The Washington Post Friday, May 30, 2003; 7:15 AM

The long-sought beginning of the end of President Hugo Chavez's "Bolivarian revolution" is at hand. On Thursday, Chavez's government signed a plan brokered by the Organization of American States that could conclude his contentious reign by December.

The agreement, which some liken to a virtual suicide pact for the Venezuelan president, requires Chavez to submit to a binding referendum on his tenure. If he loses the referendum and is then not allowed on the ballot in a new presidential election, he will be out of office halfway through his current term. That is, if Chavez intends to comply and not simply use the agreement to dupe the international community into going away and further weaken his already battered opponents.

U.S. officials and others in the international community--as well as the Venezuelan opposition--say they will press Chavez relentlessly to abide by the outcome of the agreed-upon "electoral exit." And so they should. But this time they should really be careful not to overplay their hand.

With Chavez's political end in sight, the temptation for the opposition will be to denigrate anything and everything that he represents. But such actions risk alienating his supporters and ignore the opposition's own end of the bargain, which in both cases could help Chavez survive or give him an excuse to withdraw from the agreement.

Disillusioned with politicians that ignored their plight for years, millions of Venezuelans turned to Chavez and his promise to end the cruel irony of dirt-poor life in an oil-rich land. On these sentiments alone, Chavez remains popular among the disaffected. Personalizing opposition to him or offering little to the poor directly will cement their commitment to Chavez.

According to the agreement, the opposition must refrain from actions that may incite more violence, and also concentrate efforts to ensure that the media will play an impartial role in the events to come. Any backtracking by the opposition or Chavez will only make things worse for the country now.

The Bush administration's policy on Venezuela has caromed clumsily between two regrettable extremes: benign neglect and diplomatic blunder. More recently, it seems to be echoing the Venezuelan opposition's doubts that Chavez will stick to the plan if he believes he may not come out victorious.

With that in mind, some observers outside the administration have begun to suggest threatening an oil boycott to keep him from balking. After all, the thinking goes, the United States is Venezuela's No. 1 customer, and as such carries one "big stick" to pummel Chavez into compliance.

But so far there is no indication the Bush administration is considering such an ill-advised tactic that would mostly hurt those Venezuelans already at the bottom, those who already suspect that Washington never fully trusted their ballots democratically cast for Chavez.

Viewed from here, their situation has hardly improved under Chavez. His social vision had merit, yet after more than four years in office, often appearing more concerned with antagonizing his enemies than with governing, he has strayed far from the path of responding to popular needsand discontent.

Chavez has presided over the worst economic contraction in his nation's history. Last Friday, Venezuela's Central Bank reported a 29 percent drop in the country's gross domestic product during the first quarter of this year. At its worst, Argentina's GDP dropped 20 percent in four years.

A great measure of the blame also falls on the shoulders of the opposition that organized a destructive strike at the end of last year aimed at forcing Chavez out, regardless of the economic cost to the country. With elections imminent, now is the time for the opposition to prove that it stands for something and not just against Chavez.

Opposition forces have begun efforts to gain ground among Chavez's supporters and to show commitment to a social agenda. Yet the initial, tragic results have only proved the complications of the task. One person died and many others were injured during a rally organized by one opposition party last weekend in a Caracas slum.

Ironically, the first phase of Chavez's "electoral exit" may be the easier one for the opposition--winning the referendum. A scant 30 days later, opposition forces would then have to unite behind a candidate. If they fail, and if Chavez gets on the ballot through Supreme Court intervention, the opposition's actions might prove to be its own undoing. This week's agreement then would have been merely a beginning with no end in sight.

Marcela Sanchez's e-mail address is desdewash(at symbol)washpost.com.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, June 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan Defense Minister General (ret.) Jose Luis Prieto has confirmed that the National Guard (GN) will continue to patrol Caracas and insists that the Armed Force (FAN) can guarantee the collecting and exchange of illegal weapons for food and their posterior destruction.

Speaking to members of National Assembly (AN) Defense Committee, Prieto casts doubt on the Metropolitan Police's (PM) capacity to implement the Disarming Law, saying that citizens must be able to see the process as real and effective.

"The FAN has the obligation as controlling organ in the acquisition, placement and equipping of arms for State and municipal police forces ... it is our responsibility and we have set up special operations with other forces to recover arms and proceed to destroy them once all the legal requirements have been fulfilled."

Prieto says military commanders have summonsed military officers that signed opposition petitions for a consultative referendum against President Hugo Chavez Frias in January to discover their motives for signing and warning them that they are guilty of serious breaches of discipline according to military regulations.

"It is a negative element that will be relevant in the review of promotions but there are mitigating circumstances if an officer did not understand the limits of the military's right to vote."

Por: Heisler Vaamonde /rb Publicado el Sábado, 31/05/03 07:31pm <a href=www.aporrea.org>aporrea.org

A su consideración

Ante todo un cordial saludo, me dirijo a usted muy respetuosamente en nombre del Movimiento Gay Revolucionario de Venezuela, con la finalidad de solicitarle, que evalúe la posibilidad de acompañarnos en el Encuentro Nacional de Solidaridad con la Sociedad Gay Venezolana, que se realizará el día 28 de Junio próximo, en las instalaciones del Teatro Teresa Carreño, Sala Ríos Reina, a la 1.00 p.m., y contaremos con la presencia del ciudadano Presidente Constitucional de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, a fin de la conmemoración de los fatídicos sucesos de Stonewall en un muy conocido bar de Nueva York en el año de 1969, lo que marco el comienzo de la lucha por las reivindicaciones para los y las homosexuales alrededor del mundo, y que consideramos constituye una gran oportunidad para aclarar an! tes país y el mundo la verdad de la no violación de los Derechos Humanos, en Venezuela, de este grupo social.

