Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez (left) and opposition candidate Pablo Medina (right).

CARACAS - Venezuelan opposition candidate Pablo Medina delivered an affidavit to the Organization of American States (OAS) on Monday warning of the possibility that Hugo Chavez may execute what is known in Latin America as a "self-coup." A self-coup is when the sitting president dissolves the current congress and usually the supreme court, suspends elections, and basically declares an emergency situation in order to avoid being voted out of office. 

In the affidavit provided to the OAS by Medina, the speculation is that the Venezuelan government may carry out a self-coup on October 7, 2012, the day before the presidential election, so that Chavez could avoid the prospect of being voted out of office. Medina referred to recent statements by Chávez's in which he said that Venezuela's Armed Forces support "Chavismo," the political term for Chavez's ersatz socialist ideology and governing plan. 

Medina's affidavit emphasized that the current regime does not intend to give up power should they lose the upcoming election, a statement that was made explicitly by Chavez's current minister of defense, Henry Ranel Silva.  Medina told reporters that he is asking for the appropriate international organizations to come out against the possibility of a self-coup before it happens. He also indicated that he will also deliver the affidavit to the Caracas office of the United Nations.