The Venezuelan Government, which has been very good at selling internationally an image of the opposition and the media as “coupsters” or “terrorists” has begun to lose its image internationally this week. The Government suffered essentially three defeats:
-The Interamerican Human Rights Commission report blasted the Chavez Government all around.
-The U.S. drastically changed its position when The White House itself issued a press release calling for early elections as soon as possible.
-Venezuela’s proposed resolution at the OAS was rejected by the major Latin-American countries, including Brazil, Argentian, Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador and Peru, together with Canada and the US. The US Ambassador to the OAS had harsh words for the Venezuelan proposal saying what was needed was a serious proposal. Caribbean nations under the CARICOM were in favor of the resolution, likely pressured by a Government that sells oil to them under preferential terms.
There are a number of reasons for this chain of events. First of all, the presence of Cesar Gaviria in Caracas for over a month has allowed the Secretary General of the OAS to see firsthand the behavior of teh Chavez administration. Second, the attack on the media on Tuesday night was seen by all of the Ambassadors in Caracas, who we are sure reported back to their own Government. Last, but not least, The Democratic Coordinator sent a team of highly respected lawyers with diplomatic experience to explain to all of the Amabassadors to the OAS the true situation in Venezuela, including documents and videos of what the Chavez administration has been doing.
I view these events as defeats for the Government, rather than victories for the opposition. But we needed them, as when and if, Venezuelans resolve the current crisis, the opposition is going to need full international cooperation. The solution at this time is not even the consultative referendum that the Government continues to block. The negotiating table does not even consider this a negotiable item. The negotiation is now an amendment to the Constitution in the first quarter of 2003 under international supervision. However, the general strike is creating a situation where anything may happen in teh next few days unless the Government presents significant concessions over teh weekend.
The Devil's Excrement 
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