Ana Teresa Fábregas de Sucre Caracas-Venezuela   The deep and extremely critical political crisis that Venezuela is undergoing needs urgent attention and must be taken seriously by the international community.   After 4 years of the most incompetent and ominous government in our history, Venezuela is immersed in the worst political, economic, social and institutional crisis ever.   And time is running out: we're at the brink of loosing our democracy to the hands of the autocratic Chavez.  The international response has been discouraging so far.

The international media has the great responsibility to FULLY UNMASK to the world what Chavez's "revolution" is REALLY about.   The complexity and the many factors involved in this crisis along with the lack of understanding and narrow minded vision portrayed by many international correspondents have generated in most instances, superficial, inaccurate, uninformed and/or distorted depictions of present day Venezuela.  With some exceptions, their accounts and irresponsible conclusions represent another stumbling block to the overwhelming peaceful struggle of the majority of Venezuelans to consolidate democracy. 

Venezuela became front-page news only when PDVSA?s management and employees (around 35,000 out of 40,000) walked out and joined a nationwide strike in favor of democracy bringing the country's oil production to a standstill.  The serious disruption of Venezuela's oil supplies affects not only the country but the United States and its interests.  However, what must be front-page news and what must be emphasized repeatedly is the fact that a democratically elected president systematically violates the Constitution and in his obsession to keep himself in power he is destroying the country; therefore he shall be removed from office.  The majority of Venezuelans today (80% according to polls) are willing to pay the ultimate price in order to achieve this goal peacefully within a democratic framework.

Given the enormous amount of evidence available it is hard to understand why most of the international media give more coverage to the symptoms than to the problem itself.  Moreover, it is appalling and disgusting how many international correspondents do not verify the veracity of the information presented to them by the government.  It is clear for Venezuelans that Chavez, under the disguise of legality, is in the final stage of imposing a Marxist-Leninist regime and declaring himself dictator in the same fashion as Fidel Castro.  Chavez?s “revolution” which is ideological and political and lacks real substance, has certainly done very little for the country but impoverishing its citizens, instigating hate and division and creating great inequality.  Its main objective -as that of any totalitarian regime- has been the concentration of power at any cost by using the tactics of destruction, intimidation, threats, lies and violence.  In this sense, it is the revolution of deceit, because Chavez and his circle have demonstrated to be impostors who use all kinds of artifices to mislead Venezuelans by the use of false information, by the practice of cheating, bribery and dishonesty.   As a result this government is characterized: first, by its arbitrariness, for its open disrespect for the law and the undemocratic capricious conduct of its leaders.  Second, by its mediocrity for the precarious intellectual level, ineptitude and negligence to generate constructive and concrete policies; and because it rewards not education and decency, competence and efficiency but meanness and vulgarity.  As a well respected Venezuelan intellectual and humorist Pedro Leon Zapata put it recently: “in this government one is forbidden to be intelligent.”  

Chavez represents a dangerous combination of fierce populist, demagogue, snake charmer, charismatic tele-evangelist preacher, megalomaniac, ultimate judge of good and evil and a farce.  It is surprising how many educated people have been fooled by Chavez?s demagogic rhetoric.  In this sense, the international media must pay special attention to his double discourse and multiple faces; what he preaches and what he does. 

Chavez?s conscious use of language with the purpose of annihilation is part of his totalitarian project.  His most dangerous weapon is his rhetoric of hate, of division, of social resentment, of no tolerance and of violence.  In his strategy to eliminate the adversary, he dismisses and debases everyone who dissents from him and his followers as "oligarch," "squalid," "terrorist," "fascist," "conspirator," "traitor" who must be eradicated from society to purify it.  He's been successful in manipulating and exploiting the sentiments and needs of the poor and modeling their perceptions to the extent of negating reality.  All this has resulted in the unfortunate polarization of society.

