Coordinadora Democrática (Venezuela)

The Coordinadora Democrática (Democratic Coordinator, CD) was an umbrella group of Venezuelan political parties and organisations opposed to President Hugo Chavez. Founded on 5 July 2002,^[1] it was involved in organising the Venezuelan general strike of 2002-2003 and the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004. The group included a wide range of political parties and other actors, including the business federation Fedecámaras and the trade union federation Confederación de Trabajadores de Venezuela (CTV).^[2]

The CD was created in large part to enable the opposition to participate in the Organization of American States (OAS) "mesa" dialogue process (Mesa de Negociacion y Acuerdos) which followed the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt.^[3] However, the CD continued to pursue non-electoral means to overthrow the government. "The opposition participated in the OAS-facilitated dialogue process as but one of several tracks in a multitrack strategy to oust the Chavez government. ... As long as the elements grouped together under the Coordinadora Democratica continued their pursuit of street tactics, the mesa advanced little on its three-point agenda. Instead, it served during this period of heightened mobilization as a valuable communication link between two polarized sides that were otherwise not communicating."^[1]

After the February 2003 collapse of the Venezuelan general strike of 2002-2003, the CD was much more willing to discuss the mesa's proposals, and pushed for a binding recall referendum under Article 72 of the Constitution of Venezuela, which was ultimately agreed on 23 May 2003.^[1][4] Ultimately the CD rejected the outcome of the Venezuelan recall referendum, 2004, which saw 59% of the vote for Chavez, despite the OAS and Carter Center's authentication of the result.^[1]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d} Andrew F. Cooper, and Thomas Legler (2005), "A Tale of Two Mesas: The OAS Defense of Democracy in Peru and Venezuela," Global Governance 11(4)
2. ^ Margarita López Maya. Venezuela 2001-2004: actores y estrategias. CDC. [online]. ago. 2004, vol.21, no.56 [citado 04 Agosto 2010], p.109-132. Disponible en la World Wide Web: <http://www.scielo.org.ve/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1012-25082004000200006&lng=es&nrm=iso>. ISSN 1012-2508.
3. ^ "the creation of the Coordinadora Democratica, on 5 July 2002, from a very fractious, heterogeneous opposition, was prompted in large part by the perceived need to have a single voice when dealing with the Carter Center and the OAS." (Cooper and Legler 2005)
4. ^ OAS, Agreement Between the Representatives of the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and the Political and Social Groups Supporting It, and the Coordinadora Democratica and the Political and Civil Society Organizations Supporting It, Caracas, 23 May 2003.