USAID/OTI Venezuela Field Report
April - June 2008
Program Description
In August 2002, USAID initiated a program in Venezuela to provide assistance to maintain democratic stability and strengthen the country’s fragile democratic institutions. The program operates out of the U.S. Embassy and is part of a larger U.S. Government effort to promote democracy in Venezuela. The current FY 2008 budget for Venezuela includes $4 million in Transition Initiatives funding.
The Venezuela program has two main objectives: (1) strengthen democratic institutions and promote space for democratic dialogue, and (2) encourage citizen participation in democratic processes. USAID works with several implementing partners drawn from the spectrum of civil society focusing on dialogue, public debate, citizen participation, and training for democratic leadership – offering technical assistance to political parties and providing technical support to human rights practitioners and the supporting civil society.
Country Situation
Political activity in Venezuela during the third quarter of FY 2008 revolved around the buildup toward municipal and state elections in the fall. President Chavez and his supporters in the National Assembly have continued to push for changes in areas from education to security, looking to advance their Socialism for the Twenty-first Century project. On the international scene, President Chavez continued pushing his ideas for Latin American integration. Highlights from the quarter include the following:
- The Colombian Government alleged that computers found during the March raid on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) encampment in Ecuador showed that Venezuelan officials offered both cash and military equipment to representatives of the FARC. The Government of Venezuela (GOV) denied the accusations, even after Interpol verified that the computers had not been tampered with since coming under the control of the Colombian Government. Tensions have remained high between the two countries, although President Chavez in June surprised observers by calling for the FARC to unilaterally release all hostages and give up its armed struggle.
- The GOV’s education reform package was met with resistance from parents, professors, and experts in the education field. Bowing to the strong resistance, the GOV chose to defer implementation, although debate is ongoing about implementation trials that are continuing in some municipalities. President Chavez’s brother, Adan, the Education Minister who led the reform effort, stepped down to become Vice President of the Venezuelan United Socialist Party (PSUV) in the State of Barinas.
- The Venezuelan Parliament passed a windfall profits tax on oil companies operating in Venezuela. The measure taxes profits at a 50 percent rate whenever the global price for oil exceeds $70 a barrel.
- President Chavez announced the creation of the General Command of the Reserves, which will be made up of seven battalions and will report directly to the President. These reserve forces will be trained in asymmetrical warfare and are ostensibly a response to the perceived threat of an invasion from the United States.
- Debate and legal maneuvering continued in the cases of more than 400 people who have been ruled ineligible to run in the upcoming state and municipal elections. The GOV maintains open corruption investigations against these potential candidates, more than three-quarters of whom are in the opposition. Some of the cases date back more than a decade without going to trial. Recent statements by the GOV suggest that more people will be added to this ineligible list in the coming months.
- Potential candidates for the opposition parties continued to jockey for spots on municipal and state election ballots during the quarter. Final decisions on candidate selection are expected in July. Since no primaries will be held, decisions will be based on polling and survey data being collected by the parties.
- A new Intelligence Law was approved by President Chavez in June through the use of the Enabling Law, which allows him to create laws by decree. The new law, which requires Venezuela’s citizens to participate in intelligence gathering, was met with stiff resistance from Venezuelan civil society and even from within the President’s party. Chavez declared the law void after 2 weeks and said it would be sent to the National Assembly for discussion and debate. He called certain provisions indefensible and said they violated the Venezuelan Constitution.
- The pro-government PSUV held internal elections to choose candidates for the upcoming mayoral and gubernatorial races. A number of nominees received the votes necessary to become PSUV candidates. In cases where there was no clear winner, final decisions were made by President Chavez and other senior party officials.
- President Chavez spoke out strongly against new European Union laws regarding illegal immigrants, threatening not only to cut off oil shipments to countries that enact the new rules but also to close Venezuela to investments from these countries.
OTI Highlights
A. Narrative Summary
During the quarter, USAID worked with project counterparts to facilitate public forums on major issues and to support nonpartisan education campaigns. Activities continue to focus on civic participation across all sectors and political parties and on good governance. The program provided support to organizations engaged in the following activities:
- Promoting the adoption of good governance principals – which are crucial to identifying citizen wants and needs – in the upcoming local elections;
- Promoting open and informative debates between candidates;
- Distributing information that will help citizens evaluate candidate platforms, promises, and competencies;
- Creating materials on local governance for distribution to community leaders and civil society; and
- Training human rights groups, some of which have been monitoring the upswing in threats to human rights defenders.
B. Grants Activity Summary
USAID, through implementing partners, has approved 470 grants totaling $12,100,750 since 2002. In this quarter, 19 grants were active.
C. Indicators of Success
The program has strived to take recent lessons learned and implement them going forward. Efforts have been made to focus debate on issues that are relevant to average Venezuelans and to work with willing partners to make government more responsive and accountable.
Reports and public activities by grantees were successful in diffusing information about areas critical to a functioning democracy, including human rights and other important social issues. Grantees took the lead in addressing issues such as education reform and the Intelligence Law and in advocating for good democratic governance principles and a stronger voice for the Venezuelan people. These activities show the success of efforts to build the capacity of civil society organizations to play a meaningful role in Venezuelan society.
Program Appraisal
The Venezuela program is like USAID programs in other countries in this hemisphere and around the world in that it seeks to strengthen democracy and its supporting institutions. The program in Venezuela is designed to strengthen civil society and political parties, the key components of a healthy democracy and the channels through which citizens often express their desires, needs, and concerns as well as find ways to collectively address them.
Threats against program counterparts continue. Several actions discussed or proposed by the government during the quarter would create a more difficult work environment for many project partners. Some of these proposals would make it a crime to voice certain opinions. Physical threats against human rights defenders have continued unabated throughout the quarter.
The program priority of reaching out to new organizations and different states is generating opportunities with emerging actors in Venezuelan civil society.
Next Steps/Immediate Priorities
The program will continue its work in the areas of civic education and citizen participation as well as its activities that support human rights defenders as they improve their ability to research, report on, and present cases of human rights abuses. Work will also continue with all political parties that wish to receive training in the areas of platform development and voter outreach.
For further information, please contact:
In Washington, D.C: Russell Porter, LAC Program Manager, 202-712-5455, rporter@usaid.gov
|
