www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 23, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: During his four years in the Presidency, Hugo Chavez has traveled abroad for about 5 solid months and talked some 600 hours to enthusiastic, reluctant, indignant or amused audiences in Venezuela and abroad.

In these 600 or more hours of largely improvised speeches, he has developed a dialect which combines military terminology with religious and folkloric expressions, all freely spiced with vulgar terms and 'machista' turns of phrase. Words are, however, just part of his personality as a speaker.

The other components are dress and body movements:

• When going to talk to the military, he wears his combat outfit and red beret, disguised as the paratrooper he used to be some 30 pounds ago.
• When he faces the crowds, which come to listen to him from all parts of the country in government paid buses ... hundreds of buses which park in immense lines and patiently wait until the end of the speech to transport the people back home ... he dresses in a pale brownish Nehru-like jacket, a couple of sizes too big to hide the anti-bullet vest.
• When he goes to visit the apprehensive Queen of England, he wears Armani suits and his very expensive wrist watch which, if sold, would feed one street child for no less than one year.

In more informal settings he likes to wear a jacket with the colors and stars of the Venezuelan flag.

His body movements are also important ... one of his favorite gestures is to hit the palm of his right hand with his left fist, not once but in staccato fashion, to send his followers a message of continuous aggression against the enemies of the revolution. His mouth twists slightly from left to right in an involuntary tic which appears, according to some clinical observers, every time he is telling a lie. His body sways slightly in tune with his words as if to hypnotize the audience ... he suspends the words in mid-sentence to add to the suspense in the crowd.

If someone took pains to rank the words utilized by Chavez in his contacts with the public there is little doubt that "traitors", "coupsters", "terrorists" and "saboteurs" would be at the top of the list ... he describes the petroleum managers and technicians fired by his government as traitors and saboteurs ... he uses the word bandit to define Carlos Fernandez, the recently arrested president of Fedecamaras.

The words that would be at the bottom of the list would be "economy", "plans", "programs" and "employment." His adversaries are 'squalids' and 'oligarchs.' The main commercial TV stations are the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.' ... the judges whose sentencing might go against the government are 'plastas' or 'turds.'  When a spokesman from a foreign government says something that he interprets as criticism, he reacts violently to say that "Venezuela is an independent country" ... But he loves it when Fidel Castro speaks in his favor.  In the eyes of Chavez, foreign intervention exists only when there is some criticism of his actions. Women should be glad to "expect what he is going to give them," as he once promised his wife on national TV.

The words of Chavez are designed  to create conflict, to try to browbeat his "enemies" into despair. He delights in choosing  the moments when people are watching an important sports event or soap opera, to go on a mandatory broadcast, to announce that he is structuring a Commission to study, say, the sexual habits of Orinoco crocodiles or to talk nostalgically about his childhood in Barinas, when he earned his living selling sweets.

When I read commentaries from readers living in Europe or Australia or Canada or in Salt Lake City telling us who live here about how wonderful Chavez is, I wish I could give them the complete speeches by the President and ask them to hear them, instead of watching their favorite TV program or a game between Manchester United and Real Madrid. Their ''Chavismo' would not last a week... If Dante had written his "Divine Comedy" today he would certainly have included Chavez' TV speeches in national "cadenas" in one special circle of his imaginary hell.

I apologize in advance for my frivolity, which is one of the means of escape I have from the horrible reality of my country.

As Bernard Shaw used to say: "Life is too tragic to take it seriously." However, all I have said so far illustrates, I hope, the attitudes with which Chavez faces his job as President. To be a real President, Chavez would require a vocabulary with the words 'employment' and 'programs' and 'economy' that he does not know, and abandon his vocabulary with the words 'traitor', 'coupster' and 'terrorist' that he uses all the time to define dissenters.

To be a real President, he would have to inspire Venezuelans to unite, behind a common national vision ... to move forward and to convert Venezuelan society from filthy to clean, from vulgar to civilized, from being made up of beggars to being made up of producers.

To be a real President he should concentrate in the main tasks of fighting corruption, generating employment, promoting private investment, improving education and health services, curbing criminality, protecting the commercial nature of PDVSA.

In short, he would have to be doing the very opposite of what he has been doing.

His bedside manners have transformed the seriously ill patient into a terminal case ... in fact, I suspect that, besides being the physician in charge, he is also the owner of the funeral parlor...

