Published in FRFI 171 with italicised amendations by editor.

Venezuela: 'Economic coup' against President Chavez crumbles.

For 10 weeks an acute struggle has been taking place over the future of Venezuela. Managers of Venezuela's national oil corporation - Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) – with skilled trades unions' leaders, prompted by big businesses, have carried (ed: changed to ca.rrying) out economic sabotage in order to get rid of President Chavez. With their military allies, they suffered defeat in a coup attempt last April. (FRFI 167) A second planned coup was aborted on 25 June. Several assassination attempts have been made on the president (ed: added …'s life). Then, in August, the new 'Patria para Todos' party called for an 'economic coup'. "It's all part of our strategy," said Carlos Ortega, fraudulently elected head of Venezuela's CTV union federation. So on 2 December, the business sponsored 'opposition' engaged in its most serious attempt at a business shutdown.

The centre of this intense struggle focuses on legislation that came into force 1 January 2003. (Ed: removed Rejecting Privatisation,) Tthe new Hydrocarbons Act, gives the state a 50%+ participation in new joint ventures in the oil sector and gives it 30% royalties on all the extracted crude. In 1974, PDVSA delivered 80 percent of its income to the State and kept 20 percent (as 'operating costs' entering the coffers of foreign companies ( ed: cut - Chevron-Texaco, Exxon Mobil, and Conoco – ) its directors and managers. In 1990, the ratio was 50-50 and in 1998 it became 80-20! The Government is stopping this theft. ( Ed: cut Not unexpectedly,) Tthe New York Times (4 December 2001) denounced the Hydrocarbons Act, as a 'grave risk' to foreign investment.

Furthermore, the new Law on Land and Agricultural Development legalises the government take over of (ed:cut large) idle estates and other land (ed: inserted a coma , grammatically incorrect) and ( ed changed their to its) distribution to landless and homeless families ( ed:cut , in both rural and urban areas). The Law on Fishing and Aquaculture favours small fishermen over large monopolies. These and other legal changes (see FRFI 167) are (ed: adds) being fought tooth a nail by the wealthy in the courts, (ed: adds) with administrative obstruction and now by business stoppages. (Ed cuts Thus credits to small fishermen, promised by the government have not materialised a year later.)

Since 1998 there have been increasingly serious clashes between the forces of President Chavez and those of business, whose self-appointed 'democratic coordinators' rejected a joint 'declaration against the use of violence and intolerance' with the government on 12 November (Ed adds. On) tThe same day Alfredo Peña, the mayor of Caracas, allowed his metropolitan police to fire on pro-Chávez demonstrators (Ed: adds redundantly in Caracas,) killing one and wounding 20. He also attempted to force pro-Chávez officers into early retirement. After armed confrontation between police officers on opposing sides, the President deployed the National Guard on 16 November to take control of 10 city police stations and replaced the police chief. Yet the Supreme Court ordered Chavez to restore the force's autonomy on 19 December.

The Labour Aristocracy walks out

Business's current anti-government 'lockout' was organised after 28 November when the government rejected an illegal decision by the National Electoral Council (CEN) to call a referendum on 2 February over President Chávez's tenure. From 2 December the ( ed; cuts reactionary ) business elite decided to stop all fuels for electricity generating stations, for the aluminium and steel industry, water distribution, transport and domestic use, preventing the filling of oil tankers. This blocked food supplies to the workers. In the first week about 30,000 technicians and administrative personnel stayed away. The National Guard arrested several PVDSA managers trying to lock and weld shut the gates of refineries to prevent production workers from entering. Most production workers in oil extraction and refining did not leave their posts.

By December 5, 23 tankers were unable to load, bringing most exports to a standstill. In some cases, technicians shut off computerised refinery controls and the US company Intensa running the computers passively obstructed attempts to restart systems. "What is going on in my country is not a strike," Mr. Chávez charged. "It is a coup attempt disguised as a strike," organized by "terrorists who are blocking oil and food distribution and sabotaging refineries." Fires were started at some oil wells. The National Guard and many production workers manually restarted operations, whilst support from volunteer technicians from OPEC countries was sought.

