Anti-Chavez Movement Starts 24-Hour Protest - Hundreds of thousands drawn to Venezuela's 'longest protest in history'

www.theolympian.com THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

CARACAS, Venezuela -- At least a hundred thousand Venezuelans equipped with tents, inflatable mattresses and foldout chairs parked themselves on a Caracas highway Saturday in what they said would be their longest protest yet against President Hugo Chavez.

Shouting "until he goes," the protesters blanketed a stretch of nearly three miles, prepared to spend the night. On the advice of organizers, many also brought water, sun hats, portable TVs and radios to help while away the hours.

There was a wide range of crowd-size estimates.

Police at the scene estimated the crowd at between 200,000 and 300,000 people. At least a hundred thousand were present, Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceno said.

"Prepare yourself for the longest protest in history" screamed TV commercials and newspaper ads in the opposition-run media.

The opposition is trying to recover from a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that postponed indefinitely a Feb. 2 referendum that would have asked citizens whether Chavez should resign. Although the referendum wouldn't have been binding, opponents had hoped a negative outcome would persuade Chavez to quit.

"Although they stole the referendum from us, spirits are higher than ever," said Alexandra Suarez, a 19-year-old student carrying a sleeping bag on her shoulder.