English Edition Nº 78 by Correo del Orinoco

Pg. g 7 | Integration g

Pg. g 8 | Opinion

South American nations create regional ﬁnancial Class War without mercy in the USA: Corporations against workers institutions to combat global economic crisis

FRIDAY | August 26, 2011 | No. 78 | Bs 1 | CARACAS

ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

President Chavez condemns NATO massacre in Libya

Bolivia to Expel USAID

The Venezuelan President also nationalized gold this week and formalized the repatriation of gold reserves from banks abroad in order to protect Venezuela from foreign aggression and the global crisis

Venezuela rejects media violence against women

Venezuelan women, together with the majority socialist bloc in the national parliament, rejected the violent and slanderous attacks against women heads of state institutions perpetrated by a local newspaper this week. The paper, “Sexto Poder” published a libelous article ridiculing and discrediting women in high political office together with a doctored image presenting the women as “cabaret prostitutes”. The heads of the Supreme Court, Attorney General’s Office, Public Defender, National Assembly and Electoral Council called for action against the publication. | page 4

Chavez signed a decree this week formalizing the nationalization of Venezuela’s vast gold industry. Joint ventures will be created between public and private companies to extract gold deposits, with a majority stake for the state. Venezuela was losing billions of dollars annually to multinationals extracting gold, while illegal miners were also exploiting thousands of Venezuelan and foreign workers in inhumane conditions. In various declarations throughout the week, President Chavez repudiated the NATO attacks in Libya and the massacre taking place in the African nation’s capital, Tripoli. | pages 2-3

Politics

Chavez supporters shave heads Venezuelans & Dominicans shaved off their hair in solidarity with the Venezuelan President. | page 5

Social Justice

Government distributes free books to kids 12 million school text books were distributed free this week. | page 6

Social Justice

Poverty reduced by 50% in Venezuela ECLAC applauds Venezuela’s major fight against poverty. | page 6

Venezuelan diplomatic residence in Libya attacked by NATO’s “rebels”

enezuelan President Hugo Chavez confirmed Wednesday that his country’s embassy in Libya was looted and attacked. Chavez said he has received word that the Venezuelan Embassy and diplomatic residence in the Libyan capital of Tripoli “were assaulted and totally looted” by hordes of “insurgent forces”. Venezuela’s Ambassador to Libya, Afif Tajeldine, affirmed the attacks via telephone on public television. He said the insurgents were “looking for him” to “attack, kidnap or kill” him. They stole

everything from the residence and embassy. “The drama of Libya isn’t ending with the fall of Gaddafi’s government. It’s beginning”, Chavez said. “The tragedy in Libya is just beginning”. Libyans hunting Moammar Gaddafi offered a $2 million bounty on Gaddafi’s head and amnesty for anyone who kills or captures him as forces backed by NATO battled this week to clear the last pockets of resistance from the capital,Tripoli. Asked about efforts to hunt for Gaddafi, Chavez said they reflect a “madness let loose”.

“What the Yankee empire and the European powers want is Libya’s oil”, Chavez said. Chavez declared Tuesday that Venezuela would continue to recognize Gaddafi as Libya’s leader and would refuse to recognize an insurgent-led interim government. On Wednesday, he again condemned NATO’s airstrikes in Libya. “They’ve destroyed a country and they continue destroying it”, Chavez exclaimed. “How many Libyan children havedied?” “Now they’re aiming against Syria”, warned Chavez.

A senior Bolivian official has called for the expulsion of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) from the South American nation over the agency’s ‘efforts to destabilize’ the La Paz government. Juan Ramon Quintana, the head of Bolivia’s Agency for Development of Regions and Frontiers, said the expulsion of USAID would help “the process of change” in the country. “The expulsion of USAID should be not only an act of sovereignty, but an uncompromising defense of the process of change”, said Quintana. Quintana went on to say that the move should be considered as a “self-defense mechanism” for Bolivia. The latest row between La Paz and Washington has widened after Bolivian President Evo Morales on Sunday blamed the US for interfering in Bolivia’s domestic affairs and inciting opposition in the country to protest a key highway construction project through a nature preserve. In the past years, the US National Endowment for Democracy and USAID have openly backed and promoted opposition movements in Bolivia.

2 | Impact

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Chavez nationalizes gold; Venezuela to repatriate reserves from abroad The Venezuelan head of state signed a decree this Tuesday nationalizing the nation’s extensive gold deposits as part of a plan of strategic and economic stability. Gold reserves abroad in foreign banks will be returned to the Venezuelan Central Bank vault

n a forum designed to inform the public on the nation’s financial plans, President of Venezuela’s Central Bank, Nelson Merentes, met with residents last Sunday to explain a recent government decision to repatriate gold reserves from financial institutions in Europe and North America. The gathering, broadcast live on state television, was held in the neighborhood of Altagracia in the capital of Caracas and focused on the Chavez administration’s recent announcement to pull its gold reserves from institutions such as the Bank of England and JP Morgan Chase & Co. The measure, announced last week Thursday, has created a stir abroad as Venezuela attempts to shield itself from the instability created by free-market economic policies promoted by Europe and the United States. “We want to protect our assets that belong to the Venezuelan people. We’re going to bring the gold back using advanced technology… they’re physical bars that were taken in the past and we need to make sure that they’re the same”, Chavez said last week. Planning Minister Jorge Giordani, present for the forum on Sunday, highlighted the fact that between 1980 and 1992, the period that saw the greatest expression of neoliberalism in Venezuela, some 46 percent of the nation’s gold was transferred to European and North American banks. The move, made under the pressure of the International Monetary Fund, has resulted in a precarious economic situation for the South

