VENEZUELA: OPPOSITION CONTINUES ITS GENERAL STRIKE AGAINST PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ AND CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS AS THE ECONOMY COLLAPSES.

Record ID: 645618

  • Title: VENEZUELA: OPPOSITION CONTINUES ITS GENERAL STRIKE AGAINST PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ AND CALLS FOR EARLY ELECTIONS AS THE ECONOMY COLLAPSES.
  • Date: 2nd December 2002
  • Summary: (W1)CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 2, 2002) (REUTERS) GV: TRAFFIC ON STREET. SLV: NATIONAL GUARD VEHICLE ON STREET. SLV: OF CLOSED BUSINESSES. SLV: OPEN BUSINESS. MV: GOVERNMENT SPONSORED "POPULAR MARKET" SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FEDECAMARA (LARGEST BUSINESS ORGANISATION IN VENEZUELA) PRESIDENT, CARLOS FERNANDEZ, SAYING "The strike continues, the strike should be complied with by the majority of Venezuelans in a peaceful way and people should stay in their homes to avoid the actions of confrontation and violence prepared by the national government that could cause uncomfortable situations." SCU: MEDIA CAMERAMAN. SCU: (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PRESIDENT OF CONFEDERATION OF WORKERS OF VENEZUELA (CTV), CARLOS ORTEGA, SAYING "The people in a sovereign exercise are continuing continue the national civil strike affirming the democratic route to remove the obstacles that the Chavez regimen has imposed." SCU: MEDIA CAMERAMAN.
  • Embargoed: 17th December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA8JANLWP5WB0IR8ZRK9737CGB8
  • Story Text: Venezuela's opposition has extended into a second day a nationwide strike against leftist President Hugo Chavez in their latest challenge to pressure him to hold early elections in the world's No. 5 oil exporter.
    But the government has dismissed the economic shutdown as a failure with the nation's major industries -- the vital oil sector and state steel, aluminium and mining operations -- mostly unaffected by the walkout.
    The general strike threatens to inflame tensions between supporters of Chavez, a former paratrooper elected in 1998, and his opponents, who demand he agree to a referendum in February and early elections. His current termin 2007.
    "The people are continuing with this national civic strike," Carlos Ortega, an anti-Chavez union boss, told reporters on Monday (December 2). Ortega said the opposition would evaluate again on Tuesday (December 3) whether to further prolong the shutdown.
    In a show of support for the strike which resounded in many parts of the capital Caracas, anti-government protesters blew whistles, sounded car horns and beat pots and pans.
    Government officials and opposition leaders gave sharply conflicting accounts of Monday's stoppage, the fourth strike against the populist president in a year. The opposition has threatened to keep up the protest to press Chavez to quit.
    In Caracas, streets were free of the usual heavy traffic in the opposition's eastern stronghold, where many businesses closed their doors. But the centre and west of city were bustling with street sellers and open restaurants, though many businesses kept their metal shutters down.
    "What is the motive to prolong a strike that was a failure on its first day?" Vice President Jose Vincente Rangel told a news conference.
    Chavez has repeatedly dismissed opposition calls to step down or accept the referendum. He has brushed off critics of his left-wing reforms who blame him for driving Venezuela toward recession and social upheaval.
    Protests and often violent street clashes between the president's supporters and opponents have plunged the Andean nation into turmoil since April when rebel military officers briefly ousted Chavez in a chaotic coup.
    The latest strike and recent demonstrations at the state-oil firm, PDVSA, have raised fears of a repeat of protests by oil executives earlier this year which disrupted crude oil exports and led to the April 11-14 coup.
    The government said oil production and exports were operating at 100 percent, although it acknowledged that some PDVSA office staff in Caracas had stayed away from work. The opposition said absenteeism in the oil sector was high.
    Shipping sources reported some local tankers faced loading delays because they lacked orders from managers.
    Threats of fresh violence have also stirred international concern and threatened peace talks brokered by the Organization of American States to seek an electoral solution to the nation's crisis. The U.S. State Department on Monday urged calm and a return to dialogue.
    The peace talks were not held Monday because the government said it would not participate while the strike lasted.
    Chavez, who himself led a botched coup six years before his election, urged Venezuelans to ignore the strike. He says his self-styled revolution has brought hope to the poor, long abandoned by the political and economic elites.
    The government countered Monday's shutdown by organizing a huge street market in central Caracas, selling cheap food and services. Thousands of residents flocked around the stalls.
    In the east of the city, angry protesters beating pots and pans forced owners of some businesses to shut up shop. Many small business owners fretted that the strike would hurt sales in the busy Christmas period as they struggle with recession.
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