VENEZUELA: Shortages and Bank Restrictions

By Humberto Márquez Reprint | | Print |

Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Dec 13 2002 (IPS) - Venezuelans faced growing shortages of basic goods and restrictions on bank withdrawals on the 12th day of a general strike aimed at toppling the government of President Hugo Chávez.

The shutdown declared by the CTV, the leading central trade union, and Fedecámaras, the main business association, has picked up strength as executives and middle management in the state oil monopoly, PDVSA, joined the walkout and said they would no longer be satisifed with a non-binding referendum to measure support for Chávez, but wanted his immediate resignation.

As delays in the oil industry, the backbone of the economy of this South American country of 24 million – the world’s fifth largest exporter of crude – have increased, output has plunged.

Furious depositors, meanwhile, have been arguing with employees in banks – which are only open half of their normal workdays – after finding themselves able to withdraw only limited amounts (between 150 and 2,000 dollars, depending on the bank) after standing in line for hours.

”After waiting for two hours, I was only able to withdraw two million bolivars (1,500 dollars). But I need more to pay my six employees and to purchase merchandise,” shopkeeper Lidia Sánchez commented to IPS outside one bank.

”If the banks want to join the stoppage, they should stop charging interest,” quipped another account-holder, Javier Aular, a mechanic.

Ninoska Ramírez, a hotel employee, complained that ”I stood in line, and they only gave me 200,000 bolivars (150 dollars), and the automatic teller machines are all empty.”

A bank manager, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained to IPS that ”This is not a directive adopted by the banking association, but a measure we have taken, based on the average amounts withdrawn by people, to be able to attend to everyone before the cash runs out.”

Many exchange bureaus have closed their doors, frustrating those who wanted to buy dollars and foreign nationals who receive or send cash remittances through such agencies.

Ruling party officials urged people to hold demonstrations outside the banks to protest the unofficial Venezuelan version of the ”corralito” (”little fence” or ”playpen”) – the partial freeze on bank withdrawals that the government of crisis-stricken Argentina put in place a year ago.

In several cities in Venezuela’s interior, banks have been painted with graffiti labelling the bankers ”coup-leaders”, ”fascists” and ”criminals” – adjectives used by the vociferous Chávez and several of his ministers to refer to the organisers of the strike, the heads of the CTV and Fedecámaras.

Supermarkets are also working half-days, and milk and bottled beverages have disappeared from their shelves and those of bakeries and other food outlets. There are also shortages of basic products like pre-cooked corn flour (the main ingredient in ”arepa”, the national bread), rice, cooking oil, sugar, crackers, canned foods and cold meats.

Although food is still available in the open-air markets and the stalls of informal street vendors, prices are going up.

The army set up a large street market with low prices in downtown Caracas.

Gasoline is in short supply in six of the country’s 24 states, and in the capital some gas stations are closed, while others are only operating part-time.

However, no long queues of cars have formed outside the service stations, and traffic is normal in downtown Caracas.

Although air and suburban land transport have slowed, the mass transit system – buses and subways -, whose workers are opposed to the shutdown, is functioning normally in the capital.

The government and opposition continue to issue contradictory assessments of the stoppage, which according to authorities is petering out, while its promoters describe it as a whopping success.

Chávez, who recalled that exactly one century ago, European warships blocked Venezuelan ports demanding the payment of debts, said ”We are defeating sabotage and self-blockade,” referring to the oil tankers that have anchored off the coast, refusing to deliver fuel supplies, in support of the shutdown.

CTV president Carlos Ortega said ”The stoppage is growing day by day, which is why we have declared total resistance until Chávez steps down.”

Parliamentary Deputy Darío Vivas of the governing Fifth Republic Movement filed a lawsuit against the CTV’s Ortega and Carlos Fernández, the president of Fedecámaras, for ”treason, instigation to commit crimes” and other offenses.

Fernández said ”it is possible that arrest warrants will be issued for us within the next few hours.”

That possibility was also acknowledged by Juan Fernández, the head of Gente del Petróleo, the trade union representing PDVSA managers, whose assembly decided Thursday to continue the walkout until Chávez steps down.

No results have come out of the talks between the opposition and the government, brokered by Organisation of American States (OAS) Secretary-General César Gaviria.

The opposition coalition, which includes the multi-party Democratic Coordinator, proposed that a non-binding referendum be held in February for voters to decide on whether or not Chávez should complete his term, which ends in 2006.

But the government has pointed out that according to the constitution, a referendum – binding in character – can only be held halfway through the president’s term, which would be August.

The government would be willing to consider a constitutional amendment to cut Chávez’s term if the opposition for its part demonstrates its willingness to respect the law governing elections, said Gaviria.

According to that law, two-thirds of the votes are needed in the single-chamber Congress to appoint a new electoral council to govern elections – a majority that would be impossible to achieve without an agreement between the opposition and the government, since the ruling coalition holds 86 seats and the opposition 79.

”It is extremely urgent for all of the concerned parties to throw their energy into the negotiations, since this country is facing major risks arising from the situation in the streets,” warned Gaviria.

Late Thursday, police used tear-gas to disperse a clash between Chávez supporters and foes, although no serious injuries were reported.

Gaviria’s efforts have received the strong backing of the OAS, United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the European Union, the Rio Group linking 19 nations of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the governments of Canada and the United States.

A statement released by the U.S. government Friday heightened the pressure on Chávez to call early elections, stating that ”The United States is convinced that the only peaceful and politically viable path to moving out of the crisis is through the holding of early elections.”

In mid-April, a three-day general strike and opposition march led to a coup d’etat that removed Chávez from power. But he returned to the presidential palace two days later with the backing of loyal factions of the army and thousands of his supporters, who took to the streets.

VENEZUELA: Shortages and Bank Restrictions

By Humberto Márquez Reprint | | Print |

Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Dec 13 2002 (IPS) - Venezuelans faced growing shortages of basic goods and restrictions on bank withdrawals on the 12th day of a general strike aimed at toppling the government of President Hugo Chávez.
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