page_title: Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003
section_title: Buildup
hierarchical_section_title: Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003 / Buildup
context_page_description: The Venezuelan general strike of 2002–2003, also known as the oil strike or oil lockout, was an attempt by the Venezuelan opposition to President Hugo Chávez to force a new presidential election. It took place from December 2002 to February 2003, when it faded. The government fired over 18,000 PDVSA employees for "dereliction of duty" during the strike and arrest warrants were issued for the presidents of the striking organizations. The main impact of the strike derived from the stoppage of the oil industry, in particular the state-run PDVSA, which provides a majority of Venezuelan export revenue. The strike was preceded by the 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt in April 2002, and a one-day strike in October 2002.
context_section_description: After April's coup d'état attempt, conflict simmered throughout the rest of 2002. On 14 August the Supreme Tribunal of Justice absolved four military officers involved in the April coup. This set the scene for further actions by the military.
  On 21 October a one-day general strike (paro) took place (two general strikes had taken place in December 2001 and in April 2002), aimed at forcing the resignation of Chávez or at least the calling of new elections. On 22 October 14 military officers who had been suspended for participating in the coup, led by General Enrique Medina Gómez, occupied Plaza Francia in Altamira, an Eastern Caracas neighbourhood, and declared it a "liberated territory". They said they would not leave until Chávez had resigned, and called on their colleagues in the military to rise against the government.
  In early November, there was a major clash of government and opposition demonstrators in downtown Caracas; and, in the middle of the month, a shootout which resulted in three deaths occurred in Caracas' Plaza Bolivar between the Metropolitan Police and the National Guard.
caption: Plaza Francia in Altamira
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