Pg. 7 | Social Justice Labor unions met to debate advances and setbacks in the movement. More workers input is needed to advance the Revolution, concluded union leaders
FRIDAY September 24, 2010 No. 30 Bs. 1 Caracas
Pg. 8 | Opinion
Patrick Martin details the failures of US capitalism and the expansion of poverty in the “best democracy in the world”
ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas
Victory is Near
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Candidates for Sunday’s legislative elections ended campaigns this week with great expectations for mass participation in the decisive vote
Advancing Food Security
Seas of red-clad supporters of President Chavez’s United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) flooded streets nationwide this week, expressing support and pledging to vote for their candidates on Sunday. Opposition candidates led more modest, media-focused campaigns, unable to garner as much “street” support. Polls predict a sweeping win for PSUV candidates, though the opposition will retake some seats in Venezuela’s National Assembly.
The Venezuelan Government inaugurated yet another statesponsored market this week to counteract price hikes and speculation perpetuated by privately-owned shops and stores. The Supermercal in Merida will provide over 160 tons of food daily to hundreds of local residents, at affordable and accesible prices. The mercal program has lightened the burden of food costs for millions of Venezuelans since 2003.
Politics
Venezuela ready for Sunday’s vote
The National Elections Council (CNE) is prepared to handle the decisive legislative elections with thousands of national and international observers set to witness the process.
Politics
Venezuela rejects US “drug blacklist”
The US continues to politicize and undermine Venezuela’s counter-narcotics efforts.
Social Justice
Venezuela reaches Millennium Goals
Before the target date of 2015, Venezuela will have achieved these important social objectives.
B
Over $56 Billion on Social Development
etween 2001 and 2009, Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA) directed $56 billion towards Venezuela’s social development. The contribution is part of the direct distribution of oil revenues to the Venezuelan people, represented most notably through industry support to Venezuela’s missions – a set of special social programs created by the government in 2003 to expedite action in priority areas for the most vulnerable segments of the population. According to PDVSA’s 2009 Annual Report, the company gave $34 million in 2001; $14 mil-
lion in 2002; $249 million in 2003; $1.2 billion in 2004; $4 billion in 2005; $10 billion in 2006; $12 billion in 2007; $14 billion in 2008; and $3 billion in 2009. The distribution of oil revenues for social missions was distributed as follows: Ribas (education) received $2 billion; Food $1.9 billion; Barrio Adentro I, II and III (health) $5.7 billion; Vuelvan Caras (employment) $672 million; Milagro (eyesight) $159 million; Guai caipuro (land titles) $11 million; Sucre (higher education) $807 million; Identity $46 million; Science $319 million; Housing
$40 million; and Robinson I and II (education) $72 million. Through the educational missions alone, 400,000 people have graduated and others are studying thanks to the investment of oil revenues. PDVSA’s President, Rafael Ramirez, said that oil policy in Venezuela “is national, sovereign, popular and revolutionary. We must take that income and pay the social debt owed to our people, which is why the resources are available for the missions. Those are the best barrels of oil sold in this country”.
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his Sunday, Venezue lans head to the polls to elect a new National Assembly, the nation’s legis lative body. In order to provide up to the minute information to our international non-Spanish speaking audience, we have set up a new website, www. venezuelaenglish.com, which will post news and information about the elections and other important events from Venezuela. We have also set up a Twitter account @VenezuelaEng, so please follow us and tell your friends! The site will also post all of Correo del Orinoco International’s articles and other news and information from Venezuelan sources. Our goal is to ensure accurate and balanced information is available to those outside Venezuela, interested in developments in this exciting and eventful nation. Most international news media generally report negative information about Venezuela. While we can’t necessarily change that, we can ensure truthful and diverse news is available to those who are interested in finding out more about what is happening in Venezuela. Take time to check out the new site and also follow our updates on Twitter throughout the day on Sunday. As always, thanks for reading!