American nation in the face of continued crises in the North. According to Bank President Merentes, Venezuela’s gold reserves, estimated at $18 billion, represent about 60 percent of the nation’s total foreign reserves of $29 billion. The gold is currently held in a variety of financial institutions in North America and Europe with the Bank of England accounting for $4.2 billion, Barclays $2.1 billion and HSBC $1.4 billion. Other banks such as Standard Chartered, JPMorgan, BNP Paribas, and Bank of Novia Scotia also contain substantial holdings. Officials report that a total of 211.35 tons of the precious metal will be returned to Caribbean nation. On Sunday, Bank President Merentes explained the significance of the reserves to the Venezuelan people. “The international reserves are part of the assets that we have as a people, as a nation. These financial assets backup the economy. In this case, a good percentage of them are made up of gold, called monetary gold, while another percentage lies in financial instruments and liquidity”, he informed.

KEEPING RESERVES SAFE Apart from repatriation, the Venezuelan government also announced plans to transfer part of its monetary reserves to banks in Brazil, China, and Russia. The measure, Merentes explained, is not so much designed to diversify currencies as it is to look for the greatest regional stability possible for Venezuelan investments. “We’re protecting our resources”, said Merentes. “If there’s a region that is undergoing an economic disturbance, the most prudent and recommendable thing to do is to change the location of our resources… we’re protecting ourselves from the risk of contagion, looking for the best custodians”, he affirmed. Currently, Venezuela’s $6.2 billion in liquid reserves are distributed between Switzerland (52%), the United Kingdom (17.9%), the United States (6.4%) and France (3.7%) with the remainder held at home. Although Merentes affirmed that the move to other banks has not been motivated strictly by currency reasons, the government’s chief financial executive did express his support for a diversification of

holdings as President Chavez has called for a break with the “dictatorship of the dollar”. The president of the National Bank referred to the possible acquisition of regional Latin American currencies to comprise up to 30 percent of reserves, alongside 20 percent in Euros and 50 percent in US dollars. NATIONALIZATION OF GOLD MINES Last week, Chavez also pledged to nationalize the gold mining industry in Venezuela, a sector renowned for its corruption, illegal activity and mafias. “I’m informing that soon I’m going to approve an Enabling Law in order to begin to take the gold areas… because this area is in anarchy, full of mafias and contraband”, the socialist leader said during an address. The nationalization decree was signed this Tuesday and goes into affect after it is approved by the country’s highest court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ). Venezuela is the 15th largest holder of gold in the world and one of the richest countries in South America with respect to mineral deposits.

STOPPING ILLEGAL MINING In 2010, six workers were killed when an abandoned mine, once operated by the state-owned company Minerven, collapsed. The death of the illegal miners highlighted the lawlessness of the sector, controlled by organized crime rings that offer lucrative incentives for the illicit extraction of the precious metal. Thousands of workers, beholden to powerful bosses, have set up illegal camps throughout the southern state of Bolivar, in the region known as Guayana, to exploit new and abandoned sites with minimal safety precautions and no regard for environmental regulations. President Chavez has informed that while the South American nation produces 11 metric tons of gold yearly, illegal mining operations are responsible for the theft of an additional 10 to 11 tons. The rescue of the sector will have the dual effect of ending illegal mining and boosting Venezuela’s gold reserves as the price for the precious metal reaches record highs, nearing $2 thousand an ounce on the international market. Joint ventures will now be formed between state-run enterprises and private companies in the mining sector. “We’re going to nationalize activities related to the exploitation of gold, converting it into international reserves. We have close to $12 billion in gold and we can’t allow it to be continually taken away”, Chavez said. For Rodrigo Cabezas, Venezuelan Representative to Latin American Parliament, the gold nationalization is reminiscent of a similar initiative proclaimed by independence hero Simon Bolivar. “This decision reminds me of the Mining Decree declared by the liberator, Simon Bolivar in 1829 when he established the fact that all mineral wealth belongs to the state”, he said during a program broadcast on state television. “This firm and brave decision from President Chavez is very much welcomed”, he added. T/ COI P/ Presidential Press

