December 11th., 2006

CHAVEZ IMPOSED HIMSELF

ABSTRACT:

•  “The new period that commences has as a strategic line, the deepening, enlargement and expansion of the revolution”.  Hugo Chavez, December 3

•  “We have rescued trust in the strength of the democratic project and with this flag I call upon the civic combat”.  Manuel Rosales, December 3

•  Chavez party, the MVR will be constituted as the sole government’s party.

•  The Venezuelan society is divided in three sectors, a 46% that supported the re election, a 29% that accompanied him in his campaign, and a 25% that did not vote.

•  According the European Union, the electoral process complied, in general, with the international standards but they did observe that amongst other disequilibrium, the State TV dedicated 86% of its time in favor of Chavez, and a negative 14% dedicated to Rosales.

•  The speech by the president of PDVSA affected the liberty of the vote.

•  “We will only know the truth regarding what the Venezuelans think on the day that we have fair elections, with a new REP”.  Súmate

•  Cardinal Urosa calls for dialogue and asks the government for the search of consensus.

•  Bolivia worries Chavez.

•  “Venezuela will not stay with its arms crossed”

•  The Alan Garcia chapter is closed.  Chavez declares himself as pro Bachelet and the President of Ecuador as pro Chavez.

•  More oil dollars for Argentina and insistence in the gas pipeline of the South, which cost is estimated in 23,000 Million Dollars.

•  “The CAN is useless and so is MERCOSUR.  The path is ALBA”.  Hugo Chavez.

•  Chavez as Godfather of the resistance to the international order according to Time magazine.

CHAVEZ IMPOSED HIMSELF

Destiny was written down, affirmed Chavez before excited followers that attended to Miraflores upon early hours of the afternoon of December 3 to celebrate the triumph.  “The new period that commences has as a strategic line, the deepening, enlargement and expansion of the revolution, of the revolutionary democracy in the Venezuelan route towards Socialism”.  He defined it as original, Christian, indigenous and Bolivarian.  He dedicated the triumph to Bolivar and Fidel.  From the crowds, the slogans cheered: Uh, Ah, Chavez is not leaving.  He is staying, staying until 2021”.

Hours later, Manual Rosales, from his campaign command, acknowledged the first bulletin from the National Electoral Council (CNE), by which Chavez had imposed himself by an ample margin.  “I know that many from the opposition wish for me to launch the people to the streets, lying to them.  I can not do this, because the truth is that today, we did not win”.  He affirmed that he was obliged to preserve his credibility before the whole country, to continue in the struggle.  “It was a tough battle against all the advantages of a government that sequestered all the powers of the State, all granted to the service of the re election, but the time has not been lost, we have rescued trust in the strength of the democratic project and with this flag I call upon the civic combat”.

No one will detour me from my route to Socialism, “now, more than ever, with those 7 million votes”, stated Chavez in a press conference after being proclaimed as the winner by the CNE.  He asked not to expect drastic changes in his new administration, “because it is the continuation of a strategy”.  He announced that he will travel to Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Bolivia, to strengthen “that axis”, and upon his return he would appoint a Presidential commission for the reform of the Constitution.  He ordered governors, mayors and political leaders that supported him, not to dismantle the machinery,  “it has been successful, like a great army, we have to strengthen it, towards the unification of all the revolutionary forces”.  The results, per Party, confirmed the MVR, presided by Chavez as the axis, upon which the sole leftist party will be structured.  The Communist party (Marxist Leninist) achieved its greatest voting during the last 60 years of its legal existence.

Rosales announced that he assumes the responsibility of conducting the opposition.  In his reading, the Venezuelan society is divided in three sectors, a 46% that supported the re election, a 29% that accompanied him in his campaign, and a 25% that did not vote.  Hence, no one can consider himself the political owner of Venezuela.  He called for the unity of the forces that backed him up to civically construct a democratic alternative.  The votes for the Parties, in the arc of the opposition, placed Un Nuevo Tiempo of Rosales and Primero Justicia at the top.  The historic parties appear as seriously diminished or extinct.

PERCEPTIONS OF DECEMBER 3

High participation, peaceful character and general acceptance of the results open way to substantial improvement in the quality and citizens trust in electoral processes, as stated by the Observation Mission of the European Union in its preliminary report.  “The electoral process complied, in general, with the international standards and the national legislation”.  Nonetheless it added that it could appreciate problems, such as:  institutional propaganda in favor of Chavez, the State TV dedicating 86% of its information time in favor of the government’s candidate, and the 14% dedicated to Rosales was made in a negative tone.  It received numerous denounces of pressure to public employees in order for them to vote for Chavez or to participate in his campaign events, evaluating the most notorious one:  the speech by the President of PDVSA before officers of the company. 

