FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12 August, 2004

Contact: Thatcher Collins, thatchercollins at yahoo.com

 http://www.kpfk.org

listen online here:
 http://www.kpfk.org/listenlive.html

KPFK's live Venezuela Special to be available on the Pacifica KU Satellite

On Sunday, August 15th from 4:00 - 6:00pm PST,
that is 1:00 - 3:00 am BST of the following day,
KPFK will broadcast a special program on the Venezuelan Recall Referendum with exit polls, election results, interviews with Venezuelan government officials, opposition representatives, journalists, and activists, with live simultaneous translation when necessary.

Hosts: Aura Bogado (who is also the FSRN anchor) and José Costanza
Producers: Thatcher Collins and Carlos Salazar
KPFK Reporters in Caracas: Margaret Prescod and Raymundo Reynoso
Plus two interpreters


BACKGROUND:

The left wing president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, is hated by Washington and the upper class of Venezuela. As President, Chávez has survived a coup, an oil industry lockout (strike), and several elections.
Now he faces a referendum that would recall him and begin a new presidential election if enough people vote “yes.”
Venezuela is going to use touch-screen voting machines; there will be a battle among different pre-election polls and between election-day exit polls; and already there are threats of strikes and protests on both sides—in other words, an electoral power keg.
Moreover, the US government has a long history of intervening and influencing election in Latin America, from El Salvador (where it recently worked) to Bolivia (where it recently backfired).
If Chávez survives the referendum, then the opposition is expected to subside for years, or at least until the next election.
But many people fear that problems or dissatisfaction with the results could lead to massive protests, strikes, violence, or a coup d’etat. Venezuela is also the largest oil producer in the Western Hemisphere and a member of the oil cartel OPEC, plus a major opponent to the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA).