www.phillyburbs.com By STEPHEN IXER The Associated Press

President Hugo Chavez declared victory Sunday after his opponents agreed to ease a two-month national strike, but thousands of Venezuelans still lined up for a petition drive seeking his ouster.

Strike organizers, who began the protest Dec. 2 to pressure Chavez into accepting a referendum on his rule, said Friday they would ease the work stoppage, already waning, this week to protect businesses from bankruptcy.

However, the strike will continue in the vital oil industry, where production was cut from 3 million barrels a day to 150,000 at the height of the strike. Chavez said Sunday the government boosted production to 1.8 million barrels a day, but striking workers put the number at 1 million.

"Today is a victorious day," the president said in his weekly television and radio program. "We have beaten once and for all a new destabilizing attempt, a new malevolent and criminal attempt to sink Venezuela."

But opposition leaders - who accuse Chavez of ruining the economy with leftist policies and trying to accumulate too much power - were far from conceding defeat.

Thousands of Venezuelans waited hours in the tropical sun Sunday to sign petitions at tables nationwide in support of various measures renouncing Chavez's government and seeking his ouster.

Four people were injured, including two police officers, when pro-Chavez protesters threw stones, fireworks and tear gas canisters near two petition tables in downtown Caracas, police chief Henry Vivas said. A car belonging to a private, local television channel also was set alight.

The opposition hopes one petition in particular - a constitutional amendment reducing Chavez's term from six to four years - will succeed, paving the way for general elections later this year.

Under the constitution, organizers need signatures from 15 percent, or about 1.8 million, of the country's 12 million registered voters - a number they expect to surpass easily.

"We're looking for the fastest way to get out of this crisis," said Freddy Hurtado, 56, an advertising agent who complained of poor business even before the strike began. "Given that the president is the cause of the crisis, we're going to get rid of him with our signatures."

The amendment was one of two proposals made by Nobel Peace Prize winner and former President Jimmy Carter. The other calls for a recall referendum on Chavez's rule halfway through his six-year term, in August.

Chavez has indicated he is open to both solutions, but said Sunday he never would give in to his opponents, whom he labeled "coup-plotters, fascists and terrorists." He vowed to hold strike leaders accountable in the courts and again threatened private media outlets, which he accuses of supporting opposition efforts.

Oil makes up a third of Venezuela's economy and provides half of government income. Before the strike, Venezuela was the world's fifth-largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States.

The strike has cost the nation at least $4 billion in lost oil revenues alone by government estimates. The Santander Central Hispano investment bank has warned that the economy could shrink by as much as 40 percent in the first quarter of this year.

The extent of a continued work stoppage in the industry was unclear. Some 35,000 of the oil industry's 40,000 workers originally joined the strike, but the government has said most of them are back at work.

Most small businesses never joined the strike, and many companies that closed because of security concerns have reopened their doors in recent days. Those that remained closed - including factories, malls and franchise restaurants - were urged to open this week for restricted hours, strike leaders said.

February 2, 2003 4:17 PM

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 1:39:14 AM By: Miguel Salazar

Salazar: 50 million a day set aside for Coordinadora Democratica

Slaves: last November people found it strange when the Interior & Justice (MIJ) Minister appointed a new Passport & Identification (Oni-Dex) board … a lieutenant colonel and a lawyer linked to the old ID system in the golden age of the Fourth Republic have made an art out of legalizing Chinese and Arabs from tourist to transit visas. Where are the 560 Chinese who entered Venezuela in December as tourists and were given Oni-Dex ID cards. Where did the “overtime” money go? Is it true or false that they were connected through a finance company run by a former mayor and Caracas State Governor to finance sabotage program during the national stoppage? Three Oni-Dex offices registered and granted the ID cards. At the Petare Office 429 ID cards were granted to Chinese citizens, who arrived with only a tourist visa. At the La Trinidad office 86 ID cards and at the Valencia II office 78 ID cards. On handing over their tourist visas, each applicant was charged 3 million bolivares, not including travel costs. The ID card was more expensive and then there were “laundered” stamps to pay for. The operation is estimated at a little more that $2 million. It all started at the Venezuelan Consulate in Hong Kong where the visas were granted while the Oni-Dex general director took care of authorizing and supplying the ID cards. What is more serious is that the new ID card holders are unusually illegals. It’s amazing that 429 ID cards were rushed through in one day at one office and signed in record time. Are we witnessing a new form of slavery? These people are under the care of those who brought them in. Not to mention the illegal entry of Arabs legalized at Propatria Oni-Dex office.

Black Cat: Slowly but surely, a new military commotion is getting underway.

Briefcase: An average 50 million bolivares a day have been placed to cover Coordinadora Democratica (CD) costs.

