The Colombian Bolivarian Socialist Movement (MSB) will become a legal party in January 2010, chavista leader David Corredor Cuellar said Monday.
According to Corredor, the MSB has been collecting signatures since last March.
In Colombia, in order to be legally constituted, political parties must have at least 355,932 partisans, who demostrate their affiliation to the party through their signatures or votes.
At present the Chavistas have offices in Bogota, Medellin, Cali, Cartagena, Bucaramanga, Socorro, Santa Marta, Barranquilla, Sincelejo, Tunja, Riohacha, Pereira, San Gil, Dosquebradas, and Sibundoy.
Corredor, who is the chavista candidate for the 2010 presidency, denies allegations that the MSB is been funded from Venezuala. He says they are financed by donations made by Colombians.
He also says he has no relation with FARC, the Colombian guerrilla group who, like Chavez, consider Simon Bolivar one of their examples.
Corredor, a mechanical engineer, was the Norte de Santander secretary for Lucho Garzon’s (Polo Democratico) presidential campaign in 2002.