Posted on 01/19/2003 12:45:44 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela - Foes of President Hugo Chavez vowed on Saturday to step up efforts to resolve the country's crisis peacefully - one day after troops battled through protesters to raid privately owned bottling plants.
Government adversaries urged Venezuelans to use their vote in a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule rather than respond to violence with more violence.
Opposition representatives at talks mediated by the Organization of American States said they would plow on with negotiations despite statements by Chavez that the government could leave the talks.
"The president can try to leave the table with a characteristically violent gesture but we reply with civilized, democratic and peaceful behavior," said Alejandro Armas, one of six opposition representatives at the talks. "We are going to stay at the table."
Cesar Gaviria, the OAS secretary general, began mediating the talks in November. Little progress has been made while a 7-week-old strike called by business and labor groups to force Chavez from office threatens to destroy Venezuela's economy.
"If we decide to leave the table it's because those people (opposition) don't show demonstrations of wanting to take the democratic path," Chavez told the state-run Venpres news agency Saturday.
On Friday, soldiers seized food and drink from Venezuela's largest food company, Empresas Polar, and an affiliate of U.S. soft drink giant Coca-Cola to distribute among the people.
Venezuela National Guard soldiers remove demonstrators from the main entrance of the Coca-Cola - Panamco bottling plant in the central city of Valencia, located 110 kilometers (66 miles) from Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan 17, 2003. As a 47-day-old strike continued, National Guard troops seized the privately-owned bottling plant. Heavily armed troops, accompanied by consumer protection authorities, took bottled water, soda and malt beverages.(AP Photo/Carlos Balza)
Chavez defended the raids in the industrial city of Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas. He said the companies that owned the plants were denying Venezuelans food and drink during the crippling strike.
Late Saturday, anti-government protesters staged a candlelight march in Caracas, with thousands converging on a city highway intersection waving national flags, flashlights, flaming torches and cigarette lighters.
"We don't want this totalitarian regime that the president wants to impose," said Carolina Serrano, 25, dressed in jeans colored in the yellow, blue and red of the Venezuelan flag and shielding a candle from the evening breeze. "We're tired of so much abuse of power."
Thousands of people holding torches participate in an opposition march called March of the Light, Caracas, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003. Venezuela is In the second month of a nationwide strike that has all but paralyzed the nation's oil industry. (AP Photo/Jaime Puebla)
Earlier, dozens of anti-Chavez protesters demonstrated outside a bottling plant in Valencia. One banner read, "Don't Buy Stolen Coke!" An anti-government protest by candlelight was slated to take place in the capital.
U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said he was "concerned and disappointed" by the seizures, which affect U.S. interests in Venezuela.
"I strongly hope I'm wrong, but it looks like the officers did not act within the law," Shapiro said. "There was no (judicial) order, nor a judge" present.
The Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry denounced the actions as unconstitutional and offered support to any member companies whose rights were threatened.
Chavez was in Brazil on Saturday to speak with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the newest initiative to end the bitter stalemate. A so-called "Group of Friends of Venezuela" is being set up with the participation of Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and Spain.
Chavez said he would seek similar meetings with presidents of the group's other member countries and added he was not worried by U.S. involvement. Washington has indicated it believes the best way out of the crisis is through new elections.
"I am not afraid of the opinions of the United States in the negotiations of the Group of Friends, because the United States is also a friend of Venezuela," Chavez said.
Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States.
Allies and adversaries of Chavez expect a forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on the legality of the proposed Feb. 2 referendum.
Venezuela's opposition says it will ignore any decision that tries to stop the referendum, while Chavez says he will not step down even if he loses by 90 percent.
Chavez, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, insists his foes must wait until August - or halfway through his six-year term - when a recall referendum is permitted by the constitution.
His opponents say they cannot wait that long. They accuse the former paratroop commander of running the country's democratic institutions into the ground.
Chavez promised radical change in the oil-rich country where 80 percent of the 24 million people live in poverty. But an economic recession has brought unemployment to 17 percent, and a devaluation of the bolivar currency fueled 30 percent inflation last year.
The strike has caused severe food and fuel shortages and hobbled the oil industry, costing the nation at least $4 billion.
Venezuela produced 3 million barrels a day of crude before the strike but output was at 512,000 barrels Friday, according to striking employees of the state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
Chavez insisted his government was reviving oil production.
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"I strongly hope I'm wrong, but it looks like the officers did not act within the law," Shapiro said. "There was no (judicial) order, nor a judge" present.
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"We don't want this totalitarian regime that the president wants to impose," said Carolina Serrano, 25, dressed in jeans colored in the yellow, blue and red of the Venezuelan flag and shielding a candle from the evening breeze. "We're tired of so much abuse of power." Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno estimated that the march drew at least 100,000 people.
In Miami, about 50,000 protesters jammed into the predominantly Cuban Little Havana, calling for Chavez's ouster. Venezuelan exiles were joined by Cuban-Americans and sympathizers from other Latin American nations.
Marchers protest against Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in the Little Havana section of Miami, Saturday, Jan. 18, 2003. Auhtorities estimated the group at over 50,000 people. Little progress has been made in talks while a 7-week-old strike called by business and labor groups to force Chavez from office threatens to destroy Venezuela's economy. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)
The strike is strongest in state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., where 30,000 of 40,000 workers are off the job. Banks have restricted hours and sympathetic media broadcast pro-strike and anti-Chavez commercials around the clock. Chavez, arriving from a visit to Brazil, promised to use the full extent of the law - backed up by the military - to break the strike, which began Dec. 2. The former paratrooper, who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, insists his foes must wait until August - or halfway through his six-year term - when a recall referendum is permitted by the constitution.
"We've put up with too much," Chavez said in a nationally televised speech. "I've ordered legal proceedings to begin against the banks ... and the media."