Who’s paying? After more than 2 months of the “military operation” that turned Plaza Francia (Altamira) into “liberated territory,” there are few rooms at night at the Four Seasons Hotel, which was on the verge of closing down before the military action. Top brass rebels only appear in the Plaza tent for press conferences. Meanwhile, it’s a mystery to find out who paid hotel lodgings, even though it is presumed that a lot of money was paid out. BTW, a sector of the Cuban exile is angry over the “mislaying” of funds to pay for rebel costs.

Golf: Some time ago I complained about Intesa-SAIC relationship and the damage it was doing to the country. The history of deals between former Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) executives isn’t exemplary … they depreciated PDVSA. The outsourcing company directed the computing raid and was represented in Venezuela by Pablo Orsolani. SAIC can count on elite IC pensioners. There is a site under investigation for links to sects and cults, which are just beginning to gain ground among the high classes of industrialized classes. Before the stoppage, an exchange of views took place between Intesa-SAIC and top executives linked to the outsourcing on the Caracas golf courses.

Politicians in the service of foreign commerce: Gente del Petroleo sepoys have been making incursions into Judibana (Falcon) Amuay company employees compound. In true Ku Klux Klan style, they harass worker’s families, arriving in cavalcades of luxury cars and cruise around the compound, murmuring unintelligible things and pinning things on doors and windows.

One Chavez Frias: In my next book shortly to be published I write: How can one deny that Chavez Frias is a faithful exponent of Accion Democratica (AD) founder, President Romulo Betancourt’s (1960-1964) conduct. Like Chavez Frias, Romulo was a political warlord who made politics an instrument to his own image and likeness and created a kind of Venezuelan, called the Adeco (Accion Democratica). The paradigm died when Betancourt went. The King is dead! Long Live the King! The Chavist was born with the arrival of Chavez Frias. But what an extraordinary similarity between an Adeco and a Chavist!

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 1:55:04 PM By: Oscar Heck

VHeadline.com commentarist Oscar Heck writes: These words come from the mouth of a close friend of mine living in the Caracas barrio (slum) where I find myself at this time.

A few days ago, he and his extended family, had been interviewed by a Canadian CBC reporter (and cameraman) and with a reporter from Denmark. At their request, one member of the family escorted each for day trips through the barrio ... they interviewed and filmed throughout a good portion of the barrio.

• Visits (with interviews) to the barrios by the media is extremely rare.  Seldom does the media take the time and effort to visit and listen to people who represent a great portion of the Venezuelan population.

The reporters were surprised by several things:

1. The fact that people here in the barrio CONFIRMED that during the entire time of "el paro" (the stoppage -which began December 2, 2003 - incited by the anti-Chavez opposition), almost everything was 'business as usual' ... at least 80-90% of all stores and businesses were open and functioning, and still are. (This is unlike what was being reported by the conventional Venezuelan media who reported that the entire country was shut down and on strike).

2. That about half the people approached who were asked about what they thought of the present Venezuelan political situation refused to respond or said "Go ask the politicians or the people who attend marches and demonstrations." (Which contrasts with what much of the Venezuelan media reports are saying about increased voiced opposition support).

3. That the majority of the people believe that Chavez, through good or bad governance, had done the best thing for the people (the thing that any former government had neglected to do); to OPEN the eyes of the poor people, to give them dignity and a voice, to allow them to know and exercise their rights as human beings rather than remaining "slaves" to the richer Venezuelans. (This contrasts with what much of the Venezuelan media and opposition are trying to tell the world; that there is no division between the people, no "class" division, no racism, and that there has never been any).

The eyes of the poor have been opened and some lose their privileges.

There are some anti-Chavez opposition people that write to me saying: "ignorant, communist, socialist, leftist, Canadian -- go home!, you are blind, you do not understand Venezuela, go to Cuba ... you are an embarrassment, etc."

I suggest to the people who respond to me in this fashion to spend some time in the barrios of Caracas.

Come to the barrios to do your reporting and your interviews .... like they did ... the CBC reporter and cameraman and the reporter from Denmark.

Oscar Heck oscarheck111@hotmail.com

www.vheadline.com Posted: Sunday, February 02, 2003 - 1:18:41 PM By: Oscar Heck

VHeadline.com commentarist Oscar Heck writes: This morning at about 8:00 a.m. I walked over to the "parada", the main intersection and entrance to the "barrio" (slum area) where I am at this time.

The "firmazo" ("signing") began before I arrived. It's a one-day coordinated effort to collect signatures throughout all of Venezuela ... a collection of signatures in an attempt by the anti-Chavez opposition (comprised mainly of minority middle-to-upper class Venezuelans), and headed up by the Coordinadora Democratica (Democratic Coordinator), to collect millions of real signatures from people in favor of ousting President Chavez from power as quickly as possible (and this, regardless of the legal process which allows for a binding referendum in August 2003).

