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Archive: 2/03-12/03

U.S. split grows over Chávez links to rebels  12/28/03 Miami Herald 

In Caracas, Getting to the Heart of a Nation's Bitter Divide  12/22/03 Pacific News: anti-Chavez and pro-Chavez - "Dr. Condado, 51, is white. President of the Venezuelan Society of Cardiology, he lives in the clean, tree-lined Sebucan district. Its intersections have stop signs though there is little traffic. Houses have gated driveways. Mr. Dominguez, 25, is black. Abandoned by his father, he lives in a crime-ridden, drug-infested neighborhood in central Caracas. The streets are filthy, the congestion insufferable. The informal economy thrives on the sidewalks, which, as a result, have little space for pedestrians."

Embajada de Venezuela en los EE.UU. rechaza diplomacia de micrófono e intromisión de Otto Reich en asuntos internos de Venezuela  12/19/03 Aporrea: Herr Otto at it again.

How Many Signatures? Venezuela's Recall Referendum  12/19/03 Zmag: "There are two indicators which make me suspicious that the actual figure might be closer to the government’s number than the opposition’s. First, in the last night of the opposition’s petition drive, there was practically no media coverage of the opposition’s victory celebration. In the past, whenever there was any kind of opposition demonstration, the media would devote all of their programming to it (think of the post-election parties that take place all around the world after an election, which the media almost always cover, whether the party lost or won). This, at first, seemed an indication of the opposition’s possible demoralization or confusion over the actual numbers of the petition. At the same, time, Chavistas held a fairly large and enthusiastic victory celebration in front of the Miraflores Presidential Palace, which was organized only in the last minute."

Venezuelans learn the write stuff  12/14/03 Guardian: "More than a million people have enrolled in Mission Robinson, a literacy campaign launched by Chávez's left-wing government. It is tinged with revolutionary evangelism. Tens of thousands of 'missionaries' have been recruited to teach the 'patriots' who enrol. Soldiers - the 'Army of Light' - have distributed 80,000 TVs and video recorders to makeshift classrooms across the country, from city shanty towns to remote Indian villages. 'Chávez uses popular language with a certain religiosity. He uses the symbols of the people and he taps into their hopes and beliefs. He makes direct contact with the popular classes, something his opponents have failed to do,' says Oscar Schémel of polling firm Hinterlaces."

Pdvsa planes are now carrying top officials from Cuba and Venezuela  12/14/03 Vcrisis: "The planes owned by state-run oil giant Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (Pdvsa) have made unusually frequent flights to Cuba. Cuban ministers, diplomats, relatives, and officials are frequent beneficiaries of the so-called "colitas"."

Venezuela has reasons to doubt U.S. claims  12/8/03 Final Call: by Bill Fletcher Jr., president of TransAfrica Forum and co-chair of the anti-war coalition, United for Peace and Justice.

Venezuela: The undercurrent of the recall  12/4/03 Radio Progresso: "But what really happened is that signatories appeared in moderate quantities, and in some places they were down to a trickle. For this reason, starting on the second day the demanding block escalated its “strategies” to multiply the results, so much so that the National Electoral Council was swarmed with accusations of irregularities. Signatures of patients in certain hospitals in exchange for medical attention; pressure on private and government employees so that they sign in order to keep their jobs; the same demand in night shelters for senior citizens and even for those under psychiatric care; the sudden apparition of an identity card of indefinite use, produced by a private agency; the setting up of a computing system, parallel to the one by the National Electoral Council; cloning of identity cards and of forms for signature gathering; are all part of the accusations." Kind of like voting in Miami...

Venezuelans Flock to Sign Petitions for Chávez's Ouster  12/1/03 NYT 

Chavez alerts Venezuela army for coups, vote fraud  11/13/03 Reuters: "Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered the armed forces to be alert ''24 hours a day'' yesterday, warning of opposition coup plots, violence and fraud during a referendum battle over whether he should stay in office."

