www.thestar.com Mar. 19, 2003. 11:22 AM JAMES DALZIEL CANADIAN PRESS

North American stock markets were narrowly mixed early today as investors took a cautious approach in the high likelihood of an imminent U.S.-led war against Iraq. The countdown to an attack continued as long columns of U.S. troops, armoured vehicles and trucks advanced toward the Iraqi border, positioning themselves to invade if Saddam Hussein misses the Wednesday night deadline to surrender power.

Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index moved 24.01 points higher to 6,462.62 after closing up 31.98 points. The junior TSX Venture Exchange was flat at 1,061.

Hopes for a short war also fired up the American dollar, in turn driving the Canadian currency lower by 0.31 of a cent to 67.51 cents US.

The euro was quoted at $1.0598 US, down from $1.0621.

The loonie had climbed 0.26 of a cent Tuesday after Bank of Canada governor David Dodge reiterated in a speech in Rome that more interest rate hikes will be needed to get Canada's inflation back down to the central bank's targets.

New York's Dow industrial average rose 12.98 points to 8,207.21 after advancing 52.31 points Tuesday, moving up a total of 669 points in the past five sessions. The Nasdaq lost 9.27 points to 1,391.28 after edging 8.28 points higher Tuesday while the S&P 500 was up 1.51 at 867.96.

In corporate news, DuPont Canada's U.S. parent is offering $1.4 billion to take the firm private. The two companies announced today that DuPont will offer $21 a share to buy the 24 per cent of DuPont Canada Inc. stock it doesn't already own. DuPont Canada shares were unchanged at $17.24.

Softness on the Nasdaq came after software maker Oracle Corp. reported a cautious outlook for a recovery in technology spending late Tuesday.

The company posted a 12 per cent rise in fiscal third-quarter profit and said revenue grew modestly, helped by growth in sales of software upgrades to existing customers.

But the company said revenue from new software licences and sales of its flagship database product line each fell four per cent. Its shares were down 78 cents to $11.47 US.

Generally, stock markets have been driven higher since the middle of last week as investors look to the rally that followed the start of the 1991 Persian Gulf War and hope that history repeats itself.

"There's a hope that a swift victory will create a perverse twist in Wall Street theory: Sell on the rumour and buy on the fact," said market commentator Bryan Piskorowski of Prudential Securities Inc. in New York.

But there's plenty of reasons for caution, including the possibility of torched oil fields, use of biological weapons and terrorist attacks.

Crude oil prices added to Tuesday's drop in prices, down 57 cents in New York to $31.10 US a barrel. The Toronto energy sector was flat, but Suncor Energy rose 25 cents to $24.88.

On Tuesday, prices in New York plunged $3.25 US a barrel in the biggest one-day drop in almost a year.

While U.S. crude inventories remain uncomfortably low, OPEC producers other than Iraq and strife-torn Venezuela have been increasing production for weeks.

Much of that oil is now in storage or in tankers on the high seas, say oil analysts. Saudi Arabia is believed to have as much as 50 million barrels in storage in the country and more en route to other storage facilities. That's enough to replace Iraq's 1.5 million to two million barrels a day for about a month.

Gold moved lower with the price of the metal slipping $1.50 to $335.70 US an ounce. Kinross Gold retreated 14 cents to $8.85.

On the Toronto market, financials provided most of the lift as Scotiabank gained 60 cents to $52.30.

Active stocks included Celestica, down 25 cents to $19.60. CAE tumbled 42 cents to $3.75 after the firm announced a debenture issue and Coolbrands International surged 45 cents to $6.90.

Shares in Quebecor World lost 72 cents to $23.90, on top of Tuesday's 24.5 per cent plunge, after chief executive Michel Desbiens suddenly resigned only a few weeks after he took the job. The huge printing company also issued a profit warning.

In other corporate news, shares in Transat A.T. Inc., a major travel company and operator of Air Transat, were unchanged at $5.63 after it slashed first-quarter losses and revenue jumped 20 per cent from a year earlier. Losses came in at $7 million, down from a $17-million loss a year earlier.

Air Canada shares were off four cents after the firm drafted a plan to cut $200 million in labour costs by closing two call centres, cutting 30 per cent of the jobs in the remaining centres and slashing some employee wages by 27 per cent.

Overseas, Tokyo's 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average rose 96.58 points, or 1.21 per cent, to close at 8,051.04, led by key exporters including automaker Honda and technology issues Nikon and Sony.

Hong Kong shares enjoyed a second consecutive day of gains, with some traders placing bets ahead of several key earnings announcements. The Hang Seng Index climbed 117.08 points, or 1.29 per cent, to 9,158.59.

