Over 100,000 Venezuelans participated in an anti-government rally in Caracas Saturday after President Hugo Chavez threatened to withdraw from talks aimed at ending the country's political crisis.
Demonstrators disrupted traffic, as they marched in the capital to support demands that President Chavez step down and call early elections. The embattled leader said he would not negotiate with strikers and has threatened to use the full extent of the law backed by military power to end the strike, according to the Voice of America.
Earlier, President Chavez said he was considering pulling out of talks with opposition leaders brokered by the Organization of American States (OAS). He accused opponents of not being serious about following what he called a "democratic path."
Chavez made the remark in Brazil, where he held talks with his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva regarding the latest initiative to end the political stalemate. (Albawaba.com)
© 2003 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