Venezuelan court shelves Cuban doctor program  11/12/03 Miami Herald: "Venezuela's Supreme Court threw out Tuesday the government's appeal of a lower court's decision to suspend a program putting hundreds of Cuban doctors to work in Caracas slums. The decision was a blow to a program that President Hugo Chávez has hailed as a cornerstone of his professed ''revolution'' for Venezuela's poor majority. The program is one of several initiatives into which the government has poured millions of dollars ahead of a possible recall referendum on Chávez's rule next year."

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised - Why is Amnesty Not Screening a New Documentary About the Failed 2002 Coup in Venezuela?  11/6/03 Democracy Now 

La CIA contra Venezuela  11/1/03 Rebelion 

Wackenhut denies its employees are CIA agents plotting to overthrow Venezuela's Chavez  10/25/03 AP: "The Venezuelan unit of Florida-based security company Wackenhut denied that the video - presented Wednesday by legislators allied with President Hugo Chavez - showed CIA agents advising Venezuelans in June on how to destabilize the country later this year."

Lawmakers Say Chavez Tape Proves CIA Plot  10/23/03 Guardian 

''Waiting for a response to U.S.-based terrorists''  10/13/03 Yellow Times 

(Fotos) Policía Metropolitana continuaba armada hasta los dientes a pesar de "intervención". Militares se retiraron anoche de sedes de la PM  10/10/03 Aporrea 

Is the US plotting to murder Venezuela’s president?  10/8/03 World Socialist: "Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez cancelled a planned trip last month to the United Nations General Assembly’s opening debate, explaining that he did so because of a potential threat on his life. His government’s intelligence agencies had reportedly warned of a plot backed by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to sabotage his plane in flight from Caracas to New York City. He and others had also raised concerns about Venezuelan anti-government terrorists conducting military training on US soil. The US media has barely reported the Venezuelan president’s security concerns; and when it has, it generally attempts to portray the charges as an indication that Chavez is unstable or suffering from paranoia."

Talking with Hugo Chavez - "We Have Proof of the CIA in Venezuela"  9/23/03 Counterpunch: "Chavez revealed that his government is in the possession of a video, which his security forces secretly recorded, of a CIA officer giving a class to Venezuelans on surveillance. Joking he said, "The technique could not have been very good, since we did manage to film him." He argues that this is evidence that the CIA is involved in clandestine activity in Venezuela, after the coup attempt, in addition to the evidence he has of U.S. involvement before and during the coup; but his government has so far not issued a formal complaint to the U.S. government. Some day, he said, these pieces of evidence will be released, but he does not know when."

There is growing evidence of reforms helping Venezuela's poor  9/21/03 LA Times: "Getting at poverty's roots: In the past few months, more than half a million illiterate Venezuelans have received basic reading and writing instruction. Hundreds of thousands of poor children have begun attending school for the first time in their lives. Doctors imported from Cuba as part of a petroleum deal are paying house calls to poor neighborhoods. Perhaps most important, tens of thousands of people such as Lopez have been given title to land that their families have been squatting on for generations, both in poor urban slums like this one and in vast rural tracts. Using new government credits, poor families are planting crops, organizing businesses, fixing up their homes and redesigning their neighborhoods. "There is an incredible flowering of activity in the communities that are participating," said Gregory Wilpert, an American sociologist and freelance journalist living in Venezuela who is studying the effect of Chavez's reforms. The impact of the government's efforts is still haphazard and limited. But the measures have had a ripple effect that has left many of the poor feeling that for the first time in their lives the government is actually interested in aiding them. This helps to explain a Venezuelan political phenomenon -- Chavez's unwavering support in polls from about 35 percent of voters, most of them poor."

