Sat May 24, 2003 09:02 PM ET By Eduardo Orozco

CUSCO, Peru (<a href=reuters.com>Reuters) - Latin America will sign its own death warrant if it joins a planned pan-American free trade deal that is not designed to help the poor, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said on Saturday.

"Venezuela is on the side of the people and we propose a new integration system that is definitely not the FTAA which, as it has been put forward, is a perverse mechanism that would be a death order for the future of the region," Chavez told Reuters in an interview.

The United States is a strong advocate of the Free Trade of the Americas (FTAA) pact, which is due to be finalized by 2005 and would facilitate commerce from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego.

Chavez, who faces ongoing violence at home over his controversial rule and has a tense relationship with Washington, was in the Andean city of Cusco for a summit of the 19-member Rio Group of Latin American nations.

Leaders discussed how to curb social unrest, recharge economies and make Latin America a key trader in a globalized world. Many -- like Chile, which is waiting for Washington to sign a bilateral trade deal -- seek to boost trade with the United States, through bilateral deals or the FTAA.

Critics of the free trade deal say, however, that it will chiefly benefit North America's bigger, industrialized economies and will not help millions of poor Latin Americans.

Chavez proposed instead a social and political pact called the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, named after Simon Bolivar, the 19th century general who struggled in vain to politically unite South America.

"We don't even need anything like Mercosur (a trade bloc grouping Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay), because we can't put the economy first in terms of integration. Political unity needs to come first," he said.

Chavez's opponents, who have organized months of violent protests, accuse him of authoritarian, communist-style rule in the world's No. 5 oil exporting nation. One person was killed and 22 hurt on Saturday when shooting erupted at an anti-Chavez rally in Caracas.

The Venezuelan leader declined to comment on the violence, which came a day after government and opposition negotiators agreed to a pact that could lead to a referendum on his rule.

"I don't know if there will be a recall referendum. It's a possibility if the opposition meets all the constitutional requirements," said Chavez, who has declared his willingness to submit to a referendum. "If there is, I will defeat (the opposition) again. The people will defeat them again."

"The Rio Group countries...are sure that (the agreement) will strengthen the democratic process in our brother nation," the leaders at the summit said in a declaration.

BBC Venezuela has accused US ambassador Charles Shapiro of "personal irresponsibility" after a comedian satirised President Hugo Chavez at a reception at the ambassador's home.

The male comedian dressed as TV journalist Marta Colomina and performed with a puppet dressed to look like Mr Chavez.

"I cannot conceive of any other ambassador accredited to Venezuela who would stoop to this level," Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel told the country's Globovision television station.

He added that his criticism was directed at the ambassador personally, and was not intended to signal a break in relations with the US.

"Despite Mr Shapiro, we want good relations with the United States, with its government and with its people," Mr Rangel said.

The embassy neither knows beforehand nor censors what its guests are going to say

US embassy statement

The US embassy said in a statement that only Mr Shapiro, and not guests, spoke for the mission.

It added that it some of the comedian's performance seemed to be in bad taste - but that it did not control what its guests did or said.

"The embassy neither knows beforehand nor censors what its guests are going to say, neither in the case of a guest speaker nor in the case of a comedian," the statement said.

Mr Shapiro was hosting a reception in honour of press freedom day on Tuesday.

He warned of "deteriorating press freedoms" in the country as he hosted journalism associations and unions at his official residence.

Venezuela, an OPEC member, is one of the world's largest oil exporters and supplies a significant amount of petroleum to the US.

Difficult relations

But relations between Washington and Caracas have been tense since the leftist Mr Chavez took power four years ago.

Mr Chavez has regularly irritated the US

He has been a consistent critic of US foreign policy, condemning the US war in Afghanistan and visiting Saddam Hussein in 2000 - making him the first head of state to do so in nearly a decade.

He has strengthened Venezuela's ties with Cuba and Libya.

For its part, Washington was slow to condemn the short-lived coup that toppled Mr Chavez for several days in April 2002.

He accused the US of being complicit in the action.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Centro Carter leader Jennifer McCoy will visit Venezuela next to draw up a diagnosis of the political situation, including the electoral process. Electoral affairs expert, Marcel Gomez will accompany McCoy during the visit.

Carter Center official, Francisco Diez made the announcement after visiting National Assembly (AN)  president, Francisco Ameliach.  