Here in the barrio, the line-up for the 'firmazo' ... at 8:30 a.m. ... was approximately 500 people and the organization collecting the signatures (Primera Justicia - a recently born opposition political party) was processing approximately 5-8 people per minute. By 11:00 a.m. (the time at which I write this commentary), there was no more queue ... but people are still coming to sign. They'll be open all day and into the late hours of the evening. This is the only signing station in this Caracas barrio and there are about 6 major barrios in the Caracas area, representing what I estimate to be nearly half the population of Caracas (2 million people).

I made some calculations:

• The estimated population of this barrio is about 400,000.
• If say, 10 people per minute are signed up for a period of 14 hours, a total of  8,400 signatures will have been collected by the end of the day. This represents a total of 2.1% of the population of the barrio.  Throughout Venezuela, my estimate is that at least 50% of the population lives in barrio-like conditions or worse.
• I am sure that the percentage of collected signatures will be substantially higher amongst the middle-to-upper classes throughout Venezuela (which represent, in my estimate, about 35% of the Venezuelan population).
• What portion of the Venezuelan population will be represented by the number of signatures collected?
• What if the 'firmazo' was only held in barrio-like areas, such as in the barrio I am presently at?
• What figures would we get if a 'firmazo' was done to sign up people that WANT Chavez to stay?
• What will the Coordinadora Democratica LEGALLY do with these signatures anyway?

Oscar Heck oscarheck111@hotmail.com

reuters.com Sun February 2, 2003 11:35 AM ET By Pascal Fletcher

CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Foes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez turned out in large numbers on Sunday to cast a symbolic vote against him, signing a petition for early elections after opposition leaders said they were scaling back a two-month strike.

The opposition was hoping well over a million people would take part in the campaign organized as a national poll. It was the latest challenge against left-winger Chavez nine weeks after the start of a grueling strike that has jolted the economy but failed to force the populist president to resign.

Oil workers whose walkout has slashed output by the world's No. 5 oil exporter were maintaining their protest. But other non-oil sectors were rolling back their support for the strike because of the damage to business and jobs.

Squeezed by the cutback in its oil income, the government has announced budget cuts and foreign exchange controls.

At hundreds of stations set up in schools, plazas and streets across the nation, long lines formed as citizens turned out to sign petitions seeking early elections, opposing Chavez and his government and supporting the oil strikers.

"I'm here because of the bad state the country is in. The government and the president are no good. Let's see if we can finally get out of this situation in a democratic way," 46-year-old waiter Bernardo Uribe told Reuters as he signed.

The main petition requested a constitutional amendment to shorten Chavez's rule and trigger immediate elections. Chavez, who survived a coup last year and still commands support among the nation's poor majority, was elected in 1998 and is due to end his term in early 2007.

To trigger the constitutional mechanism for an early poll this year, the opposition needs to collect the signatures of at least 15 percent of the nation's nearly 12 million voters -- around 1.8 million signatures. Chavez has rejected the early poll, saying the opposition must wait until August when the constitution would allow a binding referendum.

Chavez, who says he has beaten the strike and is gradually restoring oil production, has made clear he will not support the constitutional amendment. But he accepts it as legal and government negotiators are considering their response.

At one opposition signing station in central Caracas, Chavez supporters threw stones and traded insults with foes of the president but police kept the two sides apart.

INTERNATIONAL APPEAL

The opposition campaign followed an appeal on Friday by a six-nation "group of friends" for a democratic, electoral solution to end the crisis, which has rocked world oil markets already nervous over a possible U.S. war on Iraq.

Envoys from the United States, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Spain and Portugal had held talks in Caracas with Chavez and his opponents, urging them to settle their differences peacefully in negotiations brokered by the Organization of American States.

Seven people have been killed and dozens wounded in shootings and clashes since the strike began Dec. 2.

Outside the oil sector, support for the strike has slipped. Many shops, businesses and restaurants, facing bankruptcy after staying closed over Christmas, have reopened, and private banks are due to resume normal operations on Monday.

Chavez, who staged a botched coup bid six years before winning elections, is accused by his opponents of trying to install Cuba-style communism.

He condemns his striking foes as a rich, resentful elite trying to topple him because their privileges are threatened.

The opposition organized Sunday's signing after the Supreme Court suspended a planned Feb. 2 nonbinding referendum.

One potential sticking point in the electoral solution being negotiated is the fate of striking employees of the state oil giant PDVSA, more than 5,000 of whom have been fired.

Opposition leaders are demanding they be reinstated as part of any deal, but Chavez, who has replaced them with troops and loyal personnel, has refused an amnesty.