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IMPACT
The artillery of ideas
Chavez participates in nationwide Caravans to support socialist candidates Elections are Sunday and campaigns came to a close on Thursday night. The pro-Chavez PSUV party was seen, heard and felt nationwide, while the opposition MUD campaign seemed invisible
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rom east to west, Venezuela was a sea of red shirts, smiling faces and upbeat campaign songs with tropical sounds as President Hugo Chavez caravaned across the nation this week in support of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) candidates for this Sunday’s legislative elections. With what seemed like tireless energy, Venezuela’s head of state appeared almost daily in two to three caravans surrounded by thousands of supporters in different cities and regions around the country. On Sunday, President Chavez led caravans throughout the Andes Mountains in Merida, a state primarily comprised of smallscale farmers and workers. Floods of residents in Merida’s Paramo mountainsides cheered the Venezuelan leader on, sporting red shirts and pledging to vote PSUV on Sunday. Later that afternoon, Chavez inaugurated a state-sponsored supermarket, Supermercal in the city of Merida, slated to benefit hundreds of local residents with 120 tons of diverse products available at low prices daily. The store is part of the Mercal program that seeks to combat price hikes and speculation perpetuated by privately owned markets in Venezuela. NO ROLL-BACK ON HOUSING FOR POOR On Monday, President Chavez caravaned throughout western Merida in El Vigia and ended in the state of Tachira, which borders Colombia and is governed by an extremist opposition leader, Cesar Perez Vivas. During caravans and events in San Cristobal’s Tachira’s capital, on Tuesday morning, the Venezuelan head of
state issued a presidencial decree protecting the rights of residents in housing units built and subsidized by the previous governor, a Chavez ally. Perez Vivas, member of the COPEI party that alternated power throughout the latter half of the twentieth century and excluded a majority of Venezuelans from politics, had told residents of the housing units subsidized by the state that they would have to move out or pay higher interest rates and monthly quotas. “Now this governor comes along and wants to remove these poor people from their homes. They want to charge them high interest rates and quotas they can’t afford, in order to get them out”, denounced Chavez. The houses were built during the local government of Ronald Blanco La Cruz, in power from 2004-2008. “You all should know what is happening here in Tachira with these homes that Ronald Blanco La Cruz built, and that this friend of Tachira, this soldier Hugo Chavez, gave him the resources for”. “No one will have to leave their homes because I’m signing a decree placing them under the jurisdiction of the national government. Those homes are for those families in Tachira who need them, they are not for profit”, declared Chavez.
“Imagine if an opposition leader was in the presidency again. This is what they would do to the people. They would take away everything the Revolution has done and given. These are not gifts, they are rights; the right to live with dignity”, he affirmed. FROM WEST TO EAST After his extensive campaigning in the western states, Chavez crossed the nation to Anzoategui, an eastern state bordering the Caribbean Sea. He led caravans in Barcelona and Puerto la Cruz, the capital regions of the oil producing state, filling the streets with tens of thousands of supporters. Television images showed seas of red with no end in sight. On Wednesday, the Venezuelan President spearheaded a massive caravan in western Caracas that brought thousands of metropolitan residents into the streets in the early morning hours to express their support for PSUV candidates and the party leader, President Chavez. Later in the afternoon, he presided another caravan in neighboring Aragua state, again, flanked by thousands of red-clad supporters. On Thursday, the Venezuelan President led caravans in the states of Lara and Carabobo, while in Caracas, each PSUV candidate caravaned throughout the city,
