Datanalisis director says radical civil disobedience is only option

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 09, 2003 - 11:44:22 AM By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Datanalisis poll director Luis Vicente Leon has told subscribers that the only way to get rid of democratically-elected President Hugo Chavez Frias is by reinforcing an opposition campaign of radical civil disobedience.

• El Universal has leaked part of the company’s January 22 report to clients concluding that Chavez Frias rejects the validity of democratic institutions.

Leon bases his latest private report on the concepts of US scholar Gene Sharp regarding the conduct of dictators … “dictators do not negotiate” … “violence or coups generally fail.” He says institutional change through legal means or moderate protest isn’t an option when confronted with the government’s non-democratic character.

Insisting that "dictatorships have a knack of avoiding the law being used against them" and “unfortunately, it includes any attempt at reforms, constitutional amendments, early elections etc.”