news.bbc.co.uk Friday, 24 January, 2003, 00:41 GMT

One person has been killed and at least 12 others wounded after a suspected bomb exploded near a pro-government rally in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

"This appeared to be an explosive device... unfortunately there is one person dead up to now," Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno told local radio. I like him [Chavez] because he's a very honest man Julio Altube, marcher

The blast happened a few blocks from where Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was greeting supporters.

Hundreds of thousands of people had gathered to protest against a seven-week strike organised by Mr Chavez's opponents.

The demonstration came a day after the Venezuelan Supreme Court suspended an opposition-backed referendum on whether the president should stay in office.

Opposition groups have accused Mr Chavez of behaving like a dictator and mismanaging the economy and have called on him to resign.

Cuban flags Earlier, the demonstrators, chanting: "Hey, hey, Chavez is here to stay", poured into the city centre in a massive display of support for the beleaguered president.

Many of the marchers were brought in from the provinces in buses adorned with red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags.

Chavez has refused to step down Some of the protesters carried Cuban flags and portraits of left-wing revolutionary Che Guevara, reflecting Mr Chavez's ideology.

Despite the economic damage caused by the strike, opinion polls say 30% of Venezuelans still support their president.

"I like him [Chavez] because he's a very honest man," said marcher Julio Altube.

"You can really see that he feels for the poor. He really suffers. All the time he talks about love," he said.

Opposition supporters, who have staged equivalent demonstrations on an almost daily basis over the past few weeks stayed away on the instructions of their leaders.

At least six people have been killed in clashes between rival protesters since the strike began last December.

The strike has crippled Venezuela's oil production and driven the country to the brink of collapse.

Crisis meeting The huge rally came a day before the six-nation Group of Friends was due to hold its first meeting to try to help Venezuela find a way out of the crisis.

The strike has crippled on oil and petrol output The group - Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States - will consider two plans presented by former US President Jimmy Carter to end the strike and hold early elections.

The BBC's Adam Easton in Caracas says that as a strategic supplier of fuel to the United States, Venezuela is coming under increasing international pressure to resolve the strike.

But there is precious little trust between the government and opposition.

At the moment, neither side appears prepared to give in.

Mr Chavez was handed a victory on Wednesday when the Supreme Court postponed the referendum scheduled for 2 February, six months before a binding referendum is due.

abcnews.go.com Jan. 23

— CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - One person was killed and 12 were injured in Caracas on Thursday when a suspected bomb exploded near a huge pro-government demonstration attended by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, firefighters and hospital officials said.

"This appeared to be an explosive device. ... Unfortunately there is one person dead up to now," Caracas Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno told local radio.

Twelve people were injured, most of them by shrapnel, Manuel Rojas, director of Caracas' Vargas Hospital, told reporters.

The explosion, which took place several blocks away from the spot where the left-wing Venezuelan president was greeting supporters at the rally, caused confusion.

Police sealed off the zone and were looking for other possible explosive devices.

Hundreds of thousands of supporters of Chavez took part in the rally. They were protesting against a seven-week-old opposition strike that has slashed oil output by the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter.

The populist president and the crowds around him were not immediately aware that the explosion had taken place and the rally continued.

Chanting "Hey, hey, Chavez is here to stay," the pro-government demonstrators had earlier marched from the east and west of the city.

The blast at Thursday's rally rekindled fears of violence. At least six people have been killed in clashes between rival protesters since the strike began Dec. 2.

Both sides blame each other for the violence. To avoid confrontation, opposition supporters stayed at home on Thursday, following instructions from their leaders.

boston.com By Associated Press, 1/23/2003 16:54

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) Most workers at Venezuela's state owned oil monopoly and half of its administrators have abandoned a 53-day-old strike against President Hugo Chavez, the company's president said Thursday.

The claim was denied by Fedepetrol, Venezuela's largest oil workers union, which said that 17,000 of its 20,000 members remained on strike.

Ali Rodriguez, president of the Petroleos de Venezuela SA monopoly, also said Venezuelan crude oil production has surpassed 1 million barrels per day, the state news agency Venpres reported.

But striking executives said in a report Thursday that Venezuela has raised its daily oil production to 812,000 barrels Thursday from 714,000 barrels on Wednesday. The pre-strike figure was 3.2 million barrels a day, the executives said.

Chavez's government claims that it is breaking the strike, which has drastically affected production in the world's fifth largest exporter of oil and a top supplier to the United States.

Hopes for a resumption of Venezuelan oil output helped depress crude oil futures Thursday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, contracts for March crude ended down 60 cents at $32.25 a barrel.

Earlier this week, tanker pilots said they were returning to their jobs in the oil-producing region of Lake Maracaibo. The move would ease concerns about safety conditions at Venezuelan ports and persuade foreign-flagged tankers to resume loading and shipments.

Rodriguez said 75 percent of oil workers and 50 percent of administrators have returned to work. PDVSA employs 40,000 people, about half of them blue collar workers.

About 35,000 PDVSA employees went on strike Dec. 2 to demand that Chavez call early elections or resign. Crude production reached a low of 200,000 barrels per day during the strike.

Gasoline shortages continued, the striking executives said. On Wednesday, 427 of 1,811 service stations in the country received gasoline, or 24 percent of the total. Only 16 stations received gasoline in Caracas, the capital city of 4 million people.