ending together at a free concert in the center of Caracas to bring the end of a month-long, extremely intense campaign to a close. “No one else has the capacity, energy and magnetism to bring out tens of thousands of supporters into the streets in every city and state across the country, except President Chavez”, declared Tania Diaz, PSUV candidate in Caracas, during an interview on Wednesday. “The opposition has no leadership, their campaign was practically invisible”, she added. OPPOSITION CAMPAIGN? Opposition political parties, grouped in a coalition called “Democratic Unity” or “MUD” in Spanish, led a fairly modest, low-key campaign. Most of their campaign activities were mediaoriented, with virtual audiencies and highly crafted propaganda. Although they announced several caravans in Caracas, there was no visible presence of opposition supporters out in the streets demonstrating support for their candidates this week. Mainly, the MUD campaign focused on television interviews and spots, along with lots of tweeting and blogging. During the final days before the elections, MUD candidates, such as Maria Corina Machado,
founder of a US-funded group, Sumate, began openly questioning the legitimacy of the electoral system. Machado led the calls to boycott the last legislative elections in 2005, claiming the electoral process was not “guaranteed” or credible. Machado’s group Sumate was founded with USAID and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) funds and aid in 2003 to lead a recall referendum campaign against President Chavez. After Chavez won the referendum with a victorious 6040 vote, Sumate cried fraud. Machado has said publicly she will participate in this year’s elections, despite her concerns about the electoral system’s “credibility”, leaving open the possibility that if results are not in her favor, she could again claim fraud. Other candidates, such as Henry Ramos Allup from Accion Democratica (AD), also a member of MUD, have stated they will recognize the electoral results, “so long as there is no fraud”. “If there is fraud, we will cry fraud. If there is no fraud, we won’t cry fraud”, declared Ramos Allup during an interview Tuesday broadcast on Telesur. This posturing has led many PSUV candidates to wonder if “fraud” occurs when opposition candidates lose, while “no fraud” is only if they win. The Venezuelan electoral system is one of the most lauded and acclaimed worldwide. It’s known for its solid transparency and credibility, and has been recognized internationally by the Carter Center, the European Union, United Nations and Organization of American States. This year, 150 international observers will witness the electoral process, along with 60 foreign political party members. Venezuela has used electronic elections machines since 2004 that enable rapid, fraud-proof voting. The Venezuelan elections machines produce a paper ballot, which is check by the voter and deposited into a secure box, providing a double protection against any kind of voter manipulation. T/ Eva Golinger P/ Presidential Press
INTERNATIONAL
The artillery of ideas
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No 30 • Friday, September 24, 2010 |
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Chavez meets with Venezuela’s Jewish leaders Leaders of Venezuela’s Jewish community met with President Hugo Chavez last Thursday to strengthen relations and discuss concerns about possible indications of anti-Semitism in certain minority sectors in the country
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he Venezuelan Confederation of Israelite Associations said its representatives gave the President a dossier containing numerous examples of potentially anti-Semitic messages that have appeared “for several years in state media and government-friendly media”. Salomon Cohen, president of the confederation, said he was satisfied with the meeting at the presidential palace in Caracas and told journalists that Chavez promised the group he would study everything they gave him. “We reviewed the negative consequences that hateful expressions can lead to and how they can affect the security and integrity of the institutions and individuals that make up the community of Venezuelan Jews”, the organization said in a statement following the meeting. It did not publicly release its ex-
amples of alleged anti-Semitism in state media, but has previously raised concerns about cartoons and commentary in government-friendly newspapers and websites. Chavez’s government recently decided to step up security at synagogues and Jewish community centers this month during Jewish New Year celebrations, according to rep-
resentatives of the local community. Cohen thanked the government for boosting security at the temples and centers. Several incidents have ignited concerns of anti-Semitism in Venezuela. In January 2009, a Caracas synagogue was ransacked and vandalized, and authorities later arrested 11 people, including eight police
officers, suspected of participating. Chavez condemned the attack, and investigators have said they believe the intruders wanted to steal cash they believed was kept inside. The following month, unidentified attackers lobbed a small explosive at a Jewish community center in the capital, damaging its doors but not hurting anyone.
