April 2001
Venezuela's Carmona to Restore Congress Amid Rioting
Posted: Friday, April 13, 2001
Bloomberg News, Apr 13 2002
By Alex Kennedy, Patrick Gordon, Peter Wilson and Toby Muse
Caracas, April 13 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan interim President Pedro Carmona said he would reinstate the nation's congress after soldiers and supporters of deposed President Hugo Chavez took control of the presidential palace, raising the prospect of armed confrontation.
Carmona's announcement prompted William Lara, the leader of the dissolved National Assembly and a member of Chavez's Fifth Republic political party, to say Carmona was not the legitimate president. Lara told Union Radio that Chavez's vice president Diosdado Cabello should succeed him as the rightful president.
'There is no interim president,' Lara said. 'The private citizen Pedro Carmona committed the crime of usurping presidential power and must be tried under a judicial process like any other citizen.'
Carmona is seeking to preserve his two-day old government by blunting criticism that he and the military committed a coup d'etat, doing away with the country's democratic institutions. Carmona late yesterday dissolved Congress, which was controlled by Chavez supporters, and other institutions yesterday when he named a new government.
General Demands Restoration
Carmona's announcement came minutes after Army Chief General Efrain Vasquez called for the restoration of the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, the attorney general's office and other public bodies that had been dissolved. Carmona and his staff were evacuated to the Fuerte Tiuna military base south of Caracas, where he was under the protection of soldiers loyal to the interim government.
'The National Assembly is being fully restored,' Carmona said in an interview with CNN's Spanish service.
Supporters of Chavez claim the president never resigned his office, and instead was ousted.
'The president didn't resign,' former Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel was quoted as saying by El Nacional. Chavez's failure to resign means that Carmona's government is illegitimate, Rangel said.
Supporters of the interim government said Chavez is not returning.
'Chavez is going to resign shortly,' Vice Admiral Jesus Briceno, who is a member of the interim cabinet. He also said Chavez 'will be taken abroad.'
Venezuela's new government hasn't been recognized by any other country. If inquiries determine Chavez never resigned, the country may face a constitutional crisis, analysts said.
Palace Seized
Thousands of Chavez supporters surrounded the Miraflores presidential palace, while soldiers posted in the building, which serves as the government's main office, urged the crowds to support Chavez. Many raised their fists in solidarity with the protesters, standing on the building's roof and balconies.
'We will fight to the death to support Chavez,' said Pvt. Luis Vallana, one of the soldiers of the military contingent protecting the palace. Other soldiers said there were at least 600 soldiers in the palace and the adjacent military building.
Long streams of Chavez supporters headed for Miraflores, walking through middle-class neighborhoods, shouting their support.
'We want our president back,' said Anna Mendez, a Chavez supporter.
'We won't accept Carmona for anything. We love Chavez.'
Protesters shouted that Chavez had been freed and Carmona had been arrested. No police were present at the palace, which is located in the city center.
'Chavez is in jail, but we have Miraflores (palace),' said Maria Cristina Iglesias, who served as labor minister under Chavez. At least two other ministers under Chavez were present, walking in and out of the palace.
Local television station Venevision broke into its regular programming, saying its personnel had received death threats and wouldn't cover the rioting. It urged viewers to stay home. Many of Caracas's main streets were almost deserted by late afternoon.
Police Warning
The Metropolitan Police said the situation in Caracas was 'out of control' and 'critical.' A spokeswoman said there was nothing the police could do.
Three policemen were seriously injured, one of whom was shot in the head, she said. Another police spokeswoman said that the police had information that pro-Chavez soldiers were headed for the capital from outlying regions.
Chavez, a former lieutenant colonel who led a failed coup in 1992, was toppled Friday morning after three years of high unemployment and crime and a dispute with the state oil company over political appointments. Carmona suggested he would dismantle Chavez laws that allow private property to be expropriated and try to reverse a capital flight that economists estimate has reached $12 billion since the beginning of 2000.
'We need confidence, investment, and jobs and that requires clear rules of the game,' Carmona said.
Carmona yesterday named Leopoldo Martinez, a congressman from Venezuela's First Justice Party, as finance minister and Leon Arismendi planning minister. He did not say who the new energy and mines minister would be.
Looting, Disturbances
Taxis refused to carry passengers to Simon Bolivar International Airport from the capital because of disturbances in the western neighborhood of Catia, which straddles the main highway. Airlines said operations were normal with no cancellations or delays.
'There's lots of police in Catia because there was looting this morning,' said Josefina Veneri, who saw protesters attacking stores.
'I ran, I was scared.'
Supermarkets and stores were closing in many neighborhoods as fears of looting increased. Rioting in 1989 led to hundreds of deaths.
Chavez supporters last night blocked the highway connecting Caracas with the airport about 12 miles away on the Caribbean coast for about five hours. No injures were reported, although the highway remained strewn with rocks, bottles and tires after it was reopened by the National Guard.
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