Venezuela's Maduro pledges to crush looming strike

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro sought Thursday to outflank his opponents in their bid to drive him from power, vowing to crush a threatened general strike.

The socialist leader is resisting growing pressure from the opposition, which blames him for the South American oil-rich country's plunge into economic chaos.

He said authorities would seize control of companies that join in a general strike called for Friday by the opposition Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD).

"If a company stops, it will be taken over," he said in a televised speech.

At the same time, he moved to placate hard-up citizens by promising to raise the minimum wage by 40 percent.

- Protests -

Maduro was on the counterattack a day after the opposition staged anti-government protests that drew hundreds of thousands of people across Venezuela.

The president and the opposition have accused each other of mounting a "coup."

Opposition leaders sharpened their tone after authorities infuriated them last week by halting procedures to hold a referendum on removing Maduro.

The MUD coalition called a 12-hour general strike for Friday and vowed to march in protest to the presidential palace on November 3.

Maduro called on his own supporters to mobilize to "defeat the parliamentary coup."

A crowd of his followers rallied Thursday outside the National Assembly legislature, where the MUD has held a majority since January.

Opposition lawmakers were inside hearing declarations from civil groups about the crisis.

Maduro's supporters yelled angrily and scuffled with riot police guarding the assembly.

- Violence -

Clashes broke out at some of Wednesday's protests.

The government said a police officer was killed in the northern state of Miranda.

Maduro blamed that on his rivals on Thursday. He called opposition leader Henrique Capriles a "murderer" and accused him of plotting an "attack" on the presidential palace.

The opposition's vow to march on the palace next week raised the tone in the power struggle.

The palace was the scene of a short-lived opposition coup attempt in 2002 against Maduro's late mentor, Hugo Chavez.

The current head of the military and defense minister, Vladimir Padrino, has declared loyalty to Maduro.

- Talk to the island -

Maduro claims to have the Vatican's backing to hold a "national dialogue" with opponents from Sunday.

The MUD said it would only agree to talks if the government respected the constitutional right to a referendum and freed its imprisoned activists and leaders, among other demands.

Maduro has vowed to go to the Caribbean island of Margarita where he has proposed to start talks on Sunday.

But it is unclear whether he will have anyone to talk to. The opposition insists that any talks be held in Caracas, "in the public eye."

The secretary general of the MUD, Jesus Torrealba, said it still wanted to settle the crisis "through a referendum or early elections."

- Cost of living -

Venezuela is home to the world's largest oil reserves but has plunged into a deep recession due to falling crude prices.

It was unclear to what extent Maduro's wage hike would soothe the anger of citizens who are suffering shortages of food, medicine and basic supplies.

Maduro's decree will raise the minimum wage to the equivalent of about $140 a month.

But the cost of living in Venezuela is prey to massive inflation and a lopsided system of fixed exchange rates.

Maduro earlier this year tweaked the exchange rate in a bid to make essential imports less expensive.

But ordinary citizens interviewed by AFP in recent days complained they still cannot afford many basic items in supermarkets.