Chávez camp sees Venezuelan situation less critical than foes

……….Inside the president's compound, soldiers with rifles patrol the grounds around the main palace, a square one-story building set around a Moorish-styled fountain, and a newer office tower. ''There's not that much work now, not so many public functions and more meetings inside the palace,'' one presidential photographer said. The strike demanding that Chávez resign or call early elections has cut the world's fifth largest oil industry to 30 percent of its normal output, shuttered stores and factories and blocked streets and highways

César Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, has repeatedly warned of widespread violence if the negotiations he's overseeing between Chávez and opposition envoys do not reach agreement soon. But the presidential guard sergeant's easy flirting on Wednesday underscored the view in Miraflores that Chávez's vast shuffling of military commanders this summer thwarted any chance of another coup. ''The president's people really believe they are over that hump, something that gives them time to dig in and break the strike,'' said a Western diplomat who meets often with government officials.

Chávez brands his opponents as a small group of corrupt rich people and labor leaders bent on triggering another coup and ending his leftist ''Bolivarian Revolution'' on behalf of Venezuela's poor majority. Like most Chávez supporters, Max Arvelaiz, a French native who works in the palace as an advisor to the Ministry of the Presidency, does not perceive the situation outside as critical as the president's foes. ''We know that anything can still happen. We are going through a deep crisis,'' Arvelaiz said, ``but things are starting to move in our favor, and when [the opposition] decided to strike, we knew it was something crazy, their last chance.''.......

Opposition members protest behind a police line in Caracas, December 17, 2002. Thousands of protesters marched to demand the ouster of President Hugo Chavez in the 16th day of a strike that has crippled Venezuela's vital oil industry. Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters

Venezuela Strikers Defy Court Order, Press Protest ***"We oil workers are ready if necessary to spend Christmas and the New Year at the gates of our plants and installations," oil strike leader Juan Fernandez said. "We'd rather miss Christmas in 2002 to win a future of freedom," the dissident PDVSA executive added. As the strike bites, Venezuelans are facing the prospect of gasoline shortages unheard of in their oil-rich country. They have besieged gas stations in long lines of vehicles, rushed to banks which are observing only limited business hours and crowded shops to buy up supplies as stocks of some basic foodstuffs show signs of dwindling.

The government, which blames the opposition for the shortages, has started importing milk from Colombia, meat from Brazil and rice and flour from the Dominican Republic and Argentina to offset the shortages. They come at a time when the economy is already steeped in recession and inflation and unemployment have been rising. Foreign governments, led by the United States, have been calling for the Venezuelan government and opposition to agree on elections in ongoing talks brokered by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria. ***

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez (L), alongside an unidentified boy, walks in the gardens of the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas, December 13, 2002. Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and whose term is set to run until 2007, is trying to tough out a 12-day-old strike which has caused food and gasoline shortages in some cities and also shattered investor confidence in the oil-rich country. REUTERS/Kimberly White

Hugo Chavez - Venezuela

Anyone here see the ironies? In the US, union workers are always lumped in with the poor and underprivileged by our media; but when the average presstitute refers to Venezuelan union workers, he lumps them in with the 'wealthy elite.'

There is also something surreal about a communist who can't en get the unions to back him. But then, Poland's communist leaders had a hard time with unions too, didn't they?

It's interesting to say the least... I am fascinated with how some claim he never violated the constitution , when in fact Chavez tried to carry out a coup the first time around, and then once he got in 'fair and square' he CHANGED the constitution so he could better hold onto power.

Bump!

Venezuela's strike heads to gas pump - No end in sight*** ……………But the strike at PDVSA is the key. PDVSA produces 87 percent of the country's oil and gas, and accounts for 70 percent of the government's revenues. The price of gas in Venezuela is regulated and thus remains stable, but supplies are dwindling and lines are growing. The country has few gasoline-storage facilities because no one ever expected an oil-flush nation would need them. Other important sectors of the economy, such as mining, require natural gas for production - and without it they are being forced to shut down. In addition, many domestic commercial flights have been canceled.

Other businesses are being affected indirectly. Dr. Martínez says he just got off the phone with a manager at a major Venezuelan bank who is unable to transport money because he can't find diesel fuel for the trucks. "All segments of the economy are feeling it very strongly, in spite of what the government says," he says. "They know that this is very critical." As more and more shops shut down in support of the strike, worried residents are stocking up on groceries and other necessities. To prevent hoarding, Chávez yesterday ordered military officials to seize any vehicle delivering gas or food. Opposition leaders claim they are allowing enough basic supplies through their blockades to meet the population's needs. But there is talk of power outages in parts of Caracas. And every day there are protests and marches in the streets.

Ricardo Hausmann, an economics professor at Harvard University and former Venezuelan planning minister, says the situation was inevitable. The economy has been in a tailspin since Chávez took power in 1998, contracting 15 percent - a full 7 percent of that coming this year alone. "This is completely unprecedented for us," he says, "because essentially we have a president who's trying to lead a country in a radical course for which he has no mandate: destroying the economy and a sense of shared values." Mr. Hausmann says it's hard to imagine a resolution to the crisis with Chávez remaining in power. He believes the president, in true Latin American fashion, wants to be overthrown rather than beaten at the ballot box. ……..***

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