Campaigns launched for December elections With dozens of rallies and demonstrations across the country, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) officially kicked off its campaign efforts last Saturday for the more than 300 mayoral races that will take place in the South American nation on December 8. The municipal contests will be the fourth round of elections to take place in Venezuela over the past 14 months. Pg. 3
Analysis
Opinion
Social movements defend economic measures in Venezuela page 7
On the warpath in Venezuela page 8
Friday, November 22, 2013 | Nº 184 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas
President Maduro granted special powers to fight corruption, economic sabotage
Argentine President recovers
In a move designed to combat corruption and price speculation in the South American nation, the Venezuelan congress voted last Thursday to grant President Nicolas Maduro decree powers in compliance with the country's constitution. By a vote of 99 to 60, the National Assembly approved the measure, which was enacted following a second round of heated discussions on Tuesday. Tuesday’s final vote approval in the National Assembly was accompanied by a mass rally of government supporters in the streets who subsequently marched to the presidential palace to bring the new law to President Maduro. Page 2
Social Justice
10 years of continuing education Venezuela celebrates 10th Anniversary of Mission Ribas, a continuing high school program. P.5 Interview
Building communes An interview with grassroots leader from the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front. P.6
Enabling law marks construction of Venezuela’s future T/ AVN
Politics
Cristina Fernandez returned to office after health issues forced her to rest for over a month. P.4
INTERNATIONAL
Venezuela’s Canaima “irreplaceable” T/ CDO
There are countless places of natural wonder in the world, many of which are unique and irreplaceable. A recent scientific study, published this week in Science magazine and National Geographic, highlighted some of the places which are critical for the survival of the most threatened mammals, birds amphibians on Earth. For inclusion on the list of “irreplaceable” areas, a key factor was the potential for species loss as a consequence of a failure to take measures for environmental protection. Among the most important sites listed by the study are:
Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, with 39 endemic species; Canaima National Park in Venezuela, known for its mesa-like mountains, called tepuis, with 13 uni-
que amphibian species; and the Atsinanana rainforest in Madagascar, which has between 80% and 90% of the country’s endemic animal species.
“Today, November 19, 2013, is a historic day because it marks the beginning of a new offensive in the construction of an independent nation, a nation for our children, the nation of the future”, said Nicolas Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, from Miraflores Palace in Caracas. On Tuesday, following a march in support of the Enabling Law from the National Assembly to Miraflores Palace, supporters and legislators handed the law over to the President. It had earlier been approved by the legislature following a mandatory second debate. The Enabling Law allows the President to issue decrees with the rank and force of law on matters relating to the country’s needs. In this case, new laws will focus on fighting corruption and economic sabotage. “Mission accomplished, Commander Hugo Chavez. In your name, as President of the Republic, I sign this Enabling Law. Chavez lives, the nation persists”, Maduro said on receiving the law. After signing it, the President indicated that the government aims to launch a “staggering offensive to fight corruption in January 2014”. He also stressed that the Enabling Law will spur the development of a new socialist ethic and a new civic morality. “Rest assured that no matter what the enemies of the nation do, we will have peace here. Peace and more peace for the family that is Venezuela. Tranquility, work, life and prosperity. They will never again disturb the country’s peace and livelihood”, Maduro sustained.
2 Impact | . s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuelan President granted decree powers to fight speculation, usury T/ COI P/ Presidential Press
I
n a move designed to combat corruption and price speculation in the South American nation, the Venezuelan congress voted last Thursday to grant President Nicolas Maduro decree powers in compliance with the country’s constitution. By a vote of 99 to 60, the National Assembly approved the measure, which was enacted following a second round of heated discussions on Tuesday. “99 represents the Venezuelan people and the revolutionaries who support the Enabling Law that has been requested by our President”, said socialist congressman Ricardo Sanguino in a press conference after the vote. Tuesday’s final vote approval in the National Assembly was accompanied by a mass rally of government supporters in the streets who subsequently marched to the presidential palace to bring the new law to President Maduro. The Venezuelan head of state signed the law, formalizing its validity, during a national television broadcast from the Miraflores palace. Article 203 of the Venezuelan constitution allows for the country’s unicameral legislature to provide the executive with the power of decree under what is called the nation’s Enabling Law. The legal mechanism has been used by various presidents throughout Venezuela’s history and was employed on various occasions by the late Hugo Chavez in order to accelerate the implementation of benefit programs and avoid bureaucratic delays in the application of social reforms. To grant the special powers, there must be a twothirds majority in the National Assembly. “We have abided by what is required by our constitution which stipulates that an Enabling Law must be approved by two-thirds of the representatives of this parliament. It’s a victory for the people!” exclaimed National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello on Tuesday.