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

International

Venezuela’s Chavez condemns NATO “massacre” in Tripoli T

his week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez reiterated his condemnation of NATO’s bombing of Libya, amidst international media reports that the Libyan rebels were advancing on the city of Tripoli. During a press conference, Chavez, who had recently returned from chemotherapy treatment in Cuba, described the actions of the US and certain European governments as a “massacre” and repeated his call for peace for the people of the world. “The democratic European governments, not all of them, but we know which ones, are practically demolishing Tripoli with their bombs; the supposedly Democrat and democratic US government as well, because they feel like it,

simply because they feel like it”, said the Venezuelan President. Chavez has continuously denounced the NATO-backed intervention in Libya since it began in March, and maintains that the US, France, and Great Britain are involved for cynical and strategic reasons, as well as to take advantage of Libya’s oil and extensive gold reserves. “Today they dropped I don’t know how many bombs, and they are falling in a totally shameless and open way, they no longer even bother to explain anything, falling on schools, hospitals, homes, places of work, factories, agricultural farms, right now at this very moment”, continued the President. The Venezuelan head of state again ratified his full support

to the Libyan people who have been victim of permanent attacks from armed groups of the National Transition Council (NTC) and NATO. “We ratify our support to the Libyan people, to that sister nation that is under attack and being bombed (…) victim of the imperial madness”, Chavez said during a Council of Ministers held Tuesday in the Miraflores Presidential Palace, in Caracas. This action against the sovereign people of Libya is part of an imperial strategy, which he compared to dog fighting. “Imperialism puts people to fight like dogs, supplying weapons to groups here and there, so they [imperial powers] can then bomb the country, seize its inter-

national reserves and oil. We have to denounce it to the world”. Chavez stressed that Venezuela will not recognize any government installed in Libya as a result of this imperial aggression. “We recognize a single Government, the one of Muammar al Ghaddafi”. VIOLENT OPPOSITION In further statements, Chavez urged the Venezuelan people to ‘neutralize’ the Venezuelan opposition’s plans to destabilize the country, and stated that members of the opposition political forces were trying to unleash violence in Venezuela. “Some people are repeating crazily: Chavez equals Ghaddafi; therefore, Venezuela equals Libya. That formula will not work here. We will

make sure you understand that, if you try to carry out Libya’s formula in Venezuela”, he stressed. Members of the National Assembly convened a special meeting this Monday to discuss concerns of an opposition attack on the Venezuelan state. PSUV representatives claim that the opposition is trying to “create panic and promote an international intervention” within the South American nation. “We (the PSUV) hope that nobody is wishing for, is asking for a Libyan solution to life in Venezuela, one that entails a military attack, that entails death” said PSUV representative Rodrigo Cabezas. T/ Rachael Boothroyd www.venezuelanalysis.com

Russia to aid Venezuela with housing, strategic reserves R

ussian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed issues of economic cooperation in Venezuela this week. Following the talks with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, Lavrov declared that Moscow is ready to consider the proposal of Caracas about keeping its gold and currency reserves in Russia. The proposal of Caracas is one of the new points of President Hugo Chavez’s program to improve Venezuela’s economy. Last week, Chavez recalled the US and Western Europe are in a deep economic crisis, and this is where the majority of Venezuelan gold and currency reserves are kept. The leader of Venezuela also expressed regret about the so-called Libyan precedent when foreign countries first freeze government accounts abroad and then use that money to finance the opposition. Chavez is convinced “the time is ripe to look towards the stability of economies of such countries as China, Russia and Brazil”. The BRIC countries, whose economies are growing fast, may become more stable than the US and Europe, which continue in the grip of a crisis.

made at a time of the dramatic leap of gold prices. According to the Swiss UBS bank, the price of gold will exceed $2,000 per ounce before the end of the year and will keep growing. The US bought gold on a large scale in the last century and strengthened the dollar, making it one of the most required world currencies. At present the dollar’s leading position has sagged and this clears the way for new regional currencies, in particular the SUCRE, the new Latin American common currency.

Analyst Dmitry Susanov says other reasons may support the move to Russian banks. He believes Russia proposed in return for Venezuela’s assets, Caracas will be given considerable discounts for buying weapons and other economic preferences. This was indirectly confirmed by Venezuelan

Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro on Tuesday. Following talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, he declared that Caracas may ask Moscow to enlarge its loan in the near future. Part of the money is expected to be allocated to defense and the rest will go to the infrastructure development.

Incidentally, recovering assets from abroad and consolidating the armed forces are not Hugo Chavez’s only methods of guaranteeing the security of Venezuela’s economic future. On Tuesday the President signed a decree on the nationalization of gold in the country. This strategic move was

HOUSING, TECHNOLOGY Russia and Venezuela also reviewed other agreements in the areas of defense, energy, science and technology, housing and communications. The two nations agreed to establish sister institutes of science and technology in both Moscow and Caracas. Russia is also providing substantial economic and technological aid to Venezuela to support the South American nation’s Grand Housing Mission, which is slated to build 2 million new homes for Venezuelans over the next six years. T/ Yelizaveta Isakova