On the other hand, Chavez's verbal attacks, insults and menaces, disrespect and cynicism have made him enemies with many factors of society.  Many of his former close allies are now his strongest opponents.  Moreover, he even has made enemies with the intelligentsia, university students and artists who traditionally are against the status quo and generally share leftist tendencies.  He has antagonized the Church ("a tumor which has to be eradicated"), the media ("garbage," "conspirators"), the federation of chambers of commerce, the largest labor union, the oil industry and some sectors of the Armed Forces; he has tried to enlist the last two into his leftist program by firing respected oil executives indiscriminately and appointing his cronies.  

As part of the government’s propaganda and lobbying Chavez has been careful to portray a very different image abroad.  With the appointment of the moderate and elegant Roy Chaderton -a respected career diplomat- as his Foreign Minister the government has tried to put on a face of not having authoritarian tendencies.  It is important to mention that the lobbying has apparently reached many international media organizations.

Chavez represented the hope for profound changes for those who voted for him in 1998.  He symbolized the rise of a new beginning which would make a tabula rasa of the past.  He campaigned on two premises:  his government was to represent the interests of the poor and those alienated by previous governments, and he was to eradicate corruption.  All the conditions were set up in place for Chavez:  he enjoyed 80% of popularity at the beginning of his government together with high oil prices that generated huge earnings; his political party had won the majority of seats in the National Assembly, and with the approval of a new custom-made Constitution, that increased the president’s powers he appointed at his will his closest allies to the most important posts and without the approval of the National Assembly.  Moreover, he virtually dissolved the two strongest Venezuelan political parties.  Four years later, see for your self.

Chavez has failed in his promises and betrayed his voters.  According to polls, his former popularity has vertiginously dropped to around 20 % today.  The economy is in ruins; corruption is grotesque and rampant, and the worst ever (earnings of $120 billion have evaporated).  Unemployment, poverty and misery have increased dramatically (according to the economist Francisco Vivancos, this government has become a “poverty manufacturer”).  The government’s subsidies for highly successful Church-run social development programs were eliminated; and the new ones have been unsuccessful, like the “Plan Bolivar 2000” which has been disastrous.  Public healthcare has virtually collapsed.  Burglaries, assaults and street violence have increased alarmingly. 

As pointed out before, the worst of all is that this government violates the Constitution on a constant basis and manipulates it according to its will.  Chavez himself committed one of the most flagrant violations of the democratic principles:  in his TV monologue Alo Presidente of 12/15/02 he brazenly instigated members of the Armed Forces to disobey judicial orders.  When a President believes he can go beyond the law and the Constitution he becomes a Dictator.

In Venezuela today the judicial system is falling apart under Chavez's grip and as a result the rule of law has deteriorated dramatically.  This government has politicized all aspects of society to the point where the different branches of government lack independence and reliability and serve only the interests of Chavez?s revolution.  We are living under a regime which can arbitrarily suspend the inalienable rights of every citizen. 

Furthermore, Chavez has begun to militarize Caracas and other parts of the country.  This is another evidence of the government’s interference with the Venezuelan democracy (the seizure of the Metropolitan Police is an example).  Moreover, a sector of the Armed Forces has become Chavez's praetorian army used for intimidation and repression.  Many politicians, journalists and innocent civilians have suffered the excessive use of force in recent months.  This regime is becoming one of terror in which the so-called "Bolivarian Circles" –commonly known as circles of violence (in reality government sponsored armed street gangs led by Chavez’s political cronies) serve as the defendants of the "revolution" along with loyal officers of the military and the political police.   To illustrate the promotion of violence Chavez, in a public appearance on 10/4/01 said the following:  “…this is a peaceful revolution but it is not disarmed…when I say arms I am not referring only to words but to fusils, tanks…”

This government has also been repeatedly accused of violating Human Rights.  According to Liliana Ortega, head of Cofavic (an organization for the defense of human rights) and who in 1999 was recognized by TIME Magazine as one of Latin America’s leaders for the new millennium, more than 120 claims of “extremely serious” violations to human rights have been received by the institution this year alone.  Cofavic has also accused the government for the “non-fulfillment of the cautionary measures and other decisions dictated by both the Inter-American Commission and Inter-American Court of Human Rights respectively.”

