[mobglob-discuss] fraud, etc claims in Venezuela

[michael a. lebowitz]

         Once I've had a chance to absorb impressions from visiting sites 
this morning, I'll report on these. Right now, the fraud, etc charges are 
coming quickly. (I am reproducing the report that appears on today's 
venezuelanalysis and will add to it later--- they are a constant on the 
state tv.) I find it very difficult, though,  to know how significant in 
terms of numbers these reports are. There is no question in my mind that 
many people came out to sign for a referendum recall against Chavez. Many 
centres seem to have used all their papers. Whether the legitimate 
signatures will be enough for the 2.4 million needed to trigger the 
referendum remains to be seen. It's important to remember that this is only 
20% of the electorate, that Chavez's opponent received close to this in 
Chavez's landslide victory and that (to the best of my knowledge) no one 
has ever estimated the opposition at less than 30%.
         in solidarity,
          michael

Reports of Fraud Continue as Venezuela's Chavez Recall Signature Drive 
Enters Final Day
By: Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, Dec 1 (Venezuelanalysis.com).- Mr. Domingo Centeno (64) thought 
that having surgery during the signature collection drive to request a 
recall referendum on President Chavez would be complicated. What he never 
imagined was that the doctor would demand from him proof of having signed 
against Chavez in order to operate on him.

This claim, coming from the Perez Luciani Hospital in Caracas, is one of 
the hundreds that those who support President Chávez have made during the 
days that opposition forces have been collecting signatures to request a 
recall referendum. Workers have reported having to present "proof of 
signature" to their openly anti-Chavez employers under threat of losing 
their jobs.

The director of another health care facility, the Domingo Luciani Hospital, 
confirmed claims made last Friday by several patients being asked to sign 
anti-Chavez petitions while being in their hospital beds. Dr Angel 
Rodríguez said that hospital rules prohibits disturbing patients inside the 
facility. Other patients claim that the were told to sign the petitions as 
a prerequisite to receive medical attention. No observers were accompanying 
the opposition itinerant petitions collectors as required by the National 
Electoral Council. Dr Rodríguez thanked the Public Ombudsman Office for 
sending personnel to the hospital to deal with the situation.

Cloning of ID cards, foreigners being brought from Colombia to sign, 
documents of death people used to sign -a common practice by Venezuela's 
old ruling parties-, and manipulation of tally forms, are among the other 
irregularities reported.
Pro-Chavez sectors say that the hundreds of reports of irregularities are 
evidence of a "mega-fraud" on the part of the Venezuelan opposition.

President Chavez said today that both pro and anti Chavez signatures must 
be checked "one by one" by the National Electoral Council. "During the 
signature drive against the opposition, their observers didn't report any 
irregularities, but now there are hundreds of reports of wrongdoing on the 
part of the opposition," said Chavez.

The mayor of Caracas, Freddy Bernal, reported finding boxes with up to 
30.000 non-validated petitions that the opposition had ready to introduce 
as valid. Bernal is a key Chavez ally.

Citizens for the Defense of the Constitution, a pro-Chavez NGO, denounced 
that an hour after a signature collection center at the Brión Plaza in 
eastern Caracas was closed, some opposition volunteers opened it again 
without pro-Chavez observers being present. "I got in line as if I was 
going to sign, then I wrote the petition form number, it is number 
300128556,” said an unnamed woman who is a national CNE certified observer 
and a member of the NGO. “Then I asked the woman at the table if she was an 
absentee signature collector in the area and she responded that she wasn't, 
but that she had been authorized by a man who was nearby and who claimed to 
be a guard for the Democratic Coordinator [the opposition parties 
coalition]. I asked them to hand the forms to me since I'm a national CNE 
certified observer, and they became very hostile," said the woman.

Biased media coverage

Chavez lamented that opposition-controlled TV stations refused to broadcast 
paid pro-government ads. Anti-Chavez media also refused to give coverage of 
the multiple reports of irregularities during the petition drive. "Can you 
imagine if a single of our signature collection centers had computers 
installed during the drive against the opposition?" asked Chavez, 
reflecting on the fact that the opposition had used computers at their 
collection centers in order to make sure that those signing under pressure, 
don't use fake names or ID numbers.
"The attitude of the commercial media is very questionable. They have kept 
silent in the face of what appears to be a mega-fraud that the Venezuelan 
people is not going to tolerate," said Chavez.

On the other hand, state media gave little coverage to the opposition 
claims of lack of petitions to sign. The CNE said today that there are 
enough petitions in all states.

Chavez criticized CNN en Español for describing Venezuelans living overseas 
as "exiles", as if they were kicked out of the country by a dictator, 
during a report on the symbolic petition drive organized by groups living 
overseas. CNN en Español showed footage of disorders outside the CNE 
headquarters but failed to say that they were caused by anti-Chavez 
politicians trying to break the security barrier and enter the CNE without 
authorization.

State and alternative media showed evidence of empty signature collection 
centers in Caracas and in the other major cities, while commercial 
anti-government media abstained from broadcasting live reports from 
signature centers due to the low turn out rates.
Commercial TV stations, the same who participated in the coup d’etat 
against Chavez in 2002, and promoted the lock-out and oil industry sabotage 
between December of 2002 and February of 2003, refused to air paid 
pro-government ads, and allowed opposition interviewees to release 
estimated numbers of petitions signed, a practice banned by the CNE.

The signature drive enters it final day with both sides calling their 
followers to the streets in order to “defend democracy”. Opposition groups 
issued full-page ads in national newspapers calling their followers to take 
the streets to defend the results of the signature drive, while pro-Chavez 
groups appeared on state TV asking people to protest the “mega-fraud” 
allegedly committed by the opposition.

---------------------
Michael A. Lebowitz
Professor Emeritus
Economics Department
Simon Fraser University
Burnaby, B.C., Canada V5A 1S6
Office Fax:   (604) 291-5944
Home:   Phone (604) 689-9510


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