PDVSA rebel leader returns to Venezuela claiming successful world tour

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic news Posted: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Rebel Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) leader, Juan Fernandez has returned to Venezuela after an allegedly successful tour of the USA and Europe to lobby against the Venezuelan government and its oil policy.  He says people abroad realize that Venezuela is not a democratic country and that Hugo Chavez Frias' criteria carries more weight than  the Constitution. 

"The international community supports the recall referendum ... the opposition has come out of it well showing it has great democratic sense." 

Fernandez' organization, Gente del Petroleo, which acted as a shadow PDVSA during the national stoppage, supports the referendum and Fernandez says organizing the referendum is top priority ... "we will obtain victory for Venezuela ... that implies that we must do a good job with intuition, unity and with everyone pulling its weight." 

Seen by some analysts as courting Presidential aspirations, Fernandez claims that the government is afraid because it knows it will lose the referendum ... "we are ready to reconstruct Venezuela and the oil industry ... we are the alternative." 

Referring to the situation in PDVSA, Fernandez criticizes the government campaign against Intesa and doubts the capability of the government substitute company. 

Playing on the Cuban Communist card after passing through Miami, Fernandez maintains that people abroad see a Venezuelan government manipulated by foreign interests, namely Cuba ... "it's incredible how Venezuelan nationalism once a motive of pride, has diminished."