Weaker and more divided, Venezuela rightists seek general lockout tomorrow

["Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Venezuela: Anti-Chavez Forces Gear Up For New Offensive

CARACAS, Oct 18, 2002 (Inter Press Service via COMTEX) --
Political parties and civil society groups in Venezuela
opposed to President Hugo Chavez and his "Bolivarian social
revolution" signed a new "pact for reconstruction", which
they see as a program for a transitional government, as they
prepare for next Monday's general strike.

The 12-hour stoppage will be the third of its kind held in
less than a year to demand Chvez's resignation and call for
early elections.

The populist president took office in 1999 and was elected
again under a new constitution in 2000. His term ends in
2006.

The protest is being promoted by a continuous stream of
publicity on TV, radio and the print media by Fedecmaras,
the main business association; the Venezuelan Confederation
of Workers (CTV), the biggest central trade union; and the
34 parties and civil society organizations grouped in the
umbrella Democratic Coordinator.

The organizations backing the strike include business
associations, trade groups, industrialists, farmers, private
schools and pharmacies, as well as trade unions representing
health workers, teachers and other public employees.

But workers in the oil, gas, petrochemical and steel-making
industries and mass transit employees in Caracas have
announced that they will not join the strike.

The associations of small and medium-sized businesses and
shops have left the decision up to each of their members.

The strike organizers have urged "society as a whole" to
join in -- a message aimed at the 50 percent of the
economically active population that works in the informal
sector of the economy and thus is not represented by any
trade union.

The call also targets the 1.8 million people who are
unemployed in this country of 24 million. According to the
National Institute of Statistics, the unemployment rate
currently stands at 15.5 percent.

In response to Chavez's contention that the strike "conceals
intentions to stage another coup d'etat," the president of
Fedecmaras, Carlos Fernndez, said the work stoppage was
being held "to demand a peaceful, constitutional and
democratic solution to the crisis."

The last general strike, which began on Apr 8, culminated in
a massive opposition march three days later in Caracas,
which ended in shooting that killed 18 people, and an Apr 12
coup headed by a group of military commanders, who
designated the then-head of Fedecmaras, Pedro Carmona, as
caretaker president.

However, Chavez reclaimed the presidency two days later,
with the support of loyal troops and street demonstrations
by hundreds of thousands of supporters.

The April strike and opposition rally were also preceded by
the signing, in March, of a "governability pact" by
Fedecmaras and the CTV, with the backing of the Roman
Catholic Church hierarchy. The 10-point pact focused on
issues ranging from the fight against poverty to the need to
de-politicize the armed forces.

The new "pact for reconstruction" that was signed Thursday
states that the opposition is seeking "to open a space for
reconciliation, and recover governance, with a period of
transition in which a popular referendum would be
organized," said retired vice-admiral Rafael Huizi, an
opposition spokesman.

On Oct 10, Chavez's foes held a huge rally under the slogan
"Elections Now!", demanding that he resign and call early
elections. Three days later, the president's supporters held
their own demonstration, as big as, or bigger than, the
opposition's, under the theme "Respect for the
Constitution".

"The political climate is unbreathable, and there is a risk
of serious clashes," said Huizi.

The first point of the new opposition pact calls for urgent
policies to alleviate social exclusion and poverty, which to
one degree or another affects seven out of 10 Venezuelans,
and has increased under the burden of 25 percent inflation
in the first nine months of the year.

The pact also calls for reconciliation, a restoration of the
legitimacy of public authorities, efforts to fight
corruption, reforms of the electoral system, and measures to
generate employment and restart the economy.

The last point declares that Chavez has failed to respect
the principle of the separation of the three branches of
the state.

The pact also underlines the need to "normalize Venezuela's
international relations with its traditional partners" -- an
allusion to the numerous diplomatic rows between the
Chavez administration and the United States, and in
particular to criticism by Washington of Caracas' ties
with Cuba, Iraq and Iran.

A declaration "Against Violence: Democracy", signed by 120
personalities from a broad range of sectors, including
government partisans and critics as well as independents,
was also made public on Thursday.

The statement calls for "the people to be consulted within
the framework of the constitution," in search of a solution
to the severe political division and upheaval.

A majority of the opposition groups are demanding that a
referendum be held in the next few weeks to ask voters if
they want Chavez to continue in office or to step down.

The opposition is organizing the strike on the argument that
Chavez ignored an "ultimatum" which gave him until last
Wednesday to resign or call a referendum.

But the president says anyone interested in a referendum on
the future of his government should collect signatures to
try to hold one in August 2003, the halfway-point in his
term, as stipulated by the constitution.

In order to organize a referendum, 10 percent of registered
voters, or 1.5 million people, must sign a petition to that
effect.

Rafael Jimenez, the vice-president of parliament and one of
Chavez's backers, told foreign correspondents Thursday that
he was optimistic that a peaceful solution to the crisis
could be found, adding that "at any rate, we will have
elections next year."

The secretary-general of the Organization of American States
(OAS), Cesar Gaviria, who is trying to get the government
and opposition to hold talks, says priority should be put on
reforming the electoral system to create new election laws
and purge the voting register.

Gaviria presented a "commitment to peace and
reconstruction", which the government and most
opposition groups have already signed.

However, the traditional parties -- the social democratic
Democratic Action party and the christian democratic
Copei -- refused to sign the document presented by Gaviria.

According to Jimenez: "The radical vanguards of the ruling
coalition and the opposition interpret their own wishes, and
not those of the country, which is fed up with
confrontations. The majority of the population wants Chvez
to go, in peace and democracy, or to stay, in peace and
democracy."

Copyright (c) 2002 IPS-Inter Press Service.  All Rights
Reserved.


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