Diez says he is confident that the AN will reach an agreement on the composition of the new National Electoral College (CNE) board. "We hope so ... it seems that both sides are making an effort." 

stained-glass window at the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ)Reiterating the disposition of the Center to serve, Diez confirms that both sides requested the Center to play a facilitating role and it would continue to so if required by any of the sides. However, inside the AN a meeting of the ad hoc parliamentary CNE appointment committee was postponed and a report is expected to be put before the House this afternoon. 

• Political observers suggest that the committee will request another 15 days to present the report. 

In the meantime, the opposition has huddled together to thrash out a common approach ... one sector wants the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) to decide and another wants a straight vote in a House plenary session.

NewsMax.comTiana Perez Tuesday May 13, 2003

Less than three months away from the date of the referendum that would question Chávez’ term, neither the date, nor the organizing body have yet been confirmed. We don’t even know who the candidates might be in the case of reelection.

While the opposition tried to launch a constitutional debate on the subject, the government assures that a president withdrawn by referendum can become president again unless the option is expressly denied within the constitution.

The Venezuelan President is counting on being one of the candidates for reelection thirty days after the binding referendum is held and has started to reorganize the party that he founded, MVR (Movement of the Fifth Republic).

Different streams seem to be present within the party, a body famous for its utter disorganization and lack of political direction. The Left has abandoned Chávez, but it is not sure whether it still waves the flag of the Fifth Republic.

In any case, Chávez is borrowing communist techniques to ensure that even if not communist, the party will be the state, and the state shall be the party, and everyone will work toward the revolution.

The President said that the party, which has not yet had internal elections since its founding, was not fit for a presidential reelection process. He will try to put order within the party lines, which should be represented by “Patriotic Circles,” the basis of the party and the revolution.

Chávez, who has appointed most if not all of the members of MVR, complains about these “Patriotic Circles” having ended up mixed up with “Bolivarian Circles”. The “Bolivarian Circles” were meant to draw members from the peoples on the street, the neighbors, the workers but it all got a bit fuzzy last April 2002 when civil servants, and other revolutionaries were filmed shooting on protesters organized by major of Caracas and ex-policeman Freddy Bernal.

Freddy Bernal is a strong supporter of Chávez, maybe not so much as before but he has publicly declared that the streets of Caracas are dirty because 80% of his time is devoted to the revolution.

The “Patriotic Circles” will soon elect a “Patriotic Council”, which in representation of the different states of Venezuela will elect a “Strategic National Commando”. The Commando, composed of 60 members and 40 substitutes will finally be able to choose members of the “National Tactic Commando,” the very organization that will elect three members of a 9 member board, where Chávez, who will be the President, will designate the remaining six members.

The belief that the referendum will be postponed is not unjustified considering the work ahead of the MVR. Congress is also struggling with the appointment of a five-member board that will be in charge of coordinating the coming elections. An ad hoc committee has been appointed after about two months of reviewing resumes to select the last round of electoral officials by May 15th. If this comes true, Congress would not need to grant a two thirds approval for each of the five members.

The Committee failed to meet yesterday. If it fails to meet its deadline, the Supreme Courts of Justice may take the decision instead. An opposition faction is appealing to the higher justice body for preventing the return to the stalemate in Congress.

Whenever the referendum happens, if it happens, sentiment is that Chávez will be recalled. The MVR believes that he is in for a 48% victory during re election; but polls suggest that he will gather 28% of votes. So far, no one seems to want the referendum any more, at least not just yet.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela´s Electronic News Posted: Monday, May 12, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

President Hugo Chavez Frias has described the opposition as a poor baseball team. Speaking to supporters at a rally in Bolivar State, the President says the opposition, except for some honorable exceptions, is completely irrational.

"They now expect me to collect signatures for the recall referendum ... that takes the biscuit ... it's crazy ... let them sweat it out on the streets collecting signatures, if they can."

The President, he says, is obviously not the person most interested in pursuing a recall referendum ..." the same April 11 coupsters now want the government to collect signatures to throw out the government ... it's got that crazy."

Comparing the recall referendum to a ball game, Chavez Frias quips that if the opposition manage to train, draw up a team and move up one category, the government team will wait for them but if they fail to meet constitutional requirements, then there won't be any referendum ... "what are they waiting for? For me to convene a referendum for them?"