Posted on 05/05/2002 2:33:14 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, bowing to opposition calls for cabinet changes after last month's short-lived coup against him, appointed new ministers for defense, interior, finance and planning on Sunday.
Since his dramatic reinstatement April 14 by loyal troops and civilian supporters, Chavez has been under pressure from his political opponents to radically change his cabinet, especially his economic ministers.
The populist president, a left-wing former paratrooper who has ruled the world's No. 5 oil exporter since 1998, announced the new ministerial appointments during his weekly "Hello President" television and radio show.
"As defense minister, (I name) General-in-Chief Lucas Rincon, a man of the people and a soldier of the nation, loyal to his principles," Chavez said.
Since his return to power last month after spending 48 hours in the hands of military coup plotters, the president surprised many by retaining Rincon as his armed forces chief, the top military post in the country.
At the start of the April 11-14 coup bid, during which more than 60 people were killed in street protests and looting, Rincon announced that Chavez had resigned. The president later denied ever having quit.
Rincon told a parliamentary inquiry Saturday he had made the announcement to prevent a civil war and avert bloodshed between anti- and pro-Chavez factions in the armed forces.
Chavez also named a new interior and justice minister, former military officer Diosdado Cabello, who until a week ago had served as his vice president. Cabello replaced another former military officer, Ramon Rodriguez.
Gen. Rincon takes over from Jose Vicente Rangel, who was named vice president by Chavez a week ago, replacing Cabello.
Announcing the changes to his economic team, the president made Felipe Perez, an economics professor with a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago his planning and development minister.
Perez replaced veteran Jorge Giordani, who had held the strategic planning portfolio since Chavez's 1998 election.
As finance minister, Chavez named banking and finance specialist Tobias Nobrega.
ECONOMIC POLICY CHANGES SOUGHT
Nobrega, who had not previously held a government post, is an economics graduate of Venezuela's Central University and has a post-graduate degree from Madrid's Complutense University.
He replaced Gen. Francisco Uson, who resigned during the April 11-14 coup.
Uson's deputy Jesus Bermudez had been temporarily in charge of the Finance Ministry since then.
Following Chavez's return to power, his opponents, who include business and labor chiefs, have been calling for him to tone down the left-wing statist economic policies that have characterized his self-proclaimed "revolution."
Giordani, one of the longest-serving members of Chavez's cabinet, had been closely associated with these policies.
Analysts said the change in the economic team was likely to be initially well received by foreign investors, who had been calling for more market friendly policies from the government.
"People are going to be relieved that Giordani has gone and without doubt, that will generate more confidence," economist Orlando Ochoa, a professor at Caracas' Catholic University, told Reuters.
Foes of Chavez have demanded that he modify left-leaning reforms, such as a land law that aims to redistribute idle private rural estates to poor families, and another law reasserting state control over the strategic oil industry.
In comments to Reuters, Planning Minister Perez said he would maintain the basic strategic direction of the policies applied by Giordani, which have concentrated on social spending aimed at closing the gap between rich and poor in Venezuela.
"But there has to be sustainable fiscal management," Perez said.
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