Latin America’s fastest-growing faith resents terror allegations from U.S.  9/1/03 Sun Sentinel: "Fueled by immigration from the Middle East and conversion, especially among Afro-Caribbeans attracted by the promise of a color-blind society described in the Quran, Islam has become the fastest-growing religion in the Latin America and Caribbean region. Many resent American suspicion of them. Most are secular, commonly intermarry with Christians and Hindus, and never supported either the Taliban in Afghanistan or Saddam Hussein in Iraq."

Chavez says he'll repay TT with love  8/10/03 TriniCenter: ""When the terrorists in Venezuela, the coup leaders, the opposition, tried to stifle the Venezuelan economy, we received oxygen from Trinidad and Tobago so that our lungs could breathe again," the embattled President said. Chavez, speaking through an interpreter, said that that 500,000 barrels of oil at a time "when we were dying," had now been converted into softer, kinder currency - "500,000 years of thanks...and 500,000 sentiments of love and gratitude to you. We pay love with love," he concluded, blowing a kiss to his audience and eliciting applause from the officials, both from Venezuela and Trinidad and Tobago who surrounded him at the head table."

Venezuela and Argentina: A Tale of Two Coups  7/7/03 Greg Palast: "Chávez is dark and round as a cola nut. Like his followers, Chávez is an 'Indian'. But the blondes, the 'Spanish', are the owners of Venezuela. A group near me on the blonde march screamed 'Out! Out!' in English, demanding the removal of the President. One edible-oils executive, in high heels, designer glasses and push-up bra had turned out, she said: 'To fight for democracy.' She added: 'We'll try to do it institutionally,' a phrase that meant nothing to me until a banker in pale pink lipstick explained that to remove Chávez, 'we can't wait until the next election'."

Venezuela y la Argentina: Historia De Dos Golpes  7/7/03 Greg Palast: "El 1 de mayo, desde el Hotel Hilton, 200 000 rubios marcharon hacia el este a través del corredor de tiendas de Caracas a lo largo de la Avenida Casanova. Al mismo tiempo, medio millón de trigueños convergían hacia ellos desde el oeste. Podría parecer un comercial cómico de champú si dieciséis personas no hubieran muerto por disparos dos semanas antes cuando los dos grupos se cruzaron."

Hugo Chavez Is Crazy!  6/25/03 Alternet: By Greg Palast - "Look at the Chronicle/AP photo of the anti-Chavez marchers in Venezuela. Note their color. White. And not just any white. A creamy rich white. I interviewed them and recorded in this order: a banker in high heels and push-up bra; an oil industry executive (same outfit); and a plantation owner who rode to Caracas in a silver Jaguar. And the color of the pro-Chavez marchers? Dark brown. Brown and round as cola nuts – just like their hero, their President Chavez. They wore an unvarying uniform of jeans and T-shirts."

Massive turnout expected to call for expulsion of US Ambassador Shapiro from Venezuela  5/22/03 Vheadline 

Venezuela aprueba inversión millonaria  5/12/03 BBC Mundo: "El gobierno de Venezuela firmó un contrato por 160 millones de dólares con el consorcio francés Alstom Power, para la construcción de una nueva central hidroeléctrica al suroeste del país."

Venezuelans invoke power of dead criminals  5/10/03 AP: "But there had been nothing like the newest icons at Santeria shops: criminals who are legends in Caracas slums. The foot-high statuettes, sporting guns and knives poking from jeans pockets, represent spirits trying to repent for their sins by warning youngsters to avoid crime, helping people get out of jail and curing drug addiction. There's Kid Ismael, a bank robber who some say killed dozens of people in the 1970s before police gunned him down. His statue wears a baseball cap sideways, smokes a cigar and clutches a .38-caliber pistol."

Opposition organizing another coup  5/9/03 PL: "This Thursday, Aristóbulo Isturiz, the Venezuelan minister for education and sport, charged the opposition with organizing another coup – this time of a social nature – planned for July. Not everyone in the opposition is "just thinking about the referendum"; other elements are organizing a "social coup" with a view to creating upheavals in Venezuelan society that would influence the Armed Forces, Isturiz stressed."