During this government many crimes have not been formally investigated and the material authors remain at large.  More than eight months have passed since the massacre of April 11, 2002 in which dozens of innocent civilians in a peaceful march were killed and wounded by snipers and gunmen from what is strongly believed to be government-related circles of violence.  The Venezuelan journalist who recorded the video showing the identified gunmen in action will receive the King of Spain prize of journalism.  Chavez himself publicly defended these criminals on TV with great cynicism, a scene which was repeated this time with the man he called “a gentleman” who killed 3 and wounded near 30 peaceful demonstrators in the Plaza Altamira on Dec. 6, 2002.  This criminal was caught in fragranti and confessed of his crime on TV. 

I am a witness of the brutal repression against innocent civilians near one of PDVSA’s main buildings in Chuao, a suburb of Caracas in which my husband was a victim. On December 3, 2002 a group of national guardsmen savagely attacked a small group of people.  I was able to run for my life but my husband was ambushed by four guardsmen and was brutally attacked once he had fallen on the floor.  The guardsmen kicked him and shot him with pellets at a very short range that badly injured his face, chest, arms and hands; afterwards he was hit on his back.  An amateur video recorded the complete aggression, which has been endlessly shown on TV and newspapers as evidence of this government’s repression.

The government's recklessness have unified the majority of society (approximately 80% according to polls) against it, from the rich, to the middle-class, to the poor.   Chavez is certainly not connected with the people anymore because he has demonstrated to be intransigent and a man without sensibility who is determined to impose his “revolution” against the will of the majority.  Chavez repeatedly ridicules, humiliates and despises Venezuelans by ignoring the overwhelming opposition and their call for his resignation and elections.  He cannot see that he is the obstacle for democracy, for progress, and for peace.  He cannot understand that he and his “revolution” represent a terrible accident in contemporary Venezuelan political history.

Although the general strike is partial, what is not partial is the widespread social mobilization in every city.  The general strike has evolved into an active, voluntary and spontaneous civic resistance of thousands of people on the streets that is increasing on a daily basis.  On Dec.15, 2002 and according to newspapers, 1.5 million people in Caracas alone took to the streets in a monumental peaceful march that symbolized the overwhelming resistance that the government faces. 

We are running out of gas in the country.  This is a serious situation that will create a highly volatile climate but it's the ultimate pressure for a government that is deaf and blind, to negotiate its exit.  But in reality, Chavez’s obstinate, intolerant authoritarian behavior and little political create a barrier for responsible constructing debate to reach an agreement with all parties involved.  Chavez himself said recently that “the revolution is inflexible” which corroborates the military-like scheme of force and resistance that the government is using to deal with this extremely serious crisis.

The O.A.S. Secretary General, Cesar Gaviria came to Venezuela to install a Table of Negotiation and Agreements between the government and the opposition in order to diffuse the present day crisis.  It has been more than four weeks since these rounds of talks have begun with no apparent results.  It seems evident that the government is cheating and sabotaging the talks because a Dictator does not negotiate.  Meanwhile, the government is consciously and irresponsibly buying time, giving that their strategy is aimed for the opposition to chicken out.  The government is playing an extremely dangerous game because they are bidding for violence and chaos. 

Venezuelans want a democratic solution, not a coup d'état.  Venezuelans want a country united and free.  Venezuelans want peace.  Venezuelans don't want violence.  Venezuelans want elections as soon as possible.  To that effect on November 4, 2002 all the opposition groups introduced the required signatures needed to initiate a consultative referendum.  This referendum has been set to take place on February 2, 2003 but as one can expect of this government they have and will try by all means to boycott this referendum from taking place.   Ana Teresa Fábregas de Sucre Caracas-Venezuela

Reuters, 01.06.03, 12:10 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's government said it was making progress on Monday in breaking an oil export "blockade" caused by a 36-day strike by foes of President Hugo Chavez.

"In fact, there was (a blockade). What we are doing is unblocking it," Venezuelan oil minister Rafael Ramirez said in a Monday morning television interview.