But Rodriguez said the government, which has imported gasoline during the strike, has enough gasoline in stock to supply the country for 15 days.

www.sfgate.com JOSEPH B. FRAZIER, Associated Press Writer Thursday, January 23, 2003

(01-23) 13:58 PST CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) --

Hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans marched through Caracas on Thursday to pledge their loyalty to President Hugo Chavez and protest a 53-day-old strike intended to unseat him.

An explosion near a subway station a block from the march killed one person and injured 14, Fire Chief Rodolfo Briceno said. The cause of the blast wasn't immediately known.

Buses from across the country, swathed with red banners and red, yellow and blue Venezuelan flags, poured into the capital for the show of support for Chavez. Briceno estimated the number of demonstrators at more than 300,000.

"Ooh! Ah! Chavez isn't leaving!" demonstrators chanted as they snaked onto a highway, headed for a downtown rally. Marches formed in other parks and demonstrators exploded powerful noisemakers -- known as "Bin Ladens" -- that have become a hallmark of the pro-Chavez movement.

The outpouring of support marked the 45th anniversary of the fall of the country's last dictator, Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez. It also came a day before the first meeting of the "Group of Friends," six nations that have offered to help Venezuela find a way out of its crisis.

The meeting will consider two plans presented this week by former President Jimmy Carter to end the strike and hold early elections.

Chavez said late Wednesday he welcomed international help but warned against outside intervention in Venezuela's internal affairs. He urged the group -- Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States -- to recognize that his is an elected government and to not give equal weight to what he calls a coup-plotting opposition.

Diplomats from the six nations were to meet Friday at the Washington headquarters of the Organization of American States with OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, who is mediating talks between the government and opposition.

Chavez said Wednesday he still wants to expand the group to include such nations as China, Russia, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and France. But Gaviria said the group of six was picked for balance and to be of a size that is manageable.

Venezuela played a similar role with other countries in trying to end the Central American crisis in the 1980s.

Opposition leaders asked their supporters in Caracas to stay home Thursday to lessen the chance of clashes with pro-Chavez marchers.

They contend Chavez's leftist policies have damaged business and scared away foreign investment. They called the strike on Dec. 2 to force him out. The strike has damaged Venezuela's key oil industry, the world's fifth-largest exporter and a top supplier to the United States.

In a victory for Chavez, the Supreme Court, citing a technicality, on Wednesday postponed a Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum that would have asked Venezuelans whether Chavez should quit.

Opposition marchers delivered 2 million signatures in November demanding the referendum.

Venezuela's constitution permits a binding referendum halfway through a president's term, which in Chavez's case would be August.

Demonstrators tore down a huge billboard that opponents had erected to count down the days to the now-postponed referendum.

The strike has affected world oil prices, and the government admits losing $4 billion in since the strike began. But there were signs that the oil strike may be easing.

The state news agency Venpres quoted Ali Rodriguez, president of the state owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela S.A., as saying most blue-collar workers and half of administrators had returned to work. Rodriguez also said crude production has surpassed 1 million barrels per day.

PDVSA employs 40,000 people, about half of them blue collar workers.

Striking executives challenged Rodriguez's figures, but acknowledged that Venezuela had raised its daily oil production to 714,000 barrels. Pre-strike production was about 3.2 million barrels per day.

A severe gasoline shortage and increasing scarcity of other consumer goods has put nerves in this country of 24 million on edge. Facing an economic crisis, the government Wednesday suspended for five business days all foreign currency trading. Venezuelans worried about the future of their currency, the bolivar, have been rushing to buy U.S. dollars to protect themselves.

Traffic in downtown's usually bustling streets slowed to a trickle Thursday. Steel doors, often covered with pro-Chavez graffiti, closed over most businesses.

"Chavez until 2021," read one. Chavez's term ends in 2007, but he has said he hopes to rule well beyond that.

The mood was boisterous in Parque del Este where one march formed.

"Nobody can get rid of Chavez," said Candida Gutierrez, a homemaker who came from El Tigre, 500 miles to the east, to take part. "We have Chavez for awhile."

Marchers waved flags bearing the image of Ernesto "Che" Guevara, a hero of the Cuban revolution. Chavez is an avid admirer of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

www.granma.cu

• Giant march today in Caracas • Supposed ‘friends’ of Venezuela among those meeting at OAS headquarters this Friday

THE opposition was dealt a hard blow yesterday when the Venezuelan Supreme Court of Justice suspended the call for a referendum made by the National Electoral Council (CNE), currently controlled by anti-Chávez forces attempting to oust the legitimate president.

The court likewise banned the council executive from convening or organizing any other type of election, which effectively totally inhibits it.

The court also upheld the National Assembly’s right to designate a new CNE executive in accordance with the recently passed Electoral Law, which the government and other political forces have been insisting on.

For its part, the so-called Group of Friends of Venezuela is to meet this Friday at the headquarters of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, considered a "neutral" location.

Neither the United States or Spain, seconded by Mexico, can be neutral in relation to the current situation in Venezuela, nor will they even defend the principle of respect for the legitimately elected constitutional government, as their objective is to do away with the Bolivarian process.