Chávez has not only recently resorted to throwing the nation's oil wealth at the poor to win votes albeit lately he has turned up the volume. Chavez has always been a champion of the poor.
After five years in office, President Hugo Chavez remains a hero to millions of impoverished Venezuelans who see him as their only hope for a better future - and that gives him a good chance of beating a recall referendum this month. Opposition leaders concede that even if they recall Chavez, they'll consider keeping the most successful missions. http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4397304,00.html
In the past the United States has done a little more than just hope the opposition would overthrow Chavez.
Moreover, the official said, "there is very little Chavez wouldn't do to hold on to power. ... What's happening is a consolidation of a dictatorship (and) we have to do our best to stop that."
Make no doubt about it: this is a significant change for the Bush administration. After publicly supporting a short-lived coup against Chavez two years ago -- an initial misstep -- Washington had preferred to remain silent or quietly encourage the work of other leaders in the region. Washington is now more confrontational. As the diplomat, who spoke on condition he not be named, put it "if things do not develop in a positive way ... you are going to see the United States taking a more proactive role." #msg-3142418
The public recognition by State Department functionary, Peter Deshazo, that the CIA finances Washington’s mercenaries in Venezuela; the more than eighty assassinations of rural leaders and popular leaders during the Bolivarian government; the continuous envoy of arms to the Venezuelan paramilitaries and the increasing aggression of the Colombian paramilitaries all demonstrate that Washington proceeds without quarter to destroy the government of Hugo Chavez. #msg-2503118
-Am
The Venezuela Venture
from the August 10, 2004 edition
The last thing the US economy needs right now is another gas-pump shock. That's why the Bush administration has backed off from saying much about Venezuela's president, who faces a political showdown this Sunday on his future and whose country supplies about one in eight barrels of oil to the US.
A great deal of uncertainty hangs over the Aug. 15 referendum on whether to oust Hugo Chávez, a pro-Castro populist who's been needling Washington for years. The possibility of a close vote and ballot fraud could return this Andean nation to the coup threats and street mobs of recent years.
In the past, the US has sided with Mr. Chávez's opponents, even to the point of welcoming a coup attempt in 2002. But with a chance he may win, either by fair means or foul, and that he may rule for years over one of the largest proven energy reserves outside the Middle East, the US is acting like a neutral observer, hoping for stability and rule of law.
Having tried to block the referendum, Chávez has resorted to throwing the nation's oil wealth at the poor to win votes. His speeches try to paint a US "imperialist" plot against him. And he's blocked the European Union from sending observers to judge the fairness of the vote.
Even if Chávez loses decisively, he may try to run again. A fresh election would have to be held within 30 days to find a leader to finish out his term - until 2006. It's unclear whether Chávez can legally run in that race.
The US has wisely let the Organization of American States take the lead in pressuring both sides to avoid conflict. With the opposition unable to muster a leader, and a potential for violence, the best course has been to keep the parties within legal bounds. And to keep that oil pumping.
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