Venezuela to increase oil production to 2 million barrels a day by 2008  5/5/03 Houston Chronicle 

Chávez on the Offensive  5/1/03 Radio Progresso 

Latin American rally hails Chavez  4/30/03 Final Call: "Cuban Vice-President Lage said in his speech, "There are sectors of the opposition that are afraid that the Venezuelan revolution is going to be ‘Cubanized.’ They can relax. The real danger is that the Cuban revolution will ‘Venezuelanize.’" "

Rival Protesters Clash at Cuba's Venezuela Embassy  4/26/03 Reuters 

Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela  4/24/03 Granma 

Juggling War and Peace in Venezuelan Miami  4/20/03 Radio Progresso, Miami: "Because of this situation, most Venezuelan leaders in Miami seem to be interested in portraying Venezuela as a place where “war” is in place and “peace” is a dream. Such analysis doesn’t reflect realities in Venezuela, but it intends to forward narrow-minded political agendas by Venezuelan opposition leaders both in Venezuela and abroad. Such discourse expects to bring more people and groups in Miami together to unite in an “anti-Chavez” front; however, by presenting this Venezuelan picture of chaos, they are diminishing possibilities for Venezuela to attract foreign investment."

Venezuelans Protest Cuba Crackdown, Meddling  4/18/03 Reuters 

Venezuela has proof Washington was behind failed coup, general  4/17/03 AP 

Venezuela has proof Washington was behind failed coup, general  4/16/03 AP: "Army Gen. Melvin Lopez, secretary of Venezuela's National Defence Council, said Tuesday "proof exists" the U.S. administration was involved in the mid-April putsch. He declined to give further details. "We have the evidence," Lopez said during an interview broadcast by Venezuela's state-run television channel. Lopez said three U.S. military helicopters were on Venezuelan territory during the coup."

Chávez Beats Forero (Again) - One Year After Venezuela's Counter-Coup, a Winner and a Loser Duel  4/15/03 NarcoNews 

New challenges await Venezuela's Bolivarian Movement  4/14/03 ANNCOL 

Venezuela reaches election agreement one year after coup  4/12/03 AFP 

Chávez advierte que hay un plan militar-popular en caso de golpe  4/11/03 Aporrea: "El presidente de la República Bolivariana de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez Frías, advirtió este viernes en el Palacio de Miraflores, que si alguien se le ocurriera intentar algo contra su gobierno responderá con un plan de acción militar-popular para contrarrestarla. Según explicó el jefe de Estado a un grupo de periodistas extranjeros en rueda de prensa, este mecanismo de defensa estaría integrado por miles de personas de los barrios y soldados de cuarteles, quienes sabrían qué hacer y a donde ir rápidamente. Recordó que antes del golpe del 11 de abril de 2002 "no teníamos un plan, sólo contábamos con los planes oficiales, ahora tenemos planes de respuesta rápida si es que hubiese algún intento". "

Thousands of Voices, United in Venezuela  4/11/03 NarcoNews: "On the Anniversary of the defeated coup, the Bolivarian Revolution gathers strength"

VENEZUELA: LA GUERRA CULTURAL EN CALIENTE  4/6/03 Jiribilla: "Un esfuerzo que se da hoy en el pensamiento intelectual progresista tendrá lugar también en abril en Venezuela, cuando se reúnan intelectuales, artistas de nuestro continente, en defensa del proceso bolivariano, y creo que será una oportunidad también de enfrentar todo este tipo de maniobra, de guerra cultural contra nuestros pueblos, a partir de los cánones de la CIA, de los servicios especiales norteamericanos. Conversamos con Luis Britto, destacado intelectual venezolano, dos veces premio Casa de las Américas, profundo conocedor de la situación de su país, y veedor de la realidad hoy de Venezuela." Using US tax dollars to promote race war.

