examiner.com Publication date: 02/04/2003 BY ALEXANDRA OLSON Associated Press

    CARACAS, Venezuela -- Workers in all sectors but the vital oil industry returned to their jobs Monday, abandoning a two-month general strike that devastated Venezuela's economy but failed to oust President Hugo Chavez.

    As life began returning to normal in stores, factories and banks, the government made gains toward restoring oil production to pre-strike levels in a nation that is a major supplier of crude to the United States and the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.

    The fear of bankruptcy and shortages of gasoline and other essentials prompted leaders to end the strike, which began Dec. 2, said Albis Munoz, vice president of the country's biggest business chamber, Fedecamaras.

    Chavez, elected in 1998 and re-elected in 2000, vows to defeat his opponents in the streets and at the ballot box. He said Sunday he will prosecute strike leaders for sabotaging the economy.

    Venezuela's opposition still hopes to generate global pressure for new elections.

    The strike reflected "the disorganization of the opposition," said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere studies at Johns Hopkins University.

    "It was anti-Chavez, but never pro-anything. What were they going to replace Chavez with?" Roett said.

    Lines disappeared at banks, traffic jams reappeared and janitors swept the halls at Caracas' multistory Sambil shopping mall Monday in anticipation of today's opening.

    The strike "lasted too long and now we are paying the consequences," said Luis Lange, 24, an electronics store manager.

    Like Lange, hundreds of thousands of businessmen had counted on holiday sales to make up for last year's poor sales.

    According to the Fedeindustria business chamber, the fallout from the strike and continuing recession will cost 200,000 jobs and close more than 20,000 small- and medium-sized businesses by August.

    Chavez also fired more than 5,000 striking oil workers.

    Lack of oil and tax income forced Chavez to cut 10 percent from Venezuela's $25 billion budget for 2003. Economists forecast the economy will shrink 25 percent this year after an 8 percent contraction in 2002.

    Venezuela's crude oil output rose to 1.2 million barrels per day Monday, compared with 1.1 million barrels over the weekend, according to dissident staff at the state owned monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela, S.A.

    That is about a third of normal production, but Venezuela is expected to add 200,000 more barrels per day in the coming weeks, the staff's daily report said.

reuters.com Tue February 4, 2003 01:41 PM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has survived a two-month strike he blames on opposition "coup mongers," on Tuesday taunted his frustrated opponents by celebrating the anniversary of a botched coup bid he led in 1992.

Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and other ministers attended a religious service and laid a wreath in Caracas to commemorate the Feb. 4, 1992 uprising in which left-winger Chavez, then an unknown paratroop lieutenant-colonel, attempted a failed assault against the presidential palace.

Chavez, who distributed land titles Tuesday in poor west Caracas, served two years in jail for the coup attempt. The publicity he gained launched him on the path to the presidency, which he won with widespread support in a 1998 election.

Tuesday's government celebration of Chavez's unsuccessful coup bid infuriated opposition leaders. They are already frustrated over the failure of their strike launched more than nine weeks ago to try to force the president from office.

Several hundred Chavez supporters, many wearing the red paratrooper's beret that is the symbol of his self-styled "revolution," attended the official commemoration of Chavez's 1992 coup bid. "This is a day of dignity," pro-Chavez housewife Miriam Bolivar told Reuters in downtown Caracas.

Two policemen were later hurt when clashes broke out between police and stone-throwing pro-Chavez militants.

The opposition strike has pushed the oil-reliant economy into crisis, forcing the government to cut spending and prepare foreign exchange controls expected this week.

he opposition strike, which slashed oil production in the world's No. 5 petroleum exporter, was scaled back Sunday to continue only in the oil sector. It has pushed the oil-reliant economy into crisis, forcing the government to cut spending and prepare foreign exchange controls expected this week.

Chavez says his government is restoring the strike-hit oil industry and that oil production is fast approaching 2 million barrels per day (bpd), two thirds of pre-strike levels. Opposition strikers put current output at 1.2 million bpd.

In a switch of tactics, opposition leaders grouped in the Coordinadora Democratica coalition are now relaunching a determined political campaign to try to trigger early elections to oust the president, who has ruled for four years.

COUP ACCUSATIONS FLY

Chavez, who was briefly deposed by a short-lived coup last year, repeatedly vilifies his foes as "oligarchs," "terrorists" and "coup mongers." They condemn his rule as corrupt and inept, say he is seeking to install Cuba-style communism and accuse him of obstructing their campaign for early elections.

"The world has seen that while the Coordinadora Democratica insists on seeking an electoral solution, the president and his government are using all kinds of tricks and maneuvers to try to block a vote," opposition negotiator Americo Martin said.

"So, who are the coup-mongers and who are the democrats?" he told Reuters.

Chavez argues that his 1992 coup bid, in which 14 people were killed and more than 50 injured, was a legitimate military rebellion against what he said was the corrupt rule of then President Carlos Andres Perez.

Since last year's April coup that deposed him for 48 hours, Chavez has purged his military enemies from the armed forces and now appears to have backing from within the barracks.