A WEAPON FOR THE ECONOMIC WAR President Maduro solicited the decree power to fight corruption and advance the government’s offensive against usury and price speculation in the country. This includes, the head of state has informed, decreeing a law that will combat excessive price hikes on imported goods by limiting the profits of large firms to between 15 and 30 percent. “The perverse, thieving vestiges of the parasitic bourgeoisie must come to an end. Our model is not that of capitalism but it includes different types of activities. The control of profits represents a key element [in our strategy]”, the Venezuelan president said last Friday. Maduro’s comments follow more than a week of intense government activity that has seen the Venezuelan state intervene in retail outlets across the country to put an end to price gouging. The exorbitant charges have resulted from the manipulation of the government’s foreign exchange commission, Cadivi, which provides retailers with US dollars at a preferential rate. Importers who receive the foreign currency have subse-
a range of common household items. In a branch outlet of the home improve chain EPA in Caracas, a team of government inspectors were able to guarantee a reduction in costs of between 30 and 70 percent. “A hammer was priced at 229 bolivars ($36). Today, the fair price is 114 bolivars ($18). A set of screwdrivers was changed from 339 bolivars ($53) to 169 bolivars ($26). A power saw was reduced from 9,795 bolivars ($1,554) to 2,938 bolivars ($466) and sets of Christmas lights is now at 37 bolivars ($5) when it was 159 bolivars ($30) before”, explained Herbert Garcias, Director of the presidential commission charged with price adjusting. Not all outlets, however, have needed government inspectors to comply with regulations. Hector Rodriguez, Vice President for Social Affairs, reported that a branch outlet of the EPA retailer had voluntarily cooperated with the Venezuelan government’s policy of maintaining prices accessible for the nation’s population. “We selected 66 products randomly and with each one of them, we’ve been able to verify that the company has followed the regulations put in place by the government. This business is an example for the rest”, Rodriguez said.
PROTECTING SMALL BUSINESSES
quently sold their products at prices that in some cases have topped more than a thousand percent profit. “Prices have been inflated with shameless and abusive profit margins. We’re going to establish fair prices. We’re already taking the steps but we need to complete the work. We’re showing how the prices are coming down. This seemed like something impossible [in Venezuela]. It was like a curse”, the head of state said of artificially-induced inflation in the OPEC member state. Fighting what he has called “an economic war” perpetrated by the nation’s right-wing, Maduro has created a presidential commission to investigate cases
of usury and enforce the lowering of prices wherever speculation is found. “Now is not the time to ease up. It’s the time to tighten the offensive and we’re going to get to the bottom of this. We have to get to the heart of this economic war for all of Venezuela”, the former union leader said.
INSPECTIONS CONTINUE On Sunday, Vice President Jorge Arreaza informed that a number of government interventions in Venezuelan big box outlets continued over the weekend. Various hardware and department stores were the subject of investigations that revealed exaggerated pricing on
The Maduro administration has focused its efforts on identifying fraudulent suppliers and middlemen who control a lion’s share of the distribution chain of imported products. At the same time, the socialist government has stressed the importance of protecting small and medium-sized companies from predatory business practices. For this reason, the Venezuelan government is calling upon business owners to enroll in a new registry that will assist local firms in uncovering exaggerated pricing while providing incentives to maintain products available for residents. Vice President Arreaza explained on Sunday that the database would be critical in ensuring that honest business owners are able to “continue with their commercial activity”. The point, he affirmed, is to create a mechanism that will ensure “that retailers have access to financing” and that “the suppliers don’t cheat them when they give them products at prices already inflated from the beginning of the [distribution] chain”.
. s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela’s socialists take to the streets for campaign launch
T/ COI P/ Agencies
W
ith dozens of rallies and demonstrations across the country, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) officially kicked off its campaign efforts last Saturday for the more than 300 mayoral races that will take place in the South American nation on December 8.
“Today, the electoral campaign that will lead us to a decisive victory in order to continue building Bolivarian Socialism gets underway. It’s the final stretch for December’s elections and we can’t be complacent or careless”, said the governor of Barinas state Adan Chavez during a launching event. The municipal contests will be the fourth round of elections
to take place in Venezuela over the past 14 months. During the rallies, members of the PSUV expressed their confidence of victory in key urban battlegrounds including Maracaibo, the capital of the state of Zulia and the second most populated city in the country. “We’re very close to a historic triumph in Maracaibo”, assert-
| Politics
3
ed candidate Miguel Perez Pirela who, according to polls, leads his conservative opponent by a margin of at least 5 points in the opposition controlled city. “We’re going to win. There is a safe, clean and just Maracaibo coming. It is the Maracaibo for which residents have been waiting for a long time”, Perez Pirela said. The upcoming mayoral and municipal councilmember elections represent an important test for the socialist camp, which, after losing the charismatic Hugo Chavez to cancer in March, have been working to maintain the political dominance that they have exercised over the opposition for the past 14 years. Policies enacted by current President Nicolas Maduro, who has embarked on a series of new initiatives aimed at halting the economic challenges that have beset the Caribbean country, figure to be important campaign issues. By combating price speculation and hoarding, the socialist government has been able to guarantee access to basic commodities for residents and ensure the availability of consumer goods during the holiday season. The measures have resonated with a population that
has been subjected to irrational price hikes and usurious business practices in recent months. Other urban renewal projects being set in motion by the Maduro administration, such as the social program Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor, will also be important organizing platforms for the PSUV. On Sunday, Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez spoke of the need to reach out all residents of the capital in order to continue fostering a government directed by the people. “We’re visiting every neighborhood, all of the working class areas, and all the sectors of Caracas street by street in order to govern with the people”, Rodriguez explained during a door-to-door canvass on Sunday. The mayor made reference to the progress that the capital has seen as a result of the policies initiated by the late Hugo Chavez, but stressed the need to deepen Venezuela’s socialist revolution with a victory on December 8. “It’s about the rebirth of hope in the people of Caracas and the construction of the future... Chavez did a lot for the people of Caracas and President Maduro is doing a lot, but more needs to be done”, Rodriguez said.
