US Secretary of State Colin Powell has insisted the US is not interfering in attempts by the Venezuelan opposition to oust President Hugo Chavez.
He said the US only wanted to make sure Venezuelans were not denied the opportunity to exercise their rights.
BBC article
He said the US only wanted to make sure Venezuelans were not denied the opportunity to exercise their rights.
I bet there are some Florida voters who wish the US only wanted to make sure they were not denied the same opportunity.
Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez claimed victory on Sunday in their campaign for a recall referendum on his rule after completing decisive petition checks that could clear the way for a vote against him this year.
"I believe we should start the celebrations... This is a victory for the people," opposition leader Enrique Mendoza told cheering supporters. "Today we can say that the will of more than 700,000 has been ratified and we are going to the referendum."
Reuters article
"I believe we should start the celebrations... This is a victory for the people," opposition leader Enrique Mendoza told cheering supporters. "Today we can say that the will of more than 700,000 has been ratified and we are going to the referendum."
Mendoza knows full well that it is against the electoral regulations to release any information during the process, and the CNE (electoral council) has not made the official tally and announcement. Since the private news organizations are all anti-Chavez, I'm sure it was a calculated attempt to make citizens who favor the recall referendum cry foul and create a disturbance if the CNE announces that there are not enough signatures for a recall.
Mendoza is not on the CNE, and is not in any way an official involved in the counting and validating of signatures. He is a big-mouth Golpista running for political office and was highly visible and vocal in the failed coup of 2002.
Chavez's five years in government have been marked by confrontation with domestic foes and with the United States, which has criticized his ties with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and his anti-imperialist rhetoric.
Chávez is anti-neoliberalism, anti-WTO, anti-IMF, anti-CAFTA, and a strong voice at OPEC. And for all that, he constantly has to announce that he is not a Communist (which he most definitely is not), because that's the big bogey-man scare tactic that his opponents, including the US, use to create an image of him that will turn public opinion against him. He is constantly criticized by his detractors as a friend of Castro, implying a communist agenda. Maybe that's why George Bush thinks he's a king - because he's friends with Abdullah II of Jordan.
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