www.suntimes.com January 26, 2003 BY STEPHEN IXER

CARACAS, Venezuela--At least a hundred thousand Venezuelans--many equipped with tents, inflatable mattresses and foldout chairs--parked themselves on a Caracas highway Saturday in what they said would be their longest protest yet against President Hugo Chavez.

Shouting, ''Until he goes!'' the protesters blanketed a stretch of nearly three miles, prepared to spend the night.

Police estimated the crowd at 200,000 to 300,000 people. There were at least 100,000, Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said.

''Prepare yourself for the longest protest in history!'' screamed TV commercials and newspaper ads in the opposition-run media.

The opposition is trying to recover from a Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that postponed indefinitely a Feb. 2 referendum that would have asked citizens if Chavez should resign. Although the referendum wouldn't have been binding, opponents had hoped a negative outcome would persuade Chavez to quit.

''Although they stole the referendum from us, spirits are higher than ever,'' said Alexandra Suarez, a 19-year-old student carrying a sleeping bag on her shoulder.

Opponents had gathered 2 million signatures to petition for the vote. They backed up their demand by launching a devastating national strike Dec. 2 and staging daily street protests. Six people have been killed during protests since the strike began.

The 55-day strike has hurt the oil industry, which provides half of the government's income and a third of Venezuela's gross domestic product. But production in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter is slowly reviving.

The government says most of the 40,000 employees at the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., have abandoned the strike and that output has reached 1 million barrels a day. Striking executives put the figure at 855,000 and deny most employees are back to work. Output was 3 million barrels a day before the strike. It reached a low of less than 200,000 last month.

Justices ruled that no national vote--a referendum or election--can be held until they decide whether elections council member Leonardo Pizani is eligible to serve on the panel. Members of Chavez's ruling party filed a suit arguing that Pizani couldn't serve because he resigned from the council in 2000, only to rejoin last November. Pizani insisted he could rejoin because Congress had failed to formally accept his resignation.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 1:35:54 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Following the initial meeting of the "Friends of Venezuela" group in Washington on Friday, the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States took the decision to send a high-level delegation to Venezuela to assist Organization of American States (OAS) secretary general, Cesar Gaviria, in finding a peaceful and democratic solution to Venezuela's ongoing political crisis.

The meeting also discussed former US President Jimmy Carter's proposals for a resolution. Following talks with President Hugo Chavez Frias and opposition leaders, Carter had proposed two alternatives for a resolution to the impasse.

The first would involve an amendment to the Constitution, which would permit early general elections, while the second would see the opposition waiting for a revocatory referendum in August, the earliest date the current Constitution permits.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell, who attended the early stages of the meeting, backed the former President's moves for peace ... "the Carter proposals represent the best path available for Venezuelans. They provide the badly needed basis on which both sides can bridge their differences on the immediate issues."

Meanwhile, Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said "the problem of Venezuela is a problem of great urgency that requires therefore that we act immediately."

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 3:19:12 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

With the opposition work stoppage about to enter its eighth week, Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez said the opposition would rethink its strategy after February 2, the date it had hoped to hold a consultative referendum on President Hugo Chavez Frias' rule. The referendum was suspended last week following a Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) ruling that stated that all National Electoral College (CNE) decisions were to be declared void, because of concerns over CNE board member, Leopoldo Pizani's eligibility. 

The opposition will now hold a symbolic referendum on February 2, and the next day its new strategy will commence. This new plan could include the suspension of the national work stoppage, "although the fight will continue ... we are negotiating and we will see if the conditions are right to end the strike."

Fernandez also said that a nationwide information campaign would be organized to let workers know how "how we can help them." the Fedecamaras chief also promised to assist all petroleum workers that have supported the stoppage, including those that have since been fired. 

Meanwhile, Confederation of Trade Unions president Carlos Ortega said further meetings would be necessary to bring the crisis to an end, put that the population of Venezuela, particularly the military, had made in very clear that they want both sides to remain within the Constitution.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, January 26, 2003 - 1:38:00 AM By: Robert Rudnicki

Foreign Minister (MRE) Roy Chaderton Matos has told reporters that the government is willing to support any proposals to end the current political deadlock, as long as they are within the Venezuelan Constitution.

The MRE Minister also urged both sides of the political divide to tone down their rhetoric and called for an end to the rising spiral of violence in the country ... "we need guarantees, because we have a very violent and irrational opposition."

Chaderton Matos also renewed President Hugo Chavez Frias' call for the eventual expansion of the "Friends of Venezuela" group from the current six members ... Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States ... to include other nations like Algeria, Cuba, China, France and Russia.

Last week, Cuban leader Fidel Castro warned President Chavez Frias that the current group is made upmainly of  enemies rather than friends ... alleging that most of the countries involved had helped out in the failed April 11 coup d'etat, which briefly removed the President form office. Castro also said that, if President Chavez Frias called for his involvement, he would be willing to consider assisting the group.

www.bayarea.com Posted on Sun, Jan. 26, 2003 By Christopher Toothaker ASSOCIATED PRESS

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 21/2-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.