ing a meeting with community spokespeople on Saturday. During his address, the head of state spoke of the significance that the communes hold in the construction of a new society and he encouraged grassroots activists to submit ideas to the national government for the funding of productive initiatives. "I want to receive every project and develop our productive economy. You all know how we can make our economy more dynamic. I am proposing urban agriculture, textile and shoe manufacturing. We either build a powerful economy with
a productive base or there will be no socialism", Maduro said. The Venezuelan President delegated three tasks for the communal movement to complete in order to advance the effectiveness of the organizations at the local level. These include taking up the fight to improve security and combat violence in the country's neighborhoods, participating in the work of the government's urban renewal measures, and boosting economic activity. "You are the vanguard. Without the communes, there wouldn't be a new Venezuela", Maduro said.
Venezuela’s communal movement gathers in Caracas to advance local socialism T/ COI P/ Presidential Press
M
ore than 5,000 community leaders and grassroots activists participated in a national gathering in Caracas last weekend to discuss the direction of Venezuela's communal movement, make available products produced at the local level, and brainstorm strategies to deepen the country's socialist revolution. The First National Encounter of Commune Members took place in different parts of the Venezuelan capital and featured an economic fair on Saturday that showcased the different productive enterprises that have been spearheaded by communities around the country. On sale were more than 250 tons of agricultural goods as well as textiles and handicrafts. "Here we are without any middlemen. From the women who do the sewing directly to the consumer who will buy this sweater that has been made by the community", said Jose Lugo,
a communal spokesperson and vender from the Caracas neighborhood of 23 de Enero. The products were offered with prices far below normal commercial venues where multi-layered distribution networks have meant higher prices for residents. "I've got squash for 5 bolivars ($.80) a kilogram. 3 kilos of cassava for 20 bolivars ($3.17) and whipped cream for 30 bolivars ($4.76) so you can't tell me that I'm not giving you a deal. All of this comes from my own parcel of land", remarked Juan Dominguez from the Andean state of Merida. "This is the real price that things could be sold at if there were no middlemen", the farmer added. Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Arreaza was in attendance for the fair and drew attention to the importance of communitydriven economic endeavors as a way to fight price speculation and hoarding in the country. "While some are busy speculating and robbing, we're giving
power to the people", Arreaza affirmed. "We're going to work with the people to build a new socialist model of production", the Vice President added.
COMMUNES AT THE VANGUARD Originally devised by the late Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's communes have been a key part of the national government's policy of empowering local neighborhoods and jumpstarting productive economic endeavors. Conceived as umbrella structures for the nation's grassroots community councils, the communes are meant to provide direct financing from the Executive while acting as the organizational base for progressive reforms at the regional level. "Without the communes, everything would come to an end. They are the epicenters of human life and for life in socialism. That's why we need to recognize the depth of the concepts that Chavez left to us", said President Nicolas Maduro dur-
4 Politics | . s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Argentine President Cristina Fernandez returns after operation T/ Ewan Robertson P/ Agencies
A
rgentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner retook the reins of power on Monday after a health-provoked absence of over a month. Fernandez underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot on October 8th. Her medical team will continue to monitor her health, and she will undergo new tests in December. In a video recorded by her daughter Florencia Kirchner, the Argentine head of state spoke to the public for the first time since her operation and thanked all those who had supported her and wished her well during her illness. She also said she had passed through a “difficult moment” with her health in recent weeks. Cristina Fernandez, 60, has governed Argentina since 2007. She is considered part of the continent’s wave of progressive leaders, whose policies aim to benefit the poor and middle class. Under her administration the state has played a greater role in the economy, nationalizing energy company YPF, the main airline, and the private pension
BACK TO WORK
system. Meanwhile her media democratization law seeks to break up large corporate media monopolies.
SOLIDARITY GIFT During both the terms of Cristina Fernandez and late president Nestor Kirchner, who was Fernandez’s husband, Argentina has experienced good relations with Venezuela’s Bolivarian revolution, with both leaders also holding a warm personal
Opposition representatives accused of illegal activities T/ Paul Dobson
A
s part of the recent intensification of the fight against sectors responsible for illegal speculation, hoarding, conspiring, and the economic war in the country, public attention was drawn to four prominent cases this week, with two right wing figures accused of fleeing the Venezuelan justice system, another of sending a hit squad to “silence” a councilmember, and an arrest warrant submitted to Interpol for a fourth. Miguel Cocchiola is the Mayoral candidate for the opposition alliance (MUD) in the Municipality of Valencia, Carabobo State. He is currently a legislator in the National As-
“He fought alongside Bolivar and attacked the Spanish along with their horses, and they struck him [Nevado] down with a lance in the historic battle of Carabobo (1821), which was the battle that effectively liberated the continent”, she said. As such, Fernandez said the dog was a “very special gift” due to the connection with Hugo and Adan Chavez.
