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Strategies & Market Trends : Strictly: Drilling II -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ldo79 who wrote (5114)	12/10/2001 6:59:24 PM
From: isopatch	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 36161

Hi Ido. Chavez's an authoritarian Marxist, tightening his grip. Thx for reintroducing this issue on the thread. Been awhile since I've read much about his dangerous clown. "Son of Fidel" sitting on huge oil reserves. Glad I sold KRY last week. Picked this late breaking story off that same website. Regards, Isopatch nj.com <Business strike shuts down Venezuela; Chavez responds with defense of poor By JAMES ANDERSON The Associated Press 12/10/01 5:56 PM CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Thousands of Venezuelan businesses closed Monday and millions of people stayed home from work in a nationwide strike against new laws that critics say stifle investment. President Hugo Chavez responded by calling out troops and police to patrol the tense streets and accusing "corrupt economic elites" of conspiring against his government. He blamed news media for promoting the strike and threatened legislation regulating the content of news reporting. The 12-hour business strike appeared to further polarize politics in Venezuela, the United States' fourth-largest trade partner in the Americas and No. 3 supplier of oil. Domestic production was at a near standstill, though oil production and exports were unaffected. The strike was called by Fedecamaras, Venezuela's biggest business confederation, whose affiliates are responsible for 90 percent of Venezuela's non-oil production. Fedecamaras head Pedro Carmona proclaimed it a nationwide success late Monday. "Rectify!" demanded Carmona, referring to the 49 laws his chamber considers statist, and the constitution that allowed Chavez to decree the laws. One requires the state-owned oil company to own a majority stake in future joint ventures with private corporations. Banks, schools, supermarkets and the Caracas stock exchange closed and airlines canceled a few flights for lack of passengers. Hospitals tended to emergencies, and Caracas' subway system and private buses operated normally. Venezuela's largest media association, the Bloque de Prensa, joined the protest, as did the opposition-aligned Confederation of Venezuelan Workers, Venezuela's largest labor group with 1 million members. Chavez took a hard line, withdrawing an offer to discuss amending the laws he decreed last month and vowing the laws will stand for the sake of Venezuela's poverty-stricken majority. "I must say that my government tried to avoid (the strike). We did everything possible ethically. But they proposed an immoral pact" -- suspend the laws first, and talk later, Chavez declared. "Nobody, and nothing, will stop this revolution." Chavez countered the strike with a flourish of patriotism, hosting the air force's annual air show over Caracas. With each flyover of F-16 fighters, helicopters, training and transport planes, many residents banged pots and pans from their windows in protest. Chavez supporters responded with powerful fireworks. Later Monday, he inaugurated a land reform law at a rally attended by thousands of peasant farmers trucked in from the countryside. The poor constitute 80 percent of Venezuela's 24 million people. The land reform law is designed to correct a situation in which 1 percent of the population owns more than 60 percent of the country's arable land. Business leaders say the law violates private property rights by forcing large-scale farmers to conform to a national agricultural strategy or risk having their land confiscated and distributed to the poor. Police used tear gas and water cannon to repel Chavez supporters setting off powerful fireworks near Fedecamaras' headquarters. Two officers suffered slight leg burns, Metropolitan Police Chief Henry Vivas said. "I'm here to defend Chavez and the revolution," said Anabel Cortez, a 51-year-old street vendor. "They're selling out the country. The poor, the peasants, the dispossessed, we love Chavez." Fedecamaras said 80 to 90 percent of its 3,000 member businesses shut their doors during the strike, which organizers said cost $480 million in lost production. Antonio Herrera, vice president of the Venezuelan American Chamber of Commerce, said the strike will "have a high cost in terms of confidence" in Chavez's government and discourage foreign investors.>