Venezuela seeks to expand 'friends'

www.canoe.ca Chavez busy seeking solutions to crisis By AP

BRASILIA -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez asked yesterday for broader international support for his embattled government and urged "social, political and economic revolution" as the only solution for South America's ills.

Chavez met for three hours with Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and asked for support to expand the Group of Friends of Venezuela, created to seek solutions for his country's political crisis.

Chavez said the group - comprised of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the United States - should include more countries, including Russia and China.

But Brazil argued that a smaller, more agile group could make and implement decisions faster, said Silva's foreign affairs adviser, Marco Aurelio Garcia. The group will support the negotiating efforts now under way by the Organization of American States.

The balance within the current group is "delicate but important because it brings together a range of opinions about the situation in Venezuela," Foreign Minister Celso Amorim said after the meeting.

Chavez said he accepted Brazil's position but said the group could be expanded in the future.

At home, Chavez faces a general strike called Dec. 2 by opposition groups to force him from office. The strike has caused severe food and fuel shortages, but Chavez has defied demands to resign.

Chavez indicated he would be willing to discuss a constitutional amendment reducing the presidential term from six years to five or four and to hold new elections, as long as the changes were carried out within the existing legal framework and were supported by a referendum.

"Dialogue will prosper when the constitution is placed on the negotiating table instead of demands and blackmail that affect the people and undermine the Venezuelan economy," he said.

"Each day I am more convinced that Venezuela and other South American nations have no other route but that of social, political and economic revolution to resolve their problems," he added. Chavez arrived in Brasilia yesterday morning and flew back to Venezuela after the meeting.