Meanwhile, a melee between opposition sympathizers and municipal police under the command of a ruling party mayor erupted outside a building in Caracas where a petition backing early elections is stored. No injuries were reported. Dozens of opposition supporters pledged to secure the building through the night and accused police of attempting a raid. "We are going to stay here all night to safeguard the signatures," said Geraldo Blyde, a member of the Justice First opposition party. ***
In the centre of Caracas I meet Edgar Paredes, manager of the state oil company PDVSA. I asked him why the oil workers downed tools.
"The problem is that Venezuela is in a crisis. Four years ago the Venezuelans voted for Chávez because he promised to fight poverty and corruption. But things became only worse. That's why the oil workers of PDVSA joined the strike, which started in December last year. And that's the current situation."
But what motivated the oil company to throw in its lot with the opposition?
"PDVSA is a professional company, but Chávez has other ideas. He thinks this company has to be managed not with professional criteria, but with political ones. So, he named a board of managers with political friends, without managing experience. The people of PDVSA realised this was a danger for the future of the company and therefore for the country. And that's why the oil workers started their protest, which is still going on."
Sabotage
Addressing a recent rally of his supporters, Mr Chávez insulted people like Mr Paredes. "They planned the sabotage of the oil sector to lead the economy to chaos", he said. The President knows full well that his fate depends on oil. Whoever controls PDVSA, controls the country. That's why Mr Chávez is doing his utmost to bring oil production back to normal: 3 million barrels a day. "The oil platforms are working again," he says, "I can tell you that production went back to more that one million barrels a day".
The oil strike has become the symbol of the opposition against President Chávez. First because oil is so strategic, but also because Mr Chávez's new policy in PDVSA was a perfect example of what he has been doing with the rest of Venezuelan society: giving it a complete overhaul or what he calls "a revolution" in order to fight poverty and corruption.
A state in a state
To understand the intent of this policy, I went to the ministry of energy and mining, which has taken control of PDVSA since the strike began. I asked engineer Danilo Garcia what the president is doing with the oil company.
"I used to call PDVSA the Vatican, because it was a state in a state. They ruled the country. But that has changed with a new act, presented by Mr Chávez. In order to control everything in the oil company the government appointed its own people to management to be sure that government policy is carried out. That was important to improve the state, instead of the company. Because PDVSA spends 80 percent of her revenues in investment in the same company. And the country cannot afford that. There is so much poverty here, and it is not necessary in this mineral-rich country. That has to stop. And therefore we have to change economic policy. I am sure that if we lift the poor out of their poverty, the economy will become productive, something PDVSA is not at the moment."
Corruption
TV commercials on state television applaud the new policy of Hugo Chávez. For years oil dollars disappeared into the pockets of corrupt politicians. "This way the people lose the oil revenues, with huge consequences for health care, education, sports and social programmes. So, let's save PDVSA! The restructuring continues!"
Though the president's intentions may be good, he only managed to win over the poor. Since the beginning of his mandate in 1999, he has lost the support of the business community, labour unions, the church, the press, and of course the opposition parties. According to analyst Ramon Escovar the problem was not so much his plans, but rather the way he carried them out.
"Mr Chávez has made many mistakes, but the most prominent of his mistakes is that he doesn't recognize the multiform nature of democracy. Democracy is a multiform system with a variety of opinions and motivations, but Mr Chávez only has one purpose in mind: revolution. Mr Chávez was elected to preside over a democratic government, not to rule a revolutionary system."
"We have to find a political and democratic solution, but any such solution would have to involve the president's resignation. But we must try to minimize the trauma for him, and we can do this is by organizing a referendum or by calling a general assembly meeting to adopt a new constitution and create a new political framework. But of course in Latin America, it's impossible to face a crisis as big as in Venezuela without the participation of the military. I'm not advocating a coup d'etat, but we need army support for a political solution created by civilians."
Will the president go?
If one asks anybody from the opposition if a future with Mr Chávez is an option, everybody will answer no. They see only one possible solution: that the president steps down.
But Mr Chávez, ignoring a two-month strike, is convinced he has the support of the majority of the people. While his country falls apart and its economy goes to pieces, he dismisses the striking oil workers and looks for ways to recover oil production. For the opposition there is only one way left: a referendum about the president's position, and early elections.
But Mr Chávez's supporters have no intention of letting their leader go. The strike was a complete washout, they shout in the streets. Violent confrontations between supporters and opponents of the president have made it clear that the Venezuelans are unable to solve the problems by themselves. International efforts to bring the two sides together have been stepped up in recent weeks. Nobel peace prizewinner Jimmy Carter presented a blueprint for peace to the so-called group of friends, which has been meeting in Caracas. These six countries, which include the United States and Brazil, are conducting negotiations between the opposition and the government. Observers say international pressure is essential to break the stalemate.
In front of PDVSA head office in the capital Caracas, striking oil workers gather every day to protest. Many worked here for decades. Now they have been dismissed by the new management for joining the strike. But they are determined to continue, because they are sure that one day Mr Chávez will lose the battle. [End]