Venezuela's Chavez Under Pressure to Change Cabinet

yahoo.com ^ | Apr 25, 2002 - 1:04 PM ET | Silene Ramirez, Reuters

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - A close ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has urged him to replace key members of his Cabinet to defuse political tensions with opponents after the coup that briefly deposed the left-wing leader this month.

National Assembly President Willian Lara said late on Wednesday he and other members of Chavez's ruling Fifth Republic Movement (MVR) were presenting the populist president with specific proposals for a cabinet reshuffle.

Opponents of Chavez, a former paratrooper who was restored to power by loyal troops and civilian supporters April 14, have demanded that the outspoken president carry out a promise to promote national reconciliation by making changes to his government and policies.

"What does Hugo Chavez need to do to ensure that his policy of reconciliation is clear and convincing for the opposition and obtains a reciprocal response? Among other things, reshuffle the cabinet," Lara said in a briefing to foreign correspondents.

His comment indicated that Chavez, who has ruled since 1998 and has been battling growing opposition in recent months to his self-proclaimed "revolution", was facing pressure from within his own MVR party to give his government a new look.

Lara did not detail the changes proposed but said that Chavez's cabinet needed "new faces and some repositioning".

Analysts say Chavez's hold on power in the world's No. 4 oil exporter will remain shaky unless he manages to heal the political tensions, including splits in the armed forces, that led to the short-lived coup by rebel military officers.

His foes, who besides dissident military officers include labor and business chiefs, are demanding that he tone down leftist reforms and cool ties with anti-U.S. states like Cuba and Iraq. Venezuela is a big oil supplier to the U.S. market.

OPPONENTS WANT KEY MINISTERS OUT

The opponents are also calling for a popular referendum on Chavez's rule, but Lara said he believed such a move would not pass in the National Assembly, where the president's supporters cling to a slim majority. "I think that the forces backing Chavez don't have any worries about winning," he added.

Although Lara did not spell out the cabinet changes he wanted, foes of Chavez have been calling for the heads of Vice-President Diosdado Cabello and Interior Minister Ramon Rodriguez, who like the president are ex-military officers.

During the 48 hours that Chavez spent in the hands of the military officers who deposed him, Rodriguez was detained, while Cabello helped to mobilize thousands of supporters who took to the streets clamoring for the president's return.

Chavez's opponents say he and Rodriguez should take responsibility for the deaths of 17 people in a big anti-Chavez march April 11. These killings by mystery gunmen triggered the coup when military officers objected to Chavez's order to deploy tanks and troops to protect the presidential palace.

Opposition business chiefs have also called for the removal of Planning Minister Jorge Giordani, whom they say is the main architect of the president's left-wing statist reforms covering everything from land and oil to finance and fisheries.

Critics say these reforms destroy jobs and frighten off investors but Chavez defends them as essential to his crusading program to close the gap between rich and poor in Venezuela.

Six military officers face charges of rebellion for their alleged role in the coup. The Supreme Court said late Wednesday they could await trial on conditional liberty terms at home.

Military intelligence officers also searched the Caracas home of a businessman, Isaac Perez Recao, as part of ongoing investigations into the putsch that briefly toppled Chavez.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

[Asclepius]

"Among other things, reshuffle the cabinet," Lara said in a briefing to foreign correspondents.

Um, yeah. That always works.

Let Chavez do whatever he wants; let him implement his policies at every level. He will unleash such chaos and unrest that our Chavez problem will soon resolve itself.

[Asclepius]

... Care to address the 40% tariffs charged on our exports to other nations oh observant one? ...

Would that they're tarriffs were higher still. Tarriffs impede recapitalization and innovation even as they insulate us from the very market pressures that make recapitalization and innovation necessary.

High walls are a very poor defense.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Their thin margins in the congress need to be fixed! Kind of like our thin margins.
But thank goodness Bush is in the White House and not Bill or Hillary "Chavez" Clinton.

If the opposition does get control of the congress, oh, and the judiciary and just about everything
Chavez's oriented under his control, then....well, I don't think he's going to let that happen.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Tarriffs impede recapitalization and innovation even as they insulate us from the very market pressures that make recapitalization and innovation necessary. High walls are a very poor defense.

BUMP!

[Free the USA]

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[Kay Soze]

Thank for a great find.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Jorge Torotoza, Venezuelan photographer for the daily newspaper 2001, lies fatally injured after being shot during clashes in Caracas April 11, 2002. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez resigned April 12, 2002, the country's armed forces chief said, after clashes between supporters and opposition left at least 10 dead and 80 injured. REUTERS/Franklin Suarez

Jorge Tortoza is seen in a hospital after being shot during clashes between supporters of President Hugo Chavez and the opposition in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, April 11, 2002. Tortoza, a 45-year-old photographer with Diario 2001 newspaper, was shot in the face by a man in civilian clothing while he was covering the protest, said reporter Angel Arraez. Tortoza was listed in critical condition. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano) - Apr 11 10:14 PM ET

Venezuelan journalists march against the killing of a local photographer, Jorge Tortoza, during protests that lead to a failed coup against President Hugo Chavez, in Caracas April 25, 2002. A close ally of Chavez has urged him to replace key members of his cabinet to defuse political tensions with opponents after the coup that briefly deposed the left-wing leader this month. REUTERS/Howard Yanes