Venezuela opposition extends strike into 60th day

www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.29.03, 8:50 PM ET

CARACAS, Venezuela, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition on Wednesday extended into its 60th day a strike aimed at forcing leftist President Hugo Chavez to resign or call elections in the world's No. 5 oil exporter.

The opposition strike, started on Dec. 2, has crippled the nation's vital crude oil output and exports, rattled global energy markets and shunted the OPEC member nation deeper into economic recession.

"Now, more than ever, (we say) not one step backwards," strike leader Carlos Fernandez, who heads the anti-Chavez Fedecamaras private business association, said. Striking employees of state oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) say they will stay out until Chavez resigns, stages a vote and reinstates fired oil workers.

But outside the oil sector, support for the shutdown has been fraying. Venezuela's private banks said Wednesday they would resume normal daily working hours Monday. They had operated limited hours since December to back the strike.

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and survived a coup in April, has refused to step down and sacked more than 5,000 PDVSA managers to counter the strike. The government plans to introduce a fixed exchange rate and capital restrictions to offset economic damage from the strike.

Deploying troops and replacement workers, Chavez says he is defeating the stoppage he calls an illegal attempt to oust him. While strikers dismiss his claims, oil production has crept up to about 30 percent of pre-strike levels.

Blue-collar oil workers have started to return to work, but backing for the strike remains strong among key PDVSA managers and skilled workers at oil fields, refineries and ports.