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CARACAS Jan 25 - Venezuela's opposition said Friday it would end a 54-day-old strike if agreement on early elections is reached, effectively accepting a suggestion presented to international mediators in Washington.

``We are perfectly willing to lift the strike if the international community, together with pressure from social mobilization in Venezuela, gets the government to accept an electoral solution,'' said Jesus Torrealba, a spokesman for the Democratic Coordinator (CD) group of opposition parties.

Torrealba also told AFP a referendum the opposition planned to hold on February 2, but which the Supreme Court halted, would now be conducted as a symbolic poll on the mandate of President Hugo Chavez, scheduled to end in 2006.

The statements, which came amid signs the strike was weakening, suggested that the opposition alliance - made up by the CD as well as business and labor groups - has warmed to proposals presented by former US president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jimmy Carter.

The proposals entail either holding a recall referendum on August 19 or amending the constitution to shorten the presidential term and holding early elections.

The deal would also require agreement by the opposition to lift the strike aimed at forcing Chavez from office.

The proposals were presented to diplomats attending a closed-door meeting of the Group of Friends of Venezuela, which was set up to boost a so far unsuccessful mediation mission by the Organisation of American States.

The Washington gathering at OAS headquarters was attended by US Secretary of State Colin Powell and diplomats from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal and Spain.

Powell urged Chavez and the opposition to accept one of the two proposals by Carter aimed at defusing the crisis.

Powell said in remarks at OAS headquarters that the Carter proposals were the best available options for the Venezuelan people.

The countries seeking to help Venezuela emerge from its tense political standoff also agreed to meet again January 30 to try to move forward steps aimed at ending the crisis and preventing further violence, Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said.

Chavez has said he was open to the compromise plan, which the United States endorsed as an ``excellent basis'' for a resolution of the deep crisis in the South American country which, while oil-rich, remains plagued by poverty.

The embattled president put up a huge show of force on the eve of the Washington talks, addressing hundreds of thousands of supporters who marched through Caracas to converge at a downtown rally.

The opposition, in turn, announced a 24-hour gathering on a stretch of highway in eastern Caracas, already dubbing it ``the biggest protest in history.''

The rally was called to protest ``against the theft of the referendum,'' a reference to the Supreme Court's decision to halt the February balloting.

But it was mainly seen as a bid to demonstrate popular rejection of the leftist-populist president at a time when the strike is losing steam.

While major businesses remained closed, most stores have reopened in recent weeks, and even the vital oil sector, the worst affected, was showing signs of recovery.

The opposition has conceded that crude output, which the strike initially slashed to a trickle, rose significantly in recent weeks, putting production at more than 800,000 barrels per day. The government said daily oil production exceeded one million barrels, or a third of pre-strike output.

``People are still watching the news regarding Venezuela, where there appear to be a few little signs that maybe the strike is coming to an end,'' Prudential Bache broker Tony Machacek said in London.

Insecurity triggered by the strike has also hit the bolivar, prompting the government to announce it would implement currency controls starting Wednesday, when currency trading resumes after a five-business-day suspension.

Venezuela's currency has depreciated more than 30 percent since the strike started on December 2. - AFP

www.newsday.com

By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press Writer January 25, 2003, 11:41 AM EST

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Opponents of President Hugo Chavez launched a 24-hour street demonstration Saturday to protest a court ruling that postponed a referendum on Chavez's rule.

A 2 1/2-mile stretch of central Caracas highway was set aside for the event, which organizers warned may last longer than one day.

"Prepare yourself for the longest protest in history!" screamed TV commercials and newspaper ads in the opposition-run media. They advised protesters to bring drinking water, sun hats, folding chairs and portable TVs to while away the hours under the tropical sun.

The demonstration followed a Supreme Court decision Wednesday to indefinitely postpone a nonbinding plebiscite, dashing opposition's hopes for a means of removing Chavez from office. Opposition leaders were convinced Chavez would be so embarrassed by the outcome, he would quit.

Negotiations mediated by Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, continued, aimed at ending the 55-day-old strike and bitter political stalemate.

But the opposition says it isn't going to wait for talks to produce results.

"We can't wait for the rainstorm to hit without having an umbrella," said Haydee Deutsch, of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement.

Opponents are now considering a proposal by former President Carter, which would amend Venezuela's constitution to shorten presidential and legislative terms and mandate early elections. "It's an option we think is viable," said labor leader Alfredo Ramos.

The proposal calls for the opposition to end the strike and for the government, which has a congressional majority, to move quickly on changing the constitution. Amending the constitution requires congressional approval and a popular referendum.

A second proposal by Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, calls for Venezuelans to prepare for a binding recall referendum on the president's rule in August.

The so-called "Group of Friends of Venezuela," six countries that have pledged to help Gaviria broker an end to the crisis, met for the first time in Washington on Friday.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who attended the meeting, urged Venezuelans to adopt Carter's ideas.

