Venezuela's opposition starts daylong protest over court's suspending referendum

www.bayarea.com Posted on Sun, Jan. 26, 2003 By Christopher Toothaker ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARACAS, Venezuela - Opponents of President Hugo Chavez launched a 24-hour street demonstration Saturday to protest a court ruling that postponed a referendum on Chavez's rule.

A 21/2-mile stretch of central Caracas highway was set aside for the event, which organizers warned may last longer than one day.

"Prepare yourself for the longest protest in history!" screamed TV commercials and newspaper ads in the opposition-run media. They advised protesters to bring drinking water, sun hats, folding chairs and portable TVs to while away the hours under the tropical sun.

The demonstration followed a Supreme Court decision Wednesday to indefinitely postpone a nonbinding plebiscite, dashing opposition's hopes for a means of removing Chavez from office. Opposition leaders were convinced Chavez would be so embarrassed by the outcome, he would quit.

Negotiations mediated by Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, continued, aimed at ending the 55-day-old strike and bitter political stalemate.

But the opposition says it isn't going to wait for talks to produce results.

"We can't wait for the rainstorm to hit without having an umbrella," said Haydee Deutsch, of the Democratic Coordinator opposition movement.

Opponents are now considering a proposal by former President Carter, which would amend Venezuela's constitution to shorten presidential and legislative terms and mandate early elections.

"It's an option we think is viable," said labor leader Alfredo Ramos.

The proposal calls for the opposition to end the strike and for the government, which has a congressional majority, to move quickly on changing the constitution. Amending the constitution requires congressional approval and a popular referendum.

A second proposal by Carter, who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year, calls for Venezuelans to prepare for a binding recall referendum on the president's rule in August.

The so-called "Group of Friends of Venezuela," six countries that have pledged to help Gaviria broker an end to the crisis, met for the first time in Washington on Friday.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, who attended the meeting, urged Venezuelans to adopt Carter's ideas.

"The Carter proposals represent the best path available to the Venezuelans. They provide the badly needed basis on which both sides can bridge their differences on the immediate issues," Powell said, in a text released by the State Department.

While the "Friends" initiative began to take shape, oil production in Venezuela, the world's fifth largest exporter, was creeping up.

Increased output could be a sign Chavez is defeating the work stoppage intended to force his ouster. But the former paratroop commander still struggles with the strike's effect on a recession-hit economy.

Oil production stood at about 3.2 million barrels per day before the strike was called Dec. 2. -- and slipped as low as 150,000 barrels per day later that month.

On Friday, dissident executives at state-run monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., or PDVSA, said output had crept to 855,000 barrels per day, up from 812,000 barrels on Thursday.

But production gains could be capped if exports, averaging around 450,000 barrels a day, don't pick up quickly. If oil isn't shipped, inventories pile up and no space remains for fresh production.

Many tanker pilots returned to their jobs this week, but foreign shippers remained reluctant to use Venezuelan ports because regular docking and support personnel have not abandoned the strike.

Oil exports account for roughly half of government income. Chavez's government has acknowledged losing over $4 billion since the strike started.

Chavez could be "winning the petroleum war," as he claimed on Thursday, but the economic outlook for 2003 is dismal.

The Santander Central Hispano investment bank warned that Venezuela's economy could contract as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of 2003 if the crisis isn't resolved soon. The economy shrank by an estimated 8 percent in 2002.