Opposition Plans March on Venezuela Military Complex

www.voanews.com VOA News 12 Jan 2003, 15:10 UTC

Opponents of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez are planning to march on a military complex in Caracas Sunday despite violent clashes during an earlier protest at the site.

Opposition supporters say they will march on the military base, even though a similar protest on January 3 ended in clashes with Chavez supporters that left two people dead and more than a dozen wounded.

Saturday, President Chavez again issued a stern warning to his opponents, vowing to break a six-week general strike that has crippled Venezuela's economy and its vital oil industry.

Speaking at a rally of thousands of cheering supporters at a Caracas sports arena, Mr. Chavez said his revolutionary government will not give in to opposition demands for him to resign.

Accusing strike organizers of closing many of the nation's schools, Mr. Chavez said teachers who do not show up for work will be fired.

President Chavez's opponents began the general strike December 2 to force him to resign or call early elections. He refuses to step down, saying the labor action amounts to a coup attempt.

The political crisis has paralyzed the nation's petroleum industry, which accounts for about 80 percent of Venezuela's export revenue, and has helped push up world oil prices. Before the strike began, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a key U.S. supplier.

Some information for this report provided by AP, Reuters and AFP.