Rice Says Chavez Weakened Democracy

By The Associated Press

April 29, 2002 | Filed at 5:24 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hugo Chavez, the populist Venezuelan president who survived a coup attempt this month, did as much to undermine democracy in that country as those who tried to oust him, National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice said Monday.

"The threat to democracy in Venezuela didn't begin with those people in the streets," Rice told a foreign-policy forum. "We have to remember that Chavez also, in shutting down the press, for instance, was doing things to harm Venezuela democracy long before that fateful outcome."

Chavez was ousted on April 12 by dissident generals. But the government headed by Pedro Carmona, the businessman who replaced Chavez, crumbled after Carmona dissolved Venezuela's Congress and other democratic institutions, and Chavez was back in power two days after the coup. U.S. officials have been criticized across Latin America for failing to condemn the plot strongly.

Just because Chavez was elected doesn't mean he exhibited democratic values, Rice said. "We cannot fall into that trap," she said.

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