4 | Politics

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Venezuelan Parliament rejects media violence against women O

nce again, private media are at the heart of a scandal intending to slander and discredit women in positions of power. Venezuela’s highest legislative body, the National Assembly, was the scene of a lively debate last Monday as members of the ruling socialist party sparred with the conservative opposition over allegations of destabilization and the media’s slander of women public officials. The debate took place during an extraordinary session of the Assembly, convened to discuss opposition aggressions against the institutions of the Venezuelan state. “We can’t allow groups in Venezuela to conspire against the nation and against the hopes and dreams of the Venezuelan people in order to further damage the republic and its citizens”, said Congressman Pedro Carreño during the legislative session. Last week, the Venezuelan congress approved the creation of a special committee to investigate right-wing political factions in the country who continue to receive political financing from the United States and Europe. A major focus of the debate last Monday centered on the publication of a slanderous article pub-

n Monday, Venezuelan women marched to the Attorney General’s office in Caracas demanding action be taken against the weekly newspaper 6to Poder (6th Power) for having engaged in “symbolic violence against women”. The march was convened after the newspaper published a front page article this Sunday entitled “Chavez’s Women in Power”, featuring a doctored image of female members of government wearing sexually provocative outfits as part of a cabaret. The newspaper also referred to the female representatives using “disrespectful and deprecating” language. “We urge the country’s District Attorney, Luisa Ortega Diaz, to apply the full weight of the law and sanctions where admissible.

also to professional Venezuelan women in general. “With this, they’re referring to the female figure as a cabaret dancer and the country as if it were a brothel. They’re insulting and denigrating half of the country that is female”, said the Second Vice President of the National Assembly Blanca Eekhout.

lished in an opposition-run tabloid, defaming female members of the Chavez administration. The article, which included a photographic montage of cabaret dances with the heads of six female officials including the president of the country’s supreme

court was quickly condemned by women’s rights activists and government supporters. A march was called on Sunday in repudiation of the article which, activists assert, not only represents an insult to the public officials caricatured but

DESTABILIZATION CAMPAIGNS Government supporters have pointed out that the dissemination of such smear campaigns falls in line with a detectable pattern of libel propagated by private media outlets to spread discontent and misinformation in the Venezuelan population. Juan Carlos Aleman, member of the National Assembly’s Media Commission, called for a special session of parliament to examine the misuse of media outlets for malicious and slanderous purposes. According to Aleman, opposition media is engaging in a calculated effort directed by Washington in anticipation of Venezuela’s presidential elections next year. “The opposition is a puppet of the [US] Department of State that is training them in how to disgrace the institutions of the Venezuelan State and, in that way, create conflict in the county which would

Venezuelan newspaper under investigation due to “defamation” of women We demand the immediate closure of the weekly newspaper 6to Poder for the flagrant violation of women’s rights”, read the statement signed by the women. “It’s not just about the dignified women that represent us in public institutions, it’s about all the women of this country”, said Maria Garcia, who attended the demonstration. President of Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice, Luisa Estella Morales, confirmed that the judiciary was “going to, and is taking measures” against the paper, and stated that “as women we are prepared to defend our dignity, we

cannot allow this kind of assault”. The United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) and the Venezuelan Communist Party (PCV) have backed the motion against the newspaper, whereas the opposition coalition, the “Roundtable of Democratic Unity” (MUD) has condemned it as an “attack on freedom of expression”. The MUD is also currently under investigation for receiving millions of dollars in support from US government agencies such as the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in violation of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council.

One of the women featured in the newspaper’s inflammatory article, 2nd Vice-President of the National Assembly, Blanca Eeckout, condemned the piece as part of a wider destabilization campaign of the right-wing that began with disparaging remarks made towards the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) earlier last week. “They keep pursuing an agenda of violence, destabilization, aggression and war”, stated Eeckout. 6th Power provoked controversy earlier this year when its editor, Leocenis Garcia, admitted to

justify a foreign intervention”, Aleman said during a program broadcast on state television. Such a situation, the representative claims, is similar to what took place in the country in the run up to the opposition’s violent overthrow attempt of the democratically elected Hugo Chavez in April 2002. “Let’s remember what happened before the coup d’etat in 2002, when a similar situation was taking place…That’s why we’re calling this a conspiracy”, he declared. LAW AGAINST DISCRIMINATION Apart from debating opposition destabilization, the National Assembly also passed a landmark new Law Against Racial Discrimination last Monday. The new legislation strengthens the country’s constitution on the topic of racial disparities by creating mechanisms to prevent and eliminate discrimination based on ethnicity in the country. The new law creates a National Institute Against Racial Discrimination which will be charged with the implementation of public policies designed to eliminate inequality. The legislation also stipulates racial discrimination as a crime. T/ COI P/ Agencies maintaining a friendship with Wilmer Brizuela, head of one of the prison gangs engaged in a standoff with the Venezuelan government at El Rodeo prison complex in June. “Yes, I’m a friend of Wilmer Brizuela, mafia leader of a prison, what’s the problem?” wrote Garcia on his Twitter account. Garcia released a statement today alleging that Chávez was a “dictator” after the director of his newspaper was detained. “Here there is freedom of expression, but not freedom of defamation” said Rodrigo Cabezas of the PSUV party, who urged Venezuela’s private media channels to practice “responsible journalism”. T/ Rachael Boothroyd www.venezuelanalysis.com

