Brazzil.com Politics January 2003

So far so good, but the new President is untried as a national leader and we do not know how he will cope with the constant crises which mark Brazil. Lula has little patience for the ins and outs of politics and seems incapable of sticking to a script. And he has to stop being a man of the people and become the leader of the people.

John Fitzpatrick

No sooner had Fernando Henrique Cardoso handed over the presidential sash to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on New Year's Day (knocking his own glasses off in the excitement as he did so) than he headed for the airport and set off for Paris. The haste with which he left Brasília makes one wonder whether he knows something the rest of us don't. Perhaps his abrupt departure after eight years may have been meant to show the Brazilian people that they are on their own now with Lula and his team. Since it is unlikely that Lula would seek any advice from his predecessor it may not matter that Cardoso practically fled, but the manner in which he departed leaves a rather sour taste in the mouth.

We are now in the hands of Lula and for the sake of Brazil let us hope he learns fast because the honeymoon is over. Electors will no longer be satisfied with the ear-to-ear grins and the tearful descriptions of his life and hard times with which he has been regaling them since his victory in October.

Behind the scenes the PT team has been busy assembling a government. This is obviously a complex process and appears to have been handled fairly well. At the same time, failing to win over the PMDB, the largest party in the Congress, was a setback. However, the PMDB is as greedy for power as any other party and this door has not been completely slammed shut. In the months to come we will start seeing shifting political alliances as the familiar mosaic of Brazilian politics shapes and reshapes itself. Despite the grouping of disparate parties in his election coalition, Lula's government is top heavy with PT members.

The key ministers have started outlining their priorities in line with the PT's electoral program. The focus will be on ending social inequality although with no drastic action such as defaulting on international or domestic debt obligations. Finance Minister, Antônio Palocci, has said the right things and pledged to reform the scandalous situation in which millions of former civil servants, some only in their 40s or early 50s, enjoy generous inflation-linked pensions, mainly paid for by those in the private sector who have no such cushion to fall back on.

In the first few days of the new administration we have already seen some changes. For example, the state-owned oil company Petrobras, the largest company in South America, has had its board shaken up. The new chairman is a PT senator from the Northeast and the advisers include Finance Minister Palocci and Lula's chief of staff, José Dirceu. Moves have already been made to reduce the effects of oil price increases on the final consumer by tinkering with taxes. (To be fair here, even the Cardoso government interfered in Petrobras's pricing policy at times, although it left the company in the hands of professionals rather than politicians.)

The new energy minister has spoken against further privatizations in the sector and of the need for more investment and lower prices. The defense minister announced that Lula had suspended for a year a multi-million dollar contract to renew the Air Force's fleet of fighter planes. According to the minister, priority would be given to fighting hunger.

So far so good, but your correspondent is still apprehensive and a bit fearful of what lies ahead. Lula is untried as a national, as opposed to a party, leader and we do not know how he will cope with the constant crises which mark Brazil and the day-to-day political bargaining in Congress. One must hope Lula will stick to the script and let his team, which appears to be fairly competent, get on with things. The problem is that Lula has little patience for the ins and outs of politics and seems incapable of sticking to a script. An example of the Lula style was the casual manner in which he announced the name of his finance minister during a visit to Washington in December. This was the key appointment eagerly awaited in Brazil yet Lula tossed it out to some journalists as though he was making a banal comment on the weather.

The inaugural ceremony itself showed the perils of this informality. By bussing in hundreds of thousands of supporters from all the country, the PT enlivened the dreary avenues and concrete squares of Brasilia but gave the security forces a headache they could have done without. Lula's open-top car was soon swamped by well wishers, one of whom even managed to jump inside and give Lula a hug.

Later, even when the security had been beefed up, a young woman still managed to get through and Lula posed for a picture with her. Presumably one of the bodyguards took the picture. During the inaugural ceremony in the Congress, House representative Severino Cavalcanti, from Pernambuco, whose constitutional role was to wind up the ceremony, started speaking off the cuff and congratulated Lula, who was born in the Northeast, as though they were in a bar.

None of this mattered to Lula, who said at one point, "Vamos quebrar o protocolo, mas nem tanto, hein?" ("We'll break with protocol, but not too much.") Afterwards, Lula allowed every Tom, Dick and Harry congressman to give him a hug and slap on the back and even gave autographs. One wonders what Fernando Henrique Cardoso was thinking as he watched this display, while awaiting the arrival of Lula at the Planalto Palace to receive the sash of office. OK, it was Lula's big day but he will soon have to stop being a man of the people and become the leader of the people.

Finally, it was disappointing to see that no major democratic leader took the pains to turn up at the ceremony. If George Bush was busy planning to invade Iraq then why did he not send his vice-president? In recent years the French, German and British government leaders have all visited Brazil and pledged to support the country's maturing democracy and efforts to get a fairer deal in international trade. But where were they on New Year's Day?

