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[Via Communist Internet... http://www.egroups.com/group/Communist-Internet ] [Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] . . ----- Original Message ----- From: Barry Stoller <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 23, 2002 1:38 PM Subject: Class division in Venezuela AP. 23 January 2002. Divided Venezuela Marks Birth of Nation's Democracy With Rival Rallies. CARACAS -- Four decades ago, Venezuelans united to overthrow their last military dictator. Today, they are so bitterly divided over President Hugo Chavez that they couldn't share the same street to celebrate their democracy anniversary. Thousands were gathering in downtown Caracas Wednesday to march against a government they say threatens the liberties gained on Jan. 23, 1958, when a military-backed popular uprising ousted Gen. Marcos Perez Jimenez. Blocks away, thousands more prepared for a counter-march in support of Chavez, whom they believe is delivering the country from a corrupt oligarchy that took over after Perez Jimenez. The two marches were to take separate paths, but security forces were preparing for trouble. In December, government supporters and opponents clashed when a pro-Chavez mob tried to storm an opposition demonstration. "The country is dividing itself," warned historian Guillermo Moron. Government supporters blame tensions on a middle class-based opposition bent on deposing Chavez, a former army officer who led a failed coup attempt in 1992 and was elected president in 1998. They say Venezuela's elite resent Chavez's efforts to redistribute wealth among the poor through land reform and other populist measures. "The opposition wants to instigate chaos. It wants a civil war. Anything to oust Chavez from the presidency," said Cilia Flores, a lawmaker with the ruling Fifth Republic Movement party. Opposition leaders argue Chavez's scathing criticism of Venezuela's "oligarchy" has fomented class division. It was the first time as president that Chavez marked the anniversary of Venezuelan democracy. He previously celebrated the Feb. 4 anniversaries of his failed military coup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
