Venezuela: US funds assault on Chavez Government

Bob Briton

Last week saw an upsurge in political violence on the streets of 
the Venezuelan capital of Caracas as opponents of leftist 
President Hugo Chavez gave vent to their frustration. Since his 
election in 1998, Chavez has survived a short-lived coup in April 
2002, many violent protests and four national strikes lead by the 
pro-boss National Union of Workers (UNT). There was a management 
lockout of the national oil industry last December aimed at 
choking off funds to the popular government.

All of these highly disruptive efforts failed and it appears that 
the latest attempt — a petition for a referendum to recall the 
President — will also fall over. The petition was organised at 
the prompting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and 
the US-based Carter Center in May last year and has been directed 
by the so-called Democratic Coordination (DC). This organisation 
is made up of representatives of mostly right-wing organisations 
but includes some ultra-left grouplets opposed to the Chavez 
Government.

During one of his weekly radio and television broadcasts in 
February, President Chavez revealed some home truths about the 
organisations behind the current attempt at a constitutional 
coup.

Documents obtained by the US Venezuela Solidarity Committee under 
Freedom of Information show that, since the failed takeover in 
2002, US government sources have ploughed considerable funds into 
the opposition in Venezuela. [These can be seen at 
www.venezuelafoia.info]

One document shows that US$1 million was paid by the State 
Department and the National Endowment for Democracy to opposition 
groups immediately after the April 2002 coup. Another shows an 
amount of US$53,000 paid to an organisation called Sumate to 
carry out "electoral education" in Venezuela between September 
2003 and September 2004. Sumate was behind a similar recall 
petition in February last year in which the majority of the 
signatures were shown to have been gathered fraudulently.

A long list of recipients of US largesse is displayed on the 
solidarity group's web site. The role of the US embassy in 
Caracas in destabilising the Chavez Government is also there for 
all to see.

The Bolivarian revolution underway in Venezuela clearly is not in 
US corporate interests. The programs that have given housing, 
food and clean water to millions of citizens have few fans in the 
Bush Administration. They do not like the new constitution 
endorsed by over 70 per cent of voters that outlaws the sale of 
social services and the national oil industry. Neither do they 
like the tightening of controls over foreign currency, which have 
slowed the flight of capital from the country.

At the Special Summit of the Americas held in Monterey, Mexico in 
January, US President George W Bush called on the heads of state 
gathered there to ban "corrupt" governments that have maintained 
relations with Cuba and that have slowed down the US push for a 
Free Trade Area of the Americas. Representatives understood the 
slur and thinly veiled threat to be directed at the left-leaning 
governments of Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Bolivia and 
Haiti under recently deposed President Aristide.

The latest recall petition against President Chavez has also been 
ruled invalid by Venezuela's National Electoral Commission (NEC). 
Of the 3.4 million signatures submitted, the NEC accepted only 
1.83 million as valid. It would take 2.4 million signatures to 
force a recall referendum. Citizens whose signatures were under 
dispute will have between March 18 and 22 to report to voting 
centres to confirm them.

Opponents of Chavez claim to have collected the 3.4 million 
signatures in just four days late last year. The NEC found, 
however, that tens of thousands of signatures appeared to be 
written by the same hand in just one reported irregularity.

Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Chavez supporters took to the 
streets of Caracas on February 29 to hear from their President. 
He took the opportunity to point out the fraud behind Bush's own 
election to the post of US President and to warn that his 
government could suspend oil sales to the US if interference in 
Venezuela's affairs continues. Venezuela is the fourth largest 
supplier of oil to the US where it has eight refineries employing 
thousands of US citizens.

Recent violent street demonstrations appear to indicate a return 
to more confrontational tactics on the part of the anti-Chavez 
opposition. As Communications Minister Jesse Chacon noted last 
week, the protests were part of a plan to "accomplish in 
Venezuela what happened in Haiti".