Day 15: Anti-Chavez Protesters Block Highways

yahoo.com ^ | December 16, 2002 | ALEXANDRA OLSON, AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

CARACAS, Venezuela - Protesters blockaded highways in and around the capital Monday as the opposition, angered by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's resolve to hang on to power, called for an escalation in its campaign to remove him.

After Chavez skewered his foes in a weekend speech, strike leader Carlos Ortega urged protesters to block roads and rally around shopping centers, a new strategy that carried the risk of confrontation with pro-Chavez groups or security forces.

Demonstrators drove a large truck across the Francisco Fajardo highway, the main artery in Caracas, and let air out of the tires. They used their own cars to seal other roads, including several leading into the capital.

Long lines trailed outside banks as Venezuelans grew more desperate for cash. The banks are opening for only three hours a day as part of the national strike led by Chavez opponents. There have been gasoline shortages, panic buying and shuttered shops since the strike began Dec. 3.

Chavez, who twice won elections but stands accused of misrule and of running the economy into the ground, rejected a call by Washington for early elections. He cited constitutional restrictions and noted that he was democratically elected to serve until 2007.

"Venezuela cannot permit any country's attempt to influence domestic affairs," Chavez said in a regular Sunday broadcast, clutching a miniature copy of Venezuela's constitution. "No country can allow that. Venezuela is a sovereign nation and has its constitution and its laws."

In the televised broadcast, Chavez was dismissive of the drive to remove him and did not mention a giant rally Saturday night that drew up to a million people, the opposition's biggest show of strength since the strike began.

Late Sunday, his leftist government sent thousands of "Chavistas" - fervent believers in his "social revolution"_ in a horn-honking parade of cars and trucks that clogged the capital's streets.

"We're here supporting the only president who has ever cared about Venezuela!" said Nora Mendoza, 48, as the balloon-festooned motorcade wound through Caracas.

After the caravan, small groups of Chavez supporters and government opponents clashed briefly in downtown Caracas, but police swiftly dispersed them with tear gas. There were no reports of injuries.

Chavez's attitude infuriated foes.

"The only thing we ask of you is to call elections now," Ortega, the president of Venezuela's largest labor confederation, said in televised comments directed at Chavez. "But you are not a democrat. You do not want elections. What you want is confrontation and violence."

Anger over Chavez's leadership has been building since before an April coup attempt knocked the president from power for two days.

Chavez's critics blame the president's leftist policies for an unraveling economy that shrank 6.4 percent in the first nine months of this year. The jobless rate now hovers at 17 percent and inflation is expected to reach double digits for the year.

He has also been accused of polarizing the South American nation with his fiery leftist rhetoric.

But the president has said his adversaries are to blame for the recession, which he calls an "economic coup." And the government has appeared intent on breaking the strike that Chavez says doesn't exist.

On Sunday, soldiers toting rifles boarded a striking oil tanker and brought in a new crew.

The tanker Pilin Leon, carrying 9.6 million gallons of gasoline, has been idle for almost two weeks on western Venezuela's Lake Maracaibo - an emblem of a strike that has paralyzed the oil industry, the world's fifth-largest supplier.

Last week, soldiers arrested the Pilin Leon's captain but a judge ordered him released, ruling he had committed no crime, and the crew refused to work under a new government-imposed skipper.

Some Venezuelans were tiring of the strike.

In a country where baseball is the national craze, fans in the central city of Maracay, angry that league play has been closed down by the strike, banged pots and pans outside their stadium in protest.

"For the fans, Christmas isn't Christmas if it isn't accompanied by baseball," said sports editor Alfonso Saenz at the Maracay newspaper El Aragueno.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Venezuela's Chavez Defiant; Troops Take Ship with Foreign non-Spanish Speaking Crew

Who will fold first? - Venezuela's strike tests foes' resolve, resources

[Semper Paratus]

I'd consider staring a "When is Chavez out-of-power?" pool but it could be over before its posted.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

I wish you were right.

[steve50]

Some of the local papers claim this is about the last week the strike can be maintained. With all the spin coming out of the area , who knows. Starting to look like he might ride this out.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

You mean he'll pull it off, just like Clinton?

[Zviadist]

Chavez was legally elected. The mob in the streets does not represent a democratic vote for leadership. They are just that: a mob, no different than the rioters in Los Angeles, who believe violence is the best road to political change.

I couldn't stand Clinton and hoped for him to be impeached and booted (a legal way to remove a bad president), but I did not support violence in the streets to remove him. The same is true with Chavez.

