Chavez raps US imperialism
Huge crowd shows up at `Vote No' rally
08/09/04 "Bangkok Post" -- Caracas _ Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez led a rally of hundreds of thousands of supporters on Sunday one week before a crucial referendum on his rule, which he said would be a contest between him and US ``imperialism''.
The extrovert left-wing populist leader joined the huge crowd in Caracas in a noisy chorus of ``Noooooo!'', urging Venezuelans to cast their ballots against opposition plans to try to vote him out of office in the Aug 15 poll.
The outcome of the recall vote is too close to call. The government and opposition have both put out opinion polls, each predicting that its side will win.
In a rambling three-hour speech mixing songs, poetry, history and quotes from Holy Scripture, Mr Chavez defended his rule as a revolutionary crusade to help Venezuela's poor and reject US meddling in the world's No 5 oil exporter.
``We mustn't forget we're facing US imperialism,'' Mr Chavez said. A vote against his recall, he said, would be ``Christ's vote against imperialism''.
The US is the biggest single buyer of Venezuela's oil, but Mr Chavez accuses President George W. Bush of trying to topple him and has threatened to cut off shipments if the US intervenes in its affairs. Washington rejects these accusations.
Dismissing his opponents as incapable of ruling, Mr Chavez warned Washington that defeat for him in the referendum could trigger unrest and instability in Venezuela, which could send already high oil prices up to $100 a barrel. ``Only we can guarantee peace,'' he said.
Since he was elected in 1998, six years after leading a failed coup, Mr Chavez's rule has split the nation between foes who see him as a bullying demagogue and supporters who hail him as a champion of the poor.
Wearing red, the symbol of Mr Chavez's self-styled revolution, the president's supporters overflowed a central avenue in Caracas. Many were brought in by buses from outside the capital.
``We want to show the world the president has support in Venezuela,'' said Marcos Laserna, a street vendor.
Slogans on banners, T-shirts and caps urged Venezuelans to ``Vote No'' to oppose the recall of the firebrand president, who was comfortably re-elected in 2000.
Much is at stake in the referendum.
For Mr Chavez's critics, it marks their last opportunity until December 2006 elections to vote out a man they vilify as a fledgling dictator leading Venezuela to Cuba-style communism and economic ruin. For Mr Chavez, losing power would mean an interruption of a left-leaning nationalist programme, which he presents as a model for Latin America.
Opposition sympathisers on Sunday held concerts in east Caracas urging a ``Yes'' vote to recall the president.
World leaders hope the referendum will resolve Venezuela's political crisis.
But some observers fear a close vote could worsen the polarisation and trigger fresh outbreaks of the political violence that has killed dozens since 2001. This included a short-lived 2002 coup.
To recall Mr Chavez, the opposition must equal or beat the 3.76 million votes he received when re-elected in 2000. But if the no vote against his recall is bigger, he stays in office. If Mr Chavez loses next Sunday's referendum, a presidential election will be held within 30 days.
Copyright: REUTERS
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