Venezuela

[|Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez speaks at Miraflores palace in Caracas] CARACAS — Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Sunday his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama was at best an "ignoramus" for saying the socialist leader exported terrorism and obstructed progress in Latin America. "He goes and accuses me of exporting terrorism: the least I can say is that he's a poor ignoramus; he should read and study a little to understand reality," said Chavez, who heads a group of left-wing Latin American leaders opposed to the U.S. influence in the region. Chavez said Obama's comments had made him change his mind about sending a new ambassador to Washington, after he withdrew the previous envoy in a dispute last year with the Bush administration in which he also expelled the U.S. ambassador to Venezuela. "When I saw Obama saying what he said, I put the decision back in the drawer; let's wait and see," Chavez said on his weekly television show, adding he had wanted to send a new ambassador to improve relations with the United States after the departure of George W. Bush as president. In a January interview with Spanish-language U.S. network Univision, Obama said Chavez had hindered progress in Latin America, accusing him of exporting terrorist activities and supporting Colombian guerrillas. "My, what ignorance; the real obstacle to development in Latin America has been the empire that you today preside over," said Chavez, who is a fierce critic of U.S. foreign policy. In the 20th century the United States supported several armed movements and coups in Latin America. Chavez says Washington had a hand in a short-lived putsch against him in 2002, which was initially welcomed by U.S. officials. Chavez and Obama will both attend the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago next month. It is not known whether they will meet. Most of OPEC nation Venezuela's export income comes from oil it sells to the United States, but Chavez has built stronger ties with countries like China in an attempt to reduce dependence on his northern neighbor. Chavez expelled its U.S. ambassador in September in a dispute over U.S. activities in his ally Bolivia, which also expelled its U.S. ambassador. Ecuador's left-wing President Rafael Correa this year kicked out a mid-ranking U.S. diplomat. (Reporting by Frank Jack Daniel; Editing by Eric Walsh)

By NASSER KARIMI, AP 3 April 2009
[|Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, right, points to the media during a welcom...] TEHRAN, Iran — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ridiculed the G-20 summit's attempts to deal with the global financial meltdown, saying capitalism is in crisis and "has to end." Speaking to Venezuelan state television late Thursday, Chavez said the United States and Britain are "the most guilty" for the financial crisis sweeping the globe because of the financial model "they've been imposing for years." "It's impossible that capitalism can regulate the monster that is the world financial system, it's impossible," Chavez said. "Capitalism needs to go down. It has to end. And we must take a transitional road to a new model that we call socialism." The Venezuelan leader's comments came during a trip to Iran. In recent years, Chavez and Iran's hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — both well-known for their anti-U.S. rhetoric — have boosted economic and political ties. During Thursday's summit in London, leaders from the Group of 20 industrial and developing countries promised $1.1 trillion for lending to poorer countries. They also vowed major efforts to clean up banks' tattered balance sheets, get credit flowing again, shut down global tax havens and tighten regulation over hedge funds and other financial high-flyers in the U.S. and elsewhere. Chavez belittled the summit's efforts and said the International Monetary Fund must be eliminated. Chavez's own economic program to institute socialism in Venezuela could slow as his country's oil-dependent economy suffers from falling crude prices. Inflation there has soared above 30 percent, eroding Venezuelans' salaries. In his decade in power, Chavez has boosted state control over the economy and spent heavily on social programs meant to increase his popularity. On Friday, Chavez and Iran's president inaugurated a joint commercial bank meant to speed trade and industrial projects between the two nations. Chavez said he will travel to Japan in the coming days to meet with the prime minister as well as business leaders and intellectuals. Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. stuck in his head after a diving accident says he is done with underwater fishing.