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Politics

Chavez supporters shave heads in solidarity with the venezuelan president Chavez’s popularity has risen above 57% during the past 3 months as he prepares for reelection in 2012

moved and displayed a Venezuelan flag given to him by a child who passed away as the result of cancer. The head of state explained that the girl, named Genesis, gifted him the flag before succumbing to a brain tumor. “She told me, ‘Chavez, I’m leaving but I’ll be staying with you through this flag’. And here is Genesis, more than her presence in the flag, she lives in my heart”, he professed with tears.

rayers and shaved heads formed part of the activities carried out last weekend in solidarity with President Hugo Chavez as he continues to recover from a cancerous tumor extracted from his pelvic region in mid June. Representatives of 50 churches participated in a multi-denominational curing ceremony that took place from the People’s Balcony of the Presidential Palace of Miraflores in Caracas while a hundred supporters of the head of state had their hair removed on Sunday in an symbolic act of fellowship with the recovering leader. According to Oriana Pinto, 21 year old member of the pro-revolutionary organization Frente Francisco de Miranda, the act of having her head shaved was done “so that President Chavez knows that we’re with him in the good times and the bad”. INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT The new hairstyle trend was started by a Christian group from

n 2009, the Venezuelan Government launched the Caura Plan to fight against environmental destruction from illegal mining in the states of Bolivar and Amazonas (southwestern Venezuela). To date, 40,000 hectares of land severely damaged due to illegal mining activities have been recovered and 15,000 people who were exploited in the mining industry have been rescued, informed Operational Strategic Commander of the armed forces, Chief General Henry Rangel Silva. “We have recovered about 40,000 hectares that were devastated, most of it in delicate areas, such as river basins…Those streams were invaded by illegal miners who used water as an element for the destruction of the nature”. He explained that illegal mining uses propelled water directed toward the earth to extract gold.

the Dominican Republic who decided to go bald as “an act of faith” to show their support for the Venezuelan President. Rafael Guillen, coordinator of the organization Paz Dominicana referred to the idea as “sent by God who expresses his love through us”. The Dominicans were received by Chavez on Sunday as part of the religious activities. “We want to give thanks to God and the Venezuelan people for the treatment that we’ve received. Chavez is an historic person who

represents dignity, social justice, as well as the unity of our brothers and sisters in Latin America.He has transcended the Venezuelan border and has become a symbol for all of us Latin Americans and Caribbeans. He doesn’t belong just to the Venezuelans but rather to all Latin Americans”, Guillen affirmed. CANCER GONE Chavez, who has lost his hair recently as a result of chemotherapy treatment in Cuba, reported that his medical regime has been yielding nothing but positive results.

“I don’t feel ill anymore but rather in recovery from the sickness that I once had”, he exclaimed. The leader of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela expressed his gratitude for all the support that he has received and credited his recovery to three essential factors. “The opposition is asking where are Chavez’s doctors. The first is called Jesus of Nazareth, the greatest curer of all. The second is Fidel Castro and the third is my medical team”, he responded. During the prayer ceremony on Sunday, Chavez appeared visibly

Government rescues thousands from illegal mining; recovers protected land As a result, the organic land “is transformed into desert sand, losing all its cultivable properties”. Currently, the ministries of the Environment, Interior and Justice, and Indigenous Peoples are working jointly to clean up recovered areas and extract tons of waste and debris caused by the illegal mining operations. Rangel Silva underscored that it will take about 200 years to fully reverse the environmental damage caused in the area. “They have transformed a tropical Amazon forest into dunes”. With respect to the people exploited by the mining operations, “We have been able to rescue about 15,000 people who were being used as slaves, victims of a

major perverse operation. Small villages were created within the wild Amazon forest, with prostitution, human trafficking and all

sort of actions taking place, violating their rights”. The majority of those rescued were Venezuelan nationals,

PRAY FOR PEACE The Venezuelan President also took advantage of the event to raise a prayer for peace in Libya and around the world. “Today we’re seeing images of how the ‘democratic’ European governments, not all of them, but we know which ones, are practically demolishing Tripoli with its bombs, including the supposedly democratic United States”, he denounced. “We are praying to God for the Libyan people and the people of the world. Peace in the world! May God will help this world to take the real path towards peace”, the head of state declared. T/ COI P/ Presidential Press though Colombian and Guyanese citizens had also been involved. Rangel Silva explained that illegal mining in Venezuela began 50 or 60 years ago and “it was transformed into a lifestyle for many people in the jungle, destroying the environment, but also destroying men, women and children because it was created as an illegal mining system based on people’s slavery”. People think they are going to obtain fortunes through the illegal gold exploitation and mining; but in reality, they just enter into a system that exploits them and uses them so others can profit, he added. “Those people were dying in the jungle, destroying nature, handing over their work (gold), which was then taken away from the country, legalized and placed in stock markets”. T/ AVN P/ Agencies

6 | Social Justice

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Venezuelan Government ﬁghts speculation by distributing free books to children Free and accessible education is a major priority of the Chavez administration, and now that includes free text books for school kids

were produced with national materials and content was designed by Venezuelan teachers.