Ramirez said that maritime companies that joined the strike and hindered ship loadings would be replaced in efforts to boost oil sales that account for half of government revenues.

International shipments last week by the world's No. 5 crude exporter were flat with the previous week at 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to calculations made by Reuters using data from shippers and state oil firm Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). The OPEC nation had exported nearly 2.7 million bpd of crude and products in November, and the disruption in Venezuela, which normally provides over 13 percent of U.S. daily imports, sent oil prices near two-year highs over $33 a barrel last week.

Chavez said in a late Sunday national television address that the government was winning the battle for PDVSA. Rebel PDVSA employees say oil output has been cut to less than 200,000 bpd from 3.1 million bpd, while the government said it is at 600,000 bpd and will double in the next week.

"As of today, exports rose to 1.5 million bpd," the Populist leader said. Independent shippers reported that Venezuela loaded just over 1.3 million barrels of crude on Sunday for export in three tankers.

Of the crude loaded, 350,000 barrels were dispatched to the nearby island of Bonaire, while the German Sun carrying 450,000 barrels of crude sailed for the United States, shippers said. The PDVSA-owned Hero, laden with 520,000 barrels of crude for Lake Charles in the United States, was expected to depart Monday morning.

Only ships chartered by PDVSA and U.S. refining affiliate Citgo have loaded, as foreign firms have hesitated to have vessels attended by uncertified replacement crews hired by the government.

The government has said it will use the strike to clean up PDVSA and hire workers aligned with the interests of the state. Striking PDVSA employees have said they will not return to work until Chavez is out of office or until early elections are called, and that replacement workers will not be able to restart the industry. Oil minister Ramirez said that oil executives fired during the work stoppage would not be rehired.

January 6, 2003

CBN.com – CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Supporters of President Hugo Chavez protested outside the attorney-general's office Monday to demand an investigation into two slayings the government blamed on leaders of a month-old strike.

Dozens of protesters shouted for justice, some bearing placards blaming the Caracas city police - which reports to an opposition mayor - for the killings at a political rally Friday.

Chavez promised justice for the men, who were shot in a melee of Chavez followers, opposition marchers and security forces. It was unclear who was responsible for the deaths of the two government supporters, but Chavez blamed the violence on the strike leaders and the opposition-aligned news media.

"Venezuelans cannot keep dying with impunity," Chavez said in a televised address Sunday night. "We are obligated to impart justice. The country demands it. The fatherland clamors for it."

As the two sides traded charges, Chavez claimed oil exports were recovering and had reached 1.5 million barrels a day - about half Venezuela's normal level. Striking oil executives say production is only a fraction of normal output. Venezuela is the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a major U.S. supplier.

Oil production came to a near halt because the strike, which began Dec. 2, includes some 35,000 employees of the state monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.

Chavez called leaders of the strike "traitors" and insisted they should be punished. But he stopped short of announcing new measures to force and end to the strike.

The president has already fired dozens of striking workers from the state oil monopoly and ordered troops to guard oil installations.

Thousands of Chavez supporters attended the funerals Sunday of the men killed in the melee - Oscar Gomez Aponte, 24, and Jairo Gregorio Moran, 23. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and several Cabinet ministers helped carry the flag-draped coffins through Caracas.

The violence erupted Friday when several hundred presidential supporters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at thousands of opposition marchers outside military headquarters in Caracas. At least 78 people were injured.

Police fought to keep the two sides apart, firing rubber bullets and tear gas, when gunfire rang out. Opposition protesters insisted the shots came from Chavez supporters. But the government said it came from police who report to an opposition mayor.

"How long will metropolitan police officers continue being used to repress the people?" Chavez said in his speech. "We will find the assassins of Oscar Gomez and Jairo Gregorio Moran wherever they are hiding."

Chavez tried to take over the city police force last fall but the Supreme Court ordered the president to restore the force's autonomy.

He lashed out at owners of Venezuelan newspapers and television stations, accusing them of hailing strike leaders as "heroes when they are really traitors."

Strike leader Alfredo Gomez said Sunday that Chavez fired 251 more striking oil workers but government officials were not immediately available to confirm the claim. Chavez did not mention the dismissals during his television address.