London's FTSE 100 index rose 45 points or 1.2 per cent to 3,792.3 in late-afternoon trading, and Frankfurt's DAX and Paris's CAC 40 indexes each rose about two per cent.

news.ft.com Compiled by FT staff Published: February 13 2003 18:44 | Last Updated: March 20 2003 13:33

Thursday March 20

Donald Rumsfeld, US defence secretary, says three to four oil wells are on fire in southern Iraq and urges Iraqi civilians not to flee across borders to neighbouring countries and to listen to coalition radio on where to receive food and medicine.

Turkey's parliament approves in 332-202 vote the use of Turkish airspace for overflights of US warplanes in air campaign in northern Iraq.

US artillery positions fire against Iraqi gun emplacements 20km from the Iraq-Kuwait border. US troops in northern Kuwait and residents of Kuwait City make preparations against threat of biological and chemical attacks by Iraq.

Geoff Hoon, UK defence secretary, confirms British forces have already been involved in some of the military operations against Iraq.

Iraq launches six missiles - five towards northern Kuwait and one towards Kuwait City - and one apparent suicide plane strike near US-led forces in Kuwait in response to beginning of US air strikes on Baghdad, Kuwaiti officials say. Iraq denies the attacks.

US missile strikes on Baghdad kill one civilian, Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, says. The International Red Cross later confirms that one civilian, a Jordanian woman, is killed and 14 other people are wounded in the initial attack on Baghdad.

President Saddam Hussein appears on Iraqi state television, three hours after the US launches a war to overthrow him, and accuses President George W. Bush of committing a crime against humanity.

President George W. Bush, in an address from the White House, says coalition forces have begun striking "selected targets of military importance".

Explosions rock Baghdad at dawn as allied forces begin the assault on Iraq with stealth fighter and cruise missile attacks targeting Saddam Hussein and other regime leaders.

Wednesday March 19 The deadline for President Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq expires as US-led forces prepare an unprecedented onslaught. US and British troops reported to have moved into the demilitarised zone between Kuwait and southern Iraq, poised to launch a ground invasion to follow an initial aerial assault. US military sources confirm that 17 Iraqi soldiers have surrendered to US-led forces in northern Kuwait. US and British aircraft have been dropping millions of leaflets into Iraq urging soldiers not to resist an invasion. Teams of lawyers are vetting targets selected for air strikes against Iraq to ensure that the war is conducted according to international law and that neither the attacking forces nor the British and the US governments can be accused of flouting it. White House spokesman Ari Fleischer says Americans should prepare for war that will cost lives and last for an unknown time. Germany, France and Russia call for the United Nations Security Council to continue to play a central role in the Iraq crisis, despite the expectation of an imminent US-led attack on Baghdad. Italy's government expresses support for the US and UK in their looming military action against Iraq, but says it it will not permit direct attacks from Italian bases. Turkey's government says it will ask parliament to grant US military the right to use Turkish airspace but will not immediately ask the legislature to vote to allow in US troops.

Tuesday March 18

Tony Blair, UK prime minister, wins crucial parliamentary debate on Iraq by saying the outcome of the crisis would define international politics for “the next generation”. A motion authorising the use of British troops in a possible attack against Iraq is passed by 412 votes to 149. President Saddam Hussein, dressed for battle, rejects a US ultimatum that he should go into exile and says Iraq is ready to repel any US-led invasion. Russia says the impending US-led attack against Iraq threatens the international anti-terrorism coalition. Russia was one of the first countries to support international efforts to prevent terrorism after the September 11,2001 attrocities.

United Nations weapons inspectors leave Iraq by plane for Cyprus after the UN tells them to cut short their hunt for hidden weapons of mass destruction and the US and its allies abandon diplomatic efforts to disarm Iraq. John Howard, Australia's prime minister, commits 2,000 Australian troops to fight in a US-led war against Iraq, despite overwhelming domestic opposition to military action without UN backing. Junichiro Koizumi, Japan's prime minister, backs the US decision to invade Iraq without without UN support if Saddam Hussein does not leave the country by Thursday.

Monday March 17

President George W. Bush issues an ultimatum to Saddam Hussein and his sons, to leave Iraq within 48-hours or face military action. Mr Bush announces the decision to go to war in a televised address from the White House.

Robin Cook, a senior UK cabinet member, resigns in protest over Iraq saying: "I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action without international agreement or domestic support."

The US, Britain and Spain withdraw proposals for a second UN Security Council resolution authorising force against Iraq, saying they will now act alone to disarm Saddam Hussein.

Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, calls an emergency session of the cabinet to try to garner support from his ministers for military action and prepare the government for war against Iraq.

Lord Goldsmith, the UK Attorney General, says the combined effect of past Security Council resolutions 678, 687 and 1441 provide a strong case for military action against Iraq.

France maintains its threat to veto any second UN resolution. Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin, says France cannot accept a UN resolution including an ultimatum or automatic resort to force to disarm Iraq.

The US advises the UN nuclear agency to begin pulling its inspectors out of Iraq. UN suspends its operations to monitor the Iraq-Kuwait border and begins withdrawing its observers from the Iraqi side of the frontier in the face of an imminent US-led invasion of Iraq.