Government adversaries pledged to oppose the president peacefully and urged Venezuelans to use their vote in a nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 2, and avoid violence. Opposition representatives at talks mediated by the Organization of American States said they would persist with negotiations despite threats by Chavez to pull out. "If we decide to leave the table it's because those people (opposition) don't show demonstrations of wanting to take the democratic path," Chavez told the state-run Venpres news agency Saturday.
Cesar Gaviria, the OAS secretary general, began mediating the talks in November. Little progress has been made while the strike threatens to destroy Venezuela's economy. "The president can try to leave the table with a characteristically violent gesture but we reply with civilized, democratic and peaceful behavior," Alejandro Armas, an opposition negotiator. "We are going to stay at the table." On Friday, soldiers battled through protesters to seize food and drink from Venezuela's largest food company, Empresas Polar, and an affiliate of U.S. soft drink giant Coca-Cola to distribute among the people. Chavez said the companies that owned the plants in the industrial city of Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas, were denying Venezuelans food and drink during the crippling strike.
U.S. Ambassador Charles Shapiro said he was "concerned and disappointed" by the seizures, which affect U.S. interests in Venezuela. "I strongly hope I'm wrong, but it looks like the officers did not act within the law," Shapiro said. "There was no (judicial) order, nor a judge" present. The Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry denounced the actions as unconstitutional and offered support to any member companies whose rights were threatened.
Chavez was in Brazil on Saturday to speak with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the newest initiative to end the bitter stalemate. A so-called "Group of Friends of Venezuela" is being set up with the participation of Brazil, the United States, Mexico, Chile, Portugal and Spain. Chavez said he would seek similar meetings with presidents of the group's other member countries. Washington has indicated it believes the best way out of the crisis is through new elections. "I am not afraid of the opinions of the United States in the negotiations of the Group of Friends, because the United States is also a friend of Venezuela," Chavez said. Venezuela is the fourth-largest supplier of oil to the United States.
The Supreme Court is due to decide on the legality of the proposed Feb. 2 referendum. Venezuela's opposition, which accuses Chavez of running the country's democratic institutions into the ground, says it will ignore any decision trying to stop the vote. Chavez promised radical change in the oil-rich country where 80 percent of the 24 million people live in poverty. But an economic recession has brought unemployment to 17 percent, and a devaluation of the bolivar currency fueled 30 percent inflation last year. The strike has caused severe food and fuel shortages and hobbled the oil industry, costing the nation at least $4 billion. [End]
Venezuela's Chavez Doubts Crisis Talks, Foes March***Chavez, whose leftwing reforms are aimed at easing poverty, has vowed to break the opposition strike by sending troops to take over oil fields, refineries and export terminals. But he has had only partial success in restoring oil operations. Following Chavez's orders, troops Friday seized drink products from a bottling affiliate of Coca-Cola Co. and from a major local brewer.
The confiscation, carried out by a pro-Chavez National Guard general, was condemned as illegal by opposition leaders. U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela, Charles Shapiro, said the takeover could also strain ties with Washington and expressed concern over U.S. commercial interests. But Chavez warned Saturday more raids could follow as his government tries to ensure food supplies. He has also threatened to take action against banks, schools and factories joining the stoppage. ***
Venezuelans in Miami Protest Chavez ***About 50,000 protesters jammed into Miami's predominantly Cuban Little Havana, calling for the ouster of Chavez, whom opponents say is dissolving the country's long-standing Democratic structure. The Venezuelans were joined by Cuban-Americans and sympathizers from other Latin American nations.
"He's trying to do everything that he can to abrogate all democratic principles in Venezuela," said Miami mayor Manny Diaz, a Cuban. "That's something that we should not support." Miami police reported no injuries or incidents of violence at the rally which stretched for about five hours.***
This totalitarian thug Chavez is clearly modelling his power seizure out of the Castro playbook of 1959 to 1963, page for identical page, with the US media once again complicit and worshipful of another tin-horn murdering liberal despot monster.
"It's for the people," Acosta said, and grabbed a malt drink. He drank it and belched loudly in front of television cameras. The National Guard used tear gas to push through protesters who grappled with soldiers outside the plant. One soldier grabbed a woman by the hair and threw her backward onto the street. Another protester grabbed a National Guardsman by the lapels as other soldiers tried to pull her away.
Troops cut through chains at the gate and drove away Coca-Cola trucks filled with drinks as a protester shouted, "Thieves! Thieves!" The soldiers also raided a plant owned by Polar, the country's largest brewer and food producer. Both plants are in Valencia, 65 miles (105 kilometers) west of Caracas. The action outraged business owners and the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, or VenAmCham. "VenAmCham denounces the abuse of power ... violation of (the company's) property, intimidation of its employees, and removal of its goods without due process," the group said in a statement.
In December, Chavez issued a presidential decree authorizing the military to "temporarily" confiscate private property to guarantee the distribution of basic food staples. He had warned food producers he would send soldiers to raid plants and warehouses hoarding supplies. Polar and Panamco, the owner of the Coca-Cola plant, claim they haven't been able to distribute products due to fuel shortages and worker absences. Opposition leaders said the raids set a dangerous precedent. "There are private property rights here, rights of all Venezuelans and we will not permit them to be violated," said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.
The strike has hobbled Venezuela's oil industry, the world's fifth largest exporter, and cost the nation at least US$4 billion. Chavez insisted his government was reviving production at the state-owned oil monopoly, although the Paris-based International Energy Agency said it could take months before Venezuela returns to its pre-strike production. Speaking to lawmakers in Congress on Friday, Chavez welcomed foreign help to end the strike. Chavez cautioned, however, that his government "won't accept any restrictions from the Friends" group and warned other nations not to legitimize the opposition.***
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