Organization of American States Secretary General Cesar Gaviria, backed by a six-nation "group of friends" including the United States and Brazil, is trying to help the government and the opposition to agree a political deal on elections.

Chavez's government on Monday rejected an opposition proposal to cut short his mandate and trigger early elections through an amendment to the constitution. In a nationwide operation on Sunday, opposition leaders said they had collected more than four million signatures backing the constitutional amendment.

Dashing hopes for quick elections to solve the Venezuelan crisis, which has rattled world oil markets amid fears of a U.S. war on Iraq, Chavez's government says its foes must wait until Aug. 19, halfway though the president's current term.

After that date, the constitution allows for a binding referendum on Chavez's rule.

But the opposition, which appears divided over strategy and lacks a clear leader to challenge Chavez, wants elections sooner, or at the latest on Aug 19, the date suggested by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter who backs the peace talks. (Additional reporting by Ana Isabel Martinez)

www.phillyburbs.com

By ALEXANDRA OLSON The Associated Press   Venezuela's government rejected an opposition proposal to cut President Hugo Chavez's term and instead suggested a referendum on his rule later this year as a way out of the country's political crisis, a negotiator said Tuesday.

Ronald Blanco la Cruz, a government negotiator at talks mediated by the Organization of American States, said that under the government's proposal, opponents can start collecting signatures for a so-called recall referendum in August, halfway into Chavez's six-year term.

That was sure to infuriate the opposition, which says it already has collected more than 4 million signatures for a constitutional amendment ending Chavez's term this year and calling new elections.

Chavez repeatedly has pledged that a recall vote can be held in August - not just that it can start to be organized, as indicated by Blanco la Cruz.

Blanco la Cruz, governor of Tachira state, also said the government has rejected the opposition's proposals to amend the constitution.

"Otherwise, people would start collecting signatures as soon as a president is elected," he told the government's Venezolana de Television.

Venezuela's constitution requires signatures from 20 percent of 11 million registered voters - roughly 2.2 million people - to demand a recall vote.

OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria has been mediating talks since November to try to end Venezuela's political deadlock.

He received a boost when former President Jimmy Carter laid out two options for Venezuela: a recall vote in August, or a constitutional amendment shortening Chavez's term to four years with an early election.

Chavez is a former army paratrooper who led a failed coup attempt 11 years ago Tuesday. Jailed for two years, he was elected president in 1998 on an anti-poverty platform and re-elected in 2000. His current term ends in January 2007.

Citing economic and political turmoil, Venezuela's opposition launched a general strike Dec. 2 to seek his ouster.

The strike crumbled this week as workers in all industries except oil returned to their jobs. The government, meanwhile, raised oil production to 1.2 million barrels a day, up from 1.1 million barrels over the weekend, according to dissident staff at the state oil company.

Venezuela produced 3.2 million barrels a day before the strike. It is a major supplier of crude to the United States and the world's fifth-largest petroleum exporter.

Venezuela was expected to add 200,000 more barrels per day in the coming weeks, staff at Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. said.

Fear of bankruptcy and shortages of gasoline and other essentials prompted leaders to end the strike. But they proclaimed victory, saying the strike had drawn pressure from the international community on Chavez to resolve the stalemate.

Julio Brazon, president of the Consecomercio business chamber, which represents about 450,000 businesses, said the strike was a "resounding success" because "an electoral solution to the crisis is in march."

Some analysts disagreed.

The strike reflected "the disorganization of the opposition," said Riordan Roett, director of Western Hemisphere studies at Johns Hopkins University. "It was anti-Chavez but never pro-anything. What were they going to replace Chavez with?"

The United States and five other countries have joined the OAS in mediating talks and seeking early elections.

Chavez claims his "revolutionary" government would crush the opposition at the ballot box. He said Sunday that he will prosecute strike leaders for sabotaging the economy.

www.wavy.com

Caracas, Venezuela-AP -- Venezuela's government is proposing a way out of the crisis that has gripped the nation for two months. It has rejected an opposition plan to cut President Hugo Chavez's (OO'-goh CHAH'-vezihz) term short. But it is proposing a referendum on his role later this year.

The opposition called a general strike in early December as a way of forcing Chavez out of office. The strike largely broke down this week.

The government proposal says opponents can start collecting signatures for a recall referendum in August -- which would be halfway through Chavez's term.

Chavez has repeatedly said a recall vote could actually be held in August.

The opposition says it has already collected more than four (m) million signatures for a constitutional amendment ending Chavez's term this year.

www.wavy.com

Caracas, Venezuela-AP -- Venezuela's government is proposing a way out of the crisis that has gripped the nation for two months. It has rejected an opposition plan to cut President Hugo Chavez's (OO'-goh CHAH'-vezihz) term short. But it is proposing a referendum on his role later this year.

The opposition called a general strike in early December as a way of forcing Chavez out of office. The strike largely broke down this week.

The government proposal says opponents can start collecting signatures for a recall referendum in August -- which would be halfway through Chavez's term.

Chavez has repeatedly said a recall vote could actually be held in August.

The opposition says it has already collected more than four (m) million signatures for a constitutional amendment ending Chavez's term this year.