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| Caribbean-Latin America |
| The Next Step for the Venezuelan Opposition |
| 2004-03-21 |
| EFL from a column by Gustavo Coronel An article by Alberto Quiros in yesterdayâs (March 14th) El Nacional, is extremely important in evaluating the situation of the presidential referendum in Venezuela. Alberto Quiros is one of the key players of the Venezuelan opposition. By keeping a rather low profile he has been able to coordinate, from within, much of the strategic stance of the opposition. He is good at leading meetings, at synthesis and at translating agreements into action. If we ever get to a referendum in Venezuela he will be one of the unsung heroes of the process. He is currently in charge of talking with the National Electoral Council (CNE), in an effort to take the referendum to a viable conclusion. What are the chances of this taking place? Considering that Hugo Chávez has used and continues using all legal and illegal maneuvers in the book to impede it, we must assign to the celebration of the referendum a low probability. In this case, it will not be the fault of the opposition. Quiros describes the most recent meeting of the opposition with the members of the CNE as follows: âWe met Friday March 12th, at the headquarters of the CNE, with Francisco Diez and Marcel Guzman of The Carter Center; Marcelo Alvarez and Hector Varalli of the OAS and with the members of the Board of the CNE, Ezequiel Zamora, Sobella Mejias, Oscar Battaglini and Jorge Rodriguez. Felipe Mujica, Enrique Naime, Nelson Rampersad and Alberto Quiros represented the opposition. After the introductions and pleasantries we stated our position: -Snip- To help the CNE sort out the differences in the data we have presented the CNE with a detailed enumeration of those differences, in 8 categories. -snip- Our minimum conditions include 2,700 centers for the signature collection process, 5 days and 12 hours of activity each day. a manual revision with sufficient signature collecting forms and the respect for the will of each citizen. We request international observersâ. The document by Quiros adds that, since all the necessary information is not yet in, the opposition cannot decide if it goes or not to the new process. The decision will be taken after the answers from the CNE and the Tribunal of Justice are received. Quiros admits that the final decision will not be an easy one to take. If the opposition decides to go ahead and the required signatures are not collected, there will be criticism of the decision. If the opposition decides not to go to the process, there will equally be criticism. But, Quiros, stresses, thedecision must be taken and must be shared by all, whatever it turns out to be. He warns the politically oriented members of the CD to postpone their individual pretensions in order to present a unified front. The document is important and the position by Quiros is also very important. It is the position that all members of the opposition should have. This is a time for unified action, not for individual posturing. This is a moment for civilized attitudes and not parochial ambitions. A lucid article by Moises Naim, also published in âEl Nacionalâ last Sunday 14th analyzes the reasons why authoritarian governments often have weak oppositions. Naim argues that a common reason is the lack of a strong leadership and/or the existence of fractions and divisions within the opposition. I hope that the Venezuelan opposition can overcome this problem and react with a solid sense of common purpose against the undemocratic Chávez challenge. If this is accomplished Quiros would deserve much of the credit for this positive development. Quiros sounds like a capable man. |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #1 with Francisco Diez and Marcel Guzman of The Carter Center Aw, Jesus. Don't the realize Carter's not on their side. He sure as hell was never on our side. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2004-3-21 10:27:59 PM |