VenezuelaFOIA.info (by the Venezuela Solidarity Committee/
National
Venezuela Solidarity Network): Venezuela Solidarity Committee writes:

"Chávez Says U.S. Is Fueling His Enemies"

Juan Forero, The New York Times, March 11, 2004

CARACAS, Venezuela, March 10 -- Under United States pressure to allow
a recall referendum against his rule, President Hugo Chávez has in
recent days counterattacked, charging that the Bush administration is
trying to oust him by aiding his adversaries, including those who
briefly overthrew him in a 2002 coup.

Mr. Chávez has seized on the information in reams of United States
government documents, made public by a pro-Chávez group in New York
that show Washington is trying to strengthen political parties and
other antigovernment groups that want to remove the populist
firebrand through a recall.Aid to opposition groups by the National Endowment for Democracy, a
nonprofit agency financed by the United States Congress, is not new.
Nor is the $1 million spent here last year excessively high for an
organization that spends $40 million a year to finance hundreds of
organizations in 81 countries.

But the unearthing of 2,000 pages of documents has provided details
of how the Bush administration considers the rehabilitation of
Venezuela's battered political parties the best way to counter a
leader Washington views as erratic and authoritarian.

"The future of Venezuelan democracy depends on the rebuilding of
healthy and responsive political parties that can effectively channel
citizen demands," says one memo.

Mr. Chávez has lashed out in three recent speeches, telling
Washington to "get its hands off Venezuela" and charging that the
Bush administration is "financing this mad opposition." He has even
gone so far as to threaten to cut off oil exports if Washington gets
the "idea of trying to blockade Venezuela, or, even worse, of
invading Venezuela." . . .

For the United States, which is dependent on Venezuelan oil supplies
and has close economic ties to the country, the possibility that the
referendum could be scrapped would be a serious blow to a carefully
calibrated policy aimed at building feasible political alternatives
to Mr. Chávez.

The endowment documents say that "strengthening political parties
remains a critical part of any long-term solution" and that the
"battered political party system is the only institution capable of
restoring democracy by generating solidly democratic leaders and
generating sound policies."

Endowment aid had fallen to $257,000 in 2000, as political parties
and other beneficiaries in Venezuela were left crippled after Mr.
Chávez's sweeping victories in elections. Assistance more than
tripled to $877,000 in 2001 as political parties reorganized to
counter the president. In 2002, aid rose again, to $1.1 million. . . .

The documents, obtained by a freelance reporter, Jeremy Bigwood, and
posted on the Web site of the Venezuela Solidarity Committee, show
that much of the aid benefits political parties and groups leading
the recall effort. Those benefiting from assistance include Sumate, a
group that has staged signature gatherings for a referendum. It
received $53,400 last September.

Financing does not go directly to political parties. The endowment
channeled nearly $350,000 to the international wings of the
Republican and Democratic parties, the International Republican
Institute, the National Democratic Institute for International
Affairs, and the foreign policy arm of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., the
American Center for International Labor Solidarity. Those
organizations ran workshops and training sessions and offered advice
to three political parties -- Democratic Action, Copei and First
Justice -- as well as the Venezuelan Workers Confederation.

The leaders of all these organizations have been at the forefront of
the anti-Chávez movement.

Mr. Chávez has been suspicious of the endowment's intentions since it
was revealed soon after the coup that opposition groups had been
receiving funding.

Though the State Department put $1 million in endowment aid on hold
in the aftermath, an internal investigation found the groups carried
out programs "adhering to U.S. laws and policies," and assistance
resumed.

"The government believes it is unacceptable for the United States to
be involved in the affairs of Venezuela," said Andres Izarra, a
spokesman for the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington.

The Venezuelan parties and the workers confederation that are
beneficiaries of aid are important components of the Democratic
Coordinator, an anti-Chávez umbrella organization led by politicians,
labor leaders, former managers at the state oil company and media
executives.

Some groups that receive aid, like the Center for International
Private Enterprise, which has ties to the United States Chamber of
Commerce, do not hide their loathing of Mr. Chávez.

The enterprise, in explaining its role here, says the "current
political crisis in Venezuela has been brought about by the
deplorable performance of the Chávez government, which has
demonstrated both militaristic and Marxist tendencies." The center
received $203,000 last year.

Mr. Sabatini explained that the endowment has helped organizations
that are not outwardly political like international private
enterprise group, which is monitoring public spending, a journalists'
group and conflict resolution organizations. When they conduct
programs, it is not an opposition question, Mr. Sabatini said.

Assistance is open to groups allied with Mr. Chávez, he said, and
even the governing party received technical assistance from the
Republican and Democratic institutes. Independent groups like the
N.E.D. have an obligation to support and give a lending hand, Mr.
Sabatini said.