Foes of Chavez Plan Strike as Talks Progress

As Venezuelans braced for yet another nationwide strike today, the country remained deeply divided.

Grim-faced opposition leaders refused to say how long the protest would go on but made clear they hoped it would lead to the resignation of controversial President Hugo Chavez.

Chavez dismissed the planned protest, the fourth in a year, calling it an illegal attack on the government.

“They are calling a strike that is going to fail, more so than the others,” Chavez said Sunday on his weekly television broadcast. “It’s going to be a roaring failure.”

There were signs of hope, however, at the negotiating table where Chavez’s representatives and opposition leaders have been talking since last month. The two sides have quietly agreed to study early presidential elections as a solution to the country’s worsening crisis, according to a source close to the talks.

The possibility of an election before the polemical president’s term ends in 2007 represents a breakthrough in the talks, which have so far produced few results.

“The theme of early elections is on the agenda. It hasn’t been discussed, but it’s there. And that’s a big change,” said a source close to the negotiations.

But the development was not enough to stop opposition leaders from going ahead with today’s general strike, leading to fears that violent clashes during the protest may delay -- or even derail -- further talks.

A strike in April led to a coup against Chavez and street violence that left about 60 dead. Chavez was restored to power 48 hours later by loyal military units and supporters.

Cesar Gaviria, secretary-general of the Organization of American States and a mediator at the negotiations, said last week that a strike would be counterproductive. The talks are also backed by the United Nations and the Atlanta-based Carter Center.

Nevertheless, in an interview Sunday, Gaviria maintained hope that talks would continue after the protest, saying both sides have shown a commitment to finding a peaceful way to bridge the country’s divisions.

“At first, there was a lot of skepticism, but the skepticism has gone down significantly,” said Gaviria, whose effort to bring the two sides together has been gathering force in recent weeks, receiving the backing of Washington and other Latin American governments. “There is now support on both sides.”

Venezuela is suffering from its worst political crisis in decades. After his election in 1998, Chavez launched an ill-defined “Bolivarian revolution” to help those who live in poverty -- 80% of the country’s population of 24 million.

He enacted new laws to redistribute land and provide for greater state control of the nation’s petroleum industry, which is the third-largest supplier of oil to the U.S. In hours-long television broadcasts, he unleashed a rhetorical war against the country’s rich and powerful, calling them “squalid” and “rancid.”

The reforms have failed to deliver a better life for the poor. The country’s economy has shrunk by 6% this year, inflation has soared to 30%, and joblessness lies at 17%.

Chavez’s actions have given rise to a widespread, if unfocused, opposition. Union leaders, businesses, the media, the church and many in the military have risen to protest his actions.

The discontent came to a head in April, when dissident military officers and opposition leaders mounted the failed coup. Since then, both Chavez supporters and opponents have clashed in street protests that have erupted in violence.

The most recent crisis came last month, when Chavez ordered the National Guard to take over Caracas’ police force, which falls under the control of Mayor Alfredo Pena, a Chavez foe. Chavez said the move was necessary for public order after two people were killed and 20 injured in a confrontation between Chavez supporters and police.

Then, the Supreme Court last week quashed a move by the opposition to hold a nonbinding referendum on Chavez’s rule in February, a vote approved by the country’s electoral body.

Chavez has said he will accept a referendum only in August, when his term is half spent.

Frustrated opposition leaders said the strike was necessary to force Chavez to allow the referendum and persuade him to return control of the Caracas police to Pena. Many in the opposition see the police as the only armed protection against a military that Chavez is moving to bring under tight control.

Opposition leaders have refused to say how long the strike will continue, though most observers believe it will last between 48 and 72 hours, depending on how many people participate and whether violence erupts. The last strike, in October, lasted a day and won widespread support without major disturbances.

“The idea of the strike is to apply pressure at the negotiating table -- to find an electoral way out of this crisis,” said Carlos Ortega, the head of the Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, which, with a million members, is the country’s largest union.

One crucial measure of the strike will be the participation of the all-important oil sector, which supplies half the government’s revenue. During the October strike, oil production continued without interruption after Chavez gave workers a 35% pay raise in September.

The threat of a walkout brought a stern rebuke from Ali Rodriguez, the head of Venezuela’s state oil company, PDVSA, and past president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. He warned oil workers to show up for their jobs or risk losing a Christmas bonus equal to one month’s pay.

Oil analysts said the strike was unlikely to have an effect on production if it lasted less than two or three days.

“I’d like to ask all Venezuelans, and especially petroleum workers, to reflect,” Rodriguez said. “What do you win and what do you lose if you paralyze this country’s oil production?”

The sharp rhetoric has concealed small, hopeful signs from the negotiating table.

“My sense is that negotiations are perhaps the last hope for a peaceful solution ... to the crisis,” said Jose Miguel Vivanco, Americas director for New York-based Human Rights Watch.