www.dailynews.com209541136934,00.html Article Last Updated: Saturday, January 25, 2003 - 10:42:32 PM MST By Associated Press

CARACAS, Venezuela -- At least a hundred thousand Venezuelans -- many equipped with tents, inflatable mattresses and foldout chairs -- parked themselves on a Caracas highway Saturday in what they said would be their longest protest yet against President Hugo Chavez.

Shouting "until he goes!" the protesters blanketed a stretch of nearly three miles, prepared to spend the night. On the advice of organizers, many also brought water, sun hats, portable TVs and radios to help while away the hours.

Police at the scene estimated the crowd at between 200,000 and 300,000 people. Caracas fire chief Rodolfo Briceno said at least 100,000 were present.

"Prepare yourself for the longest protest in history!" screamed TV commercials and newspaper ads in the opposition-run media.

The opposition is trying to recover from a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that postponed indefinitely a Feb. 2 referendum that would have asked citizens whether Chavez should resign. Although the referendum wouldn't have been binding, opponents had hoped a negative outcome would persuade Chavez to quit.

Opponents had gathered 2 million signatures to petition for the vote. They backed up their demand by launching a devastating national strike Dec. 2 and staging daily street protests. Six people have been killed during protests since the strike began.

The opposition Democratic Coordinator movement is gathering signatures to demand a constitutional amendment that would pave the way for early elections. The amendment would involve cutting Chavez's six-year term to four.

Former U.S. President Carter proposed a similar plan while attending negotiations between the government and opposition in Caracas last week. His Atlanta-based Carter Center, the Organization of American States and the United Nations are co-sponsoring the talks.

Carter proposed a second plan that would have both sides prepare for a binding referendum on Chavez's rule in August, the midway point of his term.

www.voanews.com VOA News 26 Jan 2003, 08:21 UTC

Hundreds of thousands of opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have jammed a major highway in Caracas to back a 55-day opposition strike that has crippled the nation's economy.

In what is being called "the longest protest in history," demonstators camped overnight along a 24-kilometer stretch of highway Saturday to press their demand that the president step down.

The massive street demonstration follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that suspended a non-binding referendum scheduled for February second on the president's rule.

Opposition leaders are now concentrating on collecting signatures for a petition for a constitutional amendment that could cut short the president's six-year term.

Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter proposed a similar plan while attending negotiations between the government and opposition last week. The former president's Atlanta-based Carter Center, along with the United Nations and the Organization of American States, are co-sponsoring the talks.

President Chavez, in an interview published Saturday in a Canadian newspaper (La Presse of Montreal), called the Carter proposals "interesting" but not necessarily new ideas that should be discussed with the democratic opposition. Opposition leaders blame the country's worsening economic woes on Chavez policies and remain determined to see him leave office. The strike has paralyzed Venezuela's oil production, the mainstay of its economy, and pushed up global oil prices.

www.orlandosentinel.com

WASHINGTON -- Venezuela's foreign minister said Saturday that his government welcomes preliminary suggestions made by diplomats from the United States and five other countries to end the political unrest in his country.

"We are convinced that we will reach a solution in a democratic way," Roy Chaderton said in an interview.

Chaderton came to Washington to participate in the meeting Friday of the newly formed "Group of Friends," which also includes officials from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Spain and Portugal. Also participating was Cesar Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States, which hosted the meeting.

The diplomats called on the government of President Hugo Chavez and the opposition to tone down their inflammatory rhetoric and end political violence. The countries will send delegations to Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, on Thursday to continue talks to break the political impasse.

"A concern for the risk of violence in Venezuela is valid," Chaderton said. He also said his government would cooperate with the meeting.

A general strike called by the opposition has lasted more than two months, hurting oil production in the world's fifth-largest exporter. The opposition sees the leftist Chavez as authoritarian and hostile to business. Chavez's backers say he has strong support among the country's poor and see the opposition as undemocratic, noting a failed coup attempt in April.

