washingtontimes.com By Mike Ceaser THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     CARACAS, Venezuela — From the central Caracas offices of the Afro-Venezuelan cultural organization Grupo Madera, Carlos Cremer has two contrasting views.

     To the north rise the shiny glass-and-concrete skyscrapers from where much of Venezuela's government, including its $40 billion state-owned petroleum industry, is managed. To the south slouches a hillside shantytown where many dark-skinned residents lack title to the land their shacks occupy and water taps flow only on weekends.

     Somehow, while Venezuelan crude oil fuels economies on distant continents, its benefits don't extend a half-mile south to the hillside slum.

     "There's the reality," said Mr. Cremer, pointing to the shacks. "And that's the unreality," he added, gesturing to the towers.

     The drawn-out conflict between President Hugo Chavez and a coalition of business, union and middle-class elements determined to force him from power by shutting down the country's oil industry has focused attention on the two Venezuelas — one comprising about a third of the population that is middle-class or wealthy and generally light-skinned, and the other made up of the two-thirds, who are poor and darker-skinned.

     It was the frustration of the poor Venezuelan majority that swept Mr. Chavez and his "revolution for the poor" to a landslide victory in the 1998 presidential elections.

     Though racial labels are nearly meaningless in this nation, in which most people are of mixed African, Native American and European descent, Mr. Chavez's supporters tend to be mostly poorer and darker, while those trying to oust him are mainly descendents of European immigrants, many drawn by Venezuela's post-1930s oil boom.

     The country is the world's fifth-largest commercial supplier of oil, and the only Latin American member of the 11-nation Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

     Mr. Chavez has made ethnic references in recent speeches, referring to himself as "a black man" and noting that some participants in the opposition movement have European surnames or are foreign-born. In one speech to the nation, he evoked specters from the racist past of the United States.

     "This is similar to that terrifying organization which existed in the United States named the Ku Klux Klan," the president said of his foes — "those men who put on hoods and killed blacks and burned their houses and churches."

     But Venezuela's history does not parallel that of the United States. While slavery existed here until the mid-1800s, Venezuela does not have a legacy of state-mandated segregation. And Mr. Chavez, who is of mixed African, European and Native American descent, is not his country's first dark-skinned president.

     Venezuela's single dominant religion helped negate social barriers between the races, creating a different social history than in the United States, as a glance at the many shades of any Venezuelan crowd makes clear. Venezuelans speak with pride of their nation's racial mix, referring to their varied skin tones as "caffe con leche" — literally "coffee with milk."

     Caracas sociologist Mercedes Pulido points out that many of the nation's Supreme Court justices and other officials have been of mixed race. "It's all caffe con leche," she said — "sometimes with a little more coffee, sometimes with a little more milk."

     During Venezuela's long oil boom that began in the 1930s, waves of southern Europeans migrated to this country and often flourished as professionals or business owners, leapfrogging other groups that had lived here for centuries.

     Caracas political scientist Anibal Romero said Mr. Chavez seeks to foment racial tensions. The president "has said many times that he is the son of Indians and black people, trying to convey the message that those are the only legitimate Venezuelans," Mr. Romero said.

     That message has not struck a chord, he added.

     Still, Mr. Chavez, re-elected in 2000 on a mandate to help the poor, enjoys his strongest support among poorer and darker Venezuelans, despite economic turmoil that has hit the poor hardest. Part of the reason is Mr. Chavez's social programs for them. Another part is the attitudes of the virulent anti-Chavez opposition.

     Carlos Cremer's brother, Nelson, who manages the Grupo Madera center, points out that one of Mr. Chavez's ministers, a black man, has been referred to as "the monkey" by anti-Chavez media.

     And about two years ago, Nelson Cremer recalls, police shut down a Caracas nightclub for illegally refusing to admit blacks. Under previous governments, he added, the club's policy would have been "left as it was."

     Some of the faces in the news also reinforce the ethnic divide.

