VENEZUELA: FOUR DAY STRIKE BY FOES OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ BITES DEEP INTO VITAL OIL INDUSTRY

Record ID: 645687

  • Title: VENEZUELA: FOUR DAY STRIKE BY FOES OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ BITES DEEP INTO VITAL OIL INDUSTRY
  • Date: 7th December 2002
  • Summary: (W1) CARACAS, VENEZUELA (DECEMBER 05, 2002) (REUTERS) HAS ANTI-CHAVEZ PROTESTERS GATHERED ON STREET SLV CHAVEZ SUPPORTERS GATHERED ON STREET; SECURITY GUARDING CHAVEZ PROTESTERS (7 SHOTS)
  • Embargoed: 22nd December 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CARACAS AND MARACAIBO, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Topics: General,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA5NAG63MD7YD4T0ADYHQMUMQK9
  • Story Text: A four-day-old strike by foes of leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has bitten deeply into the country's vital oil industry, dealing a direct blow to the already faltering economy of the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.
    The national protest stoppage, which organizers said would go on for a fifth day on Friday (December 6), brought the country's biggest refinery to a virtual halt and disrupted oil shipments. The United States is the biggest single buyer of Venezuelan oil.
    Chavez said the strikers were threatening "the heart of the country" by targeting the strategic oil sector and condemned oil tanker stoppages as "piracy," ordering the armed forces to take over state vessels whose crews refused to operate.
    Militant government supporters gathered at the Caracas headquarters of state oil giant PDVSA and National Guard troops backed by armoured vehicles surrounded the building.
    For the fourth consecutive night, opposition protesters in Caracas beat pots and pans, honked horns and set off fireworks in noisy demonstrations in support of the strike. They had earlier marched through the east of the city.
    As the strike escalated, the price of Brent international benchmark crude oil jumped 62 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $25.80 per barrel in London while U.S. prices rose a similar amount.
    Several of Venezuela's oil ports shut down operations. The nation's biggest oil refinery, the 940,000 barrels per day Paraguana complex, was "virtually paralysed" after shutting down most of its units, a refinery spokesman said.
    The strike, launched on Monday (December 02) to pressure Chavez into holding early elections, had shown signs of flagging but it gained strength again on Thursday as oil workers, from office executives to oil tanker captains, increasingly joined in.
    But in an acknowledgement the strike was hurting, a vice-president of the state oil firm PDVSA, Jorge Kamkoff, told Reuters the firm would send out "force majeure" notices to some clients Friday. "Force majeure" is a term describing unforeseen circumstances that prevent the fulfilment of contracts.
    Kamkoff added PDVSA was likely to cut back some production in the next two days.
    Venezuela's economy had already contracted 5.5 percent in the third quarter of the year after shrinking 7.1 percent in the first half, dragged down by a slide in the oil sector.
    Inflation and unemployment have also been rising.
    Naval and coast guard vessels monitored the halted tankers but, despite Chavez's threat, did not try to board, witnesses said. Dozens of smaller ships supporting the strike surrounded one tanker, the Pilin Leon, apparently to give it protection.
    Striking tanker captains echoed opposition claims Chavez was leading Venezuela to chaos and Cuba-style communism.
    The disruption piled pressure on former paratrooper Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a brief military coup in April. He is resisting opposition calls to either quit or accept an early referendum on his rule in February.
    A determined Chavez said his government would not let oil strikers halt the industry and said they should be removed.
    The president accused his political foes of trying to stage a repeat of the coup in which he was briefly toppled by rebel military officers following a general strike that badly hit oil operations. Loyal troops and supporters restored him.
    Some gas stations say they are running out of supplies.
    Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria is trying to persuade both sides to resume peace talks started over three weeks ago, but the government has refused to return to the negotiating table while the strike continues.
    The opposition demands the government accept Feb. 2nd for a referendum on whether Chavez should resign, a date set by electoral authorities. Chavez says the constitution only allows for a binding referendum in August, halfway through his term.
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