sembly, as well as owner of the largest private wood processing company in the country (Imeca). On the very day that his company was investigated by the public authorities for irregularities, Cocchiola suspiciously left the country by private jet to Curacao, later to arrive into Miami. The National Guard and District Attorneys’ Offices found evidence of 1000% price hikes, hoarding of goods, and are requesting answers regarding the paperwork seized which suggests currency scams. “The proof is there- a firm which is stealing from the Venezuelans”, stated President Maduro in reference to Imeca. “An investigation has been opened, he (Cocchiola) should go to the
relationship with late Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. In her video on Monday President Fernandez personally thanked solidarity from Venezuela during her recovery. She said that Hugo Chavez’s brother Adan, who is a state governor in Venezuela, had travelled to Argentina to give her a Mucuchies dog as a present. Showing the puppy to the camera, she said, “This is the dog Hugo Chavez had promised
me he was going to give me, it’s the national dog of Venezuela… Why? It’s a special breed raised in Venezuela that accompanied [19th century independence general] Simon Bolivar in all his battles”. Fernandez explained to viewers how Simon Bolivar, who liberated much of South America from Spanish rule in the early 19th century, was accompanied by a Mucuchies dog called Nevado in his battles.
Public Prosecutors Office, but he has fled the country…” Absent at his own campaign launch, Cocchiola described his start of campaign as “excellent” and “incredible” from his location in Miami.
BANKER’S PROPERTY SEIZED
ARREST WARRANT FOR CAPRILES ADVISOR Prominent self-exiled opposition spin master, Juan Jose Rendon, is sought by Interpol following the opening of an investigation by the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office into accusations that he sexually violated a woman. Rendon is frequently cited as the brains behind the opposition’s communications and electoral campaigns, and he is considered an expert in media spin and psychological manipulation. He is a political advisor of opposition leader Henrique Capriles and of ex-Colombian President Uribe.
Representatives of the people, led by Legislative Council Deputy Jose Felix Valera and the Communal Council of the sector peacefully seized the vacant property of Oscar Garcia Mendoza this week, a prominent banker and opposition financier, amid accusations of conspiracy, illegal monetary exchanges, and drug connections. “The banker isn’t in Venezuela”, explained Valera, speaking from the property. “Apparently he is fleeing the Venezuelan justice system”. The corresponding authorities, including the District Attorneys’ Office and the Bolivarian Intelligence Agency (Sebin), have opened an investigation.
COUNCILMEMBER ATTACKED BY MAYOR Councilmember Gloria Torcat accused opposition mayor
The Argentine President declared that she would now get back to work “at once”, and was expected to formally return to the presidential seat on Wednesday. On Monday, Cristina Fernandez had already announced a cabinet reshuffle, naming a new cabinet chief, central bank president, and new ministers of the economy and agriculture. Her return to power coincides with an increase of her approval rating to 39.4% according to pollsters Gonzales & Valladeres, seven points higher than two months ago. She was reelected with 54% of the vote in 2011. Her popularity had suffered a mid-term dip, in part due to a higher than hoped for inflation rate, at 10.5% in May. Nevertheless her ruling coalition led by her political party, the Front for Victory (FPV), managed to retain majority control of the congress in legislative elections on 27 October. The FPV was also the party, which won the most overall votes, although opposition forces made gains in some districts such as Buenos Aires.
of Arismendi Municipality, Nueva Esparta State, of ordering a hit squad to “silence” her this week after she was attacked and beaten by 2 men following a heated conversation in which she voiced her disapproval of the mayor’s policies. “I felt the first hit which was aimed at my face”, she explained to reporters. “When I turned over, they hit my mouth and face some more. While they beat me they said obscene things and told me that I had to learn to shut up”. The opposition councilmember, who is the widow of one of the founders of Capriles’ Primera Justicia Party in the region, the Party to which mayor Richard Fermin belongs, further announced that “I withdraw from the opposition alliance and I join the campaign of (pro-government) candidate Luis Diaz”.