enezuelan government trucks will be traveling across the country to distribute 12 million free text books the Education Ministry has guaranteed for students of public schools in Venezuela, informed President Chavez during an event to begin distribution of these books to kids from the Miraflores Presidential Palace, in Caracas. At the event on Monday afternoon, hundreds of school children of all ages were present with the Venezuelan head of state, who oversaw the activity from the “People’s Balcony” at the palace. Children participated by reading out loud from some of the newly distributed school books, live on national television. Chavez encouraged further reading practice and applauded the children for their accomplishments. “Reading is essential to be healthy and strong, in mind and body”, the

Venezuelan President said to the kids. Illiteracy was eradicated in Venezuela in 2005 after a successful state-sponsored social program, Mission Robinson, was implemented throughout the country. The Venezuelan government will distribute the 12 million books to students of public schools nationwide from Grades 1 to 6. Each student will receive four books in the areas of Mathematics, Language and Literature, Social Sciences and Natural Sciences.

President Chavez underscored that this effort made by the Revolution puts an end to the usury of private companies selling school texts at overlyelevated costs. “They (private entities) do not like this. Of course they do not. Now their exploitative business is over, the theft is over. Now these books are [distributed] free. Mothers and Fathers do not need to purchase these books anymore”, he highlighted.

Typically, each one of the school texts goes for approximately 150 bolivars ($35) in private stores, while production costs are below 14 bolivars ($3.25). Private outlets were making huge profits off the needs of school-aged children, causing hardship to parents. Now, explained Chavez, “that’s over”. Maryann Hanson, Education Minister, informed that the government invested over $45.12 million dollars to print and distribute the material. The books

CANAIMA COMPUTERS During the act, the Venezuelan head of State also informed that in the next school year 2011-2012 the government will also distribute free Canaima computers to fourth, fifth and sixth grade students. They were distributed up to this year only to students of grades 1 and 2. Hanson explained that fourth grade students will receive their laptops in September and fifth and sixth grade students will receive them in January 2012. The rest of the students, from grades 1 to 3, already have their Canaimas and as for those students who have passed to third grade, their laptops will be upgraded with the new content. The Canaima Project provides students with free laptops containing educational content aimed to involve families, schools and communities in children’s education processes. T/ AVN P/ Presidential Press

Venezuela reduced poverty by 50%, afﬁrms Eclac V

enezuelan President Hugo Chavez provided information this week on his country’s social and economic achievements, especially the nation’s reduction of poverty, citing statistics from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). “In ten years, we have been able to reduce poverty in half”, proclaimed the Venezuelan President. “The Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC) pointed out that from 1990 to 2010 poverty in some countries of Latin America and the Caribbean increased. Nevertheless, poverty dropped on average overall between 25 and 30 percent. The Venezuelan case has to be deeply analyzed because the South American nation reduced poverty by more than 50 percent through 2009”, explained President Chavez.

“Poverty in Venezuela was above 60% when I won office in 1998”, recalled Chavez. The ECLAC report, entitled Social Panorama of Latin American and the Caribbean, states on page 13 that in 2002 poverty in Venezuela reached 48.6 percent, while in 2008 it dropped to 27.6 percent, which represents a 43 percent decrease. Extreme poverty was reduced from 25% to 7% during the past decade, a dramatic change. The reduction in poverty is a result of a number of strategies implemented by the Venezuelan government to fight against social exclusion by boosting social programs known as “missions”, promoting the organization of community councils and nationalizing companies that pave the way for employment opportunities. “It’s not time to die, it’s time to live and to keep fighting, because

we are on the path to the dignification of the liberation of our people”, emphasized Chavez in light of the major social advances the country has made. SOCIAL INVESTMENT The most effective social programs in Venezuela have been in

the areas of education, healthcare, job training and food subsidies that have aided the reduction in poverty. Medical attention is free and universal throughout Venezuela, with hundreds of new and advanced clinics built by the state during the past decade. Quality education is guaranteed at all levels, free even during

university and post-graduate studies. Thousands of new schools have been built by the Chavez administration along with hundreds of new accessible universities. Job and skills training programs have enabled thousands of Venezuelans not just to enter the work force but also to build their own cooperatives and small businesses, many receiving low-interest loans from the government. Subsidized supermarkets, known as Mercal, PDVAL and the Bicentennial Markets, have ensured access to affordable foods for all. The Venezuelan government invests 60% of its annual budget in social programs to guarantee the well being and prosperity of its people. According to ECLAC, the investment is paying off. T/ COI P/ Agencies

