Venezuela back at work -- except oil

examiner.com Publication date: 02/04/2003 BY ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press

    CARACAS, Venezuela -- Workers in all sectors but the vital oil industry returned to their jobs Monday, abandoning a two-month general strike that devastated Venezuela's economy but failed to oust President Hugo Chavez.

    As life began returning to normal in stores, factories and banks, the government made gains toward restoring oil production to pre-strike levels in a nation that is a major supplier of crude to the United States and the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.

    The fear of bankruptcy and shortages of gasoline and other essentials prompted leaders to end the strike, which began Dec. 2, said Albis Munoz, vice president of the country's biggest business chamber, Fedecamaras.

    Chavez, elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, vows to defeat his opponents in the streets and at the ballot box. He said Sunday he will prosecute strike leaders for sabotaging the economy.

    Venezuela's opposition still hopes to generate global pressure for new elections.

    The strike reflected "the disorganization of the opposition," said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere studies at Johns Hopkins University.

    "It was anti-Chavez, but never pro-anything. What were they going to replace Chavez with?" Roett said.

    Lines disappeared at banks, traffic jams reappeared and janitors swept the halls at Caracas' multistory Sambil shopping mall Monday in anticipation of today's opening.

    The strike "lasted too long and now we are paying the consequences," said Luis Lange, 24, an electronics store manager.

    Like Lange, hundreds of thousands of businessmen had counted on holiday sales to make up for last year's poor sales.

    According to the Fedeindustria business chamber, the fallout from the strike and continuing recession will cost 200,000 jobs and close more than 20,000 small- and medium-sized businesses by August.

    Chavez also fired more than 5,000 striking oil workers.

    Lack of oil and tax income forced Chavez to cut 10 percent from Venezuela's $25 billion budget for 2003. Economists forecast the economy will shrink 25 percent this year after an 8 percent contraction in 2002.

    Venezuela's crude oil output rose to 1.2 million barrels per day Monday, compared with 1.1 million barrels over the weekend, according to dissident staff at the state owned monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.

    That is about a third of normal production, but Venezuela is expected to add 200,000 more barrels per day in the coming weeks, the staff's daily report said.