Venezuelan Strike Enters Week Nine

blogs.salon.com VOA News 27 Jan 2003, 16:15 UTC

Venezuela's opposition strike enters its ninth week as President Hugo Chavez announces plans to impose currency and price controls to stabilize the country's economy.

The Associated Press reports hundreds of thousands of protesters in the capital, Caracas, have allowed traffic to flow again, after Mr. Chavez called for indefinite currency controls expected to begin Wednesday.

In a speech Sunday at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil, Mr. Chavez said that the government must control the value of the Brazilian bolivar. He also said the government will implement price controls to protect the poor from inflation for necessities such as food and medicines.

The opposition strike, which began December 2, has crippled the country's oil industry, caused a shortage in goods and sent the value of the bolivar down 30 percent.

The opposition says government policies are ruining the Venezuelan economy, and are demanding Mr. Chavez either resign or call for early elections. The president has so far refused to step down.

Mr. Chavez and strike leaders have given a positive response to a plan by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter to end Venezuela's political crisis. The Carter plan would amend the Venezuelan constitution and shorten the president's term in office, leading to early elections.