Venezuelan Gov't, Opposition Sign Agreement to End Feud

english.peopledaily.com.cn Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, May 30, 2003

The Venezuelan government and the opposition signed an agreement on Thursday aimed at paving the way for ending the 14-month political crisis in the country.

The Venezuelan government and the opposition signed an agreement on Thursday aimed at paving the way for ending the 14-month political crisis in the country.

The signing ceremony, in a Caracas hotel, was presided over by Secretary-General of the Organization of American States Cesar Gaviria, the main architect of the agreement.

Gaviria hailed the accord as "a good agreement for every Venezuelan, the democratic institution, and the future of every citizen."

"Through the signing of this agreement you're taking a definitive step to prevent the proliferation of political violence," he said.

Ambassadors of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States, the countries that helped mediate the reconciliation, were also present at the ceremony.

In the 19-point agreement, a result of seven months of negotiations and reached last Friday, the two sides agreed to holda possible constitutional referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency after August 19, the mid-point of his six-year term, todecide whether Chavez should step down.

The opposition Democratic Coordination had demanded a binding referendum on Chavez's continued tenure, while Chavez wanted the opposition to use a constitutional measure that allowed the recallof the president once he had served half his term.

The political crisis erupted in April last year when Chavez wasbriefly ousted by a coup.

Although Chavez was not present at the signing ceremony, he expressed in a nationally televised message his appreciation of the opposition's acceptance of the mechanism to take him out of power by constitution.

It meant that a government could not be changed "through a coupd'etat, murder, or perverse plans to stop the economy and destabilize the country," he added.

The agreement failed to set a poll date, but Gaviria told the press on Wednesday that such a referendum could be held around November.

Venezuela is facing a deep recession, high inflation and unemployment following the two-month opposition-led strike at the end of last year, which suspended oil exports of the world's fifthoil producer and slashed government revenues.