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983.  In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort.  You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email ppcvicep@telcel.net.ve

www.heraldtribune.com By STEPHEN IXER Associated Press Writer

Venezuelan general strike leader Carlos Fernandez, center, surrounded by secret police officers, arrives at the court building in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Feb. 21, 2003. Thousands protested Fernandez's arrest, across the country, and nine people were injured in clashes with police in the central city of Valencia Thursday. A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez who helped lead a two-month national strike was put under house arrest Sunday while charges are prepared against him. Carlos Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized Wednesday by secret police on charges including treason, civil rebellion and incitement to commit offenses. Just over 72 hours later, a judge struck down three of the five charges, treason among them. Rebellion and incitement charges were upheld, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of Fernandez's lawyers. Secret police rushed Fernandez, 52, out of the courthouse to be taken to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas, while prosecutors formalize the accusations against him. Dario Vivas, a pro-Chavez legislator, said he would challenge the decision to put Fernandez under house arrest, claiming the civil rebellion charge warrants prison. The judge's decision was announced at 2 a.m. Sunday, 13 hours after the hearing began. Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega remained at large on Sunday. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he partnered with Fernandez in spearheading the work stoppage that paralyzed the vital oil industry and devastated the economy. Ortega said he was going into hiding after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Thursday. Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience and trampled Venezuelans' human rights. The two-month strike caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela over $4 billion. The United States, the Organization of American States and human rights group Amnesty International voiced concern that Venezuela's crisis is escalating. Chavez rejected the claims. "Venezuela is nobody's colony!" he shouted. "We do not accept and we will not accept outside interference in our own affairs." The Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which supported the strike, expressed its support for Fernandez and Ortega on Saturday. Anti-Chavez lawyers said Fernandez's detention was riddled with problems. The arrest warrant was issued by a judge who had acted as defense attorney for Chavez supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez. The case was transferred to a new judge Friday, but Saturday's hearing extended well beyond the court's 7 p.m. closing time and Fernandez's 48-hour detention limit. The hearing was held behind closed doors and under tight security. Soldiers wearing riot gear guarded the Caracas courthouse while a crowd of Chavez supporters waited outside. National guardsmen kept journalists away from the courtroom entrance and Fernandez was closely escorted by secret police officers. Adding to the daylong tension, one soldier accidentally set off a tear gas canister in the courthouse corridor shortly before midnight Saturday, sending journalists running. The OAS, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was put in doubt after Fernandez's arrest. Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and staged the national strike to back its demand. It has also collected more than 4 million signatures petitioning to cut Chavez's term in power. The government dismisses the petition drive and consistently accuses the opposition of "coup-plotting." Chavez is a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. Critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.

www.kansascity.com Posted on Sun, Feb. 23, 2003 STEPHEN IXER Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela - A leading opponent of President Hugo Chavez who helped lead a two-month national strike was ordered held under house arrest Sunday.

Carlos Fernandez, president of the Fedecamaras business chamber, was seized Wednesday by secret police on charges including treason, rebellion and inciting criminal acts.

A judge struck down three of the charges, including treason, in a 13-hour hearing that ended early Sunday. The rebellion and incitement charges were upheld, said Pedro Berrizbeitia, one of Fernandez's lawyers.

Meanwhile, pro-Chavez gunmen ambushed a group of policemen overnight, killing one officer and wounding five others, said Miguel Pinto, chief of the police department's motorcycle brigade.

The officers were attacked Saturday night as they returned from the funeral of a slain colleague and passed near the the headquarters of the state oil monopoly, which has been staked out by Chavez supporters, some armed, since the strike began in December.

After a series of attacks on police by pro-Chavez gunmen, Police Chief Henry Vivas had ordered officers to stay away from the oil company headquarters to avoid any clashes with Chavez supporters. But the funeral home is located only several blocks away.

"We never thought it would come to this," Pinto said.

Chavez's government had seized thousands of weapons from city police on the pretext that Vivas had lost control of the 9,000-member department. Critics allege Chavez is disarming police while secretly arming pro-government radicals, a charge denied by Chavez's supporters.

After Fernandez's overnight court hearing, secret police rushed Fernandez out of the courthouse to be taken to his home in Valencia, 66 miles west of Caracas.

Strike co-leader Carlos Ortega remained in hiding after a warrant for his arrest was issued. As president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, he and Fernandez spearheaded the work stoppage that paralyzed the vital oil industry and devastated the economy.

Chavez has demanded 20-year jail sentences for Fernandez and Ortega, alleging they sabotaged oil installations, incited civil disobedience and trampled Venezuelans' human rights.

Fernandez's hearing was held behind closed doors and under tight security. Soldiers wearing riot gear guarded the Caracas courthouse while a crowd of Chavez supporters waited outside.

The two-month strike, which ended Feb. 4 in all sectors but the oil industry, caused food and gasoline shortages nationwide and cost Venezuela over $4 billion.

