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AROUND THE WORLD 2: Protesting the President: Venezuela

Many citizens of the South American country of Venezuela held protests last week in the capital city of Caracas. Demonstrators were banging on pots and pans, throwing stones and lighting objects on fire in an attempt to get the attention of the government. These protesters are opponents of Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez.

The protesters are insisting that new elections be held sooner than usual, because they want to elect a new president and force President Chavez out of the office. Chavez was elected president in 2000 and he is supposed to serve a six year term that would end in 2007 (because he didn't actually begin the term until 2001). Therefore, he is only about half way through the term. If Chavez's opponents are successful, they will get a new president for the next three years; if they are unsuccessful, Chavez could continue to lead the country until 2007.

There is an orderly way to arrange for early elections, which does not require protesting in the streets. If opponents are able to form a petition saying that they want new elections, and if they are able to get 2.4 million (that's 2,400,000) people to sign it, then new elections can be held. In fact, the opposition did compile a list of signature, and they claim it contained at least 3.4 million (3,400,000) signatures. The problem? The legal council that officially counts the signatures ruled against the opposition, because they said that the signatures were not collected in the proper way. This is why so many people resorted to protests. They must now try to convince the election council that the signatures are legitimate.

The protests have caused most of the daily activities in Caracas to come to a halt. This is because crowds have marched through the streets and prevented cars and buses from taking people to work. In an attempt to keep order, local police, as well as a few units of the Venezuelan military, were spread out in the city. Any time large crowds of people gather to demonstrate, there is a risk of violence. The protestors are not likely to calm down soon, because it is urgent that they get the attention of the government and especially the election council that decides about new elections. If new elections are not arranged before this August--the official mid-way point of Chavez's term--then the only possibility to change the president before 2007 will be to have the Vice President take over. Of course, if this happens, Chavez is likely to continue with his own agenda, by pressuring his Vice president to follow orders.

--Written by Betsy Mesard

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