INTERVIEW / The Venezuelan Vice President dares to give President Hugo Chávez' foes some advices "It is too late to organize a recall referendum"

José Vicente Rangel believes that opposition groups have lost the chance to hold a revoking vote, and that all they have left is to "get ready for the next elections for governors, mayors, deputies and president in 2006"

He denied that the administration is afraid of a vote to terminate the mandate of President Hugo Chávez

ALFREDO ROJAS EL UNIVERSAL

Even though he has occupied three positions in the current administration of President Hugo Chávez, Venezuelan Vice President, José Vicente Rangel, prefers to talk about the groups opposed to the government. As if he was a mentor of dissidents, he even dares to give Chávez' foes some advices, "which I should not disclose, because if they take these suggestions into account this may be harmful for the government. But I do believe that it is fundamental to have a democratic opposition in a democratic government."

Question: Is the government more comfortable now with the country's internal situation?

Answer: I do believe that we all should be more comfortable, specially our foes. Our opponents are the ones who need democratic and institutional normalcy the most. They have to accept that they are not going to overthrow Chávez. During this conspiracy, opposition groups have won nothing but the strengthening of Chávez.

Q: Don't you believe that accusing Chávez' foes of plotting to conduct a coup d'etat is a little overrated?

A: As long as there are plans to conduct coups and people who do not believe in a recall referendum -as some leaders in the so-called Democratic Block have said, and as some retired military officers have admitted- this is a valid allegation. We talk about coup-mongers because we have detected coup-plotting activities. Let us think for a moment what would have happened if the opposition sectors were democratically wiser and used the vast resources they have at hand, such as our Bolivarian Constitution. I am sure that they would be in a completely different situation.

Q: In what position would the government be then?

A: The administration's situation would be harder perhaps. The government would be under siege, because nothing is more harassing than a democratic opposition -this generally puts any government between the devil and the deep blue sea. Coup plotting does not.

Q: A revoking referendum may put the government under siege?

A: Not necessarily. That is another thing. Opposition groups currently operating in Venezuela have not laid the grounds for a recall referendum adequately. They have wasted time. They are lost in senseless disputes. At first, they have a 38 percent support -this was a fast track for them-, but since they lack the will to serve, such a force could not be channeled through a democratic way, and instead it was focused on coup-plotting -with the help of television networks.

Q: Do you believe that Chávez' foes could have forced early elections?

A: I cannot say what they could have achieved, but in any case they could be in a better position for holding a recall referendum.

Q: And what would be the administration's situation?

A: Perhaps the government would be in a precarious position. It is hard to forecast the future when confrontation is really democratic, when citizens decide what is their best choice.

Q: How is the government facing a likely recall referendum?

A: Very calmly, with no fears. But what are Chávez opponents going to do if they do not gather the number of signatures necessary to hold this vote?

Q: There will be a revoking referendum or not?

A: I have serious doubts on the opposition's capabilities to collect the necessary signatures. This is a valid doubt, because if they do not gather signatures, there is no recall vote. I know that many people in the ranks of the opposition have this doubt. That is the reason why they have taken the way of coup-plotting and accusing Chávez of fraud.

Q: The government plans to regulate the right to demonstration, the freedom of speech and the freedom of press, why?

A: In Venezuela, people now exert their rights to demonstrate and their freedom of speech as never before. We have a hyper democracy in our country. The problem is not the exercise of the citizen's rights, but the fact that some sectors refuse to respect the Constitution, and they use the right to demonstrate or the freedom of speech with coup-plotting intentions. But we have guarantees for the political, social, business, and unionist sector to work.

We intend a regulation in the framework of the development of constitutional rights, because our Constitution establishes the regulation of general rules. We do not want to eliminate the right to demonstrate, but we do want to put an end to demonstrations having a purpose other than the exercise of a civic right. Some steps will have to be taken. If a demonstration jeopardizes lives and properties, a regulation must be adopted, either in Venezuela or in the United States.