I wouldn't get so enamored with the radical riff-raff in the streets screaming for a revolution. Revolution is a leftist concept. The Right has always believed in the rule of law, and within that concept there are ways to affect political change. Primary among these are elections, and it was a popular election that put Chavez into power.

[bubbac]

I don't think you're looking at it in the right way. Chavez is a communist. I'm not sure on this, but I really doubt he won fair elections. He is also not Clinton. Chavez has set up a police state. He fires into peaceful crowds. From what I've heard is that the crowds are very peaceful and there only purpose is to stop the economy so as to stop the money from flowing into Chavez's pockets and force him to resign.
I believe in the rule of law as rule, but if a communist took over in the US (Clinton was bad but he didn't make us a communist state) and began trampling my rights, I'd do what I'd have to to keep my freedom. I'm sorry that you don't believe there are some things worth fighting for. Which is what the the Venezuelans are doing. They should be cheered on. They are not starting a revolution. They are fighting the evils of communism/socialism in the only way they can.... and are doing very well at it. Don't expect the major media to give an accurate representation of what is going on... Chavez is not comparable to Clinton nor is the Venezualans situation like anything Americans have ever experienced for that matter.

[Free the USA]

http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/bump-list

[shanec]

I'd like to see him removed legally, under their current constitution, the next administration really needs that legit start. BUT, what do you do when the President is clearly acting UNconstitutionally, everybody knows it cause many with him previously have come out 'spilling the beans' with documentation and proof, AND now 20 valid cases against him, any of which would have him removed from office, have been sitting stalled at the Supreme Court that he has packed so obviously that many other justices have quit in protest, just like his top military has now.

His mentor, Luis Miquilena, who taught him politics when he wasn't thinking past just his first coup attempt, and who also then became his first Vice President, and Minister of Interior & Justice, and Head of the Commission that wrote the new Constitution of 1999, is an elderly gentleman who lives around the corner from where I stay there in Atamira Plaza, and had first come out vigorously against him this past spring. In fact, a week ago last Saturday, he was on TV again denouncing him.

That tells me Hugo Chavez either changed along the way or fooled everyone all along, either way he's not today what most folks who voted for him thought he was going to be.

BTW, speaking of prominent folks deserting Chavez, for anyone new to these Venezuela threads, be sure to also see the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, etc., that have recently left him here...
http://www.militaresdemocraticos.com/sp/oficiales.html

So, what do you do as a Venezuelian with a UNConstitutionally acting dictator who has deactivated and neutralized the Constitutional means for his removal?

My answer is...just what they are doing now, legally refusing to work to shut down everything to hopefully force him to resign...which is totally legal and a tactic Chavez praised when it suited him in the past!

BTW, Zviadist, you are incorrect about your characterization that this is just "a mob, no different than the rioters in Los Angeles, who believe violence is the best road to political change." That's not the case at all, read some of the other recent posts here at FR on the subject.

- Shane

[Zviadist]

Look, you clearly know nothing about what is going on in Venezuela other than propaganda from one side of the issue. He was elected in free and fair elections, monitored by numerous outside international bodies. Therefore, he gets to be president (do you understand the concept of free elections?). The reason he has remained popular is that the Venezuelan economy -- unlike those of other Latin American countries -- was on a boom cycle. This increased his popularity and increased the despair of his political adversaries. So for political reasons -- his adversaries (many of whom are indeed Communist Party of Venezuela members, but you didn't know that did you?) have taken to the streets to take back by force that which they could not win by elections. It is as simple as that, and until you understand what really is going on there you will continue to miss the real point.

[monkeywrench]

"I wouldn't get so enamored with the radical riff-raff in the streets screaming for a revolution. Revolution is a leftist concept."

The founders of our country were lefties?

[shanec]

Look, you clearly know nothing about what is going on in Venezuela other than propaganda from one side of the issue.

No, sir, it's you that have the blinders firmly attached.

I dare you to risk losing your rigid embrace of your preconceived notions by getting a little educated here at FR via the other recent posts on Venezuela & Chavez by searching both of those keywords here. Also, go read/learn from this recent objective backgrounder report of what brought us to this current situation...
http://militaresdemocraticos.com/desobediencia/en/20021215-02.html

-Shane

[Zviadist]

getting a little educated here at FR via the other recent posts on Venezuela & Chavez by searching both of those keywords here. Also, go read/learn from this recent objective backgrounder report of what brought us to this current situation... http://militaresdemocraticos.com/desobediencia/en/20021215-02.html

Objective backgrounder??? You may be fool enough to swallow this propaganda as "objective", but the rest of us who are a bit more serious about foreign policy analysis recognize this site as the website of the organizers of the rebellion against Chavez. Again: you point me to a website of the ORGANIZERS of the gangs in the streets in Venezuela and smugly recommend that I educate myself with this objective source? Excuse me while I laugh at you.

