"I can't think of a single shipping company in the world that is prepared to take care of a tanker and have it unloaded in a port that is declared unsafe," said Jose Toro Hardy, a former director at state-owned oil monopoly Petroleos de Venezuela SA and now a private oil consultant. Currently, only one small refinery is producing, but running at a meager rate of 80,000 barrels a day. Venezuela needs around 400,000 barrels a day to satisfy its domestic needs.
The overwhelming majority of workers at ports in Venezuela have joined the strike, making any export shipments or unloading procedures a risky operation. Only a few ports are equipped to unload tankers for domestic supply. "But the overall system is set up for exporting and not importing," says William Edwards, president of the Texas-based Edwards Energy Consultants. Shipping agencies will also have difficulties securing credit and have their shipments insured for a Venezuelan destination, analysts say.
Sourcing products for import is yet another question, Edwards said. "It is possible that the country can get some products out of its Caribbean outlets," he said. And any imports will be very limited, he added: "I think only 10 percent of its daily domestic needs, really insignificant." Venezuela's oil production has thinned to a trickle against just under 3 million barrels a day before the strike began Dec. 2. Analysts don't view Chavez's threats to bring foreign crews and use the military - which lacks the required technical skills - to restart domestic oil operations as very realistic, either, given the sheer magnitude of the task. The vast majority of PdVSA's 40,000 workers are on strike, as are oil workers in associated or supporting sectors crucial to Venezuela's oil industry as a whole. The stakes for the government are high as sustained gasoline shortages could trigger riots. Toro Hardy estimated that Caracas still has gasoline supply for four to five days. [End]
The legal wrangling over a petition is confounding efforts by the secretary general of the Organization of American States, Cesar Gaviria, to broker peace talks this week. Gaviria said "significant efforts" were made to establish negotiations between the leftist Chavez and domestic opponents but details need to be ironed out before talks could formally start. He is trying to persuade the two sides to discuss other issues, such as reforming the country's electoral system. He has argued that neither Chavez opponents or supporters will accept a vote organized by the current electoral council, which is seen as corrupt and untrustworthy.***
November 28, 2002 - Venezuela Election Body Agrees to Chavez Referendum***CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Venezuela's election authorities agreed early on Thursday to hold a nonbinding referendum in February demanded by the opposition on whether President Hugo Chavez should resign, an option dismissed by the populist leader who refuses to step down. The consultative vote, scheduled for Feb. 2, would not legally force Chavez from office. But his foes believe a decisive rejection would deliver a political defeat that could press the president into resigning and trigger elections in the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.
Alfredo Avella, president of the National Electoral Council, said the institution that oversees elections and polls agreed to stage the popular referendum on the question of whether Chavez should resign immediately from office. The proposed referendum will likely become caught up in fierce legal wrangling in the Supreme Court and the National Assembly as the government contests its validity. Opposition leaders earlier this month handed in more than 2 million signatures demanding the immediate vote on Chavez's rule. They have threatened to stage a general strike on Monday if the government does not accept the referendum and a broader electoral accord during peace talks brokered by the Organization of American States.
Chavez, a former paratrooper who was elected in 1998, is locked in a bitter struggle with political enemies who blame his left-wing reforms for destroying the nation's economy and who accuse him of dictatorial rule. Chavez said on Sunday he would not resign even if 90 percent of the electorate voted against him in a consultative poll. The president insists the constitution only allows for a revocatory or binding referendum on his mandate in August 2003 -- halfway through his current term.***
November 29, 2002 - Venezuela Court Halts Vote on Chavez ***CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) - Venezuela's Supreme Court put the brakes on opposition efforts to force a non-binding referendum on President Hugo Chavez's presidency, quashing a decision hours earlier by the electoral council to conduct the vote. The back-to-back decisions on Thursday threw Venezuela into political turmoil. Foes and supporters of Chavez held rival demonstrations, with police keeping them apart. Opposition leaders threatened a general strike on Monday to press for the non-binding vote on whether the president should resign.
The opposition began its push for a referendum on Nov. 4, delivering a petition with 2 million signatures to the electoral council demanding the plebiscite. Electoral officials have said they verified about 1.2 million signatures - the number needed to schedule the vote. The council early Thursday approved holding a Feb. 2 referendum in a 3-1 vote with one member absent, citing a new law allowing approval by a simple majority. But the high court said the council is still bound by an old electoral law requiring approval by four council members. "The referendum still hasn't been called," said electoral council member Romulo Lares, who abstained. "That decision is null according to the Supreme Court's ruling." Dissenting council member Romulo Rangel also said a more thorough check of the signatures on the petition referendum is needed.
Council members who backed the referendum stood by their action. "The decision is transparent and in keeping with the law," electoral council vice president Jose Manuel Zerpa said.***
December 12, 2002 - Opposing views on crisis stalling negotiation talks*** CARACAS, Venezuela -- Wildly divergent views of the impact of a general strike that has crippled Venezuela's oil industry and economy have frustrated a negotiated solution, a senior diplomat said Wednesday. Cesar Gaviria -- the secretary-general of the Organization of American States who is brokering talks here between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his opponents -- said the worsening crisis caused by the strike makes reaching an agreement within a few days imperative.
The talks have made little headway so far. While the opposition has demanded general elections by next March, government officials have agreed only to a binding referendum on Chavez's rule next August, as allowed by the Constitution. Moving up an election would require a vote by the 165-seat National Assembly, where Chavez's supporters hold a seven-seat majority. Lawmakers from both sides said it may be possible within a few days to pass such an amendment.***