Posted on 04/21/2002 4:34:47 AM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Emerging from hiding after last weekend's failed coup, the leader of Venezuela's largest union confederation on Saturday called on President Hugo Chavez to disarm his supporters and include the opposition in his Cabinet.
"If we Venezuelans can't reach some kind of agreement, we are headed, unfortunately, painfully and irreversibly, toward a civil war," said Carlos Ortega, president of the million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation, which sponsored the April 11 march that led to Chavez's brief overthrow.
Despite hiding last week to avoid what he described as threats from people linked to Chavez's government, Ortega told a news conference he had a "frank, sincere" meeting Thursday with Chavez's defense minister, who invited Ortega to join talks on reconciliation.
The government has said it is not seeking to arrest Ortega, who urged Chavez to grant amnesty to those involved in the overthrow.
Ortega said Chavez should disarm the militant support groups known as "Bolivarian Circles." The president's critics say those are potential paramilitary groups and some of their members were filmed shooting at demonstrators on April 11.
"These armed groups are the big question," Ortega said, "because with them present, there is no guarantee of safety for any of us."
Ortega won one of the few political victories over the president by defeating Chavez-backed rivals in a union vote last year. Chavez then refused to recognize the union leaders, who were also upset by several laws he enacted by decree.
Ortega on Saturday welcomed Chavez's appointment of Ali Rodriguez, secretary-general of OPEC (news - web sites), as the new head of Venezuela's state oil monopoly. "He has been capable of good work ... we have had a relationship with him in the past," Ortega said.
He demanded that the company's yet-to-be-named board of directors be "broad" and include civic leaders. Chavez sparked a crisis in the company, known as PDVSA, by attempting to pack the previous board with supporters and political appointees.
Ortega confirmed that during a recent labor trip to the United States, the subject of dissatisfaction with Chavez came up, but he said U.S. officials said they would not back a coup.
"The State Department said they wouldn't support any kind of coup, and that any change that occurred in the country had to come from a democratic viewpoint," Ortega said.
He pledged to lead his unions in a traditional May 1 march, but said it would not become the kind of political demonstration held on April 11.
"We're not neighborhood bullies, nor do we take to the streets to provoke anybody. What we want is to give the message of the Venezuelan workers, the worries they have, and that will be our banner."
Unions joined with big business to challenge Chavez with a general strike early this month, but Ortega said the unions were not involved in the one-day government of businessman Pedro Carmona imposed by the overthrow. Carmona hastened his downfall with a decree suspending Congress, the courts and the constitution, alienating most of his supporters.
"I think Carmona lacked political skill," Ortega said. "But Chavez has to understand that the country doesn't belong exclusively to him, or his group."
October 3, 2001- Chávez's choice likely to lose union-post vote--[Excerpt] It's a vote long advocated by Chávez as a facet of his ``peaceful revolution'' to do away with corruption in the country's institutions and install social justice. But despite the president's triumph in last December's referendum -- which asked Venezuelans whether they wanted elections in the CTV -- the final result is not expected to go as Chávez envisioned. If the president's handpicked candidate, former Caracas Mayor Aristóbulo Istúriz, loses, as analysts predict, it will mark Chávez's first defeat at the polls in the eight elections held in Venezuela since November 1998. ``This is a turning point for Chávez,'' says political scientist and author Anibal Romero. ``The defeat is going to be symbolic, marking a descent in the Chávez myth.''[End Excerpt]
November 2001 Labor Chief: We Won't Destabilize-- By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, AP -[Full Text] CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - The newly elected president of Venezuela's largest labor union said Monday that his organization won't become a vehicle for the fractured opposition to destabilize President Hugo Chavez's government. Carlos Ortega was sworn in Monday as president of the 1 million-member Confederation of Venezuelan Workers after defeating government-backed Aristobulo Isturiz.
The union is the only bastion of political dissent in Venezuela, where Chavez's allies have gained control of Congress, the Supreme Court and most state governments in democratic elections. Chavez considers the shake-up the start of a revolution to rebuild Venezuela after decades of corrupt governments. ``The president can relax. It will not be the CTV that fills the void of opposition to the government,'' Carlos Ortega told a news conference. ``We will not be an appendix of any party. We will act in defense of workers and their families.''
But Ortega also threatened to call for ``civil disobedience'' if the Supreme Court annuls the vote in a case introduced by Isturiz. Isturiz argues the elections should be held again because of stolen election materials, numerous fraud allegations and violent scuffles between pro-government and opposition factions. The elections were drawn out over three weeks because of the disorder.
Ortega, an ardent government critic who led a successful four-day oil strike for higher pay last year, won with 57 percent of the votes. Isturiz obtained 16 percent of the votes, and another opposition candidate, Alfredo Ramos, won 11 percent. Two other candidates won less than 10 percent each.