     In the ongoing face-off over Mr. Chavez's performance in office, several of the president's most ardent defenders are dark-skinned Venezuelans.

     One such is Freddy Bernal, mayor of part of Caracas, and another is Lina Ron, an activist for the homeless during previous administrations, who is now leader of the most radical of Mr. Chavez's popular-support organizations.

     Meanwhile, Mr. Chavez's most prominent business, union and political foes are all white, as were the military officers who ousted Mr. Chavez in a brief coup last April. It is this anti-Chavez coalition — urged on by the media — that has nearly shut down Venezuela's petroleum industry in a 7-week-old attempt to force Mr. Chavez to resign or accept yet another early election.

     In his weekly radio and television broadcast Jan. 12, Mr. Chavez dismissed his opponents as "fascists" manipulated by the media.

     Venezuela's main television stations are not broadcasting any commercials except opposition advertisements promoting the strike. Media owners say they have been pushed into this stance because Mr. Chavez incites his followers to attack reporters.

     Mr. Chavez threatened to revoke the broadcasting licenses of television and radio stations if they "continue with their irrational insistence on destabilizing the country by supporting this fascist subversion."

     The president's opponents blame him for the nation's depressed economy and accuse him of ruling in an authoritarian style.

     The petroleum strike has forced up world crude prices and left the United States, which ordinarily imports about 15 percent of its oil from Venezuela, scrambling to find other sources.

     But the activities of Mr. Bernal and Mr. Ron have been controversial. Both are accused by Chavez opponents of supporting and even arming the militant pro-government Bolivarian Circles, which are said to have carried out violent attacks on opposition targets.

     Carlos Correa, general coordinator of the human rights organization Provea, said that while some in the opposition have referred to black members of Mr. Chavez's government using racial slurs, Mr. Correa does not consider that a sign of a racist society.

     "They are an expression of [political] intolerance," he said, "a result of the political debate."

     Rosaura Zan, a black woman from a poor Caracas neighborhood, is a regular at a Caracas plaza where a group of dissident military officers puts on a nonstop protest demanding Mr. Chavez's resignation.

     Mrs. Zan said she wants the president out because of what she called his administration's corruption and unfulfilled promises to aid the poor.

     "Color has nothing to do with it," she said. "If [Mr. Chavez] had done things well, then I wouldn't have cared what color he was, either. But he's done things badly from the start."

washingtontimes.com By Tom Carter THE WASHINGTON TIMES

     Venezuela announced plans yesterday for President Hugo Chavez to travel to New York to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan amid international efforts to end a crippling nationwide strike.

     Mr. Chavez's trip on Thursday coincides with U.S. efforts to bring international pressure on him to accept early elections.

     A 43-day-old strike has crippled Venezuela's economy, shut down its oil exports and caused U.S. gasoline prices to jump.

     On Friday, White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said the administration was looking for ways to support mediation efforts currently under way by Organization of American States Secretary-General Cesar Gaviria, including through the creation of a "Friends of Venezuela" group of interested countries.

     U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela Charles Shapiro said yesterday in Caracas that presidents from the region would discuss the crisis when they meet in Quito tomorrow for the swearing-in of new Ecuador President Lucio Gutierrez.

     "They will hold conversations and I think that we will reach some agreement on the group of friends. This is very important," Mr. Shapiro said.

     Meanwhile, there were new clashes yesterday between Chavez supporters and opponents.

     At his Jan. 1 inauguration, Brazilian populist President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva proposed a "group of friends" initiative, in which outside nations would help mediate an end to the strike.

     Mr. Chavez hailed the Brazilian proposal and the United States rejected it, fearing the group could be stacked with supporters of Mr. Chavez.

     The U.S.-supported group would continue to be directed by Mr. Gaviria, who has been working for months to end the stalemate.

     The United States is proposing a timetable for new elections and an end to the strike by opponents of Mr. Chavez.

