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Tuesday, November 06, 2007  
             

 

Scores injured, arrested ahead of anti-Chavez protest

11-06-2007, 04h04
CARACAS (AFP)

photo
University students demonstrating against the constitutional reform proposed by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, clash with the riot police in Caracas on 5 November 2007. More than 50 people were injured and 35 arrested in the clashes.
(AFP)

More than 50 people were injured and 35 arrested Monday as Venezuelan university students clashed with police two days before planned protests against President Hugo Chavez's constitutional reforms.

Globovision television reported 52 students injured by rubber bullets and tear gas in clashes with police outside Tachira University in western San Cristobal. Student leader Yon Goicoechea told the station that 35 students were arrested in the scuffles.

Students also turned out in Caracas, Merida, Maracay and Barquisimeto in preparation for demonstrations Wednesday to demand a delay in the December 2 referendum on the constitutional reforms that critics warn will expand Chavez' power to unprecedented levels.

Outside several universities, students set up roadblocks and generally disrupted traffic until local law enforcement and the National Guard were called in to clear the streets, often by force.

The demonstrators are demanding a two-month delay in the referendum to allow more time for a nationwide debate on the reforms that lawmakers approved on Friday.

Thousands of angry Venezuelans have taken to the streets since then, with one demonstration in Maracaibo turning violent, leaving two dead and four injured.

Students have vowed to march on Wednesday to the Supreme Court building to press their demand for a postponement of the plebiscite.

Chavez on Sunday told government officials to use "a firm hand" in dealing with the unruly students.

"We won't allow these spoiled little brats, these rich kids with a silver spoon in their mouths to go around tearing up the center of Caracas," he said.

Chavez's new measures would implement "economic socialism" and allow the president to suspend media rights during a state of emergency, lift presidential term limits and increase the president's mandate to seven years from six.

The president would be able to create new regions and name vice presidents to govern them and enjoy broader decision-making powers regarding military affairs, the national reserves and monetary policy.

Opponents accuse Chavez, who was first elected in 1998, of seeking to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Cuban leader Fidel Castro, by trying to stay in power forever through the new constitution.


AFP
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