Saturday 15 and Sunday 16 March

War appears all but inevitable after the leaders of the US, Britain and Spain, meeting at an emergency summit in the Azores, set a deadline of Monday night for diplomatic efforts to win UN suppport for their hardline stance.

Iraq moves to a war footing as the ruling Revolutionary Command Council issues a decree dividing the country into four military zones under Sadam Hussein "to take the necessary steps to repulse and destroy any foreign aggression"

Saddam Hussein's most important Kurdish ally defects to Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq in what is being seen as an indication the Iraqi president's internal support is begining to crumble.

Friday 14 March

Gerhard Schröder, German chancellor, renews his support for France's anti-war stance, despite co-ordinated and increasingly caustic efforts by the US and Britain to undermine Paris.

Russia criticises Britain's six-point proposal for disarming Iraq, saying it is "not constructive and does not solve the main problem: the prevention of a plan to use force with regard to Baghdad."

Britain, the US and Spain plan a three-way crisis summit on Iraq to discuss the best course of action if agreement on a second United Nations resolution authorising the use of force cannot be achieved.

Baghdad submits a keenly-awaited report to support its claims that it has destroyed deadly VX nerve agent stocks and promises UN weapons inspectors another report on anthrax soon.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 By: Jorge Martin

International commentarist Jorge Martin writes: On Thursday February 20, at midnight, the Venezuelan police arrested Carlos Fernandez, the president of the employers’ organization Fedecamaras, accused on five charges: betrayal of the fatherland, rebellion, instigation to crime, association to commit crime and devastation.

Carlos Fernandez, together with the leader of the trade union confederation CTV, Carlos Ortega (for whom there was also an arrest warrant) had been the main public faces of the employers’ lock-out and sabotage of Venezuela's oil industry in December and January through which Venezuela's ruling class tried to overthrow the Chavez government.

The justice system's action clearly reflects the pressure of the revolutionary movement and the new balance of forces after the complete failure of the attempted coup in April last year ... from the beginning of this latest action on December 2, the reactionary forces went from defeat to defeat, basically due to the initiative of the public masses who fought back decisively at every stage.

Each one of the reactionary forces' actions had the effect of increasing support for the revolutionary process and raised the level of consciousness and organization of the Venezuelan people in general and the workers in particular.

The most important factor was the extraordinary reaction of oil workers who fought back and overcame sabotage by managers, directors and a large section of PDVSA technicians in refineries at Puerto la Cruz, El Palito, the Yagua distribution center and elsewhere ... oil workers who went to work and re-established normal functioning of the oil industry under workers’ control in an organized way. It can be said, without fear of exaggeration, that it was the oil workers who saved the Chavez government, since bringing the oil industry to a halt was a key element in the oligarchy's strategy.

This is a marvelous example of the capacity of the working class to struggle and to organize production by itself ... in a few days, the oil workers destroyed the myth that the managerial layer of PDVSA were the only ones who know how to organize production.

Furthermore, this experience of workers’ control took place not in a small bankrupt company which the workers were forced to reopen, but in Venezuela's main industry ... one of the 50 largest companies in the world. It's of enormous political significance and sets an important precedent ... the qualitative leap forward which took place in the struggle against the lock-out is that, for the first time, the working class participated in the revolutionary process as a class where it had previously only participated as a part of the general population.

We should add here that the oil workers had the support of revolutionary masses who defended PDVSA buildings and refineries all over the country ... and the National Guard which, in agreement with the workers and the people, organized and controlled the distribution of fuel during the 63 days of the lock-out.

At the beginning of January, the so-called Democratic Coordination (popularly known as the anti-Democratic Conspiracy - CD) decided to up the stakes by declaring the non-resumption of school activities after the Christmas break. Once again this was a serious mistake, since their actions only provoked an increased level of popular organization. All over the country, communities organized themselves to ensure the opening of schools and teachers who refused to teach were replaced by volunteers (unemployed teachers, university students, etc).

Likewise, in the universities, there was a strong student movement demanding resumption of lectures ... they finally managed to force the reopening of most universities ... strengthening an organized left-wing students' movement which had been quite weak before.

The peak of the process was a massive march, January 23, in support of the revolution: called “the taking over of Caracas.” The opposition had created a climate of panic and fear among middle classes, spreading the idea that the march was going to mean an invasion of “Chavista hordes” coming down from the “cerros” (the hills which surround Caracas where most poor people live) to loot middle-class neighborhoods.

For weeks, opposition leaders had been organizing “contingency plans” which included a census of all available firearms, accumulation of food and water, the organization of the armed defense of streets, buildings and neighborhoods, blocking of streets with gates, barricades, etc.

