Writers, politicians and filmmakers from more than a dozen countries have offered their support to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who faces a referendum this month on his future. The group have signed a manifesto saying that if they were Venezuelan they would vote for Chavez in what will be a volatile contest.
The manifesto is being launched as opponents of Chavez claim he has ”kidnapped” the electoral council responsible for overseeing the vote.
Signatories include the Argentinian Nobel Peace Prize-winner Adolfo Perez, the Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano, musician Chico Buarque and architect Niemeyer, both from Brazil, and British filmmakers Ken Loach, Alex Cox and Mike Hodges, writers Harold Pinter and Eric Hobsbawm and politicians Tony Benn and Ken Livingstone.
In their manifesto, aimed at garnering international support for Chavez, the signatories say they ”wish to express our solidarity with the struggle that, alongside President Hugo Chavez, the majority of the Venezuelan people are waging in defence of their right to freely determine their future. ”At the same time, we wish to denounce the disinformation campaign that is being orchestrated by the major media and that attempts to characterise as a tyrant, a president who has consistently respected the rule of law and the country’s Constitution.”
The left-wing former army officer was elected with a landslide victory in 1998. He has since faced many attempts to unseat him, from a short-lived military coup in 2002 to a lengthy national strike. Opposition leaders have accused him of behaving in an autocratic way, of seriously damaging the economy and of wanting to turn the country into another Cuba.
His supporters claim the United States has been undermining his government because of his anti-Iraq war stance and fears of disruption to oil supplies from the world’s fifth-largest exporter.
The referendum, which is taking place after more than two million people signed a petition to submit the president to a recall vote, is still due on August 15 despite problems with voter registration.
Each side has accused the other of irregularities and attempting to manipulate the process, which will be attended by international observers in the form of a mission set up by the Organisation of American States and former US president Jimmy Carter. — Â