"The United States firmly supports the work of the OAS and the Carter Center," he told reporters. But in a response that revealed sharp differences, Venezuela's vice president said the decision by local electoral authorities must be paramount. "We cannot accept . . . that the opinion of the Carter Center and the OAS be placed above the National Electoral Council," he said. "Let the United States, France, Britain, and the international community be clear about this," Rangel added.
Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected president in 1998, has condemned the referendum petition as riddled with fraudulent signatures. He says the referendum petition should be rejected. After two years of intense political feuding that included a brief 2002 coup against Chavez and successive strikes and street protests, the president and his opponents appear to be heading again for a collision over the referendum issue.
Foes of Chavez, who accuse him of dragging the country toward Cuba-style communism, threaten a campaign of civil disobedience if the recall poll is turned down. Tens of thousands of antigovernment marchers turned out in Caracas Saturday to presssure the electoral authorities to allow a vote.
The president, who dismisses critics of his self-styled "revolution" as rich, resentful "oligarchs," says that if electoral officials allow a referendum, he will fight the ruling in the Supreme Court.***
Chavez also accused the Bush administration of funding new attempts to oust him. He cited the case of Sumate, a Venezuelan group that organized the recall petition against him and received funds from the U.S. National Endowment for Democracy, which champions democracy efforts around the world.
The Venezuelan Workers Confederation, which led a 2003 strike that failed to topple Chavez, also has received endowment funds, Venezuela says, citing documents a lobbying group obtained from the U.S. government under the Freedom of Information Act.
Chavez told Washington to stay out of Venezuelan affairs - especially the recall effort. Venezuela's National Elections Council is determining whether the petition for a presidential recall referendum is valid.
On Monday, Peter DeShazo, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, visited the country and urged Venezuelan election authorities not to use technicalities to invalidate petitions for the recall.
But Chavez said Tuesday the real reason for DeShazo's visit was to support Venezuela's opposition. He also said DeShazo lied when he told reporters Monday that U.S. funds also have gone to support organizations allied with Chavez's government.***