Subject: Venezuelan Opposition Refuses to Participate in Elections

In the face of electoral defeat, Venezuela's largest opposition parties have called for a boycott of legislative elections scheduled for this weekend. While President Chavez and his political supporters have enjoyed the highest approval ratings of his term-topping 70% in many recent polls-opposition candidates have struggled to come up with a platform that resonates with the Venezuelan people. In announcing the boycott, opposition parties dashed hopes that they would participate in the democratic process, and ensured that pro-Chavez candidates will sweep the National Assembly.

The pullout angered election observers from the Organization of American States, who had spent weeks overseeing negotiations between government and opposition leaders. Last Monday, the OAS released a statement that government concessions had "secured the participation" of the major political parties. Two days later, those parties turned their back on their agreement and called for a boycott.
Read more from the Chicago Tribune: http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/news/12-01-05ct.html

CONTRADICTIONS AND CHAOS
The pullout has created controversy among opposition candidates, particularly among those who had been favored to win in their region. Of the 4,000 opposition candidates nationwide, only 78 had formally withdrawn as of noon today. Many candidates for the parties that have pulled out on a national level are ignoring party leadership and remaining in races on the state and local level. Indeed, many local opposition candidates have suggested that electoral safeguards have improved since the 2004 referendum. Primero Justicia candidate Carlos Ocariz told a Reuters reporter, "We don't win anything by abstention. There are more guarantees for the vote now and that's why we are fighting."
Read more: http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/news/12-01-05reu.html

REHASHING OLD, UNDEMOCRATIC STRATEGIES
Opposition parties used a similar strategy during the 2004 presidential recall referendum in an attempt to discredit the election results. President Chavez won the referendum easily with 59% of the vote, which was certified by the OAS and the Carter Center. Nevertheless, opposition groups cried foul based on fraudulent exit polls -- a scheme that was quickly denounced by President Carter. 'There's no doubt some of their leaders deliberately distributed this erroneous exit poll data in order to build up, not only the expectation of victory, but also to influence the people still standing in line,' Carter said at the time.
Read more on past tactics: http://www.veninfo.org/news/08-18-04nyt.html

The days ahead may be difficult in Venezuela. Readers are strongly encouraged to monitor news reports of the election through the weekend and respond to biased or otherwise inaccurate reporting.

NATIONWIDE DAY OF SOLIDARITY WITH VENEZUELA: DECEMBER 2
Twenty-seven cities in North America and Australia will celebrate National Venezuelan Solidarity Day on December 2nd. Representatives from faith-based organizations, Peace groups, and Latin American solidarity organizations will put together a series of events in support of the Bolivarian process and a more balanced U.S. policy toward Venezuela.

Events will take place in Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, Boston, Miami, Seattle, Minneapolis, Tucson, Milwaukee, Sydney, Melbourne, London, Vancouver, Toronto-even Fargo, ND, among other places. To find out what is going on in your community, please visit: http://lasolidarity.org/Dec2.shtml

NEW VENEZUELA BLOG: CARACAS CONNECT
The Center for International Policy, a well-known foreign policy think tank in Washington, DC, has launched a new weblog exclusively devoted to dialogue about Venezuela and U.S. foreign policy toward Venezuela and the southern hemisphere. Check out Caracas Connect at http://caracasconnect.blogspot.com