In Caracas on Saturday, tens of thousands of opponents of Chavez gathered on a highway, preparing to stay there overnight to protest a Supreme Court decision suspending a referendum on Chavez's rule.

Protesters covered 2.5 miles of asphalt, chanting "Until he goes!" and waving red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags. Many brought tents and air mattresses; others carried foldout chairs, portable TVs and radios.

Caracas fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said at least 100,000 people were present.

The loosely grouped opposition is trying to recover from the blow of a Supreme Court ruling on Wednesday that indefinitely postponed a Feb. 2 referendum that would have asked Venezuelans whether Chavez should resign.

The president's opponents had gathered 2 million signatures to petition for the vote. They backed up their demand by launching a devastating strike Dec. 2 and staging daily street protests.

More than 2,000 soldiers, police and firefighters were on guard. Back in Washington, Chaderton did not respond directly when asked if Chavez feared the protests would force him from office. "We have very good reasons to be optimistic that this will have a democratic outcome, because we are a democracy," he said.

Diplomats are discussing proposals made by former U.S. President Carter to either hold a binding recall referendum or amend the constitution to allow early presidential elections.

Nearly eight weeks into the grueling shutdown, Chavez and his foes appear set on standing their ground even as the strike drives Venezuela's fragile economy deeper into recession. Oil exports account for half of the government's revenues.

The Finance Ministry and the Central Bank on Wednesday shut down foreign-currency exchange markets to stave off capital flight and halt the deep slide in the local bolivar currency as investors seek the safety of the U.S. dollar.

Fighting back against the strikers, Chavez has ordered troops and replacement workers to take over oil installations. Crude production and exports have crept back up, but the industry is still operating far below its usually levels of about 3.1 million barrels per day.

Commercial centers and many large firms remain closed. Support for the strike has frayed, however, as some businesses reopened as the shutdown takes a toll on the private sector.

www.gopbi.com Sunday, January 26 By Susan Ferriss, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Sunday, January 26, 2003

CARACAS, Venezuela -- Concertina wire spirals across the lawn of the Terraza del Avila apartment complex.

At the gate, neighborhood watch leader Luis Eduardo Manresa clutches a walkie-talkie as part of an emergency plan to deal with mob attacks or looting.

If dialogue or high-pressure water hoses don't work, Manresa says, the complex's residents, mostly professionals, will use whatever they might have, including guns, to defend themselves.

Manresa, a professor of international law, directs an organization called the Latin American Center for Dialogue Between Civilizations and Cultures.

Manresa isn't the only one terrified that Venezuelan society, polarized and volatile in the midst of a political crisis, could explode into chaos if the stalemate is not soon broken.

"Jesus Christ can come here to talk, but if there's no will to really dialogue, then what?" he said with a shrug.

For more than eight weeks, President Hugo Chavez has defied an opposition that declared a "citizens' strike" on Dec. 2 in an effort to oust the bombastic president or force him to agree to an early election the opposition is certain he would lose.

The crisis has already caused so much damage to the national oil industry -- Venezuela is the world's fifth-largest producer -- that it could take years to recover. The world economy, too, is feeling the effects in the form of higher oil prices.

In a country where most complain they have been excluded from the benefits of the oil economy, class divisions have never seemed so sharp.

A sizable number of Venezuelans defend Chavez as an avenging angel who was democratically elected in 1998 by a populace disgusted with the traditional politicians' broken promises.

"From our point of view, the president has given in too much" to the opposition, said Jose Pereira, a policeman and Chavez supporter. "We've waited 40 years to participate in a real democracy."

But to the opposition, Chavez has become an authoritarian and a megalomaniac who violates of the constitution he constantly invokes.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday urged acceptance of a proposal by former President Jimmy Carter, who suggested two possible scenarios for an early election.

Carter met with Chavez and his opponents early last week and urged them to consider his proposals.