Ortega's victory is a political defeat for Chavez, who had hoped to oust the opposition from a union whose former leaders were accused of representing two unpopular political parties rather than workers' interest. Some analysts have predicted increased labor unrest under Ortega, as the government struggles with billions of dollars of unpaid state wages and pensions - a debt inherited from past administrations. [End]
December 4, 2001 - Venezuelan Union Joins Business to Challenge Chavez [Excerpt] But the tough-talking president, who has so far rejected business and labor calls to revoke disputed economic reforms, called on his supporters to take to the streets Dec. 10 "to show the world that nothing and nobody stops Venezuela". [supporters are Chavez's armed thugs called Chavistas]
In a warning to travelers, the State Department said the strike in Venezuela and its aftermath could affect medical services, transport and "public order and general safety". The anti-Chavez leadership of the Venezuela Workers' Confederation (CTV) said Tuesday it would consider calling an all-out general strike in the oil-rich nation if the president did not heed calls to modify contentious economic laws.
"We have decided to call a 12-hour strike for next Dec. 10," CTV president Carlos Ortega told a news conference. …Snip… Despite Chavez' public bravado, the planned strike by businesses and workers will be the biggest show of public opposition to the maverick president in three years of rule. It will also be an embarrassment for the Venezuelan leader on the eve of a Dec. 11 and 12 summit of Caribbean region leaders he is to host on the Venezuelan island of Margarita. [End Excerpt]
February 21, 2002 -Venezuela Union Boss Announces Anti-Chavez Protests - Venezuela Union Boss Announces Anti-Chavez Protests--[Excerpt] CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's most powerful union boss on Wednesday announced labor protests to spearhead a determined campaign against President Hugo Chavez, but a senior minister dismissed the idea of a violent change of government. Piling up pressure on the embattled leftist president as he grappled with a sliding currency and dissent in the military, veteran workers' leader Carlos Ortega said the anti-Chavez protests could include a possible future general strike.
"We have a totally explosive situation ... either the president changes or we change him," Carlos Ortega, whose leadership of Venezuela's Workers' Confederation (CTV) is not recognized by the president, told local television. [End Excerpt]
March 3, 2002 -- Venezuela's strongman faces widespread calls to step down***Chávez's supporters consist of an inchoate mass of street traders, the unemployed, and those whom the old system had marginalized. This, to Chávez, is el pueblo - the people. "But we are 'the people' too," protests teacher Luis Leonet. "We're not oligarchs like he says. The oligarchs are people like Chávez, people with power." On Wednesday, Leonet joined a march led by the main labor confederation, the CTV, to protest what unions say is a series of antilabor measures, including one of the 49 decrees dealing with public-sector workers. Chávez won't talk to the CTV, whose leaders, he says, are corrupt and illegitimate. So he refuses to negotiate the annual renewal of collective contracts with the confederation, holding up deals on pay and conditions for hundreds of thousands of union members like Leonet.
Across town on Wednesday, a progovernment march sought to demonstrate that the president's popularity was as high as ever. "For the popular classes, Chávez is an idol," says marcher Pedro Gutierrez. Pollster Luis Vicente Leon, of the Datanalisis organization, warns that marches are no measure of relative popularity. "There is a lot of discontent among ... the really poor," Leon says, adding that so far the protests are mainly among the middle class. But the middle class can be a dangerous enemy. It includes the bulk of the armed forces, and the management of the state oil company, PDVSA. This month, four uniformed officers, ranging from a National Guard captain to a rear-admiral and an Air Force general, called on the president to resign, while repudiating the idea of a military coup of Chávez, himself a former Army lieutenant-colonel.
March 7, 2002 Venezuelan Blueprint for Democratic Govt in a Post-Chavez Era. Chavez Says Opposition Pact Will Fail [Excerpt] Chavez, who is battling mounting political opposition to his 3-year-old rule in the world's No 4. oil exporter, dismissed a pact against him announced Tuesday by the country's leading private sector and trades union groups. In the rare alliance, which stiffened the opposition challenge to the populist president, Venezuela's Workers' Confederation and the Fedecamaras business association presented a blueprint for democratic government in a post-Chavez era.