At least the American trade secretary, Robert Zoellick, the man Brazilians love to hate, attended. The result of this pitiful turnout was that two high-profile despots, Fidel Castro of Cuba and Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, were the main "guests of honor." A sorry sight indeed when, for the first day since the return to democracy in Brazil, one elected president passed power over to another elected president.

John Fitzpatrick is a Scottish journalist who first visited Brazil in 1987 and has lived in São Paulo since 1995. He writes on politics and finance and runs his own company, Celtic Comunicações—www.celt.com.br, which specializes in editorial and translation services for Brazilian and foreign clients. You can reach him at jf@celt.com.br

© John Fitzpatrick 2002

You can also read John Fitzpatrick's articles in Infobrazil, at www.infobrazil.com

Two people have died and several more were wounded after snipers fired at anti-government demonstrators, police shot back and protesters from both sides hurled rocks at each other, witnesses and officials say. Pedro Aristumono told Globovision televison two people died of bullet wounds in hospital following the violent clashes between supporters and foes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Globovision earlier quoted firefighters as saying six people suffered gunshot wounds, 12 people were injured by rocks and bottles and another 75 were treated for teargas inhalation. The reports came after Caracas metropolitan police fired live ammunition at snipers who shot into a crowd of anti-government protesters, while military troops repeatedly fired teargas and rubber bullets at pro and anti-government demonstrators. The clashes further fueled tension as a crippling strike aimed at forcing Mr Chavez from office entered its second month with no solution in sight. The incidents started after hundreds of thousands of people marched in protest to the Fuerte Tiuna military complex, where tens of thousands of Chavez supporters, known as "chavistas," staged a counter-demonstration. The chavistas hurled rocks and bottles at the protesters, some of whom responded in kind. The protesters threw themselves to the ground as a first shot hit an 18-year-old paramedic, who suffered a flesh wound. A little later an AFP reporter also saw a police officer fall to the ground after being shot in the knee. Late in the day, as most protesters dispersed, a few from both sides engaged in running streets battles, and at least two people fired revolvers from their windows toward the chavista camp. Demonstrators at one stage prevented heavily armed members of the staunchly pro-government political police from entering a building where armed anti-Chavez protesters were allegedly hiding. The opposition claimed 30 of its members were detained. Strike leader Carlos Ortega denounced what he called "this criminal attitude by the current government against peaceful demonstrations." At the protest, architect Delfos Lopez claimed Chavez supporters "have been paid to come here, to spread terror." A few meters away, Alberto Carrillas, a leader of the pro-Chavez Tupamaro vigilantes told AFP: "We will take to the streets with or without arms, masked or not, whatever it takes to defend the constitution." After 33 days of disruption, both sides were deeply entrenched in their positions. Mr Chavez raised on Friday local time, the possibility of calling a "state of exception" which would allow him to suspend certain constitutional rights, but said he did not intend to do so at this stage. "If they force me to do it, I will, let's hope that's not the case," he said. The latest anti-government rally was in protest at what the opposition called the illegal house arrest within Fuerte Tiuna of a dissident general, one of about 150 soldiers who have declared themselves in rebellion. Opposition leaders urged the armed forces to join their campaign, while oil industry employees expressed their determination to pursue the strike that choked the vital sector. Worries about the impact of the strike on US oil stocks pushed oil prices upward.

By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH, Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela (January 3, 6:32 p.m. AST) - Street protests escalated in violence Friday as police struggled to separate battling supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez. At least two people were shot to death and 78 others injured in a melee that spread through the Venezuelan capital.

The violence erupted when several hundred supporters of the president threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at thousands of opposition marchers and police in Los Proceres park, outside Caracas' Fort Tiuna.

Marchers taunted soldiers and police with chants of "murderers" in between doses of tear gas. Protesters and police ducked behind trees and lay flat on the streets as gunfire rang out.

Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said two men died of gunshot wounds, though it was unclear who fired on the protest. Five others had gunshot wounds and 73 were injured either by rocks or tear gas, he said.

The anti-Chavez marchers were demanding the release of a dissident national guard general and urging the military to support a 5-week-old strike aimed at forcing Chavez to hold a nonbinding vote on his leadership.

Stinging white clouds of tear gas drifted through the district's tree-lined avenues as guardsmen fired tear gas and buckshot near the base, the armed forces' main headquarters.

Among the injured were seven police officers, said Police Chief Henry Vivas. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said 11 people were hurt in a stampede.

Col. Jose Rodrigo Pantoja, commander of the military police, said marchers weren't authorized to enter the plaza, which the government has declared a security zone - one of eight such zones in Caracas. He said soldiers acted only after the opposition march reached the plaza.

