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 VenezuelaChavez Survives Referendum, Consolidates PowerBeginning in early Dec. 2002,
a general strike was called by business and labor leaders. By Jan. 2003 it
had virtually brought the economy, including the oil industry, to a halt.
Strike leaders pledged to continue until Chavez resigned or agreed to early
elections. But in Feb. 2003, after nine weeks, the strikers conceded defeat.
In Aug. 2003, a petition with 3.2 million signatures was delivered to the
country's election commission, demanding a recall referendum on Chavez. The
Chavez government challenged the referendum process rigorously, and
petitions submitted in Sept. 2003 and Feb. 2004 were rejected as invalid.
The electoral board finally accepted a petition in June 2004 and scheduled
the referendum for August 15. Chavez, who had been shoring up his standing
with the Venezuelan poor during the delays, won the referendum with an
overwhelming 58% of the vote. The opposition alleged fraud, but
international observers confirmed that there had been no irregularities.
Chavez's hand was clearly strengthened, and by the spring of 2005, his
popularity rating reached 70%, due in large part to his social spending
programs. In Dec. 2005 parliamentary elections, Chávez's Fifth
Republic Movement won 114 of 167 seats, and the remaining seats were won by
his allies. The opposition boycotted the election, maintaining they could
not trust the pro-Chavez National Electoral Council. President Chávez
won reelection in Dec. 2006 with 63% of the vote.
In early 2007,
Chávez took significant steps to further consolidate his power and
move Venezuela closer to becoming a socialist state. In January, he
announced the nationalization of major energy and telecommunications
companies. Days later, the National Assembly voted to allow Chávez to
rule by decree for 18 months. In May, Chávez shut down the main
opposition television station, RCTV, which has been critical of the
government. The National Assembly voted in August to abolish presidential
term limits.
In November 2007, the Colombian army captured FARC rebels
who were carrying videos, photographs, and letters of about 15 hostages,
some who have been held in jungle camps by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of
Colombia, or FARC, for nearly ten years. The Marxist-inspired FARC—the
largest rebel group in Latin America—has been waging guerilla wars
against the Colombian government for 40 years. Hostages included three
American military contractors and Ingrid Betancourt, former Colombian
presidential candidate. Also in November, Uribe withdrew his support of
Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez’s attempts to negotiate with
the FARC, escalating tension between the two countries. Chávez
subsequently withdrew the Venezuelan ambassador to Colombia.
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