The aim was clearly to create a climate of fear, using the middle classes as shock troops for the oligarchy to provoke a violent clash which could justify foreign intervention under the mandate of the Organization of American States ... and with the support of a section of the armed forces in order to overthrow Chavez.

Counter-revolutionary provocations: One of the pinnacles of the strategy was a clash in Los Proceres, outside Fuerte Tiuna (the main army barracks in Caracas) in the first days of January. The opposition had called for a rally outside Fuerte Tiuna demanding freedom for an army officer who was under arrest for participating in an earlier coup attempt.

All of the opposition media publicized the call for the rally presenting it as the “final battle” which would finally overthrow Chavez ... a clear provocation prepared down to the last detail. The government did not do anything ... and did not call for the masses to organize a serious counter-demonstration. However, thousands of Bolivarians gathered to defend the revolutionary process against reactionary provocation. After hours of verbal clashes, the reactionaries opened fire and killed two Chavez supporters. To add insult to injury the opposition-controlled Metropolitan Police (PM) attacked the funeral parlor where the next-of-kin were mourning their dead. Clashes on that day also reflected the feeling of the masses' powerlessness, witnessing how the opposition was carrying out its plans without a serious fight-back on the part of the government or organizations which support it.

It was under this framework that the massive January 23 mobilization of took place with some 2 million people taking part in an impressive show of strength to defend the government ... a demonstration that was the last nail in the coffin of the December-January attempted coup. The CD had no other option but to admit defeat and publicly announced an “easing of the strike” ... calling it off altogether later. It was a sorry spectacle in which all the contradictions within the CD exploded into the open ... nobody wanted to take responsibility for having called an “indefinite civic strike,” and the “it wasn’t me” slogan once again became the rule of the day.

Under these conditions, Chavez has adopted a very different strategy to the one he used after the April 11 coup last year. On that occasion he had tried to conciliate, negotiate, he even asked for forgiveness and reinstated the old directors at PDVSA. He was already warned that the attempt to appease reaction through negotiation would only have the effect of strengthening the resolve of the reactionary ruling class, which would inevitably use the opportunity to prepare for a new coup.

Even during the attempted December-January coup, Chavez' position was extremely legalistic, faithfully following all legal proceedings while the opposition used all sorts of illegal methods to paralyze Venezuela and sabotaged the justice system from within. The workers' and the peoples' fight-back took place despite lack of any nationwide revolutionary leadership which could coordinate and organize their efforts, for ... despite the fact that there are tens and even hundreds of thousands of rank and file organizations all over the country ... the revolutionary movement in Venezuela still lacks a nationwide coordinating body.

Revolutionary offensive: Starting with his speech at a massive demonstration,January 23, President Hugo Chavez Frias made it clear that this is the time to go on the offensive, calling for a deepening of the peoples' organization ... the government has implemented a series of measures to fight reaction, starting with the suspension of foreign exchange while control mechanisms are put in place (in order to fight capital flight), price controls over basic products (to fight speculation) and a discussion in parliament of a new law of social responsibility covering the media (which had played a crucial role in the organization of every single coup conspiracy).

In his “Alo Presidente” program, February 16, he said that organizations created to defend the right to education should now became organizations of revolutionary vigilance over price controls. At the same time Chavez has broadcast a number of TV programs from different oil refineries where he recognized and thanked oil workers for their role in the defeat of the attempted coup. Mass rallies were organized in States which have opposition governors and Chavez calls for these to be recalled (a mechanism which is part of the new constitution) before the end of the year.

The arrest of coup conspirator Carlos Fernandez is part of the offensive, and is obviously welcomed by the majority of the people. The most widespread comment is that this was long overdue. In fact popular organizations, demonstrations and graffiti on the walls in the main cities had been demanding “strong action” to be taken for a long time.

The leader of the telephone workers union, Jose Mora, declared that he was happy that Carlos Ortega had gone into hiding because this meant that, now, the workers could go and find him themselves and settle accounts. However, even this action shows the limits of government action since a few hours after being arrested, the judge in charge of the case was replaced by another who immediately placed him merely under 'house arrest' and withdrew some of the charges.

This is a scandalous decision since there is already the precedent of Pedro Carmona's escape ... he was the main figure in the April 11 coup, and was also remanded to house arrest. Meanwhile the 'Defenders of Puente Llaguno,' who defended the democratic government on April 11, rot in jail waiting for a trial, despite the fact that one of them is dying of cancer ... it is clear that the judiciary is still largely in the hands of reaction.

However it would be foolish to think that the reactionaries are dead and buried. It is true they were dealt a heavy blow with the defeat of their December-January attempt, but the Venezuelan ruling class is far from having been defeated once and for all, and continues to agitate in the media, waiting for a new opportunity.

Economic crisis: The main challenge that faces the revolutionary process right now is the collapse of the Venezuelan economy as a result of the oil sabotage and the conscious disorganization of the productive process, particularly in the food sector. The oligarchy is trying by all means to create chaos and shortages in order to undermine the social basis of support for the revolutionary process. In this respect, the measures taken so far by the government are completely insufficient and limited.