[shanec]

Cool your heels and you'd of seen, if you'd of bothered to scan it, that it was reprinted from "Source: Venezuela Analitica (www.analitica.com)" and you can read the message over there if the messenger I sent it on was too offensive to you...

http://www.analitica.com/va/politica/opinion/6549710.asp

BTW, this continual rant of yours about the opposition "...gangs in the streets..." is way off-base both from my personal experience there recently and updates from friends. It doesn't look like you are checking out those other FR threads on the subject I keep suggesting you see/read, so here's a recent one you probably missed...

_______
From my amigos in Caracas, some more photos below, and their comments that actual number was likely in excess of 2 million anti-Chavez marchers. Also, Chavez supporters tried to do a counter rally and only pulled about 3,000 and that was with promises of free beer & food. (CNN won't tell you that, instead they give more time to Chavez supporter on camera rattling off endlessly how it's just the rich against the poor. Wow, looking at all these folks here, sure must be a lot of wealthy Venzuelians there!)

Below here the opposition marchers have covered up a main highway in Caracas.

Frequent updates from the Venzuelan top military that have quit Chavez (and know well and are telling all about his shenanigans) here at http://www.militaresdemocraticos.com/sp/index.html.
See the headlines to the right under "Noticias". Run them through an spanish to english translator, if you don't read espanol. English version coming soon.

Also, to see a very impressive line-up of all these top generals (Including heads of Army, Navy & Air Force, etc.) who have galvanzed this latest effort to oust Chavez, look at this here...
http://www.MilitaresDemocraticos.com/sp/oficiales.html

My first-hand story/photos from there last week & Venezuela backgrounder on Chavez doings and why top military has abandoned him in droves over the last 60 days, posted here...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/802763/posts.

-Shane

[Cincinatus' Wife]

***Chavez was legally elected. The mob in the streets does not represent a democratic vote for leadership. They are just that: a mob, no different than the rioters in Los Angeles, who believe violence is the best road to political change. ***

Over a million people signed petitions to have a non-binding referendum on his presidency. It was an option in Chavez's new and "improved" constitution and the courts approved the petition. Chavez said forget it.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

So for political reasons -- his adversaries (many of whom are indeed Communist Party of Venezuela members, but you didn't know that did you?) have taken to the streets to take back by force that which they could not win by elections. It is as simple as that, and until you understand what really is going on there you will continue to miss the real point.

Chavez made a lot of promises to a lot of people. Yes, he was voted in and he used the Venezuelan people's desire to improve things for everyone to push through a constitution that gives him a lot of power and an extended presidency. But that wasn't enough, he decided he needed an "peaceful revolution" to take land, restrict gun ownership, bring Cuban advisors into the schools with a new curriculum and where they now get military training and Chavez praising. He started block watches like Castro's Defense of the Revolution block watches to report to him and act on his orders. One by one, sectors of the population started to see the light - press, parents, teachers, clergy, unions, and so on, until Chavez's popularity now is reported to be hovering around 30% in a country where it is reported 80% of the people live in poverty. Of those in poverty, only 40+% support him. Anyone who has a brain in his head and a fear of communism is on to Chavez. Chavez was voted into power but he wants more than the presidency he wants to be dictator.

Venezuela's Chavez Declares Revolutionary Campaign ("anti-imperialist revolution") Chavez, who won a landslide election victory in 1998 six years after failing to take power in a coup bid, called on his supporters to mobilize across the nation and respond to every attack and maneuver by political opponents. ``This is the moment to unite, to fight, to go on the offensive,'' he said.

Stressing that his revolution needed an ideology, he declared ``Our banner is Bolivar,'' a reference to 19th century Latin American independence hero Simon Bolivar whom Chavez has proclaimed as the inspiration for his nationalist crusade. ``We have to carry the justice-seeking, revolutionary, anti-imperialist message of the greatest American of all time (Bolivar) ... we have to believe it, spread it,'' he said.

Among the ``revolutionary laws'' whose preparation Chavez said he was personally supervising, the Venezuelan leader mentioned a land law that would target owners of vast unproductive estates. ``What do these estate owners think, that they're just going to merrily carry on?'' he said.

