VENEZUELA: AS OPPOSITION CONTINUE TO DEMAND RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ NATIONAL STRIKE REACHES 32ND DAY

Record ID: 647798

  • Title: VENEZUELA: AS OPPOSITION CONTINUE TO DEMAND RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT HUGO CHAVEZ NATIONAL STRIKE REACHES 32ND DAY
  • Date: 4th January 2003
  • Summary: (U7) CARACAS, VENEZUELA (JANUARY 02, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. SLV LINES OF CARS WAITING FOR GAS; SLV SOLDIERS IN GAS STATION; MV MAN FILLING HIS CAR WITH FUEL (4 SHOTS) 0.24 MV /SLV/ MV CARS FORMING A LINE WITH NUMBERS WRITTEN ON THEIR WINDSHIELDS (3 SHOTS) 0.41 2. SLV DESERTED ALTAMIRA PLAZA; MV WOMAN USING MOBILE TELEPHONE (4 SHOTS) 0.57 3. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PASSER-BY LUIS AGUILERA SAYING "The housewives, the university students, the universities and all the world is waiting until this President Hugo Chavez Frias goes." 1.08 4. SMV PEOPLE BUYING NEWSPAPERS; SCU NEWSPAPER HEADLINES; SLV PEOPLE WALKING THROUGH THE CENTRE OF CITY (6 SHOTS) 1.31 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) PASSER-BY MARI HERRERA SAYING "Here, there is no strike. Here, simply, there is a coup against the Venezuelan people because unfortunately, we don't want to accept the changes." 1.40 6. SLV MV ASSEMBLY OF WORKERS FOR THE PDVSA (STATE OIL COMPANY) 1.50 7. (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) FORMER WORKER FOR THE PDVSA HORACIO MEDINA SAYING "The civil national strike has a risk of focusing only on the oil, that is necessary, as Venezuelan citizens, this is a national civil strike, it should be a national civil strike and all of us, as Venezuelan citizens, have to ally ourselves with it." 2.07 8. SLV OIL WORKERS CLAPPING 2.13 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 19th January 2003 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: CARACAS, VENEZUELA
  • Country: Venezuela
  • Reuters ID: LVA1H2Z4TWHA3YQYP3J5Q882CQA3
  • Story Text: Venezuela's 32-day-old strike has not shown any signs
    of ending, as the opposition continues holding fast to its
    demand that President Hugo Chavez step down.

    After two days of rest to celebrate the New Year, foes
    of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez continued their economic
    war of attrition against him on Thursday (January 2, 2003) by
    holding fast to a month-old strike that is choking oil exports
    and government revenues.

    Although the strike has caused severe gasoline shortages
    and demanded a heavy financial sacrifice from striking private
    businessmen, opposition leaders vowed no let up in 2003 in
    their drive to force Chavez to quit and hold early elections.

    "The housewives, the university students, the
    universities and all the world is waiting until this President
    Hugo Chavez Frias goes," said Venezuelan Luis Aguilera.

    But Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup in
    April, has held firm so far against the shutdown strangling
    oil production and exports in the world's No. 5 petroleum
    exporter. He describes the strike as an attempt by traitors to
    topple him from the presidency.

    His foes accuse him of ruining the economy with left-wing
    policies hostile to private business and say he is trying to
    drag the nation toward Cuba-style communism.

    Striking members of the state oil company PDVSA remained
    defiant in a meeting on Thursday.

    "The civil national strike has a risk of focusing only on
    the oil - that is necessary, as Venezuelan citizens, this is
    a national civil strike, it should be a national civil strike
    and all of us, as Venezuelan citizens, have to ally ourselves
    with it," said former PDVSA employee Horacio Medina.

    The disruption to Venezuelan oil sales, which supply more
    than 13 percent of U.S. oil imports, pushed oil prices up two
    percent on Thursday. U.S. crude futures rose 52 cents to
    $31.72 a barrel, about $2 shy of a two-year peak hit earlier
    this week.

    The disruption to oil sales, which account for half of
    government revenues and 80 percent of the country's total
    export revenues, has badly mauled an economy already
    shuddering under the effects of a severe recession.

    The oil-reliant economy, battered by political turmoil,
    contracted sharply in 2002 and inflation ended the year at a
    five-year-high of 31.2 percent, the Central Bank said.


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