NoÊÇnÊUÊFriday, August 26, 2011

The artillery of ideas

Integration | 7 |

Unasur: South American alliance confronts economic crisis U

nasur Foreign Ministers met in Buenos Aires this week to discuss financial integration and independence from the US dollar. The Union of South American Nations (Unasur) has emerged from a bevy of regional alliances to assume a major role in work toward Latin American integration. With the Paraguayan Senate’s approval August 13 of Paraguay’s entry into Unasur, the alliance now includes all 12 South American nations. Unasur has, since 2008, carried out independent, cooperative planning in a variety of areas, but none of them economic. Now, debt crises, worldwide economic slowdown, and a possible devaluation of the US dollar have impelled them to action. What is needed, according to the Argentinean Communist Party newspaper Nuestra Propuesta, is “a common strategy to shield South America from contamination by the so-called ‘central countries’...profoundly sick and fully decadent”. On July 28 an extraordinary Unasur summit took place in Lima, Peru, so timed because heads of state were attending the inauguration that day of Ollanta Humala as Peru’s new president. A proposed agenda was shelved in favor of economic matters. Leaders and advisors established broad goals and determined a schedule of future meetings. Unasur finance ministers met in Lima on August 5 and again in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on August 12, this time joined by central bank officials. That gathering served as the eleventh meeting of the Unasur working group on financial integration and the inaugural meeting

his Thursday, nations conforming the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our Americas (ALBA) urged the North African country to recover its path to peace and harmony. ALBA member states also issued a strong condemnation of the attacks perpetrated by armed groups against Venezuela’s diplomatic residence and embassy in Tripoli. The statement, dated August 25, repudiates the illegal and violent attacks executed by forces backed by NATO and the US against Venezuela’s

of Unasur’s South American Economic and Financial Council. Argentina’s Economics minister, Amado Boudou, afterwards told reporters that Unasur would be “developing a regional fund for dealing with the international financial crisis”. Absorbing a smaller fund created in 1978, this new one, aimed at countering speculative attacks on local currencies, would be supported by “monetary authorities and central banks” and by commercial transactions. Local currencies and the sucre, a new continent - wide currency, would replace the dollar in regional transactions. Plans were laid to develop the Bank of the South and form strictly South American development banks. Three working groups were established, one each on currencies, reserve funds, and regional development banks.

Economic specialists met yet again in Buenos Aires on August 24, this time with Unasur foreign ministers, for a review of recommendations prior to a regular Unasur summit meeting set for Asuncion, Paraguay, on October 29. There, heads of state are expected to approve what is shaping up as an overarching plan for economic sustainability. SOUTH AMERICA: A SUPERPOWER “We have shown more resistance to the crises and [have been] much more dynamic in being able to survive them than the central economies”, explained Minister Boudou, adding that, “South America is being converted into one of the principal motor economies of the world”. Later on in Caracas, Venezuelan President

Hugo Chavez agreed: “South America is destined to be a bloc”, he said, predicting that for the sake of economic overhaul, internal conflicts will be resolved and ideological differences overcome. Acceptance by left leaning Unasur founders of right wing Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos’ nomination of Maria Emma Mejia to the post of Unasur Secretary General bears out Chavez’s last point. Mejia, speaking earlier in Buenos Aires, highlighted South American economic strengths, noting that the region’s economy is growing at a 4.5 percent annual rate, dollar reserves total $600 billion, and South American internal commerce, worth $100 billion annually, is projected at $120 billion. South America survived the 2008 economic crisis remarkably intact, reports Aporrea.org writer Raul Crespo.

Alba countries condemn attacks on venezuelan embassy in Libya sovereign diplomatic territory. “The member countries of the Bolivarian Alliance for the People of Our Americas (ALBA) condemn in the strongest terms the attacks against the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Libya carried out on Wednesday, August 24, 2011.

The violent attacks by armed groups on the Venezuelan Embassy in Tripoli are an act of aggression that violate Venezuelan territorial sovereignty and represent an aggression against the immunity of this diplomatic mission. ALBA member countries reject this new violation of internation-

al law that shows the situation of chaos and violence to which our sister Libyan nation has been subjected, as a consequence of the illegal military aggression that NATO countries and their allies have led over the last months. The countries of the Bolivarian Alliance hope that this important

Soon after the August 12 meeting, President Chavez announced repatriation of gold worth $12 billion, transfer of Venezuelan cash reserves from US and European to Russian, Brazilian, and Chinese banks, and nationalization of Venezuela’s gold mining industry. Obstacles to Unasur plans include: divided loyalties of Brazilian and Argentinean capitalists tied to the US and European economies; cash flight to foreign banks from Argentina and other countries; likely reluctance of multinational corporations to deal in regional currencies; and international oil and food price volatility, fed by speculation. And, according to Crespo, new dependence on raw materials sales to China adds risk from reduced demand there stemming from a possible economic downturn. Argentinean Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel joined others in critiquing a meeting held behind closed doors lacking representation from social movements. Food sovereignty and environmental sustainability are still not on the agenda, say critics. In any event, the August 12 and 24 meetings were, according to Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro “the first time in 200 years that South America got together to talk about the economy. In another era, the IMF would have already arrived with its structural adjustment programs. We are breaking off ties with neo-liberalism. [This is] work carried out in unity to confront the systemic crisis of northern capitalism”. T/ W.T. Whitney Jr. P/ Agencies African country recover the path of peace and harmony, and that a political solution preserving its sovereignty and territorial integrity can be achieved for Libya”. The armed insurrection against Gaddafi that began in February of this year and was soon backed by NATO military attacks has resulted in thousands of dead and wounded in Libya, a majority of them innocent civilians, including children. T/ COI

