"Democratic Charter" Invoked to Restore Chavez

[Nathan Newman]

In many ways, this article points to the most encouraging aspect of the
whole Chavez coup and anti-coup restoration-- the fact that multinational
cooperation (in defiance of the United States) has advanced to the point to
support democratic governance on principle.  This is the form of global
governance that we should highlight and build upon.

-- Nathan Newman
======

April 15, 2002
Fear of Loss of Democracy Led Neighbors to Aid Return
By LARRY ROHTER
ANTIAGO, Chile, April 14 - Venezuela's neighbors helped pave the way for
Hugo Chávez's stunning return to power early today by refusing to accept the
legitimacy of the coup that overthrew him and by threatening to impose
sanctions, Latin American diplomats say. The efforts opened a breach between
the United States and its democratic allies in the Western Hemisphere.

Until this week, the United States had adopted a policy of restraint,
apparently content to let Mr. Chávez collapse under his growing
unpopularity. There were no obvious American fingerprints on the plot that
unseated Mr. Chávez, unlike coups in Guatemala in 1954 or in Chile in 1973.
But Latin American countries are now left with the impression that the Bush
administration is selective in its support for democracy.

Mr. Chávez's supporters, on the other hand, took heart from an outpouring of
criticism by other Latin American governments over the way he was deposed.
The initial alarm around the region grew after the military-backed interim
president, Pedro Carmona, dissolved Congress and talked of holding
presidential elections only after a year had passed - measures that appeared
to contravene the existing Constitution.

"I have been and am a critic of many of the characteristics of the
government of Hugo Chávez," said President Alejandro Toledo of Peru. But he
added that "we are not defending the democratic characteristics of a
particular government, we are defending the principle of the rule of law."

The United States refused to characterize the initial ouster of Mr. Chávez
as a coup at all, arguing that he had brought his downfall upon himself.
"The government suppressed what was a peaceful demonstration of the people,"
which "led very quickly to a combustible situation in which Chávez
resigned," Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, said on Friday, before
Mr. Chávez staged his comeback.

Meeting in Washington this weekend, the Organization of American States
approved a resolution condemning "the alteration of the constitutional
order" in Venezuela and invoked a new "Democratic Charter" approved last
fall. That measure is one of several recent regional initiatives that create
mechanisms, including sanctions, to isolate and punish governments that take
power through nondemocratic means.

After lobbying behind the scenes for softer language, the United States also
voted for the measure. "It was necessary to act energetically and decisively
in defense of democratic principles, with or without the support of the
United States or lose credibility," one South American ambassador said
today.

As Mr. Toledo's remarks indicate, Mr. Chávez's leftist populism and his
tendency toward demagoguery seem to make most of Latin America's elected
leaders uncomfortable. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil has
been quoted as calling Mr. Chávez an "unconscious authoritarian," and both
Colombia and Peru have persistently complained of his support for forces set
on undermining their governments.

But the notion of permitting the armed forces of any Latin American country
to resume their past role as ultimate arbiter, able to make and unmake
elected presidents at will, is even more unpalatable.

The strongest statements of condemnation of Mr. Chávez's ouster came from
countries like Argentina, Paraguay and Peru, which have long histories of
military interventions and dictatorships themselves.

President Eduardo Duhalde of Argentina said on Saturday that it was "not
good news for the Americas when military coups once again overthrow
governments elected by the people."

The initial American stance on the recent events in Venezuela stand in
marked contrast to the Clinton administration's position when a similar
military uprising occurred in Ecuador in January 2000. After soldiers and
Indians overthrew a pro-American president, Jamil Mahuad, State Department
officials called the new junta and told its members that Ecuador would
become a pariah state, deprived of all financial aid, unless power was
handed over to the civilian vice president - and it was.

In Washington today, the Bush administration sought to backtrack slightly
from its position without abandoning its criticisms of Mr. Chávez. On the
NBC program "Meet the Press," Condoleezza Rice, the national security
adviser, said this was a "time for national reconciliation" in Venezuela and
called on Mr. Chávez to "right his own ship."

"I hope," she added, "that Hugo Chávez takes the message that his people
sent him, that his own policies are not working for the Venezuelan people,
that he's dealing with them in a highhanded fashion."