There were mass celebrations in Caracas when the results came through With 94% of votes counted, 54% backed an end to term limits, a National Electoral Council official said. Mr Chavez has said he needs to stay in office beyond the end of his current term in 2012 so he can secure what he calls Venezuela's socialist revolution. Critics say that would concentrate too much power in the presidency. "The doors of the future are wide open," Mr Chavez shouted from the balcony of the Miraflores presidential palace after the results were announced. "In 2012 there will be presidential elections, and unless God decides otherwise, unless the people decide otherwise, this soldier is already a candidate." Crowds of the president's supporters filled in the streets, letting off fireworks, waving red flags and honking car horns. The BBC's Will Grant in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, says this was the kind of strong confirmation of his socialist agenda at the polls that Mr Chavez had been seeking. || ||  **This has been the most unequal, the most abusive campaign of all** Leopoldo Lopez Opposition leader [|Tough times ahead for Chavez] || "This victory saved the revolution," said Gonzalo Mosqueda, a 60-year-old shopkeeper, sipping rum from a plastic cup outside the palace. "Without it everything would be at risk - all the social programs, and everything he [Chavez] has done for the poor," he told AP. More than 11 million voters out of almost 17 million who were eligible took part in Sunday's referendum, said the head of the electoral body, Tibisay Lucena. Election observers, who included representatives from Latin American nations, European Parliament deputies and European academics, said the ballot had been free and fair. Opposition figures said they would not contest the result but they said victory had been achieved thanks to huge government funding and blanket state television coverage. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez told the BBC's Newshour programme on Sunday that the campaign had been heavily weighted towards Mr Chavez. "In 10 years we have had 15 elections, 15, and this has been the most unequal, the most abusive campaign of all. "So that's why you are seeing more propaganda, more campaigning, more advertisement for the 'yes' vote." Under existing constitutional rules, the president was limited to two six-year terms in office, which meant that Mr Chavez would have had to leave the presidency in three years' time. A proposal to end presidential term limits was one of a package of 69 constitutional changes narrowly rejected in a referendum in late 2007. Victory this time round was by a wider margin than many analysts and opinion polls had predicted. BBC Latin America analyst James Painter says it seems President Chavez managed to persuade more of his supporters to vote, as turnout was considerably higher than in 2007. One factor was probably the change in the wording of the question, so that this time voters decided on whether term limits would be lifted for all officials not just the president. President Chavez now faces the daunting task of grappling with the global economic crisis in a country dependent on oil exports, our correspondent says. Venezuela has the highest inflation in Latin America, running at just under 30% a year. There are also serious domestic problems such as violent crime that Mr Chavez will need to tackle in the next four years if he is to repeat his success in the presidential elections of 2012, our correspondent adds.
 * =Chavez wins chance of fresh term= ||
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 * Venezuelans have voted to lift limits on terms in office for elected officials, allowing President Hugo Chavez to stand for re-election.**
 * 'Revolution saved'**
 * Challenges ahead**
 * [[image:http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif width="5" height="1"]] || CHAVEZ DECADE: KEY DATES Feb 1999: Takes office after winning 1998 electionJuly: Re-elected under new constitution for a six-year termApril 2002: Abortive coup. Chavez returns to power after two daysAugust 2004: Wins recall referendum on whether he should serve out rest of his termDec 2006: Wins another six-year term with 63%Dec 2007: Loses constitutional referendum which included proposal to allow the president to run indefinitely for officeFeb 2009: Wins referendum that lifts term limits on elected officials ||

=United Socialist Party of Venezuela Wins 81% of Mayoral Offices in Elections=   November 25th 2008, by James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com  President Chavez holds up a copy of the national constitution of Venezuela during his post-election press conference. (PP) Caracas, November 25, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Candidates from the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) won 81% of the mayor’s offices and 77% of the governorships in Venezuela in last Sunday’s regional and local elections, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced in a press conference Monday evening.

Venezuelans elected PSUV candidates for mayor in 265 out of the total 327 mayoral contests. This represents a steady increase since pro-Chávez candidates won 114 mayor’s offices in the year 2000, and 226 offices in 2004, Chávez affirmed, presenting calculations based on the results released by the National Electoral Council (CNE).

“We have retaken the path of advancement and progress,” said Chávez, asserting that this electoral victory puts the “Bolivarian Revolution” led by his administration back on track after having lost a constitutional reform referendum last year.

The president also noted that the number of votes for PSUV candidates was 5.5 million this year, which is 1.3 million more votes than the constitutional reform proposal received last year. Opposition candidates received 4.3 million votes on Sunday, about 200,000 fewer than the number of votes against the constitutional reform, he added.

In all five states where opposition candidates were elected to the governor’s offices – Carabobo, Miranda, Nueva Esparta, Táchira, and Zulia, PSUV candidates won control of the majority of the municipal governments.

In the state of Miranda, in which the national capital Caracas is located, PSUV candidates won in 15 municipalities, including Libertador, the most populated municipality, while opposition candidates won in five municipalities. “The bastion of Caracas has not been lost,” Chávez asserted.

However, in Zulia, Venezuela’s top oil producing state; Táchira, a key state on the border with Colombia; and Nueva Esparta, the Caribbean island state where the Chávez administration plans to build a new naval base, opposition candidates prevailed in the capital city as well as the state government.

Chávez said Sunday’s elections showed that Venezuelans want a “deepening of the revolution,” and that the PSUV is the most potent political force among the nearly 300 political parties that ran candidates nation-wide.