Lawyers said Fernandez's detention was riddled with irregularities - including his right to a preliminary hearing within 48 hours of his arrest.

The arrest was ordered by a judge who had acted as defense attorney for Chavez supporters accused of shooting at opposition marchers before an April coup that briefly toppled Chavez.

The Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, have sponsored three months of talks to seek an electoral solution to Venezuela's crisis. The future of those talks was in doubt after Fernandez's arrest.

Venezuela's opposition wants early elections and staged the national strike to back its demand. It collected more than 4 million signatures demanding an early vote. The government dismisses the petition drive and accuses the opposition of "coup-plotting."

Chavez is a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 to a six-year term. He vows to distribute Venezuela's oil riches to the poor. Critics accuse him of imposing an authoritarian state and driving the economy into the ground.

examiner.com Publication date: 02/21/2003 BY CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press

    CARACAS, Venezuela -- Thousands of angry government opponents chanting "This is a dictatorship!" rallied in the capital's streets Thursday, protesting the midnight arrest of a strike leader by secret police.

    But President Hugo Chavez proclaimed that he authorized the arrest of Carlos Fernandez even though it threatened to reignite massive demonstrations and again paralyze the country.

    "One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide," Chavez said at the foreign ministry. "I went to bed with a smile."

    Chavez said judges should not "be afraid to issue arrest warrants against coup plotters."

    Fernandez, head of Venezuela's largest business federation, Fedecamaras, was seized by about eight armed agents around midnight Wednesday as he left a restaurant in Caracas' trendy Las Mercedes district, said his bodyguard, Juan Carlos Fernandez.

    The agents fired into the air when patrons tried to prevent the arrest, the bodyguard said.

    Carlos Fernandez faces charges of treason and instigating violence for leading the two-month strike that began Dec. 2, seeking to oust Chavez and force early elections.

    The strike ended Feb. 4 in all sectors except the critical oil industry. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter and a major U.S. supplier.

    Government allies warned that more than 100 opposition leaders, from labor bosses to news media executives, who supported the strike could be arrested.

www.guardian.co.uk Friday February 21, 2003 6:10 PM

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Police searched for the leader of Venezuela's largest labor group Friday after President Hugo Chavez authorized his arrest on treason charges for his role in a general strike that disrupted the economy and the nation's oil industry.

Carlos Ortega, president of the Venezuelan Workers Confederation, remained in hiding after strike co-organizer Carlos Fernandez, head of the nation's largest business group, was arrested and charged with treason Thursday.

Dozens of national guardsmen in riot gear stood guard outside as Fernandez made his first appearance in court Friday.

His arrest threatened to spark more turmoil in a country struggling to recover from the strike, which opposition leaders had hoped would force Chavez to resign or call early elections.

Thousands of people around Venezuela protested the Fernandez's arrest, and nine people were injured during clashes with police in the central city of Valencia.

Further protests were planned for Friday.

Opposition negotiators urged the Organization of American States, the United Nations and the Carter Center, run by former President Jimmy Carter, to send representatives to condemn the government's actions and revive talks aimed at organizing a new election.

The U.S. State Department said the arrest of strike leaders would lead to more political violence in the world's fifth leading oil-exporting nation.

President Chavez has labeled strike organizers as ``coup plotters'' and appeared unfazed by the opposition reaction to the arrest orders.

One of the coup plotters was arrested last night. It was about time, and see how the others are running to hide,'' Chavez said Thursday. I went to bed with a smile.''

Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998 and re-elected two years later, seemed to hint at further arrests, saying judges should not ``be afraid to issue arrest warrants against coup-plotters.''

Attorney General Isaias Rodriguez said Fernandez and Ortega were the only opposition leaders wanted for arrest, but ruling party lawmaker Luis Velasquez said that about 100 more people who supported the strike, ranging from labor bosses to news media executives, could be arrested.

``More than 100 are on the list to be captured,'' Velasquez said. The existence of such a list could not be immediately confirmed.

Ortega remained at large and pledged to ``continue the fight'' while in hiding.

``The only one who has a date with justice is the president,'' the labor leader told the local Globovision TV station by telephone.

Fernandez and Ortega face charges of treason, rebellion and instigating violence for their roles in orchestrating the strike, which continues in the vital oil industry.

Labor and business leaders warned of another nationwide strike in response to the arrest orders. The earlier work stoppage cost Venezuela an estimated $4 billion.

Chavez supporters gathered near the police headquarters, where Fernandez was being held, and a downtown plaza to celebrate the arrest.

``It's what had to be done. These opposition leaders tried to destroy the country; now they must be punished,'' said Tomas Ordonez, a 49-year-old taxi driver.