Firstly one must discuss the question of the reorganization of PDVSA. So far the government has appointed new directors which, following the people’s call for a “cleaning out PDVSA,” has already sacked 12,000+ employees ... the overwhelming majority of them directors and technicians of the upper echelons of the company.

However it is not enough to replace one set of directors with another who might be more or less loyal to the revolutionary process. On the contrary, the impressive experience of workers’ control over production during the sabotage must be used to spread it to the running of PDVSA as a whole.

Oil workers have saved PDVSA, and they are the ones who should be running it from now on. A national congress of oil workers must be called to unify all workers and establish the mechanisms of workers’ control ... this is the only way to guarantee that “PDVSA belongs to the people” and that it is run for the benefit of all. Workers’ control of industry should also spread to all State-owned companies where many of the directors had also declared themselves to be “in rebellion.”

Another front is that of the private companies where the bosses are trying to make the workers pay for the cost of the employers’ lock-out. Workers must resist, in an organized fashion, any attempt to totally or partially paralyze their factories, any attempts to cut wages, to declare unpaid holidays, etc. In several factories around Venezuela there have already been important examples of such struggles. The Convencaucho workers in Barquisimeto (Lara) had to force a change of union leaders and occupy the factory to force their employer to pay their wages in full and to keep the factory open.

Also in the Carabobo car industry, workers have so far defeated employers' attempts to make them pay the effects of the lock-out ... one of the main discussions amongst class struggle and democratic trade union activists right now is the issue of factory occupations and their running under workers’ control. .

At a recent meeting of 350 trade union leaders from all over Venezuela called by “Trade Union Autonomy” there was a discussion on the issue based on a document which called for “the occupation of all companies which are abandoned, declared bankrupt, closed down or semi-paralyzed, creating workers’ committees to force their statization under workers’ control of production,”

The “Workers' Mole” trade union currently in Lara openly demands that “faced with crisis the government must reactivate industry, applying the principle of ‘company closed, company opened under workers’ control’...” Even within the Ministry of Labor there are discussions on workers’ control, and how to legalize any factory occupations which might take place.

Another important question is that of control over the finance sector. Together with measures already taken on foreign exchange, there must be an offensive against the private banking sector ... the banks adopted a clear line of support for opposition sabotage and therefore should be deprived of the means of doing it again.

It is true that the government has already withdrawn part of its assets held in private banks, but this is not enough.

The nationalization of Venezuelan banks (which in the main use resources which belong to the State) would allow the government access to a large amount of money which could be used to alleviate the economic crisis through a massive program of public works, and which would guarantee the payment of wages to public employees and the normal functioning of public services, like health and education, which are currently under threat for lack of resources. The nationalization of the banks would also allow the government to finance the statization of occupied factories.

As a part of the offensive there have been discussions about the setting up of a new trade union confederation to replace CTV leaders ... however, this process has received strong criticism from trade union activists from the beginning because of methods used. The proposal has come from a number of trade union leaders who are close to the government ... which had raised the idea from above without any real consultation of the rank and file and without organizing a campaign within the existing unions. It would seem that for them, the most important thing is to set a date for the founding of the new trade union center and to decide who is going to be on the leadership executive.

These are clearly wrong methods.

In order to move towards a real re-founding of the trade union movement in Venezuela, a serious campaign of explanation, discussion and struggle must be organized in order to win over the overwhelming majority of workers who still belong to unions affiliated to the CTV, and to organize all those who are still un-organized.

The practical experience of the last few months and weeks clearly shows that CTV leaders (who appointed themselves at the end of a rigged election process) are completely discredited in the eyes of their own members.

The political moment is favorable ... such a campaign, culminating in a nationwide workers’ constituent assembly, to set up a new trade union confederation based on the principles of class struggle, democratic and militant trade unionism, would have a massive impact.

One of the main weaknesses is still the lack of nationwide coordination of committees and organizations which have been set up over the last few years ... all Bolivarian Circles (of which there are now 300,000), democratic unions, urban land committees, student organizations, committees to defend education rights, etc. should establish coordination bodies at neighborhood, local, state, and national level, through the democratic election of delegates with the right of recall at any time. This would enormously strengthen the movement and give it a democratic leadership, helping to generalize experiences and advance in its political conclusions.

It is also time to make a balance sheet of the political perspectives ... Hugo Chavez Frias' project, which opened the doors for the process of mass mobilization and popular organization, was based on the development of Venezuela’s productive forces, defending national sovereignty and applying a number of measures in favor of the oppressed. But this project never raised the question of going further than the limits of a capitalist system.

