Was the midnight arrest of Fedecamaras rebel Carlos Fernandez really that surprising?

www.vheadline.com Posted: Friday, February 21, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

VHeadline.com Business Editor Robert Rudnicki writes: Although the detention of Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) president Carlos Fernandez has obviously shocked most people in Venezuela and many overseas observers, is it really such a surprise?

President Hugo Chavez Frias has been threatening to take action against the strike leaders for many many weeks, so it is probably only surprising that it has taken this long to materialize.

When Fernandez and Confederation of Trade Unions (CTV) president Carlos Ortega called for Venezuelans not to pay their taxes not long after their work stoppage commenced on December 2 they were both obviously feeling as if they were in control and safe in the assumption that they would soon be victorious in their quest to oust the President, so confident they obviously failed to get legal advice.

• It now seems this confidence was misguided as the strike failed in all but the petroleum sector and even that is slowly but surely recovering.

Since then the President has consolidated power, brought oil production to somewhere approaching two million barrels per day, sacked over 12,000 Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) workers and launched action against the opposition media, so surely now was as good a time as any to have the two Carloses arrested.

Although the arrest was not carried out in the most conventional manner, the circumstances are hardly the most conventional eother. Initial claims were made surrounding the lack of a warrant, which have already proved to be completely false.

What we now need to focus on is whether or not the two men have done anything illegal. As OAS secretary general Cesar Gaviria said in his statement on the subject, an independent hearing needs to be achieved to decide if the two men have a case to answer, if they do then they should not be above the law ... if they don't they they should be freed.