Chavez throws down gauntlet to Venezuela opposition

CARACAS (Reuters) - President Hugo Chavez said on Tuesday Venezuela's newly empowered opposition would not be able to block his socialist legislative program and challenged them to go to the voters immediately if they wanted to unseat him.

Having boycotted parliamentary elections in 2005, opposition parties in the recently-united Democratic Unity bloc won 65 seats or more than a third of the National Assembly in the South American nation's weekend election.

Given they also obtained half the popular vote, Democratic Unity hailed the result as a triumph and set their sights on defeating Chavez at the 2012 presidential election.

But the 56-year-old Chavez -- who has been in power since 1999 and remains Venezuela's most popular politician -- ridiculed their celebrations and threw down a gauntlet.

"I challenge them. As they say they are the majority ... call a referendum. Why wait another two years to get rid of Chavez?" he said at a news conference late on Tuesday.

"Come for me! Here I am ... If not, see you in 2010."

Venezuela's constitution would allow a so-called "recall referendum" on the president if the opposition obtained about 3.5 million signatures requesting it. But Chavez comfortably won one in 2004, and the opposition is wary of trying again.

Rather, they are focussed on exploiting their new profile in parliament and increased acceptance among Venezuela's nearly 29 million people to mount a serious challenge in two years.

For that, they need to maintain unity among the more than 30 parties and groups in Democratic Unity and present a program that goes beyond just opposition to Chavez.

"The opposition still lacks real cohesion, a credible message and attractive candidates, so voters were really voting for, or against Chavez," said Daniel Kerner, an analyst with Eurasia Group, of Sunday's legislative vote.

"Chavez remains powerful and, most importantly, his continuity was not at stake here. Any view that Chavez will lose those (2012) elections will be premature."

"INFINITELY DEMOCRATIC"

Nevertheless, there can be doubt Sunday's vote was something of a watershed for an opposition movement used to in-fighting and being outwitted by Chavez.

To try and keep momentum, the opposition is loudly protesting that their representation in parliament, 40 percent of seats, is below their roughly 50 percent of votes.

"We must condemn a political system that is so rigged," said one leader Leopoldo Lopez. "This exposes how much damage the ruling party has done to our democratic systems."

With the opposition licking its lips at the possibility of blocking laws and airing anti-Chavez views from the new high-profile platform of parliamentary debates, the president insisted his legislative program would not be derailed.

"Ninety-nine percent of laws are passed by simple majority and we won the simple majority ... They won't be able to win a majority unless they raise both hands," he said laughing.

In reality, the ruling Socialist Party's 98 seats in parliament mean they fell well shy of the two thirds needed, experts say, to pass some major legislation like shakeups of education and health or big nationalizations.

But Chavez does have until January before the new lawmakers take office, so the Assembly is a rubber-stamp until then. He wants further reforms to grassroots political structures and may seek more nationalizations in the bank and food sectors.

The Socialists are one vote short of the 99 seats, or three fifths needed, to give Chavez decree powers that would enable him to bypass parliament, so there will be plenty of political speculation over whether they could lure one legislator over.

In a four-hour news conference at Miraflores presidential palace, Chavez himself was exuding confidence, promising to "speed up" his programs without being specific on which.

The baseball-mad former soldier rose from poor rural roots and first tried to take power in a 1992 coup before winning at a vote in 1998. Since then, he has become a leading U.S. critic and one of the world's most recognizable politicians.

Chavez has an authoritarian style and is tough with critics -- but bristles at accusations of being a dictator.

"How long are they going to keep saying we're on the track to dictatorship here? Some even say we're already in a dictatorship. If you have eyes, look. If you have ears, listen. This is an infinitely democratic project."

(Additional reporting by Eyanir Chinea; Editing by Anthony Boadle)