On occasion, Chavez has spoken of “humane capitalism” but there can be no independent national capitalist development in any country ... the epoch of bourgeois revolution was more than 200 years ago ... the last four years of Venezuela's revolutionary process have shown quite clearly that decisive sections are unable to play any progressive role at all. They will give the government no respite.

The only way to reach agreements with the employers is on the basis of making the workers pay for the crisis ... and this would provoke a decisive fight back from a labor movement which now feels confident.

On the contrary, the defeat of the employers’ lock-out has shown the central role of the working class ... there is no other way to defend and deepen the revolution than by placing the means of production, distribution and exchange in the hands of the people in the interests of the majority of the population.

Only on the basis of a democratic planning of the economy would it be possible to develop Venezuela’s productive forces and use its enormous wealth to improve living conditions for the overwhelming majority ... not to fill the Miami bank accounts of an idle minority.

Venezuela's revolution will be a powerful beacon of light to the whole of Latin America, which would orientate the struggle of workers and peasants, setting the basis for the fulfillment of Simon Bolivar’s dream of a united Federation of Latin America.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 19, 2003 By: Hands Off Venezuela Campaign

International commentarist Jorge Martin writes: If we were to believe the information we get from the international mass, we would get the impression that there has been a two months' general strike in Venezuela and that President Hugo Chavez Frias is an extremely unpopular and authoritarian ruler who is about to be overthrown in a mass popular revolt.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, the "national civic strike" called by the opposition on December 2, demanding Chavez's resignation and early elections has been a complete failure since the beginning. When I arrived in Caracas on December 11, the airport was working normally, as well as public transport (buses, coaches and the Caracas Metro), shopping centers, restaurants and bars. The basic industries (iron, steel, aluminum, etc), which are State-owned, were working at 100% capacity because of the decision of the workers and their unions to oppose the 'strike'.

In Carabobo State ... one of the most important centers of manufacturing industry ... the 'Class Struggle' and 'Democratic Trade Union Block' ... which brings together workers from 52 different unions in the most important factories in the state (including Ford, General Motors, Chrysler, Pirelli, Good Year, Firestone, MAVESA, and others) ... declared its opposition to the 'strike.'

Some factories remained open, but at others, the workers went to work and found themselves locked-out by the bosses ... they demanded their wages, since they had gone to work, and in most cases they were paid. The same was true in some sections of the food and beverages industry, which is controlled (almost in its entirety) by Grupo Polar, which is owned by the powerful businessman and opposition leader Mendoza.

This was not a strike at all, but a bosses' lock-out.

The fact that this protest has the support of the executive committee of the CTV, the main trade union federation in Venezuela, should not fool anyone, since its Executive Committee has never actually been elected. The people who sit on it appointed themselves before the end of the ballot in extremely irregular elections in November 2001. This also explains why it is not recognized by most of the federations and local union branches.

The only part of the economy that was seriously hit by the opposition protest was the oil industry. Here, a small group of managers, directors, supervisors and technicians organized the sabotage of production and brought the industry almost to a halt.

Oil production is highly computerized, and a few managers who withdrew their keys and passwords caused a lot of damage ... they also made sure they fixed the administrative procedures so that they would still receive their (very high) salaries while they were on 'strike.'

A number of captains and crews of some of Venezuela's oil tankers mutinied and prevented normal deliveries ... and it is important to note that oil workers' union leaders (who in April had supported the opposition-led attempted coup), did not even dare make a public statement this time in favor of the 'national strike.'

Slowly but surely, oil workers took over the refineries and oilfields and started to get the industry back to normal ... by January 10, the State-owned oil company, PDVSA was working at 50% of capacity.

The opposition protest has been accompanied by a campaign of lies, half-truths and the blatant manipulation of all the private media ... particularly the TV stations, which are also controlled by the opposition. All TV stations suspended their normal programming to broadcast only 'news' about the success of the 'strike' ,,, and gave all their commercial breaks over to opposition propaganda.

To give just one example of the level of hysteria which the opposition and the media are trying to whip up against the government, when the government finally got a court order to take over the oil tankers that had mutinied, the opposition claimed that the new crews were Cuban, and that this was a further sign that the country was rapidly moving towards "Castro-Communism." This direct lie was repeated by the media, until a couple of days later, when it was directly challenged by the Cuban Foreign Affairs Minister and opposition leaders were forced to retract their allegations, admitting that there were no Cubans working in the oil tankers.

At the beginning of January, faced with the failure of their actions to bring the country to a halt, the opposition decided to up the stakes by announcing the closure of banks and that schools and universities would not re-open after the Christmas break.

Again, both actions failed.

Most banks remained open, and those that did close did so only for 48 hours. In most schools around Venezuela, an alliance of parents, teachers and students guaranteed the opening of the schools and colleges ... in some cases against the will of the headmasters.

As for Chavez being an unpopular dictator ... nothing could be further from the truth.

