www.tuscaloosanews.com By Sylvere and Martha Coussement January 23, 2003

We returned to Venezuela from the United States on New Year’s Day, and after a brief evaluation of this country’s conditions, we accelerated preparations to exit with our car into Brazil.

Venezuela has been locked in a general strike since Dec. 2, 2002, led by the opposition to President Hugo Chavez, and both sides have dug in their heels. Eighty percent of the country has joined (including the vital oil workers and managers) leaving shortages in all areas, including food, cooking gas and gasoline.

The not so subtle maneuvering of this country’s government to a Cuban style communist state by Chavez is the underlying reason for the opposition. Much civil unrest with huge demonstrations, not without violence, has been a daily occurrence.

The banks have announced their intent to join the strike for at least 48 hours (they have been open but four hours per day since the strike began). This has precipitated a rush on the banks with block-long lines. Although conditions have been barely tolerable (can you imagine no beer?), we think it will be more pleasant out of Venezuela.

Having succeeded in our accelerated program for this trip around South America (the most important being the rat-holing of 15 gallons of gasoline), and having put our sailboat, Orca, in the storage yard, we departed Puerto La Cruz on the Jan. 15. This put us two weeks ahead of our original plans, precipitated, of course, by the continued political and economic deterioration in this country.

The Venezuelan countryside proved quiet and with little traffic. Deciding to get our visas at the Brazilian Consulate in Puerto Ordaz was not wise, since we faced a four-hour wait at the bank to deposit the required fees. For security reasons, a number of institutions will not accept cash and require direct deposit to their accounts. Fortunately, the consul suggested the vice consul in Santa Helena (on the Brazilian border) for this operation where they accepted cash.

One never knows what the rule of day or region is going to be in Latin America. After a pleasant stay at the Villa Fairmont, we struck out for Brazil.

Across the equator

Boa Vista is a relatively new city created by the government to encourage colonization of the desolate northern part of Brazil. It is nicknamed the city of giants, since all of its roads are at least two-lane divided highways. Needless to say, there are no traffic jams.

The road to Manaus, on the Amazon river, was jointly described to us as “good" or “awful."

Well, it was both. The first and last thirds were indeed reasonable, while the middle portion was awful, full of large potholes when there was a roadway. Understand that this road was started in 1974 to connect the new city of Boa Vista with the rest of the country but was not completed until 1987.

A violent history was written during this time. The poison-/sarrow wielding Waimiri Indian tribe objected to the road through its ancestral lands and combated the Brazilian Army for many years, killing more than 200 soldiers. The Waimiri population high of 1,500 had dwindled down to fewer than 400 when a negotiated settlement was reached in 1986.

The drive through the reserve is quite memorable, with 125 kilometers of jungle where drivers are not allowed to get out of their vehicles. Crossing the reserve is allowed only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., and no photography is permitted.

We encountered a number of tribespeople on the road side, bare breasted et al. And, indeed, they are a handsome people, their lives little influenced by the encroachment of civilization.

Several of the men held bows with a number of arrows, and none of the expressions on their faces could be interpreted as friendly. Perhaps guarded, stern or angry would be better descriptions, but they certainly did not smile.

We have learned that we will be traveling down the Amazon on a barge. Apparently, the major traffic is passenger not auto, so if you wish to accompany your car, you do it on a barge on which your stateroom is your car.

And we used to say that the Hilton was camping out.

• Next week: A “luxury" Amazon river cruise or how to live out of your car with two dogs, a cat and a wife on the equator.

abcnews.go.com The Associated Press CARACAS, Venezuela Jan. 23 —

President Hugo Chavez applauded a Supreme Court decision to postpone a Feb. 2 referendum on his rule and announced he would impose foreign exchange controls to protect Venezuela's sagging currency.

In a speech broadcast late Wednesday, Chavez said he would set limits starting next week on the amount of dollars or other foreign currencies Venezuelans can accumulate. Earlier in the day, the central bank suspended foreign currency trading as political and economic uncertainty fed a surge in demand for dollars.

Also Wednesday, Venezuela's high court indefinitely suspended the opposition-backed nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule. The decision came just 11 days before the scheduled vote and stunned the opposition, which hoped the plebiscite would prompt the embattled leader to quit.

Chavez called the ruling "fair," adding that "it eliminates the terrible uncertainty that was affecting the country."

Government opponents presented the elections council with over 2 million signatures in November to convoke the referendum. They called a general strike, which has lasted 52 days, to demand Chavez accept the outcome of the vote.

The strike has dramatically reduced oil production in the world's fifth largest exporter and caused the bolivar to lose 25 percent of its value this year as Venezuelans and investors sell the currency to buy dollars amid the uncertainty.

The court ruling prompted angry reactions from the opposition.

