Military

DATE=12/23/02

TYPE=BACKGROUND REPORT

TITLE=VENEZUELA / SHORTAGES

NUMBER=5-52793

BYLINE=MICHAEL BOWMAN

DATELINE=CARACAS, VENEZUELA

CONTENT=

INTRO: Scarcity is becoming all too abundant in Venezuela, where a 22-day national strike is causing severe shortages of fuel, food and countless other goods. From Caracas, V-O-A's Michael Bowman reports.

TEXT: Gasoline stations in Caracas have run dry. Even so, lines of automobiles snake for blocks from many stations, as desperate motorists wait -- hoping against hope that a shipment of fuel will be forthcoming. Among them is Magda, who sits on the hood of her car.

/// MAGDA ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Magda says, I have been waiting since yesterday morning, but there has been no gasoline. She says, every couple of hours, the attendants announce that gasoline is on the way, but nothing ever comes. She asks, what can I do? I need fuel for my car.

Inside the station, manager Ricardo Freitas looks frustrated and tired.

/// FREITAS ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Mr. Freitas says, we have gone three days without a gasoline shipment. He says, today we are waiting again, but I doubt it will arrive.

With nowhere to go and nothing to do, motorists try their best to keep their spirits up. Magda says she has played cards with other stranded drivers to pass the time.

/// MAGDA ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Magda says, look, if we are going to get desperate or anguished or aggressive, we are not going to get anywhere. She says, we have to have faith and optimism -- or else ...

Magda's voice trails off as she chokes up with emotion.

Opponents of President Hugo Chavez called the strike at the beginning of the month to press for the leftist leader's ouster. At first, some people welcomed a few extra days off from work. But now the true effects of the strike are becoming apparent. Above all, the work stoppage has crippled Venezuela's oil production. As the country runs out of gasoline, transit and commerce are on the verge of collapse.

Already, signs of hoarding are emerging. At one of Caracas' main public markets, shopper Mariela Rivas's cart is overflowing with groceries. She says she bought enough food to last her for two weeks, if necessary. But, she says, there is much she cannot find.

/// RIVAS ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Ms. Rivas says, flour, bread and some manufactured goods are hard to come by or not available. But, she says, there is plenty of fruit.

At one stand in the market, dry goods merchant Angelo Villa stares at his half-stocked shelves.

/// VILLA ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Mr. Villa says, I do not have enough merchandise to offer people. He says, flour and cornmeal have disappeared; I can't get any pasta; and sugar is scarce. He says basic things like personal hygiene products are in short supply.

The strike has shut down virtually all shopping malls in the weeks leading up to Christmas -- a situation that has left some smaller merchants unable to pay the rent for their stores. But if Venezuela's formal economy has been hit hard by the work stoppage, its informal sector is booming.

/// AMBIENT SOUND OF STREET MARKET NOISES -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Venezuelans have flocked to street markets to buy everything from jeans to shaving cream.

But there are some things that cannot be bought on the street, like medicine.

/// AMBIENT SOUND INSIDE PHARMACY -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Manuel da Silva operates one of only a handful of pharmacies in the capital that have remained open for the duration of the strike. He says it would be best not to get sick until the work stoppage is over.

/// DA SILVA ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Manuel da Silva says, he expects medicine will be in short supply beginning later this week. He says, this is due to a lack of gasoline, not a shortage of medicine. Mr. da Silva says, getting shipments to his pharmacy is becoming a problem.

President Chavez and the opposition blame each other for Venezuela's current plight. But, as the strike drags on and problems grow worse, some people are finding fault with both sides. Asked who is to blame for the country's woes, idled gasoline station manager Ricardo Freitas' eyes grow distant.

/// FREITAS ACT IN SPANISH -- ESTABLISH AND FADE UNDER TEXT ///

Mr. Freitas says, who is at fault? I do not know who is at fault. He says, I do not know whether to blame the government or the opposition. But, he says, if neither is willing to budge, then perhaps they are both at fault. (SIGNED)

NEB/MCB/RH