About 20% of working population were locked out on the first day, reduced to 10% after 3 days, despite a vitriolic mass media campaign in favour of 'striking'. The media continuously spreads anti Chavez lies. He is supposedly giving free oil to Cuba, wants to impose communism, is dealing with North Korea over atomic weapons, has funded Al Qaida, is a dictator, is ruining the economy (sic!) and so on.

In Caracas on 6 December, the day before a major pro-Government rally, a gunman opened fire on supporters of military officers on trial for the April coup attempt. (see FRFI 170). In exchanges of fire – guns are to be seen everywhere - three people were killed and 28 wounded.( cut , 5 from gunfire. ) Security forces arrested seven people one of them, a Portuguese 'drifter' admitted opening fire. Such provocation provided grist for the anti-Chavez mill. Later, Vice President Rangel, attending a wake for one of the victims, said the government had a videotape showing city police were responsible for the deaths (AP).

The mass of workers is furious with the old elite and is demanding strong measures from the President. (The next day, changed to ) On 7 December, despite the night's shootings, more than 400,000 peasants, workers, students and others marched in Caracas in support of the President. José Prieto, Minister of Defense, said the armed forces would defend the oil industry so that Venezuela could meet its international obligations. Constant pressure including bribes have been used on Army officers to get them to support the opposition. The President again called for an end to the lockout, leaving open the possibility of declaring a state of emergency. The National Guard deployed at every petrol stations prevented panic buying. Venezuelan navy commandos took control of the tanker, Pilín León, allowing 280,000 barrels of petroleum to be unloaded ( cut later). President Cardoso of Brazil sent a tanker to Venezuela carrying 520,000 barrels of petroleum, as an act of support.

Olga Fonseca, charge' d'affairs for the Venezuelan embassy in Havana warned of "the possibility of a low intensity war. The internal affairs of Venezuela have never been beyond the reach of foreign influences. The U.S. is an important power factor in the region, it's an important factor in the historical future of our countries". Fonseca suggested that another coup d'etat, the murder of Chavez, a guerrilla war or a low intensity war, were on the opposition's agenda.

On December 14, the 'opposition' organised a large demonstration, (cut: 'attracting thousands of its supporters, yet by Monday 16,' and replaces ) but within two days almost every store in the wealthy neighbourhoods and suburbs of Eastern Caracas opened for business. Their losses were mounting. The opposition kept agitating, calling for a "mega-march" or the "taking of Caracas". Carlos Ortega announced that there would "not be any Christmas for Venezuelan families" and declared the stoppage indefinite. However all holiday season flights from Caracas to Miami for the middle class were booked solid!

Before Christmas the Supreme Court declared the strike illegal; contempt ('leads to 6' changed to 'of court can be punished by up') to15 months in jail. By now 90% of all contracted oil industry employees had returned to work. The remainder, the managers, were to be fired if they did not also return.

On 22 December Chávez informed the country of PDVSA's reactivation and the dispatch to the United States of 2.18 million barrels of oil, (cuts 'in addition to a further delivery of 500,000 barrels,') in order to maintain Venezuela's commercial commitments. The army now guarded installations, ports and pipelines; PVDSA has been reorganised and split into two regional entities, its HQ in Caracas will be largely dismantled.

On 23 December opposition leaders desperately tried to block highways into Caracas typically four or five cars or trucks per route. They were met by angry workers and were quickly disbanded after violent clashes at 10 locations. Vice President Rangel announced that banks would return to their usual schedule, apparently ending their partial work stoppage in support of the opposition. The anger of people denied access to their own money had brought huge pressure on the 'National Banking Council' to reopen branches.