VENEZUELA - Oil companies producing at full capacity  4/5/03 Granma 

What is the Colombian Army doing Attacking Venezuela?  4/3/03 Znet: "Militarily and politically, the Colombian government is making a terrible mistake. Its army is unable to control even Colombian territory without the use of paramilitary mercenaries who massacre people and have displaced millions. It has been unable, in spite of billions of dollars in US aid and training, to make inroads against the insurgency whose ranks grow with each new atrocity committed against the peasants. With little support even in Colombia, with an insurgency behind it, what chance would such a force have against a cohesive, popularly-supported army like Venezuela's? The problem is that Colombia need not 'win' against Venezuela. It only needs to provoke the kind of 'incident' that could spark a war or an intervention. If this is the second front of the third world war, the war aim here is also 'regime change': the destruction of Venezuela's democratic process. And the instrument, for now, is the Colombian government."

Venezuela sends its bombers to halt border raids  4/1/03 Times, Uk: "VENEZUELA sent its air force to bomb Colombian paramilitary fighters who had invaded its territory and attacked an army border patrol, President Chávez claimed during his weekly television broadcast. The paramilitaries retreated after a 90-minute gun battle, according to Señor Chávez. “I said to bomb the area, not on direct targets but over the adjacent area to warn them,” he said. “We did it, it was effective and they withdrew toward Colombian territory.” …Captured guerrillas and deserters have confirmed the reports. One defector, an 18-year-old commander with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc), said she had travelled in and out of Venezuela at will, visiting Farc bases and training new recruits in Venezuela. “The guerrilla (commanders) are counting on Venezuela for their victory,” she said. Recently Venezuela has shown signs of co-operation. Last month its soldiers, acting on Colombian intelligence, intercepted a 3,000lb lorry bomb that Farc rebels had planned to use to blow up a bridge across the border. Venezuela also arrested three suspected National Liberation Army rebels accused of planting a bomb that killed seven people in the Colombian border city of Cucuta."

Venezuela: oposición se "relanza"  3/28/03 BBC Mundo 

Venezuela: ordenan liberar a empresario  3/20/03 BBC Mundo: "Un tribunal de apelaciones ordenó este jueves la liberación del empresario Carlos Fernández, uno de los dirigentes del paro nacional de diciembre y enero convocado por la oposición para presionar por la salida del poder del presidente de Venezuela, Hugo Chávez."

Venezuela:Coordinadora Democratica Objetivo: Derrocar al Tirano  3/18/03 Agua Mansa: "Agua Mansa publica este documento de la Coordinadora Democrática dado su interes politico y la evidencia del reconocimiento por su organismo de sus errores y cambios tácticos."

Acto de solidaridad con Venezuela. Este Domingo en Nueva York  3/14/03 Aporrea: on Amsterdam, between 159th and 160th, 3/16/03 @ 3 PM.

Venezuela Seeks Evidence of Terror Links  3/11/03 Guardian: "Last week, the U.S. Southern Command's Gen. James Hill said terrorist organizations, including the militant Lebanese group Hezbollah, were operating in border areas of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay and on Venezuela's Margarita Island."

Venezuela: denuncian otro golpe  3/9/03 BBC Mundo: Chávez dijo que la "oligarquía fascista y sus aliados extranjeros están haciendo todo lo que pueden en una campaña internacional para tratar de convencer al mundo (...) de que el gobierno de Venezuela apoya a terroristas, de que es un gobierno delincuente".

