EL UNIVERSAL

Government followers started to rally on Friday early afternoon on Bolívar Avenue, downtown Caracas, to endorse the changes to the Constitution advanced by President Hugo Chávez and close the electoral campaign ahead of next December 2nd referendum.

Groups of President Chávez's followers in red vests and a large number of buses from the province appeared since early morning in the streets near the main avenue.

Jesse Chacón, a leader of pro-government electoral taskforce Comando Zamora, said that demonstrators were gathering in several places in Caracas. They did not stage a march, but a rally on Bolívar Avenue. President Chávez addressed the supporters of his intended changes to the Constitution, thus closing his electoral campaign.

Chávez: Those who vote NO are doing a favor to George W. Bush
President Chávez said to thousands of followers rallied on Bolívar Avenue that those people who vote NO are doing a favor to US President George W. Bush.

Chávez said that this is the real confrontation Venezuela is currently going through. "Our real opponent, our real enemy is the US Empire."

"On Sunday we are going to deal another knockout blow to the American imperialism. Nobody should forget that it is the backdrop of the battle," Chávez said.

Chávez threatens to nationalize Spanish banks in Venezuela
President Hugo Chavez threatened Friday to nationalize the Venezuelan subsidiaries of Spanish banks Banco Santander SA and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA, if Spain's King Juan Carlos does not apologize.

The Spanish king asked Chávez to shup up during the Ibero-American summit held in Chile early November. After the incident, President Chávez decided to "freeze" relations with Spain.

''The only way this is going to be fixed is with an apology by the king of Spain,'' Chávez said.

"It doesn't cost me anything to take Spanish banks and nationalize them, and put them in the service of the Venezuelan people.''