Banks, Stores Reopen in Venezuela

www.voanews.com VOA News 03 Feb 2003, 16:28 UTC

Banks and stores in Venezuela have reopened Monday as a two-month general strike against President Hugo Chavez eases.

Many stores were shuttered after the opposition-led work stoppage began December 2. Banks, which were operating on a limited schedule, resumed normal operations today.

On Sunday, hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets to support an opposition-led signature drive calling for early elections.

At least four people were injured when Chavez supporters hurled stones and other objects at petition tables in Caracas. Two vehicles belonging to news organizations were also damaged.

To begin a constitutional amendment process, organizers need to gather signatures from 15 percent of the electorate, or about 1.8 million people.

The opposition says it gathered four million signatures. Their claim could not be independently verified.

In his weekly national address Sunday, President Chavez claimed victory over his opponents, describing them as terrorists and coup plotters. The opposition says the labor action will continue in the country's vital oil industry. The strike had practically halted Venezuela's normal oil production of about three million barrels per day.

The government says oil production is now at nearly two million barrels per day.