Strike to oust Chávez costly

www.miami.com Posted on Tue, Jan. 14, 2003 BY FRANCES ROBLES frobles@herald.com

CARACAS - Venezuela's national strike, 44 days long and aimed at forcing a new presidential election, has cost the government $4 billion, the energy minister said Monday night.

An alliance of business, oil and labor sectors declared strike here Dec. 2 in a quest to force the resignation of President Hugo Chávez. The former army paratrooper is accused by infuriated opponents of arming civilian militias and weakening democracy as he institutes a leftist revolution.

A staggering drop in oil production has cost the country $50 million a day in lost revenue, even as the government claims it is using retirees and ''patriot'' employees to bring production up to 800,000 barrels a day. Before the strike, the norm was three million barrels.

Among the costs of the strike, Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramírez cited imports of 2.2 million barrels of gasoline to satisfy domestic needs, at a cost $105 million. Anchored tankers whose captains refuse to sail cost $20,000 a day each, with a total price of $15 million, he said.

''These acts of terrorism and sabotage have had their consequences,'' he said. ``These are enormous losses, without including the enormous losses in the future.''

While the strike is faltering on the local business level, it has succeeded in devastating Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., the state oil company.

''They have tried to stop food delivery -- they have not succeeded and will not succeed,'' Ramírez said of the opposition front. ``They have tried to create chaos -- they have not succeeded and will not succeed.''

Last week, Chávez claimed oil production was already up to 1.5 million barrels a day -- a figure most experts consider preposterous. Striking PDVSA managers said Monday's production was 413,000 barrels. Normally, 1.5 million barrels go to the United States alone.

''Let's just start by saying: The oil industry is on a work stoppage,'' said Juan Fernández, the company's former planning director, who says the government widely exaggerates its ability to break the strike. 'Mr. Ramírez referred to `sabotage.' Is he saying the 36,000 people on strike are sabotaging by remote control?''

Strikers have insisted they will continue the work stoppage until Chávez agrees to new elections. The president has refused, despite a nonbinding referendum called for Feb. 2 asking voters whether he should step down.