Waving copies of voter signatures, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets Saturday to protest delays in the verification of petitions for a recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez. The protesters banged on drums, blew whistles and played anti-Chavez jingles on loudspeakers as they marched along several routes to a rallying point on a Caracas highway. Some held up signs with their signatures asking for a vote on Chavez in huge letters. Several dozen Chavez sympathizers drove past in trucks, yelling, "Traitors!" at the protesters. The "Chavistas" held rallies of their own, blasting fireworks and chanting in defense of their president. Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno estimated that 400,000 people were taking part in the opposition marches. Venezuelans are bitterly torn between those who accuse Chavez of trying to impose an authoritarian regime and those who say he has given the poor a voice in politics and greater access to health and education.
| ... and Hugo isn't going to let that referendumb take place if he can get away with it. |
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