By Pablo Bachelet
WASHINGTON20 (Reuters) - The United States is still quietly pushing for an early election in Venezuela, beset by a power struggle and national strike, despite publicly backing off the idea, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters.
"The United States is brokering a deal for an early election in Venezuela," the source said this week in a telephone interview. "Behind the scenes we're still pushing for an early election."
The United States has rallied the Organization of American States and Latin American countries, most notably Brazil, to help pressure leftist Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez into accepting an election, according to the source....
The White House issued a statement on Dec. 13 calling for an early election, as demanded by the opposition, but backtracked Monday, when a spokesman said Washington supported a referendum on Chavez's continued rule.
The opposition is calling for Chavez to resign and hold early elections. He has refused and told his foes to wait until August, halfway through his term, when the constitution allows for a binding referendum on his rule.
Observers say the U.S. endorsement of an early election in effect violated the Venezuelan constitution which allows for a referendum on Chavez no sooner than August 2003....
OLD, UNDEMOCRATIC WAYS?
In April, when it looked like Chavez had been ousted in a coup, the White House appeared pleased that he had been toppled and was embarrassed when he was reinstated by loyalist officers.
The coup alarmed Latin American countries that saw a return to old undemocratic ways....
This week a State Department official confirmed that the United States is actively mediating talks in Caracas, together with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, to broker a deal.
On Thursday, Powell also hinted at the U.S. involvement, although he did not mention elections directly.
"We have presented some ideas to the secretary general (of the OAS) for his consideration," Powell told reporters. "There have been some efforts in the last day or two to put forward ideas from both sides that might be a basis of discussion."
One source familiar with the talks said that Chavez wants guarantees that he would be allowed to run in an election -- some opponents want him barred from the ballot -- and that a mechanism be put in place that guarantee impartiality from the opposition-controlled media.
<http://www.forbes.com/business/newswire/2002/12/20/rtr830494.html> -- Yoshie
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