The association’s communique said the Jewish delegation urged Chavez to intervene to “put a stop to these anti-Jewish expressions” and asked the President to re-establish diplomatic ties between Venezuela and Israel. Chavez has been strongly critical of Israel and its policies toward Palestinians. He severed ties with Israel in January 2009 to protest its military offensive in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro told reporters, “All the political issues related to Israel’s government will be examined”. Chavez did not speak with journalists following Thursday’s meeting, but he called the gathering “extraordinary” in a message posted on his Twitter account, saying he and Jewish leaders wrapped up the meeting “hugging and praying for peace”. The Venezuelan leader said some of his political opponents have wrongly attempted to portray him as “anti-Jewish”, which he said is false. “Neither I nor my government are anti-Jewish or anti-anyone. We respect all religions and groups in Venezuela. The Jewish community are Venezuelans, just like all of us”, he declared. Venezuela’s Jewish community numbers nearly 15,000. T/ CO with reporting from AP P/ Agencies
US ambassador-designate rejected by Venezuela V
enezuelan Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, announced on Monday that Venezuela would not accept Larry Palmer as US ambassador in Venezuela. “He made himself ineligible by intervening in our internal affairs, offending our institutions and our sovereignty”, declared Venezuela’s highest diplomat to journalists. “During his confirmation hearing, Larry Palmer committed an error by breaking with all basic norms of diplomacy and insulting our government and sovereignty. As such, he disqualified himself from fulfilling duties as an ambassador in our country”. Venezuela formalized the rejection of Palmer as Washing-
ton’s nominee for ambassador last Friday in a letter to the Department of State. Palmer, a former US ambassador in Honduras during the Bush administration, and a career diplomat specializing in Latin America and funding for NGOs friendly to US agenda, had expressed his “concern” about alleged Cuban influence in Venezuela’s armed forces last August. Palmer also claimed members of Venezuela’s military had “low moral”. In a written statement to the Senate Foreign Relations committee, the US diplomat and ambassador-designee also said democracy in Venezuela was “at risk”, along with freedom of
expression and association. He affirmed he would increase US funding to “democratic forces” in the South American nation, referring to the more than $7 million annually given by the State Department through the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and National Endowment for Democracy (NED) to anti-Chavez groups. President Chavez recalled last week that initially, Venezuela had accepted Palmer’s nomination “with the intention of maintaining the best possible relations” with the US. “But later, Palmer started to make declarations and offend our country and our armed forces. He disqualified himself. We won’t let him come
into Venezuelan territory. Let that be clear”, affirmed Chavez. Over the past two months, the Venezuelan government has repeatedly said it was rejecting Palmer, but the US said it would continue with Palmer as its nominee because it hadn’t received a formal letter of protest from Venezuela’s government. On Monday, the State Department affirmed it had received the official letter from Venezuela rejecting Palmer. However, spokesperson Mark Toner said the Obama administration would maintain Larry Palmer as their nominee. Palmer has yet to be approved by the Senate and some observers say that rather than cave in to
Caracas demands that it pick a new candidate, the US may decide to have no ambassador at all in Venezuela, a nation that has long been among the top five suppliers of crude oil to the US and an important market for US exporters. The US would likely try to blame Venezuela for not allowing its ambassador in the country. But, as President Chavez said, his government had initially accepted Palmer, this position only changed when Palmer himself violated diplomatic protocol and intervened in Venezuela’s affairs. T/ CO Caracas
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economy
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela ready for big vote on Sunday With more than 500,000 people and 36,000 voting machines in waiting, Venezuela’s independent National Electoral Council (CNE) is prepared to carry out the country’s National Assembly elections this Sunday
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p for grabs are the entire 165 seats of the nation’s legislative body, the National Assembly, and 12 representatives for the Latin American Parliament. “[W]e can say with great calmness and with great content that all our voting machines and all of the electoral material are in their appropriate regions. The election is in every one of the states of the national territory”, Tibisay Lucena, President of the CNE, reported last Sunday. Acting member of the CNE, Humberto Castillo, explained on Monday that of the 500,000 people working in the elections, 150,000 are ordinary citizens chosen at random and trained to carry out the functions of the polling centers. Fifty thousand support technicians for the automated voting system along with 50,000 electoral officials and 250,000 operatives of Venezuela’s electoral security operation, Plan Republic, will also be on hand to en-
sure a smooth voting process. On Wednesday, members of the armed forces who make up part of Plan Republic began to secure voting centers. According to the Commander of Strategic Operations, Henry Rangel Silva, the armed forces will guarantee an orderly voting process, “Just as Plan Republic has done in the last 17 electoral processes that the military has participated in since 1963”. At 8 o’clock Friday morning, the 36,562 voting machines, which will be utilized on Sunday, will begin to be installed in the country’s 12,387 voting stations by the officials. Nearly six thousand contingency machines will also be available in the case of any unforeseen problems. A high turnout of Venezuela’s eligible voting population of approximately 17.5 million is expected. According to Castillo, everything indicates that more than half of the voting population will participate in the contest. “The people have a lot of motivation to take part in this electoral process, as we’ve been seeing in past processes”, he said. TRANSPARENCY On Monday, CNE President Lucena, welcomed 150 international observers to Venezuela as well as 60 foreign politicians, invited from the nation’s various political organizations. They will be present to observe the elections process, record the results and make recommendations.