Chavez Foe Evades Venezuela Police at Rally  3/8/03 Reuters: "Protesters clashed with heavily-armed police who converged on the rally after Juan Fernandez, a sacked former executive of the state oil firm PDVSA, defied a government arrest order and addressed the demonstration against President Hugo Chavez… As the protesters gathered, Chavez told a meeting of supporters in a Caracas theater that Venezuela had received donations of sugar and beans from communist Cuba to help his government fight food shortages caused by the recent strike. Chavez thanked his political ally and friend, Cuban President Fidel Castro, for the cargoes of 10,000 tonnes of sugar and 5,000 tonnes of black beans. He said these were being sold cheaply to the poor in the government's food program. "The Cubans gave up 10 million kilos (10,000 tonnes) of sugar from their own reserves ... they didn't want to accept payment, they said we could pay for them whenever we could," the president said. Cuba receives oil from Venezuela on preferential terms under a bilateral energy deal."

Roy Chaderton: Afirmaciones de congresista republicano forman parte de una conspiración masiva  3/7/03 Aporrea: "Para el diputado Maduro la solicitud del parlamento norteamericano, no es más que la expresión de la “ mayamización” de un sector de la oposición venezolana “que recibe su financiamiento, su asesoría política y la dirigen desde Miami”."

Chavez's Ace - Venezuelan Leader Taps Bolivar Myths, Cults  2/27/03 Pacific News: "Alongside the Catholic religion, another spiritual tradition thrives in Venezuela, a popular religion with indigenous, African and Catholic roots called the religion of María Lionza. Based on the worship by Indians of a fertility goddess known as María Lionza, the syncretic faith predates any other touchstone of Venezuela's national identity. Many Venezuelans would not inhabit a home lacking an altar to the religion's principal divinities, each of which represents Venezuela's vibrant ethnic mixture of white, Indian, and black. These religious altars usually feature a portrait of Simón Bolívar, and the religion's priests hold ceremonies in which the spirit of Bolívar is channeled through a medium who coughs when the general is present, since Bolívar had tuberculosis."

Early morning explosions at Spanish Embassy and Colombian Consulate  2/25/03 Vheadlines: "Early suspicions have been raised that the explosions are part of an opposition counter-offensive attempting to discredit the government using the BLF urban militia as a pretext. "Just because BLF pamphlets were discovered at the scene does not necessarily mean that they were behind the bombings," a DISIP source has told VHeadline.com. "In the weird scenario that is Caracas these days, it could just as easily have been some opposition hot-heads trying to deflect attention away from the general manhunt for CTV leader Carlos Ortega ... we are keeping an open mind!"

Chavez asks 20-year jail terms for foes  2/22/03 AP: ''These oligarchs believed that they were untouchable,'' Chavez thundered during a ceremony handing land titles to peasants in Trujillo state. ''There are no untouchables in Venezuela. A criminal is a criminal.''

Luis Tascón: "Pueblo venezolano debe festejar que se está haciendo justicia"  2/21/03 VenPres: Son claros los delitos cometidos por estos señores, son públicos y notorios, el procedimiento ha sido correcto y se ha tenido mucho cuidado de no cometer errores, sin embargo, la contrarrevolución va a tratar por todos sus medios de comunicación de buscar las diferentes alternativas para desdibujar el hecho. Lo concreto es que hay una orden, se concretó una medida y se comisionó a la Disip para arrestar a estos presuntos delincuentes", aseveró. Tascón no descartó la posibilidad de que vengan otros procedimientos contra otras personas que propiciaron el sabotaje petrolero "y quisieron que Venezuela perdiera 5 mil millones de dólares del sector público y 5 mil millones de dólares en el sector privado para llevar al país a la crisis que estamos viviendo".

¡Confirmado!: A la cárcel Carlos Fernández y Carlos Ortega  2/20/03 Aporrea, Venezuela: "Se confirma que ayer anoche fue detenido por la DISIP al salir del restaurant Punta Grill el presidente de Fedecámaras Carlos Fernández y que hay una order de captura para el enemigo de los trabajadores Carlos Ortega, quien tiene 48 horas para presentarse. Las detenciones se dieron a consecuencia de una investigación que desde el mes pasado está llevando a cabo el Ministerio Público."