"The Carter proposals represent the best path available to the Venezuelans. They provide the badly needed basis on which both sides can bridge their differences on the immediate issues," Powell said, in a text released by the State Department.

While the "Friends" initiative began to take shape, oil production in Venezuela, the world's fifth largest exporter, was creeping up. Increased output could be a sign Chavez is defeating the work stoppage intended to force his ouster. But the former paratroop commander still struggles with the strike's effect on a recession-hit economy.

Oil production stood at about 3.2 million barrels per day before the strike was called Dec. 2. -- and slipped as low as 150,000 barrels per day later that month.

On Friday, dissident executives at state-run monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, said output had crept to 855,000 barrels per day, up from 812,000 barrels on Thursday.

But production gains could be capped if exports, averaging around 450,000 barrels a day, don't pick up quickly. If oil isn't shipped, inventories pile up and no space remains for fresh production.

Many tanker pilots returned to their jobs this week, but foreign shippers remained reluctant to use Venezuelan ports because regular docking and support personnel have not abandoned the strike.

Oil exports account for roughly half of government income. Chavez's government has acknowledged losing over $4 billion since the strike started.

Chavez could be "winning the petroleum war," as he claimed on Thursday, but the economic outlook for 2003 is dismal.

The Santander Central Hispano investment bank warned that Venezuela's economy could contract as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003 if the crisis isn't resolved soon. The economy shrank by an estimated 8 percent in 2002.

www.dw-world.de   The organisation of oil exporting countries, OPEC, does not rule out another increase in production because of the threatening war against Iraq. The oil minister of Qatar and acting OPEC chairman, Abdallah ben Hamed el Attija, said in Doha, that all options are open. Despite the latest decision of the cartel to increase production quotas from next month, the oil price has kept rising on the London market. The minister said this is also partly due to the unstable situation in Venezuela. But he added that he expects the market to stabilise again in the months ahead. The next OPEC meeting will be at its Vienna headquarters on the 11th of March.

abcnews.go.com The Associated Press DAVOS, Switzerland Jan. 25 —

Saudi Arabia's oil minister said Saturday that his country and OPEC could make up for any interruption in oil supplies from a war in Iraq, adding the price of oil had been driven too high "by all these drums of war."

Oil Minister Ali Naimi said history showed that producers had been able cover disruptions such as the current seven-week strike that reduced supplies from Venezuela.

"Although I admit there is a perception of a threat to supply, producers and consumers are working to mitigate the threat," Naimi said at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

"There is no reason for the price of oil to be as high as it is today."

Naimi said suppliers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries oil cartel had stepped into the gap during past Gulf upheavals that temporarily reduced deliveries, including the 1979 Iranian revolution, the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, and the 1991 Gulf war.

He pointed to Saudi Arabia's policy of holding significant production capacity of 3 million barrels a day in reserve.

"No matter what we say, no matter what we do, there are always doubts whether we will deliver," Naimi said. "But history is on our side."

He said fears of a U.S. attack on Iraq had driven prices, currently over $33 a barrel, to an excessive level, despite OPEC efforts to produce more oil in response to the disruption in Venezuela.

"Did we bring the price back to $25?" he said. "We didn't, because there are all these drums of war."

OPEC's president, Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, agreed, saying "there is no shortage of oil." He said OPEC may even face an oil surplus when its members next meet in March.

OPEC decided Jan. 12 to raise its output ceiling by 1.5 million barrels a day, effective Feb. 1.

Oil market participants fear Iraq may destroy its oil production facilities in case of an attack by the United States. Iraq is the fourth-largest exporter in OPEC, producing 2.5 million barrels a day in January.

March oil futures jumped $1.03 to $33.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Friday.

www.mpa.gr Sao Paolo, 25 January 2003 (15:58 UTC+2)

Brazilian Senator Aloizio Mercantante, a close associate of President Luiz Inacio Lula, met yesterday with Coalition of the Left President Nikos Konstantopoulos and decided to launch a meaningful cooperation between the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT) and Coalition of the Left.

They decided to exchange experience in the unionist struggle, local administration, social movements, and party organization and promotion.

Also, they decided that a cooperation should get underway between the political research and social skepticism institutes of "CAJAMAR" in Brazil and "Nikos Poulantsas" in Greece.

According to information, a PT delegation is likely to visit Greece and participate in the political events that will take place during the Greek EU Presidency.

The Brazilian Senator stated that his government's work is difficult and complex, adding that it is a challenge for the development of a new social and political model.

Mr. Konstantopoulos stated that a great hope for political change is being born in Brazil and this hope needs international solidarity and support.

Mr. Konstantopoulos also had a meeting with Venezuelan Parliament deputy and Andean Countries Parliament President (Venezuela, Colombia, Equador, Peru, and Bolivia) Mrs. Janet Madriz.