One calls for lifting the strike in exchange for a pledge to let the opposition pursue a constitutional amendment to shorten Chavez's term to four years, something that would trigger a general election.

The other proposal calls for a binding referendum on Chavez in August, midway through his term, a date Chavez himself has argued would be feasible.

On Wednesday, the day after Carter left, Venezuela's Supreme Court sided with a Chavez in his appeal to block a nonbinding referendum on his presidency set for Feb. 2.

And on Thursday, when Chavez's supporters took to streets here to demonstrate their support, he seemed as defiant as always.

"The Venezuelan people don't want violence," he said, gesturing emotionally. "But it's convenient to remind the coup-plotting, fascist oligarchy attempting to overthrow the Bolivarian government that the Venezuelan people are willing to defend their government."

susanf@coxnews.com

sf.indymedia.org by gg? / copytrastortranslation • Sunday January 26, 2003 at 02:37 AM

Another president to world-wide the social forum... - - The Ministry of Communication and Information of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela invites to the Press conference that will offer the President of the Bolivariana Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frias in the occasion of its visit the City of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Day January 26th, 2003, 5:00 p.m. How to be there if you are journalist -- uruguay.indymedia.org

Another president to world-wide the social forum...

The Ministry of Communication and Information of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela invites to the Press conference that will offer the President of the Bolivariana Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frias in the occasion of its visit the City of Porto Alegre, Brazil, Day January 26th, 2003, 5:00 p.m., in the Plenary room Joao Neves da Fontoura, (Planarinho) of the Legislative Assembly of this city, Located in Matrix's square.

Thanks to journalists who will cover this press conference, please confirm their attendance to electronic mail fperezs@telcel.net.ve or to telephones of Francisco Perez (051) 81157918 or to the 98060306 of Stella Valenzuela, before the 12:30 at noon of the January 26th 2003, if not will not be able to enter the room.

In order to guarantee a greater organization and due to the tight schedule that will fulfill President of venezuelan republic, questions will be by type of mass media, therefore the Agencies of the News, the Television, the Radio, the Written Press Local and the National, and the Alternative and Communitarian means will have to select two representatives to formulate their questions.

The Entrance of the Representatives from media to room will be between 3 p.m. and 4:50 p.m.

ORIGINAL SPANISH VERSION FROM URUGUAY INDYMEDIA

uruguay.indymedia.org

República Bolivariana de Venezuela y Hugo Chávez by gg • Saturday January 25, 2003 at 01:48 PM

Otro presidente al foro social mundial...

El Ministerio de Comunicación e Información de la República Bolivariana de enezuela invita a la Rueda de Prensa que ofrecerá el Señor Presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela Hugo Chávez Frias con motivo de su visita la Ciudad de Porto Alegre, Brasil, el Día 26 de Enero de 2003, a las 5:00 pm en la sala Plenaria Joao Neves da Fontoura, (Planarinho) de la Asamblea Legislativa de esta ciudad, Ubicada en la Plaza da Matriz.

Se agradece a los periodistas que cubrirán esta rueda de prensa confirmar su asistencia al correo electrónico fperezs@telcel.net.ve o a los teléfonos de Francisco Pérez (051) 81157918 o al 98060306 de Stella Valenzuela, antes de las 12:30 de la tarde del 26 de enero de 2003, caso contrario no podrán ingresar a la sala.

Para garantizar una mayor organización y debido a la apretada agenda que cumplirá el Señor Presidente de la república se realizarán preguntas por tipo de medio de comunicación, así las Agencias de Noticias, la Televisión, la Radio, la Prensa Escrita Local y la Nacional, y los medios Alternativos y Comunitarios deberán seleccionar a dos representantes para formular sus preguntas.

El Ingreso de los Representantes de los medios a la sala será entre as 3 pm y las 4:50 pm

uruguay.indymedia.org/news/2003/01/9253.php