Rafael Marin rebounds to challenge Accion Democratica (AD) leadership

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, February 13, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Accion Democratica (AD) general secretary Rafael Marin has thrown down the gauntlet and says he will not resign, despite a letter from 22 of 25 regional secretaries. Instead, Marin has asked them to resign for “acting like Chavists.”

Marin has lashed out at his colleagues during a press conference, challenging them to hold internal elections to see who is the real leader. “I’m sure that if we held a signature campaign in the party, I would win … I was elected by party grassroots.” His opponents, Marin claims, are nothing but party gravediggers, promoting his political assassination.

It has been learned that AD executive committee (CEN) has postponed a meeting to decide the future of Marin, who has ignored the party line of seeking a political solution to the crisis. Marin says he prefers fighting the government on the streets with AD “shock troops,” which he is said to have commanded for several years.

• The national executive must obtain two-thirds majority to shed Marin of his post.

Marin says he intends to restore AD to its former glory and rescue its image internationally … "we cannot and should not sit down for talks with anyone from this government." Criticizing party president Henry Ramos Allup, Marin says he would never have met Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s envoy like Ramos Allup did.