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CNN Live Saturday
Strike in Venezuela Hurts Country's Economy
Aired December 28, 2002 - 17:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Striking workers in Venezuela are only part of the reason for higher gas prices in the U.S. That strike is forcing the world's fifth biggest oil exporter to import gas to cope with its own fuel shortages. Venezuela's president says he's winning the battle against the strikers. CNN's Lucia Newman is in Caracas via videophone with more on the impact of the four-week-old strike now.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Fredricka. Indeed today is day 27 of this crippling general strike in Venezuela, although things are fairly calm here in the capital Caracas. (AUDIO GAP) of the country.
At this very moment there is a very large demonstration taking place in Barquisimeto in western Lara State, and according to a global region reporter who was on the scene, a very, very large anti-government demonstration that is calling for the ouster of President Hugo Chavez passed a police cordon and clashed right with a pro-government demonstration.
They started throwing rocks at each other. Then riot police moved in hurling tear gas and, as we understand, those clashes are still taking place at this time. This has become really a sign of the times here in Venezuela since the strike began. Another sign of the times are long, long gasoline lines, miles long all over Venezuela, especially in the capital Caracas, lines of as many as 420 cars, people waiting for days and days hoping to get a little bit of gasoline.
Now, as you mentioned earlier this crippling strike and the shortages here have forced Venezuela to actually import gasoline and the first shipment came in from neighboring Brazil just a few hours ago. The opposition to President Hugo Chavez is furious about this. It says that Brazil is intervening in its internal affairs. It's trying to break the strike and they are very, very angry indeed.
In the meantime, President Hugo Chavez says that he is slowly but surely jump-starting the paralyzed oil industry again. They say that they hope to get things back to normal within the next 15 days but striking petrol leaders say that that is impossible, that the government can not normalize the output and the production without the help, the specialization of the people that are currently on strike -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lucia, thank you very much from Caracas.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired December 28, 2002 - 17:32 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Striking workers in Venezuela are only part of the reason for higher gas prices in the U.S. That strike is forcing the world's fifth biggest oil exporter to import gas to cope with its own fuel shortages. Venezuela's president says he's winning the battle against the strikers. CNN's Lucia Newman is in Caracas via videophone with more on the impact of the four-week-old strike now.
LUCIA NEWMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good evening, Fredricka. Indeed today is day 27 of this crippling general strike in Venezuela, although things are fairly calm here in the capital Caracas. (AUDIO GAP) of the country.
At this very moment there is a very large demonstration taking place in Barquisimeto in western Lara State, and according to a global region reporter who was on the scene, a very, very large anti-government demonstration that is calling for the ouster of President Hugo Chavez passed a police cordon and clashed right with a pro-government demonstration.
They started throwing rocks at each other. Then riot police moved in hurling tear gas and, as we understand, those clashes are still taking place at this time. This has become really a sign of the times here in Venezuela since the strike began. Another sign of the times are long, long gasoline lines, miles long all over Venezuela, especially in the capital Caracas, lines of as many as 420 cars, people waiting for days and days hoping to get a little bit of gasoline.
Now, as you mentioned earlier this crippling strike and the shortages here have forced Venezuela to actually import gasoline and the first shipment came in from neighboring Brazil just a few hours ago. The opposition to President Hugo Chavez is furious about this. It says that Brazil is intervening in its internal affairs. It's trying to break the strike and they are very, very angry indeed.
In the meantime, President Hugo Chavez says that he is slowly but surely jump-starting the paralyzed oil industry again. They say that they hope to get things back to normal within the next 15 days but striking petrol leaders say that that is impossible, that the government can not normalize the output and the production without the help, the specialization of the people that are currently on strike -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right, Lucia, thank you very much from Caracas.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
