Anti-Chavez camp turns out en masse

Hundreds of thousands of Ven-ezuelans turned out to petition for President Hugo Chavez's departure from power as Chavez vowed to prosecute leaders of a two-month strike against him.

Leaders of the Democratic Coordinator political movement claimed they gathered 4 million signatures on several petitions seeking Chavez's ouster Sunday. The claim was impossible to verify. But tens of thousands celebrated on a Caracas highway after petition centers closed.

"The pen is our weapon," said Julio Borges of the Justice First opposition party. "Today demonstrates that the struggle hasn't ended. It didn't end with the strike."

The most popular initiative is a constitutional amendment cutting Chavez's term from six to four years. It needs the support of 15 percent of the electorate -- or about 1.8 million signatures -- and would clear the way for general elections later this year.

A nonbinding referendum on Chavez's rule had originally been scheduled for Sunday after another petition with 2 million signatures was accepted by the National Electoral Council. Business, labor and opposition political groups called the strike beginning Dec. 2 to pressure Chavez into accepting the vote but the Supreme Court suspended the referendum because of a technicality.

"We feel that they have taken our freedom to express ourselves," said Marisela Gaye, an insurance worker who was waiting earlier in the day to sign in Plaza Francia in eastern Caracas.

A popular opposition rallying ground, the plaza was filled with people waiting to add their names to the lists. Many dressed up their babies in the red, yellow and blue of Venezuela's national flag and brought dogs wearing sweaters with the same design. The crowd frequently broke into chants of "It's going to fall, it's going to fall, the government is going to fall!"

But Chavez claimed victory over his foes after they agreed to ease the two-month strike to protect businesses from bankruptcy.