Responding to widespread speculation that he intends to propose a reform to the national constitution in order to lift term limits on the presidency, Chávez said he will not propose a reform, but that the PSUV might exercise its constitutional right to do so.

“I am not going to propose any more constitutional reform. Starting this February 2nd, I have four more years,” said Chávez. “What I cannot avoid is if other people do it.”

The president described the process by which changes to the constitution may be carried out. “It is the right of the people… they would have to collect the signatures [on a petition], bring the proposal to the National Assembly, whether it’s a reform or an amendment, and then it would have to go to referendum.”

Chávez also commented on President-Elect of the United States Barack Obama. He said he hopes Obama “dedicates himself to solving the internal problems that Bush left him,” and asked Obama to have respect for Venezuela and open a dialogue “to debate about the big issues: oil, the situation in Colombia, drug trafficking and others.” =Putin and Chavez promote a 'multi-polar world'=

by Steve Gutterman / Associated Press Thursday September 25, 2008, 5:44 PM
AP Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez shake hands during their meeting in Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008. NOVO-OGARYOVO, Russia -- Prime Minister Vladimir Putin vowed Thursday to make relations with Latin America a top foreign policy priority, a pledge backed by the first Russian naval deployment to the Caribbean since the Cold War. Putin greeted Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, on his second trip to Russia in just over two months, with offers to discuss further arms sales to Venezuela and possibly helping it to develop nuclear energy. Chavez's visit takes place as a Russian naval squadron sails to Venezuela, across the Caribbean Sea from the United States, in a pointed response to what the Kremlin has cast as threatening U.S. encroachment near its own borders. Both men suggested their countries are working to decrease U.S. global influence. "Latin America is becoming a noticeable link in the chain of the multi-polar world that is forming," Putin said at his suburban residence at the start of his talks with Chavez. "We will pay more and more attention to this vector of our economic and foreign policy."  Putin did not mention any specifics of potential Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation in his opening remarks, but Russian news reports said that Venezuela could buy Russian air defense missiles and more Sukhoi fighter jets. Earlier Thursday, a Kremlin official who spoke on customary condition of anonymity said that Russia would grant Venezuela a $1 billion credit for the purchase of Russian weaponry in an effort to help Venezuela revamp its military forces. Russia has signed contracts worth more than $4.4 billion with Venezuela since 2005 to supply arms including fighter jets, helicopters, and 100,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles. Putin did not specify what kind of cooperation Russia could offer Venezuela in the nuclear field, but Russia is aggressively promoting itself as a builder of nuclear power plants and supplier of fuel to nations seeking nuclear energy. Chavez, who addressed Putin as "my dear friend Vladimir," said that stronger ties with Russia would help build a multi-polar world -- a term Russia and Venezuela use to describe their shared opposition to the perceived U.S. global domination. "I think that today more than ever before what you have said about a multi-polar world is becoming reality," Chavez told Putin. He said he brought greetings from Cuban leader Fidel Castro, another staunch U.S. enemy. Both leaders have used criticism of the U.S. to boost their popularity at home and advance foreign policy objectives. Russia is the latest leg in a tour taking Chavez to a number of nations whose governments are eager to counter U.S. global clout. He stopped briefly in Cuba on his way to China, where he touted agreements to increase oil exports and purchase military jets. Signaling similar interests in Russia, Chavez said he and President Dmitry Medvedev will observe military exercises when they meet Friday in the southern Orenburg region. The region near Kazakhstan's border is home to oil industry facilities. In an interview broadcast on Russian television before the visit, Chavez said that Venezuela and Latin America as a whole need "friends like Russia" to help them shed U.S. "domination" and ensure peace. Russia has ramped up its cooperation with Caracas further since last month's war with Georgia, which has badly damaged Moscow's already strained ties with the West and particularly the United States. Russia's deployment of warships to Venezuela for naval maneuvers came after the United States used naval ships to ferry aid to Georgia after the war -- a mission Russian officials harshly criticized. The Russian naval deployment follows a weeklong visit to Venezuela by a pair of Russian strategic bombers. On his Sunday TV and radio program, Chavez joked that he would be making his international tour aboard the "super-bombers that Medvedev loaned me." Chavez has also talked about creating "a new strategic energy alliance" with between the oil-rich nations. After visiting Venezuela this month, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin said five major Russian oil companies are looking to form a consortium to increase Latin American operations and to build a $6.5 billion refinery to process Venezuelan crude. Putin said that Russia's Gazprom state natural gas giant will launch its first drilling rig next month to tap Venezuela's offshore gas reserves.