Venezuela's Chavez celebrates anniversary of return to power after military coup

STEPHEN IXER, <a href=www.sfgate.com>SFGate.com-Associated Press Writer Sunday, April 13, 2003
(04-13) 18:33 PDT CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --

President Hugo Chavez looked beyond Venezuela's simmering political crisis Sunday to celebrate the first anniversary of his return to power following a brief military coup.

The festivities came one day after a bomb ripped through the building where Venezuela's government and opposition have been negotiating a proposed referendum on Chavez's presidency.

No one was injured in the pre-dawn blast but it renewed tensions in Venezuela just as rival groups appeared to be close to resolving some political differences.

Chavez addressed tens of thousands of his supporters gathered on a central Caracas avenue after presiding over the closing ceremony of an international forum in support of his so-called "Bolivarian Revolution."

"Nobody is leaving! We will stay for ever, fighting battles," Chavez said to the cheering crowd. He promised to remain in power until 2021.

Chavez railed against global imperialism and "savage neoliberalism," and claimed the coup against him had been promoted by foreign interests and carried out by "the fascist oligarchy" within Venezuela.

"God bless April 13," Chavez said. "A miraculous day, the miracle of the start of the century. The first great victory of the people this century in the whole world."

Ricardo Perez, a 62-year old carpenter waiting to hear Chavez at the rally, said he was glad Chavez's left-wing movement was not toppled for good.

"Those days (of the coup) were terrible for the country. Thank God the loyal armed forces managed to restore democracy," Perez said as Venezuelan folk music blared out from huge loudspeakers and barbecue smoke drifted over the crowd.

Chavez was ousted by dissident military generals after 19 people were killed during an opposition demonstration on April 11, 2002. Pedro Carmona, a businessman who swore himself in as president the next day, immediately dissolved the National Assembly, the Supreme Court and the constitution.

A popular backlash against the coup began and thousands converged on the presidential palace to demand Chavez's return to office. Carmona resigned on April 13 and loyalist troops restored Chavez to power in the early hours of the 14th.

Chavez promised to reconcile the deeply divided population but never succeeded. The opposition began a two-month strike in December demanding early elections or Chavez's resignation. The strike briefly crippled Venezuela's crucial oil industry and cost the country $6 billion.

The Organization of American States announced Friday that the two sides agreed to pave the way for a midterm referendum on Chavez's presidency. The OAS has been sponsoring the peace talks since November.

OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria said Friday the agreement would be signed after Easter, but Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said the deal still awaits Chavez's approval.

In the document, both sides agree to play by the rules as the opposition works toward a midterm referendum on Chavez's presidency. The government said it will not obstruct such a vote.

But tensions have heated up again since Saturday's bombing, with each side blaming the other of being behind the attack that destroyed three floors of the Caracas building.

An opposition negotiator said the blast was intended to intimidate his delegation at the talks, while the government blamed "coup-plotting" sectors of the opposition.

Chavez, elected to a six-year term in 2000, accuses Venezuela's traditional elite of seeking his ouster and foiling his efforts to distribute Venezuela's oil riches to the poor.

His opposition accuses the former army paratrooper of imposing an authoritarian regime and ruining the economy.