FRIDAY | August 26, 2011 | No. 78 Bs 1 | C ARACAS

ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

A publication of the Fundacion Correo del Orinoco • Editor-in-Chief | Eva Golinger • Graphic Design | Alexander Uzcátegui, Jameson Jiménez • Press | Fundación Imprenta de la Cultura

OPINION

ne can never have too much money. In the US, the top one percent of the population rakes in almost a quarter of the national income and enjoys 40 percent of the wealth. That class sees this as a problem. It is not enough. For ordinary workers, the recession brought only economic hardship. But for corporate USA, it meant one thing: opportunity. This is the chance to permanently mold the economy into something approximating the Third World model: vast wealth and privilege for those at the top, and unemployment, falling wages, and inadequate or nonexistent social services for the rest of society. The recession ended two years ago, yet more than nine percent of the US population remains without work. If one takes into account discouraged workers and part-time workers wanting a full-time position, nearly one sixth of the workforce is underutilized. Yet, a jobs program has never been on lawmakers’ agenda. Instead, the trend has been to slash benefits at a time of heightened need, while simultaneously calling for more tax cuts for the wealthy. Deficits have handed the right wing a cudgel to impose their will and discipline workers. President Obama needed no votes from Congress had he been willing to simply let the Bush tax cuts expire. By insisting on an unwinnable partial continuation of the tax cuts, Obama ensured that the entire package would remain in effect. At a time when the recession has caused a plunge in tax revenue, starving the government of funds when they are most needed is exacting a toll on the well being of the population, and opened the door for slashing benefits. Continuation of the Bush tax cuts through the year 2020 will contribute $3.3 trillion toward the national debt. This is money that would be better utilized in providing much needed social services and launching a real jobs program, assuming of course, the political will to do so - which has been noticeably lacking. Add in the fact that the Bush Administration’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were mostly run on borrowed funds to the tune of $1.2 trillion. Take into consideration associated costs, and the total

Class war without mercy

price tag on the Iraq and Afghan wars rises to at least $3.2 trillion. What we get instead of a responsible and progressive tax policy or trimming of the defense budget is the steady drumbeat of debt panic, with loud demands to cut social services, shrink pensions and pay, and, oddly enough, provide additional tax reductions for the well-to-do. This debt panic has become the driving argument for a ferocious assault on workers. Current policies already in place ensure that workers are being bypassed in the economic recovery. Over the course of the two year recovery, worker salaries have shown a slight decline. Meanwhile, median compensation for CEOs ballooned 27 percent in 2010 alone, rising to a cool $9 million. Before-tax corporate profits fared even better, growing by nearly 37 percent in 2010 and maintaining their pace with an additional nine percent growth in the first quarter of 2011. Indeed, so

one-sided has the recovery been that corporate profits account for 92 percent of the growth in national income since the beginning of the recovery. But despite enforced speedup, benefit cuts, and downward pressures on wages, US firms continue to export jobs abroad. Why pay a US worker a piddling $8 an hour, when you can get someone in Indonesia, for instance, to do the same job at 50 cents an hour? In the decade leading up through 2009, US multinational corporations slashed 2.9 million domestic jobs. At the same time, they added 2.4 million employees abroad. This figure represents direct hires only, and does not take into account subcontracting to foreign films, which is typically the means used for moving one’s manufacturing to sweatshops. The right-wing philosophy is profoundly anti-government. In their eyes, the only proper function of government is to serve the wealthy and devise new ways

of allowing the well-to-do to further enrich themselves. Unceasing efforts are made to convince the public that all other governmental functions are essentially illegitimate and should be reduced or abolished. The only other pressing task of the moment is how to provide additional tax cuts for U.S. corporations, even though two thirds of corporations now pay zero Federal income taxes, and most Fortune 500 companies pay a lower percentage of earnings in Federal taxes than do ordinary workers. Americans are told that excessive taxation is all that stands in the way of job creation. Unleash the power of the market by reducing the corporate tax rate, goes the refrain. Yet corporations are already sitting atop a pile of $1.9 trillion in cash reserves, which they are holding onto as a hedge against economic instability. Adding another trillion or so to that stack is not going to encourage a manufacturing plant to ramp up production

when consumers are being hammered so hard that there are not enough buyers for the goods that are already on the market. There is worse to come. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives will continue to push President Obama to the right. Corporate lobbyists are besieging Washington in droves, all pushing the same proposals. And right wing think tanks are operating in overdrive, churning out policy recommendations that receive serious attention on Capitol Hill to an alarming degree. These efforts largely determine the limits of discourse and the issues that are felt to merit attention. As a result, workers’ concerns are left out in the cold, with only the corporate agenda on the table. The corporate world is aggressively pushing its agenda. US workers should be no less militant in defending their rights. - Gregory Elich Gregory Elich is on the Board of Directors of the Jasenovac Research Institute. He is the author of the book Strange Liberators: Militarism, Mayhem, and the Pursuit of Profit.