Violence feared in Venezuelan strike - Opposing views on crisis stalling negotiation talks

Houston Chronicle ^ | December 12, 2002 | DUDLEY ALTHAUS

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Wildly divergent views of the impact of a general strike that has crippled Venezuela's oil industry and economy have frustrated a negotiated solution, a senior diplomat said Wednesday.

Cesar Gaviria -- the secretary-general of the Organization of American States who is brokering talks here between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his opponents -- said the worsening crisis caused by the strike makes reaching an agreement within a few days imperative.

"Both sides have to negotiate soon, in the next few days," Gaviria said. "Or we will find increasing demands by the opposition and that may take Venezuela to a confrontation with a high risk of violence."

The strike that began Dec. 2 became turbocharged a week ago when it spread to Venezuela's oil fields, refineries and docks.

Because of a scarcity of gasoline in the country, Gaviria said he feared that "we may have a food shortage that could lead to riots and looting."

Production in Venezuela's oil industry measured a fraction of normal, fuel supplies dwindled across the country, and there were scattered reports of food shortages.

The confidence of Chavez and his supporters was bolstered in recent days as the government improved supplies and exports.

"We are overcoming the crisis and showing great strength," a gleeful Chavez said in a television appearance Wednesday afternoon.

Troops seized two of about a dozen fuel-heavy tankers whose crews had anchored in protest of the Chavez government. Other troops escorted gasoline shipments from strike-shuttered distribution centers to gas stations in Caracas and elsehwere.

Atilio Bermudez, captain of the oil tanker Yavire, is seen after being arrested by Navy officers and transported in a car to Navy headquarters in eastern Puerto la Cruz, about 186 miles (300 kilometers) from Caracas, Venezuela Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2002. Venezuelan navy troops seized two oil tankers from strikers Wednesday as deeply divided Venezuelans took to the streets both to protest and to search for cash and food as a strike aimed at ousting President Hugo Chavez expands.(AP Photo/Juan Carlos Hernandez)

The 11-day strike spread to the petroleum industry late last week when managers and workers walked off the job at Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA, the government-owned oil conglomerate.

Since the strike began, the country's oil production has fallen from about 3 million barrels a day to just 1 million, the International Energy Agency estimated, confirming claims made by striking senior managers.

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, provides about 13 percent of the United States' petroleum imports. Its oil industry provides this nation of 23 million about 80 percent of its export earnings, half its government revenues.

Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez announced Wednesday that the first Venezuelan ship in four days had left for U.S. refineries. He offered no proof of that claim.

"We are already breaking the blockade and exporting oil," Ramirez said at a press conference. On Monday, Ali Rodriguez, the pro-Chavez president of PDVSA, said oil exports had ceased.

The PDVSA strike began when merchant seamen anchored fuel-laden ships and workers at refineries and petrochemical plants walked out. Government officials have vowed to reopen the oil fields, refineries and export stations using troops and volunteer help, something oil industry specialist say is difficult if not impossible to do.

Gasoline and other fuel supplies began running out across Venezuela last weekend, and many gas stations closed. Factories that rely on natural gas for manufacturing curtailed production.

Every day brings reports of new groups joining the strike and media accounts of shortages. Fearful that things will get worse, many Venezuelans have been making preparations for a long strike. Shoppers packed grocery stores.

Lines form every morning at banks and the few gas stations that remain open.

As the oil strike worsened over the past week, opposition leaders say that the effort to drive Chavez from power had reached its final stretch. But Chavez's advisers have stubbornly dismissed the strike as a failure, despite ample evidence to the contrary.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez observes presidential guard soldiers marching at Miraflores Presidential palace in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, Dec 11, 2002. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Solorzano, Miraflores)

"Because they have such different views of reality, it is very difficult to have an agreement," Gaviria said Wednesday.

The talks have made little headway so far. While the opposition has demanded general elections by next March, government officials have agreed only to a binding referendum on Chavez's rule next August, as allowed by the Constitution.

Moving up an election would require a vote by the 165-seat National Assembly, where Chavez's supporters hold a seven-seat majority. Lawmakers from both sides said it may be possible within a few days to pass such an amendment.

Some opposition leaders, and many street protestors, are demanding nothing less than Chavez's immediate resignation. Chavez and his supporters are insisting upon a binding referendum on his rule, as provided for by the country's 3-year-old constitution.

But negotiators seem to be exclusively focused on, if currently stumped by, demands for early elections.

"In the streets, they are making politics, at the table they are looking for negotiations," Gaviria said Wednesday. "Both sides recognize that the one way out is negotiation. If they didn't believe that, they wouldn't be sitting at the table."

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Venezuela navy seizes tankers; more street protests over Chavez's rule*** Most of the fleet of Venezuela's oil industry - the world's fifth-largest - is anchored to protest of Chavez's four-year-old rule, which opponents say has made millions poorer and driven the country toward communism.

The two tankers seized early Wednesday - one filled with gasoline, the other with natural gas - were the most visible symbols of a 10-day-old general strike that has crippled this South American nation.

Navy troops climbed ropes alongside the tankers Pilin Leon and Yavire, held their crews at gunpoint and arrested the captains. They brought new captains for both vessels, but it was unclear whether the crews would obey them.

"Two of (the navy troops) were carrying machine guns - inside a tanker carrying natural gas," Yavire machine chief Cesar Franco told Union Radio. "We were afraid they'd get a shot off."

Lawyer Gonzalo Himiob, who represents the captains of the seized tankers, called the navy action "piracy and confiscation" and said the crews would refuse to work under new captains.

Captains on two other anchored tankers said navy officers were on board and were trying to persuade them to deliver their cargoes. Capt. Roberto Sanchez, aboard the Insiarte, told The Associated Press the talks were "cordial."

In Vienna, the secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Venezuelan Alvaro Silva, warned that the crisis is "worrying and is affecting the market in general." The International Energy Agency estimated Venezuela's oil production has fallen from up to 3 million barrels a day to only 1 million.***

Venezuelans in small boats show their support for the crew members of the oil tanker 'Pilin Leon' after troops took control of the tanker, which lies anchored in Lake Maracaibo, December 7, 2002. Venezuelan troops swarmed aboard the state-owned oil tanker whose captain had joined a six-day-old opposition strike against President Hugo Chavez that has virtually stopped oil shipments from the worlds' fifth largest petroleum exporter. (Mariana Bazo/Reuters)

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

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Waiting for fuel Alexander Bravo naps under his fuel truck while waiting to fill it at the Bajo Grande distribution centre in Maracaibo, Venezuela, on Wednesday, on the 10th day of a general strike seeking the removal of President Hugo Chavez. Workers are distributing less fuel to stations due to owners closing their petrol stations and a slow down of gasoline production. -- AP

Safeguard for supplies A Venezuelan soldier guards a gas station in Caracas, Venezuela, on Tuesday. Venezuelans waited for hours for gasoline and stocked up on food and water as the strike created shortages at markets, banks, pharmacies and service stations. -- AP

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