Venezuelans Sign Petition to Oust Chavez

www.austin360.com By STEPHEN IXER Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)--Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans signed a petition demanding that President Hugo Chavez resign, even as he defiantly claimed victory over opposition leaders whose two-month strike is weakening.

More than four million Venezuelans signed a petition calling for several initiatives aimed at ousting Chavez, including one that would cut his term from six to four years, petition organizers said late Sunday. The figure could not be verified. Tens of thousands celebrated on a Caracas highway after the petition centers closed.

The pen is our weapon,'' said Julio Borges of the opposition party Justice First. Today demonstrates that the struggle hasn't ended. It didn't end with the strike.''

Chavez, however, claimed outright victory over his foes after they agreed on Friday to ease the already-waning strike to protect businesses from bankruptcy. Those that remained closed--including factories, malls and franchise restaurants--are expected to open this week for restricted hours, strike leaders said.

They have the 'F' of failure on their foreheads,'' Chavez gloated while congratulating his government for completing four years in power Sunday. Today we crown the victory and continue with an offensive strategy.''

Labeling his opponents as coup-plotters, fascists and terrorists,'' Chavez vowed that the strike leaders would pay for the damage wreaked on the nation. They can't remain unpunished ... They must go to prison.''

The strike will continue, however, in the oil industry, where production is at about 1.8 million barrels a day, according to Chavez. Production was 3 million barrels a day in November and dipped as low as 150,000 a day at the height of the strike. Striking workers say output is now slightly over 1 million.

The most popular initiative on the petition is a constitutional amendment that would cut Chavez's term from six to four years. It needed the signatures of 15 percent of the electorate--or about 1.8 million people--and would clear the way for general elections later this year.

The opposition set up 4,000 tables nationwide Sunday to gather signatures. Even though they appeared to have gotten far more signatures than they needed, opposition leaders said they would seek more on Monday.

``We feel that they have taken our freedom to express ourselves,'' said Marisela Gaye, an insurance worker who was waiting to sign in Plaza Francia in eastern Caracas.

A popular opposition rallying ground, the plaza was filled with people waiting to add their names to the lists. Many dressed up their babies in the red, yellow and blue of Venezuela's national flag and brought dogs wearing sweaters with the same colors. The crowd frequently broke into chants of: ``It's going to fall, it's going to fall, the government is going to fall!''

A nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule was originally scheduled for Sunday. Business, labor and opposition groups called the strike Dec. 2 to pressure Chavez into accepting the vote, but the Supreme Court suspended the referendum because of a technicality.

Government and opposition have been locked in negotiations mediated by Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria since November, but failed to end the stalemate. What to do with the striking oil workers remains a major sticking point.

As many as 35,000 of the industry's 40,000 workers joined the strike, but most have returned to work, the government says. Chavez has fired more than 5,000 who refused.

Oil provides half of government income and over 70 percent of foreign exchange, and the oil strike has cost over $4 billion, the government estimates.

Chavez was first elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 with 60 percent of the vote. He promised radical change in the oil-rich South American country, where 80 percent of 24 million people live in poverty.

Chavez's opponents accuse him of driving the economy into the ground while bulldozing the country's democratic institutions. Unemployment is at least 17 percent, and a devaluation of the currency fueled 30 percent inflation last year.