Chavez demands support

The week's news at a glance.

Caracas, Venezuela

Venezuela President Hugo Chavez this week told state oil workers that if they don’t back him in the Dec. 3 presidential election, they should “go somewhere else. Go to Miami.” Venezuela’s energy minister, Rafael Ramirez, made a similar threat to executives of PDVSA, the national oil company. “We are supporting Chavez,” Ramirez declared. “Anyone who doesn’t feel comfortable with this orientation needs to give up their seat.” Opposition politicians complained the government was violating a law against using state enterprises for politicking. Chavez denied any wrongdoing, and threatened to cancel broadcast licenses of any TV station that airs a video of Ramirez’s speech, which was taped surreptitiously.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up