Venezuelan president to face recall vote
Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez must face an August 15 recall vote which could oust his leftist government hostile to the United States, the country’s biggest crude oil customer.
Francisco Carrasquero, president of Venezuela’s elections council, announced last night that Chavez’s opposition had gathered 2.54 million signatures to demand the recall, surpassing the 2.43 million – 20% of the electorate - required by Venezuela’s constitution.
Chavez, a virulent critic of Washington’s economic and foreign policies, claims his government has broken with Venezuela’s corrupt past and serves the interests of the nation’s vast poor majority.
To recall Chavez, Venezuela’s opposition needs to win more than the 3.7 million votes he received during his 2000 election to a six-year term.
Critics accuse Chavez of steering Venezuela – which straddles the Western hemisphere’s largest oil reserves – toward a dictatorship akin to that of his friend and mentor, Cuba’s Fidel Castro.
Chavez has accused Washington of supporting opposition efforts to overthrow him. The Bush administration has denied the allegations.
