Chavez Camp Accuses U.S. of Pushing for His Recall
CARACAS, Venezuela — As this bitterly divided nation approaches a vote Sunday on whether to recall populist President Hugo Chavez, he and his supporters are accusing Washington of interfering in Venezuela's affairs by providing about $2 million to opposition groups.
Grants from the National Endowment for Democracy to more than a dozen organizations over two years account for only a fraction of opposition funding. But because some members of the U.S.-supported groups have ties to the opponents who briefly deposed Chavez in April 2002, the former paratrooper contends that the funding backs another effort to oust him.
"Washington has been financing the opposition with millions, including for this referendum," Chavez said during a news conference Thursday at the presidential palace.
Chavez won the presidency in December 1998, and his rule has polarized this country, one of the world's largest oil producers. After the 2002 coup and a two-month national strike failed, opponents changed strategy to focus on a recall campaign. This spring, they submitted 2.5 million signatures, slightly more than the 20% of registered voters required to trigger a recall.
The Venezuela Solidarity Committee, a New York-based nonprofit group, obtained several thousand pages of documents on NED programs in Venezuela under the Freedom of Information Act and provided them to the Los Angeles Times and other media.
At issue is whether the endowment strayed from its mandate to support the development of democracy by assisting nonpartisan grass-roots organizations. The NED technically is a private organization, but it receives most of its budget -- about $80 million this year -- from Congress and other taxpayer-financed sources.
Chris Sabatini, the NED's director for Latin American programs, defended the endowment funding and denied that it was aimed at destabilizing Chavez's government. He said the group was trying to promote dialogue in Venezuela and opposed any unconstitutional actions against Chavez.
"In a situation of political polarization, if you want to pull people back from the brink of conflict, you have to work with people at the brink," Sabatini said.
Chavez supporters see more ominous intentions.
"The NED says its goal is to build democracy, but it is giving money to people who were key players in the coup and who are trying to oust a democratically elected president," said Deborah James of the Washington-based Venezuela Information Office.
