Posted on 11/27/2002 1:49:53 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - The United States' top diplomat for Latin America Tuesday criticized leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, saying his rule had been disappointing and urging him to change his style of government.
Otto Reich, who was recently named special adviser for Latin America to Secretary of State Colin Powell, rebuked the Venezuelan leader for saying that he would not resign even if he massively lost a nonbinding referendum on his rule.
"I don't believe that President Chavez could have said that seriously," Reich told Venezuela's Globovision television news channel in an interview in Washington broadcast on Tuesday.
"A president who says he wouldn't leave power even if 90 percent of his citizens ask for it, would be, at the very least, putting in doubt his commitment to democracy and to the will of his people," he added, speaking in Spanish.
His comments were certain to irk the Venezuelan leader, who has irritated Washington in the past with his revolutionary rhetoric, criticism of the U.S. anti-terror war in Afghanistan, and his ties with anti-U.S. states like Iraq, Libya and Cuba.
Chavez, an outspoken former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and survived a brief coup in April, is resisting fierce opposition pressure to step down and hold an early referendum on his rule. Chavez himself led a botched coup bid in 1992.
Reich said the United States wanted to have good relations with Caracas and would like to see a stable, democratic and prosperous Venezuela -- which is the world's No. 5 oil exporter and one of the leading suppliers of oil to the United States.
"When President Chavez came to power, that's what he said he was going to do, but when you see what has happened, there is a certain disappointment," Reich said.
Commenting on the recent elections of left-wingers Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Lucio Gutierrez as the presidents of Brazil and Ecuador, respectively, Reich said:
"They may possibly be of the Left, but as long as they are democratic, are ready to be friends with their neighbors and the United States ... to contribute to the freedom and security of this hemisphere, we can work with them."
He did not see Lula's and Gutierrez's victories boosting Chavez's self-proclaimed "Bolivarian Revolution," named after Venezuela's 19th century independence hero Simon Bolivar.
"I don't think many rulers would want to imitate what has happened in Venezuela in the last three years, because it's not very attractive," he said.
"A suspension of the strike is not planned under any circumstances," said Antonio Ledezma, a member of the Democratic Coordinator opposition group. "In fact I think it should be brought forward."
Others in Venezuela's opposition said the strike could be avoided if the National Elections Council, or CNE, sets a referendum date this week.
One of the biggest strike organizers, the one million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation (CTV), will discuss on Wednesday suspending the strike pending the council's decision.
"I think the (Democratic) Coordinator would revise the strike decision at the end of this week" if the CNE fixes a date and the government agrees to stand by it, CTV Secretary General Manuel Cova said on local radio.
In the meantime, strike preparations continue at full steam, Cova said shortly before entering a round of peace talks between the government and the opposition.
Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria is mediating the talks, and hopes to make a breakthrough before next week's strike.
The CNE is charged with verifying 2 million signatures submitted by the opposition petitioning for a nonbinding referendum. More than two thirds have already been checked, CNE Vice President Jose Manuel Zerpa said Monday.
Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, argues the earliest a referendum on his rule can be held is August 2003 - halfway through his six-year term.
The opposition - which includes labor, business and political parties - insists Venezuela is too polarized and too mired in economic recession to wait that long. It is calling the fourth general strike in less than a year to seek a swifter solution. [End]
No Sh**. Sometimes I wonder about all this diplomatic doublespeak. All of Latin America knew what Chavez was long before he came to power....calling him undemocratic is like calling Stalin a man who does not prioritize human rights.
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