Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias admits hopeless media exposure of government achievements

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic news Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias says 2002 could have been the first year of a civil war and that violence was avoided because the government decided to open a dialog process, despite opposition pressure. 

"After the coup attempt we did not fall into provocations and instead convoked a dialog ... it would have been a mistake to initiate a drive against the coupsters and to have adopted a tough stance ... it would have led to further violence." 

Speaking during the inauguration of extension work on Caracas Metro Line 3 , the President states that the government is learning to co-exist in democracy,  insisting that he does not want to see another year like 2002 and the way forward is to change attitudes and seek conciliation in the interest of all sectors of society.

In a moment of self-criticism, Chavez Frias admits that his government has been poor in its efforts to communicate what it has been doing ... "very bad ... people are unaware of the public works that are being built, including the underground railroad extensions in Caracas, Los Teques, Maracaibo and Valencia." 

According to the President, some impartial foreign media experts undertook a study and told him that the opposition has a 500% media surplus compared to what is normal in other countries that have a critical opposition ... "opposition is normal in democracy ... they also said the government's media deficit stands at 85%." 

Chavez Frias has promised to continue seeking a solution but says it's like a counter-culture or a force holding the government back. 

The Cabinet comes under fire for not letting the country know about the government's social works in view of the fact that there is no country in Latin America that is building the number of works as Venezuela.