The speech, according to the Mission, is in conflict with the international principle of voting and does not recognize treaties binding for Venezuela.  It adds that may observers were witnesses of the extensive participation from public officials, identified as such, in campaign events, as well as the diffusion of manifestos from public employees adhering to Chavez candidacy, which is contrary to international electoral good practices and the Venezuelan laws.  According to the observers, the information disequilibrium was also originated by some private media that were inclined for Rosales.  The European Observation signaled the necessity to a General Electoral Regulation to correct inconsistencies and fill the gaps of the current legislation that allows the CNE to dictate provisions of the moment in crucial aspects of the process. The OAS issued a bulletin wherein the elections had developed within a frame of legality.

Súmate, the NGO with the greatest credibility amongst the middle class, which greatly voted for Rosales, declared that its scrutiny and audits comply with the figures of the CNE, but insists that the electoral process “was not clean, transparent or trustworthy”.  Maria Corina Machado, spokesperson for the NGO stated that the campaign was signed by advantages on the part of the government and of collective intimidation, and the Electoral Registry (REP) had not been audited by independent experts and was still subject of distrust.  “We will only know the truth regarding what the Venezuelans think on the day that we have fair elections, with a new REP”.

Cardinal Archbishop of Caracas, Monsignor Jorge Urosa made a call for dialogue.  He asked the President for concrete measures to promote an encounter between all Venezuelans, a tolerant government, seeking consensus.  He asked the leaders of the opposition to go onward, since Venezuela needs them as well.

The first governor to congratulate Chavez was Kirchner, followed by Correa, the elected President of Ecuador.  The first one to do it personally was Daniel Ortega, who arrived in a Jet with Venezuelan plates and signed agreements regarding the energy cooperation that will be granted by Chavez.  The former, in this first international tour, was greeting by Lula in Brasilia, where he once again displayed his idea of coordinating the armies of the Venezuelan-Brazil-Argentina axis.  They agreed to accelerate binational cooperation projects.  Chavez affirmed that Fidel was getting better, since he had sent him a letter of congratulations, written with a firm hand.  He traveled to Buenos Aires and Montevideo, for interviews with Kirchner and Tabaré Vásquez.  In Montevideo he declared that Evo Morales is a victim of a conspiracy, nurtured by the Empire and it was a responsibility of all to help him on account of all the revolutionaries of the Continent.

DEEPEN, ENLARGE AND EXPAND THE REVOLUTION

In the initial Chavez´ international circumnavigation as re elected, the threat of disintegration of Bolivia constitutes his concern.

He was precise in the diagnosis:  the opposition to Evo Morales is the extreme right wing, the oligarchy pro imperialism, the conspiracy is orchestrated by the United States who wants to seize the energy resources of Bolivia.  “Venezuela will not stay with its arms crossed”, he warned with emphasis.

In Cochabamba he was the central figure and a source of news.  Photographers and TV cameras were amused with the effusive embrace given to Peruvian Alan García, whom he declared as this “brother” from that day on.  According to García, “a chapter of lack of understanding had been closed and now there is a good relationship and good chemistry between the two”.  The journalists questioned if he was angry with Bachelet, for having denied the vote for the Security Council.  “Absolutely not!.  We have excellent ties.  The North American Empire wants to distance us in an artificial way, but I am pro Bachelet”.  The new president from Ecuador affirmed that he is a sincere friend of Chavez and that he does not care if he is called so.  He proposes to visit Caracas to reformulate agreements by which Venezuelan refineries will process Ecuadorian oil and to talk with the Venezuelan President regarding cooperation aspects.

Kirchner did not assist to Cochabamba, but treated him for dinner in Buenos Aires.  According to the DPA, the agenda included a credit for 80 Million Dollars which Venezuela will grant the Argentinean dairy company Sancor to help it come out of its financial difficulties.  It was also informed that Chavez will grant $1,000 Million for the conclusion of the gas duct that will take natural gas from Bolivia to North Eastern Argentina.  He insisted to the Argentinean President as well as the Brazilian one, on the gas pipeline of the South that with an investment of 23,000 Million Dollars will provide Venezuelan gas all the way to Argentina, through Brazil.

His participation in the South American Summit prevented to advance on in the project of the union of the Andean Community (CAN) MERCOSUR.  Even thought it was Evo Morales who exhorted Chavez to come back to the CAN, the later was categorical:  the CAN is useless and so is MERCOSUR.  It will end if we do not make a new one, inspired in the ALBA.  We are suffering from political impotence, he added.  “We need political Viagra, Lula, lets see if we can make a political Viagra”, he stated with irony upon addressing the Brazilian.  Upon the light results of the Summit, Bachelet and Evo proposed a meeting in 2007, in Caracas, regarding the energetic issue.  Chavez accepted:  “Starting today I will start to plan it, we are clear, energy is the instrument for the integration of our peoples.  Jointly with Bolivia, we have the greatest reserves of the Continent, and maybe of the world”.

December 3 confirmed Chavez as a very important actor in the Continent´s geopolitics.  They are the reasons of Romesh Ratnesar, international Editor of Time, to consider him as the Candidate of the Year:  he has a growing influence in the world, Venezuela is one of the great oil exporters and Chavez has become the Godfather of those who dissent from international order, in the face of resistance to the order internationally established.