Crouching behind an ambulance, marcher Maria Arismendy poured water over the face of her small dog while he howled. "We're peaceful, but you see what they do," she said through her tears. "We just want our country back. Chavez has ruined everything."

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel blamed "irresponsible" march leaders for trying to enter the security zone. "They tried to break through a security barrier and that produced the clashes with security forces," Rangel told The Associated Press.

Thousands of people milled about in neighborhoods near Los Proceres as guardsmen clashed with jeering Chavez supporters, some of whom ran through a cloud of tear gas carrying an injured colleague on a stretcher.

Opposition protesters demanded the release of Gen. Carlos Alfonso Martinez, one of about 100 officers who revolted last fall. Martinez was arrested Dec. 30 without a required court order. A judge ordered his release, but he remains under house arrest.

"We will resist until the end, until we achieve the objective of getting rid of Chavez and his authoritarian regime," said Carlos Ortega, president of the nation's largest trade union.

Venezuela's opposition called a strike Dec. 2 to pressure Chavez to call a referendum on his presidency. Venezuela's constitution permits a possible binding vote halfway into Chavez's six-year term, or next August. Chavez rejects an early nonbinding ballot.

Opposition leaders blame Chavez's leftist policies for deep economic troubles and accuse him of grabbing power. The president counters the opposition wants to stage an "economic coup."

The strike has paralyzed oil production in Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a top supplier to the United States. The strike has helped push international oil prices above $30 per barrel. Oil workers have defied a back-to-work order by the Supreme Court.

Talks mediated by the Organization of American States have made little progress.

The strike has forced Chavez to seek food and fuel abroad. On Friday, he discussed aid for Venezuela with an Algerian diplomat. He also met with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria on the deadlocked negotiations.

Chavez said fellow Latin American leaders have told him "not to cede to (opposition) blackmail" because it could promote "destabilization campaigns" in the region. "The force of law is going to be imposed here," Chavez said, adding he saw no immediate need to declare martial law.

Chavez said Thursdsay that he would support diplomatic efforts by a "Group of Nation Friends" to help resolve the crisis.

Ali Rodriguez, president of the state-owned oil company, told the state news agency Venpres the government has purchased 250,000 barrels of gasoline from a U.S. firm and 600,000 more barrels from Russia. Venezuela also has received gasoline shipments from Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.

The government is trying to negotiate long-term gasoline import deals with those countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico, to meet the domestic demand of 400,000 barrels a day.

Analysts say importing gasoline will force Chavez' government to make budget cuts and slash social spending - a move that could weaken his support among the poor, his power base.

From Ingrid Arnesen and Andres Izarra CNN Saturday, January 4, 2003 Posted: 0435 GMT

CARACAS, Venezuela (CNN) -- At least two people were killed Friday in clashes between supporters of President Hugo Chavez and striking opposition groups. Police, national guard troops and army soldiers fired tear gas to try to contain the violence.

At least six more people were wounded by gunfire and more than two dozen others were injured by rocks, bottles and other debris hurled by both sides. It was unclear from which side the gunshots originated.

Twenty-six people received oxygen for problems due to inhaling tear gas, said Rodolfo Brizeno, head of the Caracas Fire Department.

Opposition leaders called on Venezuelans to "dig in" and urged them not to pay sales taxes after weeks of strikes have crippled the economy and the oil industry of the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

The clash marked the 33rd day of demonstrations against Chavez by groups who have accused him of grabbing power and ruining the country's economy almost since he was elected four years ago. His opponents want him to resign or to call early elections.

Thousands of protesters took to the streets throughout the day. At one point, roughly 200 supporters of Chavez and more than 1,000 opposition protesters faced off near a large military facility. They were kept apart by a line of security forces.

The standoff came as opposition groups marched to the Fuerte Tiuna military facility, one of the largest in the capital, to show support for an army general under house arrest inside the facility.

The general was forced to retire for his part in a failed April coup. He was arrested Monday, accused of publicly urging people to support the opposition strikers. His case is now before the Supreme Court. So far, the military has backed Chavez.

As the protesters clashed, Chavez met with César Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, which has been trying fruitlessly to mediate in the standoff between the government and opposition.

After the meeting, Gaviria said both sides failed to reach an agreement on a February 2 referendum.

He said the lack of an agreement did not mean there was no hope of finding a solution to the economic crisis. He said that at least both sides recognize the importance of the negotiating process.

Chavez spoke after the meeting on national television, saying the demonstrators' actions were unconstitutional and undemocratic.

He reiterated his position the dispute could be handled in a referendum in mid-August. Under the constitution, a referendum on an elected official must be held at midterm if requested by enough people.