Opposition leaders blame Chavez's leftist policies for a deep recession and accuse him of trying to accumulate too much power. They want him to resign or hold a nonbinding referendum on his rule, which he says would be unconstitutional.

Two police officers also were wounded Saturday when gunfire broke out during Gomez Aponte's wake. Chavez supporters fired on police after the government blamed the Caracas police for the Friday deaths, police chief Henry Vivas said.

Officers returned fire using rubber bullets and tear gas. The state news agency, Venpres, reported Sunday that a woman who the government had earlier claimed died from tear gas asphyxiation in fact survived.

Meanwhile, leaders of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement called on Venezuelans to donate between $1.80 and $3.50 to hold the referendum on Feb. 2 as planned.

The opposition presented a petition with more than 1.5 million signatures to election authorities Nov. 6 to call for the referendum, but the National Elections Council says the Chavez-controlled Parliament hasn't authorized $22 million needed to pay for it.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, has challenged the legality of the referendum at the Supreme Court.

The president has also said he might consider imposing martial law to defeat a general strike that has paralyzed the economy and the oil industry in the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporting country.

03:44 PM EST Jan 06

CARACAS (AP) - Supporters of President Hugo Chavez protested outside the attorney-general's office Monday to demand an investigation into two slayings the government blamed on leaders of a month-old strike. Dozens of protesters shouted for justice, some bearing placards blaming Caracas city police - who report to an opposition mayor - for the killings at a political rally Friday.

Chavez promised justice for the men, who were shot in a melee of Chavez followers, opposition marchers and security forces. It was unclear who was responsible for the deaths of the two government supporters, but Chavez blamed the violence on the strike leaders and the opposition-aligned news media.

"Venezuelans cannot keep dying with impunity," Chavez said in a televised address Sunday night. "We are obligated to impart justice. The country demands it. The fatherland clamours for it."

He lashed out at owners of Venezuelan newspapers and television stations, accusing them of hailing strike leaders as "heroes when they are really traitors."

The dispute pits Venezuelan's economic elite and their allies in the middle class who fear they will suffer under Chavez's attempts to improve the lot of the country's poor majority.

Opposition leaders blame Chavez's leftist policies for a deep recession and accuse him of trying to accumulate too much power. They want him to resign or hold a non-binding referendum on his rule.

Chavez blames economic dislocation on the opposition strike and say his opponents should wait for a binding resolution which, under the constitution, can be held by summer.

Chavez was briefly deposed in an opposition coup last year, but quickly restored to power by the military after coup leaders tried to suspend the constitution.

As the two sides traded allegations, Chavez claimed oil exports were recovering and had reached 1.5 million barrels a day - about half Venezuela's normal level.

Striking oil executives say production is only a fraction of normal output. Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States.

Oil production came to a near halt because the strike, which began Dec. 2, includes some 35,000 employees of the state monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.

Chavez called leaders of the strike "traitors" and said they should be punished. But he stopped short of announcing new measures to force and end to the strike.

The president has already fired dozens of striking workers from the state oil monopoly and ordered troops to guard oil installations.

Thousands of Chavez supporters attended the funerals Sunday of the men killed in the melee - Oscar Gomez Aponte, 24, and Jairo Gregorio Moran, 23. Vice-President Jose Vicente Rangel and several cabinet ministers helped carry the flag-draped coffins through Caracas.

The violence erupted Friday when several hundred presidential supporters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at thousands of opposition marchers outside military headquarters in Caracas. At least 78 people were injured.

Police fought to keep the two sides apart, firing rubber bullets and tear gas, when gunfire rang out. Opposition protesters insisted the shots came from Chavez supporters. But the government said it came from police who report to an opposition mayor.

"How long will metropolitan police officers continue being used to repress the people?" Chavez said in his speech. "We will find the assassins of Oscar Gomez and Jairo Gregorio Moran wherever they are hiding."

Chavez tried to take over the city police force last fall but the Supreme Court ordered the president to restore the force's autonomy.

