Alan Cisco: Venezuela's opposition has good reason to be desperate [View All]

A good rundown on the recall referendum situation,
the opposition riots, and what the Government is doing in
response. (All utterly biased Chavista propaganda, of course.)

Warp factor seven Scotty, all phasers set to stun.

The opposition has good reason to be desperate. If it can be shown that they didn't obtain enough valid signatures for
the referendum, they'll have no constitutional way to get rid of Chavez until 2006. Further, if their own deputies
are revoked ... which is likely ... the Chavistas will have much more than their current slim majority in the National
Assembly. The opposition could also lose several of their most prominent governors and mayors in the upcoming
July and August elections. From recent polls, and the number of petition signatures obtained support for the
opposition appears at less than 25%, and six months from now they could be considerably weakened as an effective
political grouping, so this may be their last best chance.

...

The oil company is now much more efficient after eliminating a bloated managerial class, and is producing and
expanding. Besides, the price of oil is up, and therefore the economy, which, owing to the strike, contracted
severely in the first semester of 2003, grew at a rate of greater than 9% in the last quarter.

A recent report from First Boston/Credit Suisse predicted a 9.8% growth rate in 2004.

In 2003 the Chavez government also began an extensive series of social programs directed at developing the 80%
of the population that live in poverty: campaigns to eradicate illiteracy, get people studying for high school
diplomas, new and urgently needed public universities, and paying thousands of Cuban doctors to live and serve in
the poor barrios. It is also giving out many micro-credits, especially to increase agricultural production.
Unemployment has gone down, and most sectors of the economy, except private construction are growing.

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