Foreign coup 'technicians' revealed as plotting a third coup attempt  2/9/03 Vheadlines: "Salazar’s sources report the entry to Venezuela of foreign IC destabilization experts advising an upbeat espionage assault on all levels of national life … street actions and winning over military officers that escaped the post-April purge are top priorities… Salazar confirms other reports that Spanish business and political sectors are favorable towards a coup solution, while in Venezuela itself, religious sects with high racist and anti-communist content ... and a huge injection of foreign money ... are making inroads in the so-called civil sector." Now who would those racist, religious sects be?

Venezuela strike crumbles as Chavez retains power  2/5/03 AP 

Venezuela's Chavez Threatens Foes with Forex Curbs  2/5/03 Reuters: "Speaking at a ceremony to commemorate a botched coup bid he led in 1992, Chavez said foreign exchange curbs to be introduced Thursday would be administered by a loyal retired army officer, Capt. Edgar Hernandez. Hernandez will head a currency control office set up to counter the economic damage from the nine-week-old opposition strike, which has triggered a financial crisis in the world's No. 5 oil exporter. The government announced the controls, along with heavy budget cuts, to halt capital flight and a sharp drop in the bolivar currency caused by the grueling protest shutdown."

Denuncian vínculos de sobrino de Rafael Poleo con el narcotráfico  2/4/03 Aporrea: "Estimados compatriotas, recurrimos a ustedes para efectuar esta denuncia de suma gravedad, conscientes de que los medios de “información” nacionales harán hasta lo imposible por evitar su publicación, ya que las PRUEBAS aquí contenidas involucran a uno de los grupos económico-mediáticos mas poderosos e influyentes dentro de la Coordinadora Democrática: El Grupo Poleo, dueños de El Nuevo País." Old patterns repeating themselves…

General Strike Organized Against Chavez Crumbles  2/4/03 Znet: "You know, according to the polls Chavez still is the most popular politician. The polls indicate that Chavez has between 30 and 35 percent, and this figure is actually from before the strike. Chavez has actually gained support. According to one survey that I saw that was published in the newspaper, it's a weekly newspaper that's called Quinto Dia, (http://www.quintodia.com.ve )l his support is up to about 50 percent. I mean that's just one survey that was quoted in the press and it's not a pro-Chavez newspaper. But in any case, the surveys that were conducted before the strike placed Chavez at between 30 and 35 percent and the leading politicians of the opposition somewhere a little over 20 percent, and then the second leading candidate of the opposition less than that."

Chavez claims strike victory  2/3/03 BBC 

Chavez Is On The Offensive - He Does Not Intend To Share The Fate Of Salvador Allende Or Michael Manley  2/3/03 Znet: "Wresting control of the PDVSA from the old pro-American management, who had run it as a personal fiefdom and favoured privatisation, is seen as pivotal to Chavez’s ability to deliver on his promises of homes, health and education for the poor. Just as the failure of April’s coup allowed Chavez to purge the military of right wing Generals, the slow defeat of the strike in the PDVSA, has provided Chavez with the opportunity to dismiss 5,000 anti-government executives and saboteurs, and press ahead with the long overdue reform of the company. Thus far, the Venezuelan opposition’s tactics bear a remarkable and uncanny similarity to those which successfully overthrew Salvador Allende’s government in Chile in 1973 and which led to Michael Manley’s defeat at the ballot box in Jamaica in 1980." Uncannily organized in Langley and US think tanks under contract.

Anti-Chavez unity frays in Venezuela  2/2/03 Boston Glove 

The Prize & Punishment of all Venezuelans  2/2/03 Vheadlines: from the barrios of Caracas - "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)."

Chávez Foes Scale Back Strike for Businesses  2/1/03 NYT: "With large numbers of businesses across Venezuela opening to offset huge financial losses from a 62-day-old general strike, opposition leaders said today that they would scale back the walkout next week so that factories, shops, malls and schools could reopen."