Strike leader Alfredo Gomez said Sunday that Chavez fired 251 more striking oil workers but government officials were not immediately available to confirm the claim. Chavez did not mention the dismissals during his television address.

Two police officers also were wounded Saturday when gunfire broke out during Gomez Aponte's wake. Chavez supporters fired on police after the government blamed the Caracas police for the Friday deaths, police chief Henry Vivas said.

Monday January 6, 11:13 PM

CARACAS (Dow Jones)--December aluminum production at Venezuela's 80%-government-owned CVG-Industrie Venezolana de Aluminio, or CVG-Venalum, was a bit more than 37,400 tons, the best in the company's history, public affairs manager Leonardo Bezzara said Monday.

An ongoing 36-day-old strike general strike "had us worried for a little bit," but never shut production, Bezzara told Dow Jones Newswires in a telephone interview. Production during the year was a record 436,000 tons, he said.

Bezzara said a severe shortage of natural gas, due to the strike that began Dec. 2, shut production briefly at Bauxilum, the country's only supplier of alumina, the main raw material in aluminum production.

ADVERTISEMENT But Venalum has a constant 30-day supply of alumina in storage, while its sister aluminum producer Alcasa has a 10-day supply and Bauxilum, itself, had a 15-day supply, he said.

Gas supplies were returned to minimal required levels a few days after Bauxilum shut down, after an agreement was reached between the government and dissident managers at PdVSA Gas, the natural gas arm of state oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela SA (E.PVZ).

PdVSA officials agreed to maintain minimal gas levels because of the damage a total shut down would inflict on heavy industries in the region, Bezzara said.

Venalum, for instance, would take up to two years to restart if it ever shut down completely, he said.

That's because the company is currently operating 905 production cells, and a restart would have to be done at a maximum rate of two per day, he said.

The aluminum producers will likely be the last to suffer if there is a complete gas shut down because they don't use as much gas as do some of the other industries in the region, Bezzara said.

Venalum needs only about 6 million cubic feet per day of gas, Alcasa needs about 5 million cfpd, while Bauxilum needs about 50 million cfpd. Steel producer Sidor needs about 200 million cfpd, he said.

Japan's Showa Denko holds 7% in CVG-Venalum, Kobe Steel Ltd. (J.KOB) and Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. (J.SUC) each hold 4%, Mitsubishi Materials Corp. (J.MMT) holds 3%, and Mitsubishi Aluminum Co. and Marubeni Corp. (J.MRB) each have 1%.

Venezuela Venalum-2: To Name $600M Contract Winner Jan 10

Venalum will name on Jan. 10 the company selected for a $600 million construction contract to build a fifth production line, the government's Venpres news agency reported.

French aluminum producer Pechiney SA (PY), Switzerland-based Glencore International (Z.GNC) and a Venezuelan-U.S. group named ACV-Fluor Daniels have submitted indications of interest in the deal, state mining and heavy industry holding company Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana, or CVG, has said.

The fifth line should add 200,000 metric tons in annual production capacity, approximately doubling current capacity in the first four lines, according to CVG information.

Venezuela is looking for so-called "strategic partners" to invest in sectors ranging from gold and diamond mining to iron, steel and aluminum production.

The first such deal was signed in 2001 by Pechiney which agreed to invest $208 million without retaining any equity in Bauxilum. Pechiney is being repaid its investment over a few years in the form of cheap Bauxilum-produced alumina.

Opposition leaders have said they won't lift the strike until President Hugo Chavez agrees to call elections in 30 days if he loses a Feb. 2 nonbinding vote on whether he should remain president.

Chavez has thus far maintained the constitution only requires him to accept the results of a possible recall referendum next August, the midpoint of his term.

Chavez's critics blame his left-leaning policies for country's deepening economic crisis with a likely 8% contraction in 2002, amid 17% unemployment, and 31% annualized inflation sparked by a 46% devaluation of the bolivar ($1=VEB1403).

Chavez has said the problems are due to an "economic coup" led by his opponents.

CVG Website: www.cvg.com