"It's a slap in the face for millions of Venezuelans who are waiting for a solution to the crisis," said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.

Justices ruled that no national vote a referendum or election can be held until it decides whether elections council member Leonardo Pizani, who helped organize the referendum, is eligible to serve on the panel.

Pizani had resigned from the council in 2000, only to rejoin last November. He insisted he could rejoin because Congress, by law, had failed to formally accept his resignation.

Members of Chavez's ruling party filed suit arguing that Pizani's absence from the council made his resignation legally binding.

While government adversaries criticized the ruling, residents of Caracas braced for a pro-government march on Thursday to celebrate the downfall of Marcos Perez Jimenez, Venezuela's last dictator, in 1958. Government allies urged Chavez supporters from across the country to turn out for the march.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the nation's largest labor union, accused Chavez's supporters of planning a violent rampage in the capital. He urged government adversaries, who have staged near daily street marches since the strike began on Dec. 2, "to stay at home" to avoid "a massacre."

Interior Minister Lucas Rincon guaranteed security forces would maintain public order.

Chavez, a self-proclaimed "revolutionary" whose leftist rhetoric has scared off foreign investment, said he was against imposing the new currency controls but had to do it out of necessity.

Meanwhile, the "Group of Friends of Venezuela," a forum of six nations supporting OAS-mediated negotiations to end Venezuela's crisis, prepare for a first meeting.

Diplomats from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States are to meet at the Organization of American States in Washington on Friday. Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, began mediating the talks over two months ago.

Chavez has welcomed the "Friends" initiative, but he warned Wednesday that Venezuela would not accept foreign interference in domestic affairs.

"Sovereignty isn't debated, much less negotiated," he said.

www.austin360.com By CHRISTOPHER TOOTHAKER Associated Press Writer

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)--President Hugo Chavez applauded a Supreme Court decision to postpone a Feb. 2 referendum on his rule and announced he would impose foreign exchange controls to protect Venezuela's sagging currency.

In a speech broadcast late Wednesday, Chavez said he would set limits starting next week on the amount of dollars or other foreign currencies Venezuelans can accumulate. Earlier in the day, the central bank suspended foreign currency trading as political and economic uncertainty fed a surge in demand for dollars.

Also Wednesday, Venezuela's high court indefinitely suspended the opposition-backed nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule. The decision came just 11 days before the scheduled vote and stunned the opposition, which hoped the plebiscite would prompt the embattled leader to quit.

Chavez called the ruling fair,'' adding that it eliminates the terrible uncertainty that was affecting the country.''

Government opponents presented the elections council with over 2 million signatures in November to convoke the referendum. They called a general strike, which has lasted 52 days, to demand Chavez accept the outcome of the vote.

The strike has dramatically reduced oil production in the world's fifth largest exporter and caused the bolivar to lose 25 percent of its value this year as Venezuelans and investors sell the currency to buy dollars amid the uncertainty.

The court ruling prompted angry reactions from the opposition.

``It's a slap in the face for millions of Venezuelans who are waiting for a solution to the crisis,'' said opposition leader Rafael Alfonzo.

Justices ruled that no national vote--a referendum or election _ can be held until it decides whether elections council member Leonardo Pizani, who helped organize the referendum, is eligible to serve on the panel.

Pizani had resigned from the council in 2000, only to rejoin last November. He insisted he could rejoin because Congress, by law, had failed to formally accept his resignation.

Members of Chavez's ruling party filed suit arguing that Pizani's absence from the council made his resignation legally binding.

While government adversaries criticized the ruling, residents of Caracas braced for a pro-government march on Thursday to celebrate the downfall of Marcos Perez Jimenez, Venezuela's last dictator, in 1958. Government allies urged Chavez supporters from across the country to turn out for the march.

Strike leader Carlos Ortega, president of the nation's largest labor union, accused Chavez's supporters of planning a violent rampage in the capital. He urged government adversaries, who have staged near daily street marches since the strike began on Dec. 2, to stay at home'' to avoid a massacre.''

Interior Minister Lucas Rincon guaranteed security forces would maintain public order.

Chavez, a self-proclaimed ``revolutionary'' whose leftist rhetoric has scared off foreign investment, said he was against imposing the new currency controls but had to do it out of necessity.

Meanwhile, the ``Group of Friends of Venezuela,'' a forum of six nations supporting OAS-mediated negotiations to end Venezuela's crisis, prepare for a first meeting.

Diplomats from Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United States are to meet at the Organization of American States in Washington on Friday. Cesar Gaviria, secretary general of the Organization of American States, began mediating the talks over two months ago.

Chavez has welcomed the ``Friends'' initiative, but he warned Wednesday that Venezuela would not accept foreign interference in domestic affairs.

