[Cincinatus' Wife]

Venezuela Strikers Seek Military Support *** Leaders of a strike that has crippled Venezuela's economy prepared a protest aimed at enlisting support from the military as President Hugo Chavez announced an international diplomatic effort to resolve the standoff. The protest set for Friday was the latest step in an opposition campaign, centered on the five-week-old general strike, to force Chavez to call a nonbinding referendum on his rule next month. Chavez, who claims the referendum would be unconstitutional, said he would support diplomatic efforts by a "Group of Nation Friends" to help resolve the crisis, which has contributed to a rise in global oil prices. "This has to be the way out," Chavez said Thursday in Brazilia, Brazil, where attended the inauguration of Brazil's new president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. "There is no other way."

Opposition legislator Alejandro Armas said the opposition had already proposed an international effort to mediate the dispute. The idea drew support from opposition labor leader Manuel Cova, secretary general of the 1 million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation. "Whatever international initiative leading to an electoral solution is welcome," he said. Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria has mediated negotiations, but there was no progress reported in talks Thursday. In Washington, the State Department urged both sides to show "maximum flexibility." Chavez said the new group would add to the efforts of the OAS and pave the way for a dialogue between the government and opposition forces. He didn't elaborate on which nations would be asked to join but said the group would include European and Latin American countries as well as OPEC members. The idea came up during talks he held with diplomats in Caracas. "I picked up the telphone and began making phone calls", he said.

His opponents prepared for the rally Friday outside a Caracas army base in a bid to enlist the military in its effort to oust Chavez. The demonstration was intended to appeal to the military with the opposition organizing three marches to converge on Los Proceres, a plaza dedicated to South American freedom fighters that fronts the army's Fuerte Tiuna. "We call on the dignified representatives of our armed forces not to stage a coup. ... Act! Join us!" said Carlos Ortega, a general strike leader and head of Venezuela's largest labor confederation.***

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Chávez vows to beat strike; experts scoff*** Even if Chávez does obtain foreign oil workers to break the strike, they may not be able to replace Venezuelan workers. ''The wells are different. The fields are different. The production techniques are different. Venezuela . . . has very heavy crudes,'' Felmy said.

Venezuela is reeling from the strike, which began Dec. 2. The state oil company has suffered $2 billion in losses, Energy and Mining Minister Rafael Ramírez said this week, and lost oil revenue has cost the government as much as $700 million. As the strike drags on, analysts said problems would mount in attempting to resume production.

''When wells sit idle, they have sediment problems. They require two to three months to get refurbished. Sometimes you have to re-drill parts of them,'' O'Grady said. ``It's not like turning on a water faucet.'' Perhaps more serious, he said, is that long-term foreign investment in Venezuela's oil fields may diminish even if Chávez resolves the strike.***