………….. In their "democratic accord" Tuesday, CTV and Fedecamaras set out 10 strategic goals for a post-Chavez government, such as fighting poverty, maintaining national unity and civilian democratic rule, and seeking economic efficiency. The country's influential Catholic Church backed the pact. Fedecamaras President Pedro Carmona and labor leader Carlos Ortega made clear they were planning for Chavez' "democratic and constitutional departure", without specifying how. [End Excerpt]
March 13, 2001 - Venezuelan state oil giant PDVSA continues slowdown against government-appointed directors ***With no end in sight to the dispute, the standoff is the worst crisis PDVSA has faced since it was created in 1975, when Venezuela nationalized its oil industry. The oil giant employs 40,000 people. Fedepetrol, the largest oil union, said Wednesday it would back a general strike if convoked by managers. Executives have expressed reluctance to shut down an industry that provides 80 percent of Venezuela's export revenue and is the third-largest provider of crude oil to the United States.***
March 17, 2002 - Venezuela's Chavez says he'll declare emergency and militarize company if oil workers strike***-CARACAS, Venezuela - President Hugo Chavez is ready to declare a state of emergency if oil-workers at the nation's state-owned oil monopoly try to paralyze production. Chavez accused opposition labor and political leaders of sowing discontent at Petroleos de Venezuela SA and said he had a contingency plan ready should workers and management go on strike. He didn't elaborate on the plan. "If they shut down the company, we'll militarize it. I am not going to allow Petroleos de Venezuela to be shut down," Chavez said.***
March 21, 2002 -Chavez Followers, Foes Fight on Venezuelan Streets ***CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Supporters and opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez clashed on Wednesday, fighting running street battles in a western city and skirmishing with fists, sticks and stones outside the presidential palace in Caracas. Several people were hurt in the disturbances, which reflect growing political tensions in the world's fourth largest oil exporter, where left-wing populist Chavez is facing growing opposition to his three-year-old rule. Fierce fighting broke out in Barquisimeto, 218 miles (351 km) west of Caracas, when followers of the outspoken president confronted members of Venezuela's Workers Confederation, or CTV, the country's largest trade union, which has spearheaded labor opposition to Chavez.***
April 6, 2002- Venezuela Oil Workers' Dispute Could Threaten Supplies for U.S.****Describing the conflict as "very worrisome," John H. Lichtblau, chairman of the Petroleum Industry Research Foundation in New York, said: "Venezuela has been a top foreign source for the United States for a long time. Potentially, this is a bigger threat for the U.S. market than disruptions in the Middle East, which are hypothetical. This isn't hypothetical." A clash on Thursday between government supporters and opposition party members at a drilling site in Monagas State killed two oil workers and injured three, the police said today.****
April 12, 2002 - Massive march- Chavez snipers fire down into crowd-senior military ask Chavez to resign.
Sounds like the US election and the Florida "ballot problems."
Same people, different names.
Always grateful when someone clues us in to events of import to America that we've not (most of us at least) been clued into in advance. This certainly is one of those events.
"If we Venezuelans can't reach some kind of agreement, we are headed, unfortunately, painfully and irreversibly, toward a civil war," said Carlos Ortega, president of the million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation, which sponsored the April 11 march that led to Chavez's brief overthrow.
Replace Venezuela with United States.
Replace the Venezuela politicians name with a liberal sociaist US politician,
and you'll see what the gun grabbers in this country are up to.
Here is a little aside commentary: Yesterday, one of the local papers (La Panamá América) printed a draft copy of Chavez’s resignation letter. The letter was dated 13 April. I must say, with some effort, he did print it within the boarders of the paper, except for that droodle on top of the page which spills off the edge. (His printing style is quite juvenile – someone who needs to practice more their print letters.) There were some phrases lined out and rewritten. Maybe somebody was helping him with the wording. Anyway, if he drafted a resignation letter, this would appear that the attempted coup was for real and not a plan on Chavez’s part to weed out his enemies.
Venezuelan ranchers on the border with Colombia are being kidnapped by FARC rebels. When they banded together, Chavez denied them gun rights and said he would move against any militia groups. Then Chavez armed his thugs, called Chavistas and proceeded to incite class warfare. He's encouraged the poor to invade the farms while at the same time he's been eliminating jobs in the oil industry. The economy is being ruined. The poor don't want to become squatters in the countryside, they want to stay in towns where they can find work or get govt. services. Chavez keeps trying to fit round pegs into square holes and the tension has boiled over. He is systematically destroying Venezuela.
Regardless, at this point it has strengthen him. I think it just boiled over and people did the best
they could under the pressure and pace of events on the ground. Unfortunately, they didn't do very well.
I say three to four. If he gets a year, he'll be dug in too deep-even six months is dangerously long to leave him running the show. Castro is an expert at his trade and he's teaching Chavez everything he knows. He's already indoctrinating students in the glory of Chavez in his Bolivarian Schools. His curriculum praises communist heros and it's designed to strengthen Chavez's revolution. He's also reactivated the military aspect of the schools. It is patently Fidel Castro.
How much I don't know, but it's there.
Meanwhile, United Nations economic sanctions against Iraq, imposed after the Persian Gulf War nearly 10 years ago, and the four-decade U.S. embargo against Cuba, following the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, are crumbling. Allies and U.S. businesses are increasingly violating or ignoring both embargoes, and there is nothing Washington seems able to do about it. Earlier this month, the UN Security Council overrode U.S. objections and released $525 million from its Iraqi oil fund for use in upgrading Mr. Saddam's oil industry.
The Castro-Hussein-Chávez connection is anti-American and anti-capitalistic, but not in an ideological way. What matters to the three is domestic power built upon a base of nationalism that they believe legitimizes their policies
In a way, this bizarre trio represents the rebirth, a half century later, of the kind of nationalist populism spawned by General Juan Perón in Argentina and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Egypt. Mr. Castro and Mr. Saddam gained power through armed revolutions; Mr. Chávez, a paratroopers' lieutenant colonel, was democratically elected in 1998, after serving time for trying to overthrow the government in 1992.***
God I wish I had recorded Radio Havana during the Gulf War! I'd love play some of it for you.
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