Tuesday was the midpoint of Chavez's six-year term, the first day under which Venezuela's Constitution allows a recall vote. The recall is the third try by Chavez opponents to oust him, after a failed coup and a general strike, which hurt the country's crucial oil exports but did not topple the president. Venezuela is the third-largest oil exporter to the United States.
Opposition politicians, labor unions and business groups hoped to put an end to more than a year of turmoil with the recall vote after agreeing in May to use only legal means of trying to oust the president. Under the Constitution, opponents must collect valid signatures from 20 percent of voters to authorize a recall. "Obtaining those votes is not utopia, it is a reality," said Enrique Mendoza, a provincial governor and an opposition leader who aspires to replace Chavez. [End]