``Sovereignty isn't debated, much less negotiated,'' he said.

frontpagemag.com By Thor L. Halvorssen The Washington Times | January 22, 2003 [An edited version of this article appears in today’s Washington Times]

With every passing day, life for Venezuelans becomes more dangerous. Since his election in 1998, President Hugo Chavez’s has presided over the most dramatic decline in the nation’s fortunes: Analysts predict that in the first quarter of 2003 the economy will contract by 40%; more than one million jobs have been lost; approximately 900,000 people have gone into voluntary exile (most of them middle-class professionals); unemployment is at a staggering 17%; Almost 70% of the country’s industries have gone bankrupt; 70% of Venezuelans live in a state of poverty (up from 60% when Chavez began his rule); and the income of more than 15% of Venezuelans has dropped below the poverty line. As Venezuelan historian Anibal Romero says, "President Chavez’s government, literally speaking, is the ‘government of the poor’."

Chavez’s policies have left the nation in shambles. Stratospheric levels of corruption, collectivist central planning, mismanagement, and incompetence during the greatest oil boom have squandered a historic opportunity to cultivate a stable middle class. But stability is hardly the goal of Lt. Col. Chavez, who uses the nation’s wealth to fund and supply weapons to the FARC and ELN drug trafficking guerrilla terrorists in Colombia and the ETA Basque terrorist organization in Spain. Chavez has cozy relationships with the strongmen in Cuba, Libya, Iran, and Iraq (Chavez has said that Saddam Hussein is his "brother" and "partner"), and earlier this month he was accused by his personal pilot of funneling $900,000 to Osama Bin Laden. Chavez has publicly described the U.S. military response to Bin Laden as "terrorism" claiming that he saw no difference between the invasion of Afghanistan and the September 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S.

Readers of the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Associated Press and viewers of CNN, are fed a dramatically different story. Most Americans are unaware of Chavez’s radicalism and affection for some of the world’s harshest dictators. There is an enormous divide between what the world is hearing about Venezuela and what is really happening there. Reporters have so controlled the flow of information and disfigured the truth that their coverage of Venezuela is a caricature of the "liberal media bias" conservative critics complain about. What we are seeing in media coverage of Venezuela is not liberal bias, but totalitarian bias. The press has shown little concern either for the fate of Venezuela or journalistic objectivity.

A recent example is Christopher Toothaker of the Associated Press. Toothaker has spent a considerable amount of time in Venezuela, he speaks Spanish, and he has access to government and opposition sources. In a January 4 report, he minimized the importance of the upcoming constitutional referendum, stating that the opposition presented "over 150,000 signatures" to election authorities calling for a vote on whether Chavez should resign. This is a dramatic and deliberate understatement. The Venezuelan Constitution, approved by Chavez himself, provides for a referendum if 10% of the electorate petitions in writing. The opposition presented 2 million 57 thousand signatures—some 15% of the voting rolls—a startling error that any fact-checker should catch. The smaller figure appears in dozens of other Associated Press reports, CBS, CNN and even in a story bylined by Ginger Thompson of the New York Times that was carried in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel .

Thompson is no fan of objectivity. On January 3 the opposition organized a march to protest Chavez. Hundreds of thousands of nonviolent demonstrators carried flags, posters and signs calling for a peaceful resolution. The protesters were ambushed by members of Chavez’s armed militia who dispersed the march with a hail of bullets and rocks. The Chavez police blithely watched the armed thugs shoot at the defenseless crowd. I was there. To our incredulity, we then saw the Chavez police supply the criminals with tear gas grenades. In her Times story Thompson characterizes the violence as a "clash" and a "street fight"—moral equivalency at its worst. American readers would never know it was an ambush.

The sympathies of Thompson’s colleague, Juan Forero, are revealed by Larry Birns, director of the Council for Hemispheric Affairs (ww.coha.org). In late December, Birns, a refreshingly sincere D.C. activist who acts as a Chavez cheerleader and apologist, told a Venezuelan government official the names of the four reporters he believed were most amicable to the Chavez government. This Times scribe made the top of his list: "He is committed to the revolution," Birns said of Forero. Reuters and the Associated Press were also praised for their "strong support" of Chavez.

The Washington Post’s reporting is just as cant-laden as the Times’s, and its editorial page is utterly one-sided. Eight days ago, Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy Research penned a column complaining that the Venezuelan and American media are biased against Chavez. He calls the Chavez government, responsible for dozens of political deaths, "one of the least repressive in Latin America." He should travel more.