The opposition has been regularly calling demonstrations against the government demanding his resignation, and they can manage only to mobilize 100,000, 200,000 or even 300,000 people onto the streets ... mainly from the rich and middle class areas of Caracas. What is not generally reported is that the Bolivarians (as the supporters of the revolutionary process call themselves) can get far bigger crowds onto the streets. On December 7 ... right at the beginning of the opposition protest ... a massive demonstration of more than 2 million people took to the streets of Caracas against the 'strike' and to defend the democratically-elected government.

In fact, the result of the opposition 'strike' has been to further polarize Venezuelan society and push many people who had not previously taken sides, to openly declare themselves against the opposition ... which they rightly see as being responsible for the fuel and food shortages.

There have been many instances where people, queuing for hours to get petrol, have expelled opposition supporters from the petrol station queues for having the audacity to try to blame the government for shortages. Chavez is most definitely not a dictator.

It is in fact his supporters who are demanding that the government take stronger action against the opposition, which is hell bent on overthrowing a democratically-elected government. The only people who are currently in prison as a result of the April 11 opposition coup last year are actually government supporters who were defending the Presidential Palace against the coup!

Pedro Carmona Estanga, who appointed himself President for a few hours following the coup, was put under house arrest for a few days, and later escaped to Colombia.

The opposition newspapers (all of them apart from two or three exceptions) carry numerous articles and editorials openly calling for a military coup to remove Chavez and appealing to the armed forces to overthrow the government, and no measures are taken against them!

There is a group of military officers who have declared themselves in rebellion against the government and, instead of being arrested, they have been allowed to set up a permanent camp in Plaza Altamira, a square in the center of Caracas (mind you, these "courageous" individuals leave their "permanent" camp at night to go to sleep in luxury hotels!).

Chavez and his government have been put to the test in seven different elections since he was elected in 1998 ... and they have won every single one of them.

Furthermore, Venezuela's new Bolivarian Constitution allows for all elected public officials to be subject to a recall referendum half-way through their term of office. This includes the President, who is up for such a referendum in August 2003. The problem is that the opposition is convinced they would lose such a referendum, and that is why they are demanding Chavez's resignation. What they did not achieve in April, by means of a military coup, they want to achieve now by a combination of economic sabotage, chaos, appeals to the armed forces and international pressure.

The reason why the local oligarchy and the USA are opposed to Chavez is that even his limited program of democratic reforms (land reform, maintenance of PDVSA as a state-owned company and the extension of political democracy amongst others) and the process of mass mobilization and organization which they have generated, directly clash with class interests. But the very actions of the reactionary forces are pushing the masses to take direct action and push forward their revolutionary cause.

On January 10, for instance, 400 workers at Covencaucho (a tire company in Lara State) decided to take over the factory and declared themselves on "strike against the strike," when they were told that the company had decided to join the opposition protest.

Oil workers at one of the refineries had been running the installations under workers' control throughout Christmas and New Year ... when a new manager was appointed by the government to replace the old one, who had joined the opposition protest, he was told by the workers that he was welcome to join them, but that the refinery was now under workers' management.

Also, on January 17, the National Guard, with the support of the workers and the local population, took over a Panamco beverages warehouse in Carabobo State belonging to the powerful businessman and oppositionist Gustavo Cisneros, justifying it as collective rights before private rights ... all these are just some indications of the deepening of the process of the Venezuelan revolution.

The main discussions taking place in the trade union and popular movements at the present time are about popular control of the mass media, workers' control and management of the State-owned companies, occupation of privately-owned factories, popular management of schools, nationalization of the banks, etc.

Through their own experience, the workers, the poor peasants and students are drawing the conclusion that in order to defend the revolutionary process it must be strengthened and deepened.

The most urgent task for Venezuelans is the building of a leadership that can help draw necessary conclusions in a process adopting a clear approach as the only way to guarantee final victory.

Jorge Martin (Secretary) Hands Off Venezuela Campaign handsoffvenezuela@yahoo.co.uk

www.villagevoice.com Press Clips by Cynthia Cotts April 17 - 23, 2002

The New York Sun is rising, but how long before it sets? Media writers have been hyping the April 16 launch of the conservative paper for weeks, and Tina Brown hosted a party for Editor in Chief Seth Lipsky, a respected newspaperman who miraculously raised $20 million from a dozen investors. Speculation abounds about the motives of backers including Conrad Black (now Lord Black), who previously tried to buy The Daily News and The New York Observer, and the team of Roger Hertog and Michael Steinhardt, who recently bought into The New Republic. Even as the buzz turns to skepticism, Lipsky remains serenely confident. In an interview, he praised his investors for their "abiding commitment to New York and the idea of civic involvement." As proof, he recalled that while investors' money had been scheduled to come through on September 11, the deal still closed speedily on October 1, with the original group intact.