. s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
University students to receive Canaima tablets and benefit from free WIFI zones T/ Paul Dobson
T
he Venezuelan Ministry for University Education made various announcements this week, including the unveiling of more than 200,000 new books to be used to modernize 400 university libraries around the country. The books, which have been imported by the government, form part of a project by the Ministry to update the libraries to include digital books, subscriptions to journals, and a central database. Minister Calzadilla explained that by centrally coordinating such programs, private, public, and autonomous universities can all benefit. “By doing this centrally”, he stated, “we can get better prices and evade the issue of price speculation in books”. The Minister, who spoke at the launch of the yearly University Book Fair in Caracas, underlined the importance of literature to the technological, educational, and intellectual development of the nation. “Universities are one of the best spaces for the expression of knowledge, and a good part of this knowledge goes through books. These study houses are potential editing houses too, and often their productions aren’t well known”, he proclaimed. The Minister also commented on the progress being made in the ‘University Canaima’ program, which was initiated by President Maduro in recent months. The program looks to widen the massively successful Canaima program that manufactures specialized laptops that are given for free to school age children in the public educational system as part of the efforts to eradicate technological illiteracy. The University Canaima program will “develop a plan of production and distribution of tablet computers to university students”, explained Calzadilla. From
2014, the government will start to produce and distribute more than 2.5 million tablet computers to university students. Similarly, he explained that advances are being made in the project to create free WIFI zones in all of the university campuses in the country by the end of the year. Currently, there are 3 set up, including the Bolivarian University in Caracas, but soon the program will be widened to other universities. “We are in the phase of technological feasibility and the elaboration of the itinerary”, affirmed Calzadilla. The Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation, Manuel Fernandez, who is working alongside the Ministry for University Education and the Ministry for Industry in this project, explained that it will not just be of benefit to the students, but to all involved in the university sector: the objective “is that each student, worker, or professor can access the internet from their cell phone, tablet, laptop, or whatever technological tool they use”. Finally, Minister Calzadilla declared that he has called a meeting of the University Education Ministers of Mercosur countries this week, which will be held in Caracas. “We offer our welcome to our brothers and sisters who have come from Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and also to the representatives from Colombia and Chile who will assist as invited members”. The Maduro administration has held various such topic-specific meetings in recent weeks with Mercosur countries, including the respective ministries for Equality of Gender and the respective police forces. They form part of a policy of integration by the Venezuelan President that looks to predominantly strengthen the potential of Latin American trade and exchange.
| Social Justice
5
Venezuela celebrates 10th anniversary of Mission Ribas
T/ Ryan Mallett-Outtrim P/ Agencies
A
fter providing remedial high school education to more than 800,000 Venezuelans in a decade, the tenth anniversary of Mission Ribas was celebrated across Venezuela on Sunday. “Mission Ribas, 10 years giving light and values to the people to achieve supreme happiness for everyone, in socialism”, President Nicolas Maduro tweeted. “With our [Hugo] Chavez, founder of the congratulated missions, together we will continue to overcome on the path of revolution”, Maduro stated in a second tweet. On Sunday, thousands of people attended a celebration of the mission’s 10th year of operation in barrio 23 de Enero in Caracas, led by energy and petroleum minister Rafael Ramirez. According to the minister, the mission is one of the most organized and militant government initiatives in the country. “Mission Ribas serves the heart of the revolution, the human being. It’s a land for solidarity, brotherhood and the building of socialism”, Ramirez told the crowd. “The missions are the people, not the oligarchy- they are unbeatable, they are the revolution, they are Chavez”, he stated. “Thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution, millions of Venezuelans have the opportunity to continue their studies”, head of the Mission Ribas Foundation
Orlando Ortegano said last Friday during an interview with state broadcaster VTV. “In these first 10 years, the Mission Ribas has not only granted... degrees but these Venezuelan [students have] been able to seek a better life. That is the most substantial change observed today, after graduating from the Mission Ribas”, he said. “Once you have graduated from high school with a formal education, not only do you have a technical degree and capacity to work, but now also play an important role and are a protagonist in your own community”, Ortegano said.
TEN YEARS OF RIBAS Named after the Venezuelan 19th Century independence leader Jose Felix Ribas, the mission was launched on 17 November 2003 as the third level of remedial education for Venezuelan youths and adults. The first stage, Mission Robinson, was launched in July that year, with a mandate limited to providing basic literacy classes. It has now provided classes to over 1,700,000 Venezuelans, according to government figures. Robinson II followed, offering free remedial primary school education. Around 790,000 students have now graduated from Robinson II; 94801 of which have gone on to undertake high school education through Ribas. In June 2005, the first cohort of 20,686 Ribas graduates were congratulated by then
President Hugo Chavez, who described the changes taking place in Venezuela’s education system as “unprecedented”. He also labeled the conventional capitalist education model as “venom”. In 1998, 5 million Venezuelans had been deprived of a high school education, according to the government. “The capitalist system that reigned here for many years converted almost all the universities into schools for the strengthening of this model”, he said. “They formed generations of mentally deranged people... without a sense of social consciousness and the university system became more elite and was taken over”, Chavez stated. Since then, 167793 of the roughly 800,000 Ribas graduates have gone on to study with Mission Sucre, which offers free tertiary education courses. As of 2011, 560,000 Venezuelans had undertaken courses with Sucre, and 140,000 had already graduated. Chavez pledged to deepen government investment in education; something with his successor, Maduro has likewise affirmed he will continue. Between 1998 and 2012, the percentage of Venezuela’s GDP devoted to education almost doubled; increasing from around 3.9% to 7%. In recent years Venezuela has boasted one of the highest rates of literacy and enrollment in higher education in Latin America.
