CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) -- Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, in a
                  battle for reelection next month, doubled wage hikes for the nation's 1.3 million
                  public-sector workers who have threatened to strike over pay.

                  In a national address broadcast live on local radio and television on Friday night,
                  Chavez said state employees would receive a 20 percent pay rise from May 1
                  instead of the previously announced 10 percent increase.

                  The announcement came one month before May 28 general elections in which
                  the left-leaning Chavez faces a strong challenge from Francisco Arias, a former
                  close ally who had joined him in leading a 1992 coup attempt.

                  Bloated by decades of political patronage and corruption, Venezuela's
                  public-sector payroll accounts for more than 10 percent of the country's labour
                  force.

                  Arguing that strong oil prices and tax collection had improved government
                  finances, the paratrooper-turned-president also announced a 20 percent increase
                  in the minimum wage to 144,000 bolivars ($213) per month and a 44 percent
                  hike in pensions to the same amount.

                  "Believe me, we really cannot go any higher," he said. "Any more than that and
                  we'd be on shaky ground."

                  A fiery nationalist whose populist touch has made him a hero among the poor
                  majority in the South American nation of 24 million people, Chavez said that his
                  government hoped to bring down inflation to about 15 percent this year from 20
                  percent in 1999.

                  "If we achieve it, we will increase buying power by 5 percent for the first time in
                  years," he said.

                  Despite strong prices for its economic mainstay, oil, Venezuela is reeling from its
                  deepest recession in a decade. Unemployment has surged to over 20 percent and
                  wages for most workers have fallen well behind the cost of living.

                  Labour unrest has grown in recent weeks as teachers, doctors and court
                  workers staged marches and threatened strikes in search of better wages.

                  Chavez blames the labour strife on "corrupt cliques" of union leaders tied to
                  discredited traditional political parties opposed to his government.

                  Undermined by rising unemployment and soaring crime levels, Chavez has seen
                  his popularity slip in recent weeks. But he still maintains a small advantage over
                  his former comrade-in-arms Arias in opinion polls.

                  Using his speech on wages to appeal to voters, Chavez called on Venezuelans to
                  stick with what he dubs his "peaceful revolution" to "avoid the violent
                  revolution."

                  Elected president in December 1998, Chavez has stepped up his typically
                  high-voltage campaigning style in recent weeks, accusing the Catholic Church of
                  siding with the opposition and warning of possible violence if he is not reelected.

                  The May 28 elections for president, legislators, state governors and mayors has
                  been called to comply with a new constitution approved in a national referendum
                  in December.