Chavez: Venezuela will not yield to U.S. recall pressure
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Opponents of Venezuela President Hugo Chavez accuse him of authoritarian rule, dividing the nation by class, and trying to establish a socialist regime.
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Venezuela President Hugo Chavez said it will be his country's institutions that decide whether to allow a referendum that seeks his ouster, and not outside pressure -- especially from the United States.
President Hugo Chavez made the comments Thursday, days after the Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico, during which President Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox said the recall referendum would help resolve Venezuela's long-running political crisis. The Organization of American States, or OAS, also endorsed the possible recall vote.
"It's not President Fox, nor is it President Bush, nor is it the OAS ... that is going to guarantee the integrity of the recall process in Venezuela. No, there are institutions here," Chavez said in a speech to Congress. "This is a sovereign country."
The president added that he would not pressure Venezuela's elections council to block the recall vote.
Opposition groups say they submitted petitions with more than 3.4 million signatures, enough to trigger a referendum in December. Venezuelan election officials are verifying the signatures and have not yet announced a decision.
Leaders of the opposition coalition backing the recall vote have accused the elections council of delaying the validation process and they have threatened protests if the process is further delayed.
Chavez claims many of the signatures are fraudulent.
The president's opponents accuse him of increasingly authoritarian rule, dividing the nation along class lines and attempting to establish a Cuban-inspired socialist regime.
Opposition leaders insist that Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, must be removed from office before he can seek another six-year term in 2006.
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