VENEZUELA: Pro Chaves forces propose to present their own candidates

Roberto Jorquera, Caracas

A coalition of pro-Chavez forces including the Venezuelan Communist Party, Socialist League and community organisations held a press conference on March 29 to explain that they are prepared to unite and present their own candidates outside the ruling Movement For A Fifth Republic (MVR) party if they are not "taken into account sufficiently".

The social organisations that where present form part of Space for Encounter, which was set up eight months ago. They include Middle Class in Positive, the Caracas Popular Network, the National Organisation of Social Organisations, the Women's Studies Centre, CONIVE (the National Indigenous Council of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela), the Venezuelan Revolutionary Current, the Simon Bolivar Network, the United Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, the Socialist League, the Venezuelan Communist Party, the Multiethnic Popular Unity of the Amazon, the Peoples Base-Zulia, Independent Rescue with Alternative Ideals and Bolivarian Response.

El Universal reported that the General Secretary of Revolutionary Current Ramses Reyes had outlined a scenario that include three possible outcomes. Reyes said that the three possibilities where, "go to the elections in a national alliance with the parties MVR (Movement of the Fifth Republic), PODEMOS (We Can) and PPT, the second scenario would be go to the regions with partial alliances (depending on the region) or [the third would be] participate by the middle road of the popular movement".

Reyes argued that the third option is most likely due to a lack of time to participate in the August discussion of alliances.

From Green Left Weekly, April 6, 2005.

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From GLW issue 621