Venezuelan Leaders Review Strike Strategy

abcnews.go.com Some in Venezuela's Opposition Reviewing Strike Strategy; Moves Could Affect Education, Hospitals The Associated Press Venezuela Jan. 13 —

Venezuelan opposition leaders said Monday they were considering asking doctors, teachers and small business owners to return to work, saying aspects of the 43-day-old walkout could become "counterproductive."

But the strike will continue where it matters most, in the key oil industry, said Enrique Naime, a leader of the opposition political movement Democratic Coordinator. The industry provides half of government revenue and 80 percent of export earnings.

"The oil people are insisting they aren't going to cede," Naime said. "The strike will continue but it's important to continue without kicking goals into our own net."

The opposition is worried that suffering caused by the strike could lead to a popular backlash, even though it says it has taken measures to ensure there are no acute shortages of essential goods.

Most private schools and some public schools have been closed since the strike began Dec. 2. Hospital workers supporting the strike are only attending emergencies. Many small businesses complain they can't sustain losses much longer. Gasoline and bank lines are long; gas shortages have disrupted commerce. Many Caracas supermarkets have run out of fresh milk and are running low on basics such as flour and drinking water. Many medicines no longer are available at pharmacies.

"At this moment, the doctors' strike could be counterproductive, just like the educational strike could be counterproductive," Naime said.

He said strike leaders were considering asking medical workers, teachers and small business owners to resume work.

William Davila, another Democratic Coordinator leader, said the food industry also should be given the freedom to ensure supply.

But Davila said any easing of the strike should depend on a pending decision by the Supreme Court on the legality of a nonbinding referendum of Chavez's rule. The National Elections Council has set the referendum for Feb. 2.

The strikers are trying to force Chavez to accept a nonbinding referendum on his rule. Chavez's presidency runs until January 2007, and Venezuela's constitution says a binding referendum may be held halfway into his six-year term, or August.

Chavez's opponents cite a clause in the constitution that allows citizens to petition for referendums on "matters of national importance" at any time. They delivered 2 million signatures asking for the vote.

The strike is strongest in the state oil monopoly, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., where 30,000 of 40,000 workers are striking. The government fired at least 1,000 managers. Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez said the government will bring oil production back to 2.5 million barrels a day by mid-February.

Once the world's fifth largest oil exporter and No. 4 supplier to the United States, Venezuela now exports less than 300,000 barrels a day, according to striking executives. The government says exports are 800,000 a day.

According to the Lundberg Survey of 8,000 U.S. service stations, Venezuela's strike has helped raise U.S. gasoline prices by 5 cents per gallon in the past three weeks to an average $1.50 a gallon.

Citing scarce gasoline imports from Venezuela, the U.S. Energy Department said American motorists could pay up to $1.54 per gallon of gasoline this spring even if war is averted in Iraq.

"The market underestimated the tenacity of the Venezuelan strikers," said Phil Flynn, head of the energy trading desk at Alaron Trading Corp. on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. "People are finally starting to wake up not just to the strike but also to Venezuela's importance as a U.S. supplier."

In Maracaibo, 340 miles west of Caracas, police used tear gas to keep pro- and anti-Chavez rallies apart. National Guard troops used tear gas to stop a small clash in Caracas.

Chavez who purged the military of dissidents after a brief April coup has sent troops to seize striking oil tankers, commandeer gasoline trucks and lock strikers out of oil installations. Last week, he threatened to send soldiers to seize food production plants participating in the strike and fire or jail striking teachers.

"We are spending millions of dollars to import food," Chavez said Friday. "I can't allow the people to be strangled by hunger. I can't allow children to die because there are no medicines, or no milk."