‘Pioneers,’ ‘Rangers,’ Indians!

Whatever gains Chávez has made, however, are now threatened by his harassment of Súmate, the NED’s small-time grant recipient. Ever since Bigwood and Golinger passed on their documents, Súmate has been the target of an investigation that only highlights Chávez’s authoritarian streak. The intimidation became so great that Súmate even canceled the final portion of its grant, at a cost of more than $20,000. One of Súmate’s leaders, Maria Corina Machado, claims that a government prosecutor has tapped her phones, reads her e-mail, and reviews her personal bank statements. She and several others involved with Súmate are on the verge of being charged with crimes that could result in jail terms of up to 16 years.

Their real offense is having participated in events that led to last August’s recall referendum. In February 2003, Venezuelan opposition groups collected more than 3 million signatures in an attempt to initiate the election. Six months later, however, an election board controlled by Chavistas ruled them illegal. Another effort began in the fall, and this time the groups gathered even more signatures. But once again, the government refused to validate them. Súmate’s role in all this was simply to monitor the signature gathering. It did not formally take sides in the contest, though its leaders were widely known to harbor anti-Chávez sympathies.

About the Author

Jay Nordlinger

Jay Nordlinger was a senior editor of National Review and a book fellow at National Review Institute.

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Whatever gains Chávez has made, however, are now threatened by his harassment of Súmate, the NED’s small-time grant recipient. Ever since Bigwood and Golinger passed on their documents, Súmate has been the target of an investigation that only highlights Chávez’s authoritarian streak. The intimidation became so great that Súmate even canceled the final portion of its grant, at a cost of more than $20,000. One of Súmate’s leaders, Maria Corina Machado, claims that a government prosecutor has tapped her phones, reads her e-mail, and reviews her personal bank statements. She and several others involved with Súmate are on the verge of being charged with crimes that could result in jail terms of up to 16 years.

Their real offense is having participated in events that led to last August’s recall referendum. In February 2003, Venezuelan opposition groups collected more than 3 million signatures in an attempt to initiate the election. Six months later, however, an election board controlled by Chavistas ruled them illegal. Another effort began in the fall, and this time the groups gathered even more signatures. But once again, the government refused to validate them. Súmate’s role in all this was simply to monitor the signature gathering. It did not formally take sides in the contest, though its leaders were widely known to harbor anti-Chávez sympathies.