6 Interview | . s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
Duilliam Virigay, spokesman of the FNCSB
“Building communes isn’t just about defending the Revolution, it’s about moving forward” T/ COI P/ Agencies
L
ast week, as hundreds of community activists gathered in downtown Caracas to demonstrate their steadfast support for the socialist policies of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, he reiterated once again that, “Venezuela’s communes must be consolidated if we are to truly carry out the program elaborated by our leader, Hugo Chavez”. Duilliam Virigay agrees. National Spokesman of the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB), he was in Caracas last week to participate in the national assembly of the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Current (CRBZ), a social movement dedicated to pushing the Bolivarian Revolution forward. In this interview, he describes the interesting yet difficult challenges faced by Venezuela’s radical experiment with participatory democracy. –How did the FNCSB first come together? –Before the FNCSB came to be, our people were actively involved in building the Ezequiel Zamora National Campesino Front (FNCEZ). In 1998 and 1999, the FNCEZ was working with rural people in the struggle for agrarian reform. This struggle for land was extremely violent, with the Venezuelan oligarchy, the landed elite, murdering over 300 rural leaders. As the FNCEZ consolidated itself and became strong, we identified the need to build other organizations that could attend to the needs of other sectors of society. In 2005, we brought together some 350 communal councils in the first constituent assembly of the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB). Thanks to the grassroots organizing we had been doing for years, we were able to mobilize active leaders of these communal councils and form what is today the FNSCB. –Why did you, as a social movement, decide to prioritize the formation of communes? –All we did was to follow through with the vision outlined by President Chavez, a vision that proposed we re-found the Republic, re-found it from below,
from the neighborhoods, from the countryside. Chavez understood the need to build a new and revolutionary institutionalism from deep within the roots of Venezuelan society. To do this, Chavez proposed the consolidation of neighborhood-based communal councils, the joining of these councils into communes, joining these into communal cities, and so on. That is Chavez’s proposal for dismantling the bourgeois and oligarchical state that exists in Venezuela today, and that is why we’ve prioritized the communes. We began our communal work in the state of Apure, a very difficult area to do grassroots organizing because of thefts, contraband, irregular forces that exist along the border (with Colombia), paramilitaries, and assassinations carried out by local elites. There in Apure we got started. The first thing we did was to bring together 39 communal councils and form eight communes. Once that was accomplished, we formed the country’s first communal city, now known as the Simon Bolivar Socialist Campesino Communal City (CCCS-SB). It wasn’t easy, but we’ve made real progress since then. We’ve built communes and communal cities using nothing more than hard work, dedication, and our philosophy
of organizing, educating, and mobilizing. We’ve helped build the consciousness necessary to bring people together. Today, and I say it with all humility, the CCCS-SB is the best example of social organization that exists in Venezuela. Of the 420 communes that are formally registered with the Ministry of Communes and Social Movements, 269 are communes that the FNCSB organized. That’s 60%. Building communes isn’t just about defending the Revolution, it’s also about moving forward, being on the offensive. What we propose, as the CRBZ, is a nationwide strategic counteroffensive against the right. We want government policies to be implemented all across the nation. Policies that aren’t put into practice everywhere are policies that remain incomplete. That’s also why Chavez proposed the communes – so that policies turn into concrete actions in every corner of the country. –Private media in Venezuela and abroad tend to demonize the communes. Why do you think that is? –The communes pose a real threat to the Venezuelan opposition. Not only to the Venezuelan opposition but also to the rightwing all over Latin America and to US imperialism, to capitalism on the whole. The fear they have
is that we Venezuelans, we in the Bolivarian Revolution, have up until now been playing the game of bourgeois democracy. To build communes is to force the Venezuelan right, the continental right, and imperialism, into a terrain that they don’t control. That’s the real danger the communes pose and that’s where their fear comes from – if our Revolution advances in the construction of the communes, in building our new institutionalism, we will have broken with the limitations imposed on us by bourgeois society. –Any thoughts for readers living outside of Venezuela? –For all those who look to Venezuela from a distance, through a computer or television screen, or perhaps through the opinion of a journalist in their country, all I can tell them is that this Revolution is being made by, for, and of the people. President Chavez sowed a deep patriotic spirit in people that didn’t exist here before. He taught us to value ourselves, to care for one another. He taught us to understand that the problem of the other is our problem, that the problems of others are the problem of the republic. In Venezuela we had extreme poverty. We were a nation rich in mineral resources, in oil, water and biodiversity, but we
were also a nation in which those riches were exported off to the so-called “developed” world. Now we understand that these riches belong to the entire nation, that we have the responsibility to manage them well so that they reach the greatest number of people, the poorest people first, to the most humble in Venezuela as well as in other nations where people have real needs. The majority of Venezuelans, those who vote for the Chavez platform, for socialism, those who keep the Revolution going, believe strongly in this struggle. Sure, we have difficulties. We have delinquency, we have corruption, and we have many other problems that we inherited from the capitalism that came before us. Those who want to come and see Venezuela should do so. They should come to Venezuela, visit a neighborhood, visit the countryside, visit a commune. They’ll see how we’re solving our social problems. We invite all people to come and see our country, but we also invite people to make an effort in their home countries to build concrete alternatives to capitalism. Their alternatives need not be the Venezuelan alternative. Instead, they should be the alternatives allowed for by the conditions in each country.
. s Friday, November 22, 2013
The artillery of ideas
| Analysis
7
Women and Gender Equality Andreina Tarazon. Congratulating the organizers “for creating a space in which action and analysis come together among grassroots activists, between the people and their government”, Tarazon added that “President Nicolas Maduro has every intention of moving the Revolution forward, and to do so he needs the help of people like you, community leaders united in defense of socialism at the local, regional, and national levels”.
