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STATEMENT FROM THE REVOLUTIONARY GOVERNMENT OF
CUBA ON THE VENEZUELAN REFERENDUM
The
Venezuelan people have given a historic lesson in
democracy
THIS
August 15 the Venezuelan people gave the world a
historic lesson in the exercise of true democracy
and national sovereignty.
For the
eighth time in five years, President Hugo Chávez has
received the overwhelming majority support of his
people. It has been undisputedly demonstrated that
his government today has unquestionable legitimacy,
in sharp contrast with the crisis – due to lack of
popular support and moral authority – currently
being suffered by several Latin American presidents,
all of them subject to the formulas of the United
States and the International Monetary Fund.
The
mass attendance by Venezuelans at the polls was a
veritable example of participation and commitment
without precedent in Venezuela and in many countries
of the region.
The
referendum was a great popular victory in which
broad sectors of Venezuelan society, traditionally
excluded from the exercise of their political
rights, implemented their will for the first time.
This
event was preceded by a massive registration drive
for new voters and the transparent reorganization of
the electoral lists at a time when in Latin America
and in the world, a high degree of majority
abstention is common, as is frequent electoral
fraud.
It was
an ordered, verifiable and clean process, in which
the potential for fraud was excluded and which
included all the conditions necessary to ensure
reliability and a sound outcome. The National
Electoral Council (NEC) acted with acknowledged
integrity, effectiveness and flexibility in order to
respond to the mass nature of the vote.
After
eight elections or plebiscites, this referendum has
once more established that the Bolivarian process is
profound and undoubtedly participatory, and is
establishing new and higher precedents for systems
considered democratic.
The
staunchest critics of Venezuela will have to admit
that they do not have institutions that are even
similar, and that their governments would not
survive a similar referendum.
Preliminary results from the NEC, just four hours
after closing a significant number of polling
stations, disclosed 4,991,483 votes, or 58.2% of the
8,568,000 ballots cast – a 17-point lead over the
opposition – giving a resounding “NO!” to the
question of whether the constitutional president of
Venezuela should be recalled.
Using
ambiguities and threats, the opposition rapidly
orchestrated a media show, in which it was unable to
provide a single piece of evidence to level
accusations of fraud against the National Electoral
Council or the clearly ratified president of
Venezuela. Afterwards, it mobilized paltry
demonstrations and irresponsibly convened people to
acts of civil disobedience.
They
are the same opposition groups, violent, subversive
and fascist in nature, that failed first in a
military coup and then in the oil coup, both of them
quashed by the Venezuelan people.
However, many international observers, among them
former President Carter and the secretary general of
the OAS, corroborated the results and called for
them to be observed.
The
Cuban government expresses warm solidarity greetings
to President Chávez and to the Venezuelan government
and people for this brilliant and glorious outcome,
which renews the hope that every day, the dreams of
Bolívar and Martí are continuing to become a reality
in Venezuela and in Our America.
Havana, August 16, 2004
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