Chavez also lambasted members of Venezuela's business elite who have been among his most vociferous critics. Blaming them for opposition campaigns against him and conspiracies to destabilize his government, he also accused many of them of failing to pay taxes and falsely declaring business losses. He singled out owners of banks, newspapers, TV stations and soft drink companies and said a new tax law was being prepared that would toughen penalties against offenders. He threatened confiscation of properties. ``That's justice,'' he said.

Chavez Approves Economy Laws CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - President Hugo Chavez announced the completion of a package of laws aimed at jump-starting the economy - laws he was granted special authority to enact without parliamentary debate. Chavez spoke Tuesday on national television, less than two hours before the fast-track, yearlong legislative powers expired at midnight. The government completed at least 15 of the 48 laws in the last two weeks, defying critics who predicted the Cabinet would be too disorganized to finish the task.

A land reform law determines how the government can usurp idle, private land. On Monday in downtown Caracas, hundreds of farmers protested the government's failure to publicly discuss the content of that law. But Chavez insisted Tuesday that all the laws had been widely discussed among ``lawyers, economists, social activists, peasants and farmers.''

In a new hydrocarbons law, the government sought to mollify private foreign oil executives who wanted flexible royalties rates for companies that operate the state-owned oil fields. The government originally proposed a fixed rate of 30 percent, up from the current 16.6 percent, but decided to allow rates as low as 20 percent for high-risk projects. The pro-government Congress granted Chavez the fast-track powers last year despite opposition complaints that some laws were too sensitive to exclude from parliamentary debate.***

[Zviadist]

It doesn't look like you are checking out those other FR threads on the subject

Sorry man, I have sources. Don't need FR threads or your amigos on the streets. I also understand the principle of democracy and rule of law, which your buddies in the street obviously do not. It is a bummer when your guy doesn't win the elections, but that does not give you the right to change the will of the people by force. End of story.

[Zviadist]

Yes, he was voted in and he used the Venezuelan people's desire to improve things for everyone to push through a constitution that gives him a lot of power and an extended presidency. But that wasn't enough, he decided he needed an "peaceful revolution" to take land, restrict gun ownership, bring Cuban advisors into the schools with a new curriculum and where they now get military training and Chavez praising. He started block watches like Castro's Defense of the Revolution block watches to report to him and act on his orders. One by one, sectors of the population started to see the light - press, parents, teachers, clergy, unions, and so on, until Chavez's popularity now is reported to be hovering around 30% in a country where it is reported 80% of the people live in poverty. Of those in poverty, only 40+% support him. Anyone who has a brain in his head and a fear of communism is on to Chavez. Chavez was voted into power but he wants more than the presidency he wants to be dictator.

Blah blah blah, reading from the interventionist neo-con crib sheet again. And Kaiser Wilhelm eats Belgian babies and Iraqi troops threw Kuwaiti babies from the incubators and so on and so on and so on.

The point is simple: you don't get to violently change a government you do not agree with. Yes, the political opposition is out in the streets. It is also true that at least an equal number who support the president are in the streets. The point is that one part has democratic legitimacy by virtue of their vote and the other seeks to use force to overthrow a democratically-elected government. I am on the side of democracy and rule of law. What side are you on?

[Zviadist]

Yes, he was voted in and he used the Venezuelan people's desire to improve things for everyone to push through a constitution that gives him a lot of power and an extended presidency. But that wasn't enough, he decided he needed an "peaceful revolution" to take land, restrict gun ownership, bring Cuban advisors into the schools with a new curriculum and where they now get military training and Chavez praising. He started block watches like Castro's Defense of the Revolution block watches to report to him and act on his orders. One by one, sectors of the population started to see the light - press, parents, teachers, clergy, unions, and so on, until Chavez's popularity now is reported to be hovering around 30% in a country where it is reported 80% of the people live in poverty. Of those in poverty, only 40+% support him. Anyone who has a brain in his head and a fear of communism is on to Chavez. Chavez was voted into power but he wants more than the presidency he wants to be dictator.

Blah blah blah, reading from the interventionist neo-con crib sheet again. And Kaiser Wilhelm eats Belgian babies and Iraqi troops threw Kuwaiti babies from the incubators and so on and so on and so on.

The point is simple: you don't get to violently change a government you do not agree with. Yes, the political opposition is out in the streets. It is also true that at least an equal number who support the president are in the streets. The point is that one part has democratic legitimacy by virtue of their vote and the other seeks to use force to overthrow a democratically-elected government. I am on the side of democracy and rule of law. What side are you on?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

The only violence I've seen is from Chavez and his Chavistas.