     "We have been working with people in the region, talking with people for several weeks now. There is an effort to try to energize things," said a State Department official yesterday, on the condition of anonymity.

     The official said that the United States would be a part of a "Friends of Venezuela" group that might include Brazil, Mexico, Chile and maybe Spain as well as the United Nations.

     "The value of a friends group is that you can demonstrate to the government and to the opposition that we are neutral," the official said.

     The United States imports about 15 percent of its oil from Venezuela. Before the strike, which began Dec. 2, reduced Venezuelan oil exports to a trickle, the United States received 1.5 million barrels of Venezuelan crude a day.

     Now, with possible war on Iraq looming and prices at the pump rising, the United States is hoping to help broker a resolution.

     Venezuela has been in crisis since a short-lived military coup last spring. Because the United States at the time gave tacit backing to Chavez opponents, it had been reluctant to become involved.

      But that has changed.

     "Chavez got a real boost from his visit to Brasilia [in early January for Lula da Silva's inauguration] and came back thinking that if he just dug his heels in he would win," the State Department official said. "Both sides have been unwilling to move. There is a potential for deepening violence if the strike goes on."

     •This story is based in part on wire service reports.

washingtontimes.com By Patrick Moser AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

     CARACAS, Venezuela — Divided by a crippling strike, this country is engaged in an uncivil war of words between supporters of President Hugo Chavez and those who want to force him from office, creating a protest-specific vocabulary. Top Stories • Bush hints at new aid for North Korea • Malvo linked to four sniper attacks • Democrats hang on to gavels • Democrats lack unity on tax-cut alternative • Mugabe denies plan to retire early, leave Zimbabwe • SUV risks drive up cost of insurance for owners • Snyder squeeze

     The following are some of the expressions that have been heard regularly since the strike began Dec. 2:      •Chavistas: Supporters of Mr. Chavez      •Squalid: Term used to describe opponents of Mr. Chavez, who once called his foes "a squalid minority." Opposition T-shirts proudly state: "Squalid for Venezuela."      •Talibans: Used by either side to describe hard-liners in the opposite camp.      •Dictator, murderer, terrorist: This is how strike leader Carlos Ortega describes the president.      •Putschists, fascists, oligarchs: Mr. Chavez's description of Mr. Ortega and other strike leaders.      •Bolivarian: A term Mr. Chavez uses frequently and adds to the formal name of the country. It refers to the intellectual legacy of Simon Bolivar, the 19th-century South American liberator from Spain, whom Mr. Chavez claims as his inspiration.      •Circles of terror: The opposition's term for Chavista groups called "Bolivarian Circles."      •National democratic cacerolazo: The opposition's description of daily pot- (or "cacerol"-)banging protests.      •National active strike: The work stoppage as described by the opposition.      •Discovery Chavez: Opposition nickname for state television.      •Coupvision: Chavista nickname for private, anti-Chavez TV.      •Democratic kit: Whistle, national flag, sneakers, jeans, shirt in the national colors and a bottle of water — essential gear for anti-Chavez demonstrations.      •"He's going, he's going.": Opposition slogan.      •"He's going he's going to stay.": Chavista slogan.      •"Chavez is driving them mad.": Chavista song and slogan.      •"The madman has little time left.": Opposition slogan.      •Scab: Opposition term for Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva after he sent a boatload of fuel to Venezuela.      •Liars: Term used by media on both sides to describe each other. Also shouted at foreign reporters during opposition marches.      •"Free the bear": Refers to the bear that adorns bottles of Polar, the local beer that is unavailable as a result of the strike.

abcnews.go.com

— SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices fell one percent on Tuesday after Mexico said it would increase crude exports, while traders speculated that outside mediation might bring an end to the 44-day strike in Venezuela and free up more supplies.

U.S. light crude dropped 33 cents to $31.93 a barrel, retracing half of Monday's 58-cent gain in New York. Crude is still within $2 of the two-year peak at $33.65 struck at the end of December.

