Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Venezuela Police Fight Opposition Marchers in Caracas

There you go. I wonder why the people who call Bush a fascist, who teared their clothes because the police repressed their right to protest at the WTO Conference think about this. Hhmmm...
Photos here. (Be patient, seems that there's a lot of traffic today).

By Steven Bodzin and Alex Kennedy

Oct. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan riot police fired tear gas at thousands of protesters in downtown Caracas as they marched to oppose President Hugo Chavez's plans to change the country's constitution.

Scuffles broke out after demonstrators, led by student groups, pushed through a police line, according to images shown on television station Globovision. After a group of about a dozen student leaders met with lawmakers at the National Assembly, the protesters left the downtown area without further incident.

Hundreds of National Guard troops reinforced riot police to keep the march from reaching the National Assembly. Police also kept hundreds of Chavez supporters from clashing with the demonstrators, according to Globovision.

Chavez is seeking to amend the constitution to eliminate presidential term limits, create new federal territories under his control and eliminate central bank autonomy as part of an effort to transform Venezuela into a socialist society.

Congress is debating the proposal, and the government expects to hold a national vote on the changes in December.

To contact the reporter on this story: Steven Bodzin in Caracas at sbodzin@bloomberg.net ; Alex Kennedy in Caracas at akennedy1@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 23, 2007 15:13 EDT

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