CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- Hundreds of President Hugo Chavez's
                  supporters -- chanting "Dissolve Congress!" -- blocked the entrance to the
                  capitol for a second day Wednesday, preventing lawmakers from leaving or
                  entering.

                  In recent days, Chavez, a former army paratrooper who led a violent putsch
                  in 1992, has called for the dissolution of Congress and the Supreme Court.
                  He has also threatened to declare a state of emergency and rule by decree if
                  the legislature fails to grant him sweeping powers to manage the recession-hit
                  economy.

                  On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Jose Vicente Rangel insisted the fears
                  about Chavez's commitment to democracy are unfounded.

                  "The position of the Venezuelan government on public freedoms, human
                  rights and strict respect for the principles that guide the democratic order
                  and rule of law are unshakable," he said in a televised address.

                  In a Tuesday news conference, Chavez said he would not personally
                  dissolve the other branches of government, but that it should be done
                  through a constituent assembly rewriting the constitution. The goal, he said,
                  was to create a Congress and Supreme Court that are more responsive to
                  the people.

                  "President Chavez is proposing, with overwhelming majority support from
                  the Venezuelan people, to legitimize public powers through the establishment
                  of a national constituent assembly," Rangel said.

                  Chavez's critics fear he is actually trying to usurp power.

                  They also fear he is inciting the masses with constant talk of declaring an
                  emergency, dissolving other government branches and extending his own
                  term from five to 10 years. Most Venezuelans blame traditional party
                  politicians for squandering the world's biggest oil reserves outside the Middle
                  East, and are quick to support Chavez's call for the dissolution of Congress.

                  "There is a mob sent here on the instructions of the president of the
                  republic," said Sen. Alberto Francheschi of the opposition Project
                  Venezuela party, referring to the demonstrators blocking Congress.

                  In his TV appearance, Rangel responded to comments Tuesday by U.S.
                  State Department spokesman James Foley, who urged Chavez to "govern in
                  a manner consistent with Venezuela's constitution and its democratic
                  traditions."

                  "We appreciate the worries expressed by the United States government
                  about Venezuela, and at the same time we reiterate that there should be no
                  doubt about the democratic disposition amply demonstrated by the president
                  of the republic, Hugo Chavez," Rangel said.

                    Copyright 1999 The Associated Press.