Uneasy Calm In Venezuela

After surviving a botched coup attempt, President Hugo Chavez won a precarious second honeymoon Monday from Venezuela's business elite and upper classes that rose up to overthrow him last week.

The streets of Caracas remained calm after the weekend of astonishing events that saw Chavez deposed by his own military leaders, then re-claim his office just 43 hours later.

The undercurrents that led to the unrest remain in place however, and the events of the last few days may have only deepened the class divide in the country, leaving the very real possibility of more changes in power.

Opposition leaders expressed reservations about Chavez's willingness to bring about reform, despite fresh assurances from his government. Chavez, meanwhile, replaced members of the military high command that arrested him on Friday.

Chavez said he was "surprised" by the speed of Friday's coup and "anguished" by the violence. He pleaded with Venezuelans to give him a second chance.

"I call upon Venezuelans, all Venezuelans, to reunite, to reflect. I want to hear from opposition leaders," Chavez said. He said "round-table" talks with opposition figures would begin Tuesday and that he envisioned Venezuela someday becoming a "middle-class country."

Chavez said that "a lot of Machiavellian people planned this operation. ... It was not just a military coup. The intellectual authors were not military personnel." He refused to elaborate.

But Chavez appeared to be addressing the interim president installed by the military, businessman Pedro Carmona, when he said: "What a grave error, man. You've gotten yourself into serious trouble."

Yet Chavez also said that Carmona, who is detained with as many as 100 other people, including military personnel, would "probably" be allowed to go home.

The 1 million-strong Venezuelan Workers Confederation, which with Carmona's business chamber led a general strike last week against Chavez, demanded that everyone be freed.

Oil prices rose Monday after Chavez's reinstatement. Markets saw Chavez's return as a sign Venezuela would continue its policy of restricting production and thus keep oil prices high.

The Bush administration, which showed no remorse over Chavez's ouster, advised him to make good use of his second chance "by correcting its course and governing in a fully democratic manner."

American officials continue to find themselves in a delicate situation.

The leftist Chavez has irritated Washington in the past by cozying up to Cuba as well as Iraq, Iran and Libya. But he is also at the spigot of 13 percent of the U.S. oil supply.

Addressing fears the government would embark on a witch-hunt for its opponents, Defense Minister Jose Vicente Rangel said the Cabinet named by Carmona had been freed.

Carmona, who took over the presidency during Chavez's two-day ouster, remained in the custody of secret police, along with more than 100 military personnel also arrested in the revolt.

Rangel did not indicate whether the government plans to try them for conspiracy, saying only that Carmona's family, friends and attorneys were allowed to visit him.

Chavez was deposed and arrested early Friday by his military high command after gunmen opened fire on at least 150,000 people marching on the palace, demanding his resignation.

He returned to power just two days later after other members of the military brass refused to go along with the revolt and tens of thousands of Venezuelans took to the streets demanding his return.

Carmona's decision to dissolve all branches of government received immediate condemnation abroad and upset many Venezuelans, even those who had wanted Chavez out.

Most seemed to accept his return. There were few public calls for him to resign and those who had rushed to support coup leaders, including media that blacked out coverage of pro-Chavez protests, were unusually muted in their criticism.

El Universal newspaper, a staunch Chavez critic, ran one word on its banner headline Monday: "Conciliation." On its front page, it emphasized Chavez's announcement that the state-owned oil monopoly's board of directors, appointed by Chavez but opposed by the group's executives, had resigned.

An internal power struggle at Petroleos de Venezuela erupted into a popular rebellion by the opposition last week, provoking a national general strike and the bloodshed that led to Chavez's overthrow. Chavez's intransigence and imposition by decree of economic laws widely opposed by business leaders had infuriated the upper classes.

Many opposition leaders who had avoided the spotlight Sunday came forward Monday, urging Chavez to make good on his promises to change.

A planning minister in the administration prior to Chavez, Teodoro Petkoff, criticized Chavez's speech before soldiers on Sunday afternoon when he called his enemies "oligarchs" and said they had their lesson.

The tone was aggressive compared with his remarks a day earlier, when he said he had had time to reflect on his mistakes and promised change.

"Half the country rose up against him," Petkoff said. "If he thinks that half the country and the armed forces are a handful of oligarchs, we're in trouble because he hasn't learned anything."

After three days of protests and looting, stores reopened and a crush of traffic returned to Caracas streets. Venezuelans were carrying on with normal life, as they did after surviving two coup attempts in 1992 — one led by Chavez himself, a former paratrooper — and 1989 riots that killed hundreds.

In all, about 40 people are known to have been slain in the violence following Chavez's ouster.