THE COUNTEROFFENSIVE
Grassroots social movements defend new economic measures T/ COI P/ Agencies
I
n a clear demonstration of popular support for Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s recent economic measures, last week over 800 delegates of the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Current (CRBZ) converged on central Caracas. Traveling from 18 of the country’s 23 states, the community activists called for a “popular and revolutionary counteroffensive” in response to “the opposition’s economic war against the Venezuelan people”. Joined by top-ranking officials of the Maduro administration as well as national spokesmen of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the organizers called for “direct action” in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution.
ON THE OFFENSIVE In the context of outrageous price increases, an orchestrated hoarding of basic goods, and an ongoing media campaign against the national government, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week launched a nationwide offensive against usury and price gauging by what he called “unscrupulous business owners” involved in an “economic war against working people”. Days later, with over 1,500 retail
outlets inspected, thousands of goods re-priced, and dozens of store owners arrested, Maduro affirmed that these actions are “just the tip of the iceberg of what we plan to do to protect the Venezuelan people”. In response to these measures, hundreds of activists from the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Current (CRBZ) gathered in downtown Caracas to ratify their commitment to “act in steadfast defense of the Revolution”. The CRBZ, one of the country’s largest and bestorganized grassroots social movements, is an umbrella organization that includes, among others, the Ezequiel Zamora National Campesino Front (FNCEZ) – a rural social movement and member of La Via Campesina International – and the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB) – responsible for successfully organizing over 250 communes. “Our enemy’s objective is to put the brakes on Bolivarian Socialism”, said Orlando Zambrano, PSUV lawmaker and national spokesman of the CRBZ. “The opposition is using economic warfare in an attempt to convince society that our socialism is incapable of meeting people’s needs”, he explained. “Inefficiency, bureaucracy, and corruption are being presented as somehow inherent to socialism, when what is in fact
taking place is a systematic attack on the Venezuelan people, with disastrous daily effects that hit the most popular sectors of society the hardest”. “The opposition knows”, Zambrano said, “that they must rid themselves of the Maduro administration before it’s too late, before he has time to fulfill the commitments he made to Chavez and to the Venezuelan people”. “For this reason”, he added, “they are using their control of the economy to influence the December 8th municipal elections. They want people to vote against socialist candidates so that they can use the results as a plebiscite against Maduro”. Early next month, Venezuelans will elect 337 mayors and 2,455 city council members into local office for the 2013-2017 period. The election is the first to be held since President Maduro defeated opposition hopefully Henrique Capriles Radonski in the unexpected April 2013 president elections. According to Zambrano, Venezuela’s social movements “must take to the streets, help get out the vote, and continue to strengthen the Revolution’s capacity to defeat the opposition whenever and wherever we meet”. The socialist lawmaker also explained that the CRBZ is currently working with allied
social movements to develop a plan of action that includes the formation of grassroots “committees for the defense of the economy” – a proposal made by Maduro – as well as a nationwide campaign of occupations targeting stores and warehouses with known links to the “economic war against the people”.
WAR OF ATTRITION In the words of Jesus Farias, one of the leading spokesmen of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) present at the CRBZ assembly, “the strategy of the US-backed opposition is simple – attrition”. “They want to generate discomfort in the population, they want to provoke protests, disturbances, and looting”, he said, “all with the aim of bringing down the government”. “What Maduro needs most”, Farias affirmed, “are the people, organized”. “This grassroots national assembly, held in the heart of Caracas, is proof of the great advances being made by the Venezuelan people and their popular organizations. Social movements such as the CRBZ have a fundamental role to play in moving forward the socialist platform that Chavez proposed, the same platform Maduro is now looking to implement”. Also present at the assembly was Venezuelan Minister for
According to CRBZ organizers, “the Bolivarian Revolution currently finds itself in what may possibly be its most difficult, fateful, and dangerous days. It is living through a period in which it is permanently forced to be on the strategic defensive, a situation that must be reversed and transformed into concrete initiatives that radicalize the form and content of the Revolution so as to carry out the program left behind by Commander Hugo Chavez Frias”. Eduardo Saman, President of the Venezuelan Institute for the Defense of People’s Access to Goods and Services (INDEPABIS), declared, “the new economic measures announced by President Maduro mark a milestone”. Joining those gathered for the CRBZ assembly, Saman also affirmed, “the Venezuelan people, their socialist government, and the country’s armed forces are now working together to regulate the national economy”. “In order for this to work”, he explained, “people must be organized and, equally important, mobilized”. “There is a war being carried out by private business interests”, he said. “The opposition, which still controls the majority of the national economy, is financing its campaigns by overpricing goods and hitting people where it hurts, in the pocketbook. They exploit us at the workplace, and they exploit us in the marketplace, only to use their privilege against us on Election Day”. “The Venezuelan people, our socialist majority, must be aware of what’s going on, must take to the streets whenever necessary”. “Social movements play a fundamental role in this process”, he concluded, “without them the Revolution can not defend itself fully”.
