Venezuelan president applauds agreement on referendum on his rule

ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, May 27, 2003
(05-27) 15:46 PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (<a href=www.sfgate.com>AP) --

President Hugo Chavez applauded an agreement on plan for a referendum on his rule, saying he hoped his foes had shed what he called their "coup-plotting" tendencies.

The deal, due to be signed Thursday, was brokered by the Organization of American States in a bid to bring stability to the oil-rich nation, which in the past 13 months has seen a brief coup and a strike that devastated the economy amid the dispute between Chavez and the opposition trying to remove him.

"I feel very satisfied," Chavez said during a speech to indigenous supporters in southern Amazonas state.

The agreement between his government and the opposition does not immediately provide for a referendum -- instead, it binds both sides to follow the constitution's procedures for calling such a vote.

The constitution would allow a referendum by August, the midpoint of Chavez's six-year term, if the opposition can gather 2.5 million signatures. The next scheduled elections are in 2006.

The pact prohibits any amendments to election laws while authorities prepare for balloting, and it urges Congress to swiftly name election authorities, who must validate the signatures.

The accord also addresses possible referendums on other elected officials -- something Chavez supporters have sought against several anti-Chavez legislators.

"I hope the agreement will create a better climate than the one we have in the country today," said OAS Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria.

Venezuela's opposition has been left leaderless and demoralized since it led a two-month strike aimed at forcing Chavez's resignation. The strike collapsed in February, succeeding only in devastating the economy and costing Venezuela $6 billion. The economy shrank 29 percent in the first three months of 2003.

The strike followed an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez and exposed Venezuela's deep divisions over the former paratrooper's leftist economic policies and irreverent rhetoric.

Wearing an indigenous necklace and red wreath on this head, the president said Tuesday the agreement was reached thanks "to the patience that we have had with this opposition, many times irresponsible, coup-plotting and fascist."

"The important thing is that they accept, as they seem to have accepted, that if they want me to go ... they will have to follow the constitution instead of going crazy and desperate seeking coups," Chavez said.

Diplomats from the United States, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal, the countries that helped mediate the deal, will attend the signing ceremony Thursday.

Chavez's first election in 1998 ended the 40-year hold on power by two traditional parties accused of squandering Venezuela's vast oil wealth and leaving 80 percent of the population in poverty.

He pushed through a new constitution that paved the way for his own re-election in 2000 and elections that gave his allies control of Congress.

Chavez says he is leading "social revolution" against corruption and inequality. Adversaries -- business leaders, labor unions and the two traditional parties -- accuse him of grabbing power and ruining the economy with leftist policies.

The opposition says it has already gathered the required signatures, but the government argues that the signatures are invalid because its opponents should have waited until August to begin collecting them. The Supreme Court is to decide on the issue.

To remove Chavez if a referendum is held, the opposition must garner more votes than Chavez did in the last election: more than 3.7 million, or almost 60 percent. Recent polls suggest Chavez's approval ratings range from 30 to 40 percent.