4 million voters, 20 percent of the Venezuelan electorate, to force the referendum that would be expected next April. The four-day petition drive begins today.
A related petition drive is scheduled here Saturday (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.) at Ray Miller Park, 1800 Eldridge Parkway.
That drive, named Reafirmazo Alternativo, may be rendered largely symbolic, because the Chavez government moved to exclude Venezuelans living abroad from participating in the recall petition. It's a move that, in essence, strips Venezuelans living here and elsewhere around the globe of their rights under the Venezuelan Constitution.
Nevertheless, organizers say they expect petitions to be signed by Venezuelans living in more than 100 cities around the world, including many of the estimated 1,800 Venezuelans in the Houston area.
The signatures gathered here will be witnessed, notarized and submitted, along with others from Venezuelans outside their country, to international human rights organizations. The signatures collected will accompany a formal complaint to be introduced before Venezuelan and international institutions, said local spokesperson Cristal Montañez. ***
……..Cabezas, 30, and el-Aissami, 28, are both radical "Chavistas" who emerged as student leaders at the University of the Andes in the city of Merida, about 300 miles southwest of the capital, Caracas.
The university city of Merida has for decades been a haven for guerrilla groups, both domestic and foreign. Venezuelan and Colombian guerrilla groups continue to maintain an armed presence at the university, with the alleged complicity of Merida state government officials, according to students and university officials.
Merida's governor is a former army officer close to Chavez, Florencio Porras. Cabezas was his private secretary until last year.
State officials deny the allegations. Even so, students and academics point to a dramatic upsurge in radical student activity during el-Aissami's two-year tenure as president of the student union. Prior to his departure in July, armed groups consolidated their presence in student residences, they say.
A report by the vice rectorate of academic affairs recently found that of 1,122 people living in a student housing complex, only 387 were active students. More than 600 are completely unconnected to the university.
While the university provides essential services at the residences, students have a say in room allocation and building security. Under el-Aissami's rule political control over the residences fell into the hands of extremists with criminal ties, according to students and university officials.
The current director of Student Affairs, professor Oswando Alcala, accused students under el-Aissami's leadership of turning the residences into a base for criminal activity.
"They use the residences to hide stolen cars. There's drug trafficking, prostitution," he said. "There are always weapons there. . . . They leave the residences, put on ski masks and do hold-ups in the street."
He added that the students appeared to have political backing. "All this is done with the full knowledge of the university and (Merida) state authorities," he said.
University directors had tried to intervene, but local judicial and law enforcement authorities declined to act, he said.
When Alcala voiced objections in May, students in ski masks surrounded his office armed with gasoline and tires, threatening to burn it down. A former guerrilla himself, Alcala scared them off, saying he wasn't afraid of a violent confrontation.
El-Aissami was soundly defeated when he sought re-election in July, with opponents winning more than 70 percent of the vote. After the election, the new student council found the union offices ransacked, with phones, fax machines, computers and files all missing.
The windows of the student union offices are still full of holes made by rocks and bullets during election campaign violence.
Cabezas and el-Aissami belonged to a radical group called Utopia, of which Cabezas was a founding member. It is suspected of links with a clandestine armed paramilitary group, the Bolivarian Liberation Forces, or FBL, which professes allegiance to Chavez. ***