Venezuelans Hold Mass Anti-Government Rally

www.voanews.com VOA News 19 Jan 2003, 04:09 UTC

More than 100,000 Venezuelans took part in an anti-government rally in Caracas late Saturday after President Hugo Chavez threatened to quit talks aimed at ending the country's seven-week-old crippling general strike.

Protesters disrupted traffic, as they marched in the capital to support demands that President Chavez step down and call early elections. The embattled leader says he will not negotiate with strikers and has threatened to use the full extent of the law backed by military power to end the strike.

Earlier, Mr. Chavez said he was considering pulling out of talks with the opposition brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS). He accused opponents of not being serious about following what he called a "democratic path."

The Venezuelan president made the remark in Brazil, where he held talks with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the latest initiative to send the political stalemate.

A so-called Group of Friends of Venezuela is being set up to help mediate between Mr. Chavez and the opposition. The group includes Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the United States.

Mr. Chavez wants Russia and China to be added to the group, but Mr. da Silva rejected the idea saying a smaller number could make and implement decisions more efficiently.