President Chavez

That figure, however, must be at least one person greater than the number who elected the official. Opposition groups have rejected this option.

Chavez said he would announce extraordinary measures later this month to deal with the country's economic problems. He offered no specifics.

The president said Algeria promised to send a team of 20 people to help restart the oil industry. He indicated they would include shipping and computer experts.

Chavez said he was winning the battle against the protesters and that soon the oil industry would return to pre-strike levels, but opposition leaders have dismissed those claims.

Late last month Chavez bought a tanker of gasoline from Brazil to provide emergency fuel for the country. Two other tankers were lying off the coast of Venezuela and a Russian tanker was said to be on its way.

Two Killed, Dozens Injured As Troops Break Up Protest Clash in Venezuela The Associated Press

Street protests escalated in violence Friday as police struggled to separate battling supporters and opponents of President Hugo Chavez. At least two people were shot to death and 78 others injured in a melee that spread through the Venezuelan capital.

The violence erupted when several hundred supporters of the president threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at thousands of opposition marchers and police in Los Proceres park, outside Caracas' Fort Tiuna.

Marchers taunted soldiers and police with chants of "murderers" in between doses of tear gas. Protesters and police ducked behind trees and lay flat on the streets as gunfire rang out.

Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said two men died of gunshot wounds, though it was unclear who fired on the protest. Five others had gunshot wounds and 73 were injured either by rocks or tear gas, he said.

The anti-Chavez marchers were demanding the release of a dissident national guard general and urging the military to support a 5-week-old strike aimed at forcing Chavez to hold a nonbinding vote on his leadership.

Stinging white clouds of tear gas drifted through the district's tree-lined avenues as guardsmen fired tear gas and buckshot near the base, the armed forces' main headquarters.

Among the injured were seven police officers, said Police Chief Henry Vivas. Opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez said 11 people were hurt in a stampede.

Col. Jose Rodrigo Pantoja, commander of the military police, said marchers weren't authorized to enter the plaza, which the government has declared a security zone one of eight such zones in Caracas. He said soldiers acted only after the opposition march reached the plaza.

Crouching behind an ambulance, marcher Maria Arismendy poured water over the face of her small dog while he howled. "We're peaceful, but you see what they do," she said through her tears. "We just want our country back. Chavez has ruined everything."

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel blamed "irresponsible" march leaders for trying to enter the security zone. "They tried to break through a security barrier and that produced the clashes with security forces," Rangel told The Associated Press.

Thousands of people milled about in neighborhoods near Los Proceres as guardsmen clashed with jeering Chavez supporters, some of whom ran through a cloud of tear gas carrying an injured colleague on a stretcher.

Opposition protesters demanded the release of Gen. Carlos Alfonso Martinez, one of about 100 officers who revolted last fall. Martinez was arrested Dec. 30 without a required court order. A judge ordered his release, but he remains under house arrest.

"We will resist until the end, until we achieve the objective of getting rid of Chavez and his authoritarian regime," said Carlos Ortega, president of the nation's largest trade union.

Venezuela's opposition called a strike Dec. 2 to pressure Chavez to call a referendum on his presidency. Venezuela's constitution permits a possible binding vote halfway into Chavez's six-year term, or next August. Chavez rejects an early nonbinding ballot.

Opposition leaders blame Chavez's leftist policies for deep economic troubles and accuse him of grabbing power. The president counters the opposition wants to stage an "economic coup."

The strike has paralyzed oil production in Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a top supplier to the United States. The strike has helped push international oil prices above $30 per barrel. Oil workers have defied a back-to-work order by the Supreme Court.

Talks mediated by the Organization of American States have made little progress.

The strike has forced Chavez to seek food and fuel abroad. On Friday, he discussed aid for Venezuela with an Algerian diplomat. He also met with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria on the deadlocked negotiations.

Chavez said fellow Latin American leaders have told him "not to cede to (opposition) blackmail" because it could promote "destabilization campaigns" in the region. "The force of law is going to be imposed here," Chavez said, adding he saw no immediate need to declare martial law.

Chavez said Thursdsay that he would support diplomatic efforts by a "Group of Nation Friends" to help resolve the crisis.

Ali Rodriguez, president of the state-owned oil company, told the state news agency Venpres the government has purchased 250,000 barrels of gasoline from a U.S. firm and 600,000 more barrels from Russia. Venezuela also has received gasoline shipments from Brazil and Trinidad and Tobago.

The government is trying to negotiate long-term gasoline import deals with those countries, as well as Ecuador, Colombia and Mexico, to meet the domestic demand of 400,000 barrels a day.

Analysts say importing gasoline will force Chavez' government to make budget cuts and slash social spending a move that could weaken his support among the poor, his power base.