Este evento contará con la participación de las Organizaciones de Derechos Humanos de la Sociedad Civil, los y las homosexuales y familiares, además de toda la ciudadanía y sus distintas formas de organización.

Esperando que su asistencia a nuestro evento sea un hecho, sin otro particular a que hacer referencia y reiterándole nuestros más altos sentimientos de estima y consideración, quedamos de usted.

Por siempre y para siempre la Revolución Bolivariana

Heisler Vaamonde Director Metropolitano para Asuntos GLBT de la Juventud del Movimiento Quinta República-MVR Teléfono: 0212.4096874 / 0212.5638690 Dirección: Pajarito oeste 6, Edificio La Oficina, piso 9, oficina 9-1 (al lado del Restaurante de Comida Rápida Arturo's)

FUENTE: <a href=www.aporrea.org>www.aporrea.org

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Monday, May 26, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

The family of Modesto Graterol Bastidas shot and killed has called on the Interior & Justice (MIJ) Ministry to clarify events leading to his death. The family did not hold the wake in a public square as suggested by Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) Libertador Freddy Bernal and preferred something more private, even though the Mayor paid funeral expenses. 

The victim's brother, Alfredo Sanchez says the dead man belonged to the Union Popular Venezolana (UPV) and his political work was on a community level, such as mending the streets and painting buildings. Sanchez claims that his brother was shot on his way to work ... "I'm a government sympathizer but I don't want anything to do with politics ... I just want to bury my brother." 

Speaking on State VTV channel, Sanchez reported that State Political & Security (DISIP) agents had undertaken constant patrolling in the sector two days before the event and that he had seen them shooting on TV.

The DISIP is the prime suspect of Graterol Bastidas' killing.

Fri May 23, 2003 09:36 AM ET By Tomas Sarmiento

CARACAS, Venezuela (<a href=asia.reuters.com>Reuters) - When Venezuela's Catholic patroness the Virgin of Coromoto was paraded through Caracas this month, her statue was borne not on the shoulders of the faithful but in a bullet-proof vehicle.

In a nation where polarized politics have led to violence in the last 18 months, authorities laid on extra security for the annual event. Despite their fears, the procession proved to be one of the rare times when feuding followers and foes of President Hugo Chavez have been able to congregate peacefully.

Forgetting their political differences, hundreds of Catholics took to the streets of Caracas to follow the life-sized wooden statue image in a two-week procession through the capital organized by the church.

According to legend, the Coromoto Virgin takes her name from a Venezuelan Indian tribal chief in the 17th century who saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary in the central town of Guanare. The apparition prompted mass conversions to the Catholic faith among Indians during Spanish colonial rule.

Today, the statue is the most revered Catholic icon in this country of 24 million, about 90 percent of whom are Roman Catholic. She is also a national symbol.

The procession crossed the city's sprawling poor neighborhoods -- a stronghold of support for populist former paratrooper Chavez -- and wealthier eastern districts where the opposition holds sway.

In both areas, the prayers of the faithful were mostly calls for peace and reconciliation.

"(The Virgin) Mary is the only hope all of us have for peace," an elderly priest, Father Alfredo Leon, said as he limped behind the Coromoto Virgin statue, which was blessed by Pope John Paul II in a visit to Venezuela in 1996.

The worshipers who joined the procession carried banners bearing the virgin's portrait and pleas such as "Pray for us!" and "Mary, help us!" -- a far cry from the hate-filled slogans that have galvanized pro- and anti-Chavez political rallies.

TROOPS GUARD VIRGIN

The calls for divine help for Venezuela seem justified. The world's fifth-largest oil exporter is mired in a deep recession, while unemployment and inflation are climbing.

Political violence, including a coup against Chavez last year, has killed several dozen people and injured many more.

Tensions between supporters and opponents of the president are simmering as the opposition seeks a referendum on Chavez' rule that can be held after August. The country emerged in February from a grueling two-month strike staged by the opposition in an attempt to oust Chavez and force elections.

Fear of violence was palpable in the virgin procession. In other countries sacred images are often carried by willing worshipers, but the Venezuelan Church employed a white "Popemobile" used by the pontiff when he last visited.

Encased in bullet-proof glass, the statue of the virgin in red robe and gold crown surrounded by fresh flowers was escorted by National Guard troops with automatic rifles.

But, in spite of the security precautions, an atmosphere of joyful celebration accompanied the procession.

Aboard trucks piled high with loud speakers, priests urged the crowd to cheer the virgin. Leading the procession, a school band -- accompanied by mini-skirted cheerleaders -- played catchy pop tunes.

But in a nation where almost every aspect of life is tainted by politics, even divine favor can be disputed.

Chavez, whose energetic style of oratory has been compared to that of an evangelical preacher, often invokes Jesus Christ as his "commander in chief."

"God is with us!" he assures supporters, arguing his "revolution" for the poor is based on Christ's teaching.

But the leftist leader's foes also openly pray for help.

As the Coromoto Virgin's procession approached Altamira Square, a bastion of opposition support in east Caracas, a small group of women held up a banner that read: "Virgin of Coromoto, give your people freedom."