"Today's move is on a combination of factors including the Mexican increase, a lot of talk of an end to the Venezuelan strike in a few days and some profit-taking," said a London-based broker.

Mexico said on Monday that it would increase its crude exports by 120,000 barrels per day to 1.88 million bpd following OPEC's weekend decision to raise production by seven percent to make up for the shortfall in Venezuelan oil supplies.

Venezuela's oil output dropped two-thirds in December to just over one million bpd, Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said on Monday.

The loss in exports has been most sorely felt in the United States, which takes 13 percent of its oil imports from Venezuela.

U.S. fuel stocks fell by a big nine million barrels two weeks ago as the strike choked off an essential supply line into the world's biggest oil consumer. There was little impact last week on inventories, which are hovering close to 26-year lows.

Traders will be keenly awaiting Wednesday's industry data to see if supplies in the United States have declined further.

Oil's reaction to OPEC's agreement on Sunday has been tepid, with traders questioning whether the output hike was too little, too late given the four-to-six-week sailing time from the Middle East to the United States. Venezuelan supplies take five days to hit U.S. shores.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will increase production by 1.5 million bpd on February 1 to 24 million bpd.

The cartel said at the weekend that it would meet again if Venezuelan oil exports were fully restored.

The London-based broker said traders were speculating that mediation by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the United States may help break the deadlock between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and opposition leaders, who have kept the nationwide strike going since December 2.

www.timesdaily.com By HAROLD OLMOS Associated Press Writer January 14. 2003 2:23AM

After only two weeks in office, Brazil's new president is indicating he is ready to shepherd through big changes - both at home, where he's raising hope for the poor, and abroad, where he wants his nation to take a greater role in international affairs.

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is scheduled to meet Wednesday with other Latin American leaders in Ecuador to form a "Group of Friends of Venezuela" aimed at resolving the crisis that has divided that country and crippled oil production in the world's fifth largest petroleum exporter.

Before leaving for Quito, Silva plans to meet with Argentina President Eduardo Duhalde in Brasilia to discuss regional trade and the terms of a proposed hemispheric free trade zone.

Such an intense international schedule for a president inaugurated on Jan. 1 is unprecedented in Brazil, where diplomatic efforts traditionally proceed at a snail's pace.

"He is creating a sense of movement," said Stephen Haber of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. "He has promised lots of change, and if he sits around and doesn't do much in the first 100 days, those expectations are dashed."

Analysts say Silva's rapid pace is even more striking coming so soon after last week's two-day trip to desperately poor areas in the country's northeast as part of his goal of reducing the hunger that affects between 20 and 44 million people in the nation of 175 million citizens.

"This activism in Brazil's diplomacy is new," said William Goncalvez, a political analyst at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.

But it seems in line with Silva's pledge to bring about changes for how Brazil is viewed domestically and internationally, and in keeping with signs in recent years that the country wants to play in the major leagues of foreign policy while developing new programs to help the country's poor.

In late December, Silva sent one of his closest aides to Venezuela on a fact-finding mission that developed into the idea of creating a group of Latin American and European countries to assist mediation already under way by the Organization of the American States.

Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said Monday that Silva is concerned about Venezuela and wants neighboring countries to help find a peaceful solution to the strike aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

Some analysts believe Silva is also shaping a message to Washington - suggesting that the United States cannot impose its policies in the region.

"His goal is to signal that Brazil intends to be a leader, which given its economy and population makes perfect sense," Haber said. "To the United States he is signaling that we are going to have an activist foreign policy not dictated by you to us."

But Silva is well aware that he must maintain an image showing he is dealing with pressing domestic issues. Just days after being inaugurated, he delayed for at least a year a $760 million plan to order 12 jet fighters needed by Brazil's air force.

In doing so, Silva made it clear that his main funding priority for Brazil is the hunger eradication program.

He even suggested that young Brazilian diplomats should regularly visit the Brazilian slums known as favelas - so they will learn about poverty firsthand and can better defend Brazil's interests abroad.