Huge marches support Chavez against 53-day-old strike
www.sfgate.com JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer Thursday, January 23, 2003
(01-23) 13:58 PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --
Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans marched through Caracas on Thursday to pledge their loyalty to President Hugo Chavez and protest a 53-day-old strike intended to unseat him.
An explosion near a subway station a block from the march killed one person and injured 14, Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said. The cause of the blast wasn't immediately known.
Buses from across the country, swathed with red banners and red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags, poured into the capital for the show of support for Chavez. Briceno estimated the number of demonstrators at more than 300,000.
"Ooh! Ah! Chavez isn't leaving!" demonstrators chanted as they snaked onto a highway, headed for a downtown rally. Marches formed in other parks and demonstrators exploded powerful noisemakers -- known as "Bin Ladens" -- that have become a hallmark of the pro-Chavez movement.
The outpouring of support marked the 45th anniversary of the fall of the country's last dictator, Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez. It also came a day before the first meeting of the "Group of Friends," six nations that have offered to help Venezuela find a way out of its crisis.
The meeting will consider two plans presented this week by former President Jimmy Carter to end the strike and hold early elections.
Chavez said late Wednesday he welcomed international help but warned against outside intervention in Venezuela's internal affairs. He urged the group -- Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States -- to recognize that his is an elected government and to not give equal weight to what he calls a coup-plotting opposition.
Diplomats from the six nations were to meet Friday at the Washington headquarters of the Organization of American States with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who is mediating talks between the government and opposition.
Chavez said Wednesday he still wants to expand the group to include such nations as China, Russia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and France. But Gaviria said the group of six was picked for balance and to be of a size that is manageable.
Venezuela played a similar role with other countries in trying to end the Central American crisis in the 1980s.
Opposition leaders asked their supporters in Caracas to stay home Thursday to lessen the chance of clashes with pro-Chavez marchers.
They contend Chavez's leftist policies have damaged business and scared away foreign investment. They called the strike on Dec. 2 to force him out. The strike has damaged Venezuela's key oil industry, the world's fifth-largest exporter and a top supplier to the United States.
In a victory for Chavez, the Supreme Court, citing a technicality, on Wednesday postponed a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum that would have asked Venezuelans whether Chavez should quit.
Opposition marchers delivered 2 million signatures in November demanding the referendum.
Venezuela's constitution permits a binding referendum halfway through a president's term, which in Chavez's case would be August.
Demonstrators tore down a huge billboard that opponents had erected to count down the days to the now-postponed referendum.
The strike has affected world oil prices, and the government admits losing $4 billion in since the strike began. But there were signs that the oil strike may be easing.
The state news agency Venpres quoted Ali Rodriguez, president of the state owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., as saying most blue-collar workers and half of administrators had returned to work. Rodriguez also said crude production has surpassed 1 million barrels per day.
PDVSA employs 40,000 people, about half of them blue collar workers.
Striking executives challenged Rodriguez's figures, but acknowledged that Venezuela had raised its daily oil production to 714,000 barrels. Pre-strike production was about 3.2 million barrels per day.
A severe gasoline shortage and increasing scarcity of other consumer goods has put nerves in this country of 24 million on edge. Facing an economic crisis, the government Wednesday suspended for five business days all foreign currency trading. Venezuelans worried about the future of their currency, the bolivar, have been rushing to buy U.S. dollars to protect themselves.
Traffic in downtown's usually bustling streets slowed to a trickle Thursday. Steel doors, often covered with pro-Chavez graffiti, closed over most businesses.
"Chavez until 2021," read one. Chavez's term ends in 2007, but he has said he hopes to rule well beyond that.
The mood was boisterous in Parque del Este where one march formed.
"Nobody can get rid of Chavez," said Candida Gutierrez, a homemaker who came from El Tigre, 500 miles to the east, to take part. "We have Chavez for awhile."
Marchers waved flags bearing the image of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a hero of the Cuban revolution. Chavez is an avid admirer of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.