In an increasingly desperate situation for the propertied classes, Caracas police attacked pro-
Chavez demonstrators on 3 January, killing two. Twenty thousand marchers demanded justice for the two murdered youths on 5 January. At night, police fired shots and tear gas at a vigil for one of the victims. "How long will metropolitan police officers continue being used to repress the people?" Chavez demanded, "We will find the assassins of Oscar Gomez and Jairo Gregorio Moran wherever they are hiding."

Banks again closed on 9 and10 January. Thousands of workers could not access their wages but the banks have admitted defeat for the moment, accusing the Government of threatening them! As we said in FRFI 152, "Chavez … has the massive pressure of a young and energetic coalition representing the mass of workers urging him into action." It is the constant action of the mass of workers that threatens the banks, not the fear of fines from the government!

By 10 January, to guarantee food distribution, Chavez ordered the military to prepare to seize food stocks and plants idled by the now 40-day-old strike. The National Guard reopened two Coca Cola and other plants to ensure supplies of bottled water. The US ambassador protested!

On 12 January opposition marchers in Caracas urged the army to oust Chavez. But after tens of millions of dollars in losses, the country's middle class was now seriously affected by currency devaluation, causing a decline in the value of their salaries and reducing businesses' access to credit. Continuing their strike, could now be devastating. Matters are not going well for the leaders of the 'economic coup'. By the last week of January the Spanish government unofficially agreed to safe conduct and asylum in Spain for Carlos Ortega and Chambers of Commerce & Industry president Carlos Fernandez. On the 22 January these two flew to New York, officially to a 'dog and pony show' at Rockefeller's 'Council of The America's'. The same day the country's Supreme Court declared the CEN referendum decision invalid.

The next day over 300,000 marchers again demonstrated for Chavez. Shipping pilots returned to work. By the end of January 5,111 strikers in the oil industry had been sacked (mostly managers). Nevertheless the supply of oil had been more than halved, from 3.1 million barrels per day (bpd), returning to 1.5 million bpd. by the end of January, losing the country an average of around $50 million per day.

US Interference

Since the defeated April coup, the 'opposition' has been supported by the USA within the Organisation of American States. Yet on 17 December the OAS, for the first time in the organisation's history, rejected a major United States initiative calling for elections. It resolved (32-0 with two abstentions): "to fully back the democratic and constitutional legitimacy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, whose government is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, and to reject, categorically, any coup attempt or alteration of constitutional order that seriously affects democratic rule."

Now the US wants to subvert the 'Friends of Venezuela' group proposed by President Lula da Silva of Brazil. Because the PDVSA usually provides the United States with 15 percent of US oil imports the continued struggle has inconvenienced the US, but Imperialism is not reconciled to the Chavez Government. So now along with ex-President Carter's travelling peace circus, meeting in Washington at the OAS, the opposition's call for early elections is repeated.
Attacking the restructured PDVSA in December, Moody's Investors Service downgraded its credit rating, as well as four heavy oil projects the state firm is developing with foreign oil companies such as Conoco-Phillips, Exxon Mobil, and Total-Fina-Elf. On 21 January foreign exchange markets were closed for 5 days and restrictions put on foreign currency withdrawals. ( Cut:'The country's GDP fell by 6.4 percent the first nine months of this year,') Unemployment now stands at the 17 percent ( cut: 'of 3 years ago.') and inflation is ( cut now at) 30%. Oil exports account for about half of government revenues. Venezuela has lost over $2.7 billion in lost oil revenues, money for the Government's social plans.

Yet the abolition of school fees means 600,000 more children go to school and the cost of basic staples to the poor had fallen by mid 2002. Working class opposition to the coupattempts has stiffened. Alexander Carrizo, a shoe repairman says "They can carry a coup against Chávez, but then we come: those of us who are with Chávez," and Nellie Yaerte, local community leader says "There is going to be a civil war here if they topple Chávez. With all the problems, going back to what we had before 1998 will take away any hope for a better future, any hope to get rid of the slavery to the rich."(cut (AP. November 30))