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Military replaces Chavez
©Los Angeles Times CARACAS, Venezuela -- Hugo Chavez resigned as president and was placed under arrest by his former military allies Friday, after his charismatic reign as Venezuela's nationalist strongman came crashing down in a flurry of protest and violence. The military and its civilian allies named a 35-person "government of democratic transition" to run the country, headed by a prominent businessman and top Chavez critic. Pedro Carmona, the leader of Venezuela's largest business association, became interim president. Carmona promised to hold elections within a year to choose a new president for this oil-rich but economically troubled South American nation. The new ruling council announced a major overhaul of Venezuela's government, including the immediate firing of all the members of the pro-Chavez National Assembly and Supreme Court. "We must go about returning to the rule of law," Carmona, 60, told supporters after taking the oath of office at the Miraflores presidential palace. "Strongman rule will be left behind. I will act in the most open manner, working with all sectors of the country." The measures amounted to a counterrevolution, led primarily by the nation's business sector, to the highly personalized state that Chavez built in the three years since he was elected president. The former paratrooper allied Venezuela with Cuba, espoused a fiery populist rhetoric and encouraged the growth of a cult of personality. In a major shift in foreign policy, Carmona's government also said the state-owned oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela, would discontinue Chavez's controversial oil sales to Cuba. Carmona's business chamber, Fedecamaras, had joined the 1-million-member Venezuelan Workers Confederation in calling a strike in support of executives at the oil company who were protesting moves by Chavez. The strike culminated in a giant march Thursday through the capital, Caracas. Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque said that his country still recognized Chavez as the president of Venezuela and that his overthrow was illegal. Chavez's supporters at home and abroad called the events in Venezuela a coup. Chavez, who led a failed coup 10 years ago, has not spoken in public since his defiant speech to the Venezuelan people Thursday afternoon, in which he said he would not step down. Chavez, 47, was being held at Fort Tiuna, an army base in Caracas, after being taken from his palace before dawn. Generals said Chavez was forced to resign about 3 a.m. Friday by his military high command after his civilian supporters opened fire on the 150,000 protesters in the anti-Chavez march Thursday. At least 14 people were killed and 240 wounded. The military, angered by the shootings, rejected Chavez's request for exile in Cuba. Attorney General Isaias Rodriquez said he had not seen evidence that Chavez had resigned. "Why don't they allow him to be interviewed?" Rodriguez asked. "Did he commit a crime? Is resigning a crime?" Rodriguez called the Carmona government "unconstitutional." A few hours later, Carmona announced that Rodriguez had been relieved of his duties. In addition, Carmona dissolved the formerly Chavez-controlled congress, Supreme Court and comptroller's offices, and he declared a 1999 Constitution sponsored by Chavez null and void. Venezuela will return to a bicameral legislature under the previous constitution, he said. Carmona also suspended 48 laws decreed by Chavez in November that generally increased the state's role in the economy. Even the name of the country was changed Friday. Chavez fancied himself the true heir to the mantle of Simon Bolivar, the 19th century independence leader, and had renamed the country the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The new government announced, to loud cheers from its supporters in the palace, that the nation would once again be called, simply, the Republic of Venezuela. In Washington, D.C., White House spokesman Ari Fleischer declared the Bush administration's support for new elections in Venezuela and condemned the actions of Chavez's government against the protesters Thursday. "According to the best information we have, the government suppressed what was a peaceful demonstration of the people," Fleischer said. Several Latin American leaders, however, were critical of the new government. In Costa Rica, leaders at the summit of the 19-nation Rio Group of Latin American countries criticized "the interruption of constitutional order" in Venezuela. Mexican President Vicente Fox said his country wouldn't recognize Carmona's government until new elections are held, although he said it wouldn't sever diplomatic relations. Both Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde and Paraguayan President Luis Gonzalez called Venezuela's new government illegitimate. Chavez, who could face charges in the protesters' deaths, still retained the support of an untold number of Venezuelans, especially among the poor. On Friday evening, the mood remained tense. The deposed president was a cult hero to many impoverished Venezuelans, even though in the final months of his presidency he implemented the orthodox economic policies demanded by the International Monetary Fund and sharply reduced government spending. There were reports of violent protests Friday evening in some poor neighborhoods of Caracas. In a ceremony before Carmona was sworn in to office, the members of the new government took pains to give his administration a veneer of legitimacy, scheduling legislative elections to replace the one swept out Friday for December. The new leaders cited a long list of crimes committed by Chavez's regime, including "an illegal concentration and usurpation of powers," the suppression of free speech and a foreign policy of "isolation" that harmed the Venezuelan economy. Most of the military turned against Chavez on Thursday after the bloodshed near the presidential palace and after Chavez moved to shut down all the nation's private television stations. Several of Chavez's political allies and high-ranking members of his government were arrested Friday, including his minister of interior and justice, Ramon Rodriguez Chacin. Venezuelan television showed images of police raiding homes and wrestling with Chavez supporters who resisted being taken into custody. They reportedly were searching for the leaders of the "Bolivarian Circles," pro-Chavez muscle groups that are suspected in the repression of Thursday's march. The Venezuelan Workers Confederation warned Carmona that Carmona will have to address pressing labor issues such as billions of dollars in wages and pensions owed public workers. Inspired by Chavez's ouster, workers at Petroleos de Venezuela moved quickly to bring production and exports of crude oil and refined products back to full capacity. Monopoly executive Horacio Medina estimated that operations will be normal within a week. -- Information from the Associated Press was included in this report.
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