Friday, November 22, 2013 | Nº 184 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
INTERNATIONAL
! PUBLICATION OF THE &UNDACION #ORREO DEL /RINOCO s Editor-in-Chief %VA 'OLINGER s Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera - Audra Ramones
Opinion
On the Warpath in Venezuela T/ W.T. Whitney Jr. W.T. Whitney Jr. is a retired pediatrician and political journalist living in Maine.
N
icolas Maduro won Venezuela’s presidential election in April by a slim margin, a result still unrecognized by the US government. Opposition demonstrations quickly spread, killing 13 people. Now his government faces municipal elections on December 8, and engineered social turmoil has returned. Although polls have been favorable, the confidence marking election campaigns under predecessor Hugo Chavez, now dead, is gone. Opposition forces have used destabilization to cast both the Chavez and Maduro governments as dysfunctional. Powerful forces inside and outside Venezuela targeted the Chavez – led Bolivarian movement because of its decisive role in promoting continent-wide unity and social justice. The US government is widely believed to have encouraged the unsuccessful right wing coup of 2002 and subsequent disruption of Venezuela’s oil industry. Venezuelan – US lawyer Eva Golinger has discovered a script for what’s happening now. Golinger, well known for her reporting on US payments to Venezuelan opposition groups, recently arranged for publication of a document outlining opposition preparations in advance of the municipal elections. Entitled “Venezuelan Strategic Plan”, it appeared in the Russian Times. The Plan’s 15 “action points” cover sabotage, “massive mobilizations,” food shortages, “insurrection inside the army”, and control of publicity. The authors anticipate “crisis in the streets that facilitate the intervention of North America and the forces of NATO, with support of the government of Colombia”.
The resulting “violence should cause deaths and injuries”. According to Golinger, the plan emerged from a meeting on June 13, 2013 attended by Mark Feierstein, regional head of the US Agency for International Development and by representatives of three other organizations: Florida – based FTI Consulting; Colombia’s “Center for Thought Foundation”, linked to former president Alvaro Uribe; and also the Democratic Internationalism Foundation, promoted by Uribe. US- funded opposition groups are currently demonstrating in Venezuelan streets and forcing shortages of consumer goods. For Jose Vicente Rangel, vice president under Chavez, their attacks on electric power plants, city transportation services, and oil refineries are terrorist in nature. Stores are running short of milk, textiles, sugar, shoes, electronic equipment, and more. The government accuses importers and retail distributers of hoarding. Retail prices have skyrocketed. The government sells dollars gained from oil sales at a fixed rate to importing companies. Importers sell goods they purchase with dollars to retailers who charge exorbitant prices payable in undervalued bolivars, the national currency. Inflation is up 54 percent in 2013. Movement of dollars out of the
country and dollars sales on the black market contribute to inflation. Government spokespersons condemn profiteering, speculation, and hoarding. Venezuelan, European, and USmass media feature stories of popular frustration, even anger. Worried Maduro partisans recall Chilean distress prior to the US supported coup that removed President Salvador Allende in 1973. The Nixon administration wanted then to “make Chile’s economy scream”. A statement from 45 high-level retired Venezuelan military officers calling for military intervention testifies to high stakes in play now. Maduro announced the creation of a National Center of Exterior Commerce that would regulate foreign exchange and control acquisition and distribution of foreign currency. His government seeks passage of a temporary enabling law that would authorize limits placed on profit-taking and speculation. Because the Daka electric appliance chain was selling goods at a 1200 percent mark-up over import costs, the government occupied its stores on November 8 to ensure a “fair price”. Maduro asks consumers to show
“consciousness, patience, and peacefulness in anticipation of prices being stabilized.” The government is expanding its popular Mercal grocery system that markets subsidized food products. Venezuela’s Communist Party is not satisfied. Secretary General Oscar Figuera called for “complete nationalization” of overseas commerce so “the state can centralize national purchases of essential items based on national development priorities and on the private sector using bolivars to import goods.” Economist Mark Weisbrot is optimistic. In 2012, oil revenues totaled $93.6 billion while $59.3 billion were spent on imports. Interest payments on foreign debt were relatively low. Currency reserves now approach $37 billion. So, “This government is not going to run out of dollars.” The fact that inflation fell in 2012 coincident with the economy expanding by 5.7 percent is a favorable sign, he suggests. And, “the poverty rate
dropped by 20% in Venezuela last year. NSA documents appearing recently in the New York Times courtesy of Edward Snowden identified Venezuela as one of six “enduring targets” for electronic eavesdropping in 2007. (Others were China, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, and Russia.) The strategic goal then – and probably now – was to prevent Venezuela “from achieving its regional leadership objective and pursuing policies that negatively impact US global interests.” Angel Guerra Cabrera is betting on President Maduro. The Cuban journalist, a correspondent for La Jornada, claims Maduro has “ruined the dreams of imperialists and the right who were counting on his inability to maintain unity and the revolutionary direction of ‘Chavismo.’ We have seen a leader fortify himself with his own profile… With the cadres formed by commander [Chavez], he has consolidated a cohesive and efficient movement”. Maduro’s government recently expelled three US diplomats on charges they conspired with opposition groups with intent to destabilize. Neither country has posted an ambassador to its counterpart nation for three years.