Spotting errors in Weisbrot’s article on Venezuela, one might assume, is a matter as simple as reporting the truth. Weisbrot states that "no one has been arrested for political activities." This is nonsense. Some of these arrests are so public that Weisbrot cannot credibly claim ignorance. For instance, Carlos Alfonso Martinez, an outspoken political opponent of Chavez and one of the most respected officers in the armed forces, was arbitrarily arrested on December 30 by the secret police. The act caused public furor both because it was a further indication of government repression and also because Martinez was arrested without a warrant and remains under arrest even though a judge ordered his immediate release. How did this fact slip by the editors at the Post?

Weisbrot has the gall to call the Venezuelan media "shamelessly dishonest" and uses a demonstrably false example to prove his point. His assertion that the Venezuelan media is biased is repeated elsewhere in the American media. In light of this, Americans should know President Chavez has systematically persecuted and maligned the media and this has caused all privately-owned newspapers, radio, and television networks to take a position against his ferocious assault on freedom of the press. Chavez has instigated violent verbal and physical attacks against the owners, editors, and employees of the media. Buildings have been bombed, reporters have been injured and killed, and automobiles, cameras, and other media property have been destroyed by armed members of the Chavez militia. The International Broadcasting Association, Interamerican Press Society, and the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights of the Organization of American States have pleaded in vain with Chavez to protect freedom of the press. The homes of prominent journalists have been raided by the authorities and these journalists have been compelled to testify to the secret police. In Venezuela, there is no freedom of the press. Consider that Venezuelan reporters and camera crews refuse to go on the streets of Caracas without bulletproof vests – a "hostile work environment" few Americans can even imagine.

Weisbrot ends his Post column by saying that Chavez is Venezuela’s best hope for democracy and social and economic "betterment." And yet Weisbrot does not support the referendum that would let the voters declare whether Chavez rules with the consent of the governed. Chavez told voters in a television broadcast: "Don’t waste time…. Not even if we suppose that they hold that referendum and get 90% of the votes, I will not leave. Forget it. I will not go." Putting aside Chavez’s miserable track record on the economy, does this really sound like the best hope for democracy?

Meanwhile, many members of the U.S. government, business, and diplomatic communities make their decisions based on the "knowledge" they acquire from the media. Venezuelans are suffering unnecessarily because of the arrogance and favoritism of a handful of journalists. It is wicked. Yet what is worse is that, no matter what happens, the media will never be held accountable.

Thor Halvorssen is a human rights activist. He lives in Philadelphia.

www.theage.com.au Thursday 23 January 2003, 16:05PM

Crippled by 52 days of strike, Venezuela braced for more turmoil as foreign currency trading was halted, a February referendum was suspended and supporters of embattled President Hugo Chavez planned a major demonstration.

The government suspended foreign currency trading for five days, but said repayment of public debt would continue. Once full operations resume, exchange rules will be set by the Central Bank and the Finance Ministry.

Traders said the move was motivated by a high demand for cash amid nervousness over the crisis and fears currency controls would be imposed.

The announcement coincided with a preliminary Supreme Court decision to call off a referendum the opposition planned to hold February 2 in a bid to force Chavez from office.

The leftist-populist president already had said he would ignore the outcome of such a poll, but has said he was open to proposals put forward by former US president Jimmy Carter that would pave the way for a recall referendum in August, or a constitutional amendment to shorten his term of office - which ends in 2006.

The National Electoral Commission said the court ruling merely "froze" the February 2 referendum but did not cancel it.

"We are shocked and indignant ... This demonstrates we are under an authoritarian government." said Antonio Ledezma, a spokesman for the opposition, made up of labour and employer's federations as well as largely conservative political parties.

The announcement heightened insecurity on the eve of a major Caracas demonstration by supporters of the beleaguered president, who planned to march through east Caracas, a stronghold of the opposition leading the strike aimed at forcing Chavez from office.

The city was rife with rumours of impending violence, and tension was particularly high at the Plaza Altamira, which has become emblematic of the opposition since insurgent officers set up camp there late last year.

Three people were gunned down at the eastern Caracas square during a December 6 opposition rally. Three more people have since died and dozens more were wounded, many by gunfire, in clashes between Chavez supporters and opposition protesters.

Opposition leaders chose not to stage any protests in Caracas, saying they wanted to avoid further bloodshed, but demonstrations were planned elsewhere in Venezuela.

They also showed determination to continue the strike, which has mainly affected the vital oil sector, slashing production and exports, and forcing motorists to wait in line for hours in the hope of getting a tankful of fuel.

Chavez accused the opposition of engaging "in an irrational effort to cause national chaos."

Meanwhile, top diplomats of the hastily formed "Friends of Venezuela" group - Brazil, Chile, the United States, Mexico, Spain and Portugal - were to meet behind closed doors Friday in Washington to seek a peaceful end to the crisis.

The State Department said Secretary of State Colin Powell would represent the United States at the meeting in the Organisation of American States headquarters.