But deep pockets empty quickly in the news trade, and some wags already see the Sun on the western horizon. They say that given the economics of publishing, the paper cannot possibly achieve its initial target of 25,000-35,000 paid circulation or survive more than a few glorious years. The streets of Manhattan are littered with the remains of dead start-ups, and The New York Observer, while popular, has never turned a profit.

"This is the work of a group of well-to-do people who want to get their approach into the marketplace of ideas," says Daily News editor in chief Ed Kosner. "It's an intellectual vanity publication, and there's nothing wrong with that." But Kosner sees the Sun's audience as "a very small niche, the niche of weekly and monthly journals."

According to one industry insider, the tone of the paper will make all the difference, and Lipsky's best chance for success is "if he can make New Yorkers excited to pick it up . . . then usurp the Observer and become the 10021 paper."

Jonathan Rosen, a writer and editor who worked with Lipsky at the Forward, praises the Sun editor as an astute political analyst and scrupulous journalist who "understands the entertainment value of news" and whose passion will carry the day.

"Bear in mind," says Rosen, "The New York Review of Books has a circulation of over 100,000. Who would have thought a journal written and edited by a bunch of eggheads working out their deep intellectual questions would be so appealing to so many people? What made it work was the people who created it and wrote for it really cared."

Sun chief operating officer William Kummel believes the paper's potential audience includes not just conservative elites, but anyone with a propensity to read daily newspapers in New York.

In the first year, Kummel expects about 75 percent of paid circulation to come from newsstands and 25 percent from subscriptions. The Sun will deliver about 60,000 copies to 4000 newsstands in the metropolitan area, where they will sell for 50 cents a pop. In hopes of accelerating the circulation numbers, the company has contracted with distributors owned by the New York Times Company and the Tribune Company. For home delivery, the Sun has contracted with Mitchell's Newspaper Delivery Service, which delivers the Times and other papers to Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, and beyond, and with Newsday to provide home delivery in Queens and Long Island.

In response to skepticism about the Sun's ability to attract readers, Kummel boasts that the Sun's circulation director is Cathy Lane, a Newsday veteran who helped launch the Spanish-language newspaper Hoy. Hoy claimed a circulation of 60,000-plus after three years. But does New York have as many conservatives as Hispanics?

Coup? What Coup?

New York Times foreign editors never liked Hugo Chávez, having repeatedly painted the Venezuelan president as a dangerous would-be dictator. So they must have popped their last bottle of Pulitzer champagne last week when they heard that Chávez had been toppled by an alliance of business and military leaders.

Of course, the Times was too diplomatic to use the word "coup." Instead, in an April 13 front-pager, Juan Forero reported that the "mercurial strongman" had been "forced to resign" by military men after his supporters killed 14 civilians during a strike.

When the White House called Chávez's fall a victory for democracy, Times editors must have thought they had an excuse to downplay the unconstitutional moves of interim president Pedro Carmona. From Forero's perspective, dissent was minimal, with only Cuba calling the resignation a coup. In the same edition, the Times ran a fluffy Carmona profile and an editorial saluting Venezuela for independently replacing a "ruinous demagogue" with a "respected business leader." In a news analysis, Larry Rohter explained why the transition was not technically a coup.

Even as the Times was propping up Carmona, Narconews.com was posting a portrait of a blindfolded and gagged Simón Bolívar, the 19th-century hero who liberated Venezuela from Spain. Publisher Al Giordano (a friend of mine) reported that the coup had been condemned by the governments of Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Paraguay, and that Chávez's authoritarian tendencies paled before those of the new regime, which had not only dissolved the Supreme Court and Congress, but also fired the attorney general and raided the homes of Chávez supporters.

Giordano speculated that the civilian deaths had been falsely blamed on Chávez, and noted that the whole thing smacked of CIA efforts to destabilize Chile in the 1970s. His bottom line on Saturday: "A twice democratically elected government has been deposed by a military junta that has installed an illegitimate, unelected president."

Giordano, a dogged critic of the Times, was vindicated the next day when an international outcry led to Chávez's reinstatement and a virtual front-page correction in the Times. For the April 14 edition, Ginger Thompson joined Forero in Caracas, where they interviewed Venezuelans who rejected what they called the, um, coup. In a sidebar, Forero clung to the now-fading claim that Chávez cronies had fired on civilians.

In the same edition, Tim Weiner delivered a Week in Review piece placing the ouster as one in a long line of "Latin American coups tacitly encouraged or covertly supported by the United States." Weiner named several reasons Bush might have wanted Chávez out, most notably the politics of oil. In Latin America, he wrote, the U.S. has long "supported authoritarian regimes . . . in defense of its economic and political interests."

Enter The Washington Post's Scott Wilson, who reported on April 14 that the coup had not been spontaneous, but the work of dissident military officers who said they had been planning it for months and had solicited the approval of the U.S. Embassy in Caracas.

On April 15, Times reporters used the word "coup" unapologetically for the first time. Better late than never, but too bad they couldn't see it in the first place.