Lucena considers the presence of the international representatives important, referring to them as “a valuable contribution in terms of experiential exchanges”, and asked them to act in accordance with the non-interference regulations that define the Venezuelan electoral process. Over 61 thousand Venezuelan electoral witnesses nominated by the country’s different political parties to oversee the voting process have also been registered. Although the deadline of the various parties to register their witnesses closed last Saturday, the electoral commission has
extended the date to ensure that all political parties have appropriate representation at the polls. “It is extremely important for the National Electoral Council that the political organizations finish the accreditation of their witnesses as soon as possible”, CNE President Lucena urged. “We’ve provided all the faculties and have even extended the deadlines a week”, she added. Lucena also acknowledged, however, that the nation’s different political parties have been working hard to avoid any kind of problem come Sunday.
“They’re processing their materials and making an extraordinary effort. For this reason we need to recognize them because it’s a benefit to everyone and will translate into an improved electoral process”, she stated. The CNE has reported it is confident the process will be speedy with a minimal voting time. “Even though the voter has six minutes to exercise their right to vote, the ideal is that he or she can do it in 30 or 60 seconds to make the process faster because we are under the impression that these elections are going to be massive”, acting CNE member Castillo explained. Electoral fairs have been held throughout the country over the past month to familiarize voters with the process and dispel any confusion that may arise from the use of the voting machines. The voting will begin at 8 a.m. on Sunday and end at 6 p.m. The first results will be made public Sunday night two hours after polls close. The final results may not be tallied until the early hours of Monday morning. “There is no doubt the results that will arise from this electoral process are going to reflect the will of this country”, Castillo said. “September 26th, the citizens are going to come out to vote early, with a lot of enthusiasm and through this process, democracy and sovereignty will be reflected”. T/ Edward Ellis P/ Agencies
Social justice, peace and democracy at stake R
oy Chaderton, candidate to the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino) for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), ratified this Wednesday that the process of social justice, peace and democracy is at stake in the upcoming legislative elections on September 26th. Chaderton underscored that the victory of the Bolivarian forces is vital in the National Assembly and the Parlatino. He explained that those spaces have been used to boost Venezuela’s process of change as well as to constitute a new lobby from where the country can
engage in international matters (in Parlatino’s case). For instance, he mentioned the speech given on Tuesday by the Ambassador of Venezuela to the United Nations, Jorge Valero, during a summit to analyze the progress achieved to reach the Millennium Development Goals. In this regard, Chaderton affirmed that Venezuela “is one of the few countries that has already reached the Millennium Goals”, emphasizing the achievements of the revolutionary process to improve the quality of life of Venezuelans.
In addition, he mentioned the progress made in education, through which, thanks to diverse governmental programs, Venezuela has been declared “territory free of illiteracy”. In the area of health, with programs such as Barrio Adentro (a primary health care plan), and the renovation and construction of health centers in diverse zones, Venezuelans today are universally guaranteed free, quality healthcare. Regarding nutrition, through governmental food distribution networks such as Mercal, PDVAL and other socialist
companies that form part of the country’s productive process, Venezuelans are guaranteed affordable and accessible food products, and nutrition rates have soared. Chaderton warned that if opposition forces gain a majority of seats in the parliaments, all of these advances would be lost. “The opposition would terminate all these social programs and take power back into the hands of the rich and elite. Social justice would be at severe risk”. T/ AVN
security
The artillery of ideas
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No 30 • Friday, September 24, 2010 |
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Venezuela Rejects US “Drugs Blacklist”; Emphasizes Advances in Drug War Venezuela has categorically rejected a recent report issued by Washington accusing the South American nation of not cooperating with international anti-drug trafficking efforts
In 2010 alone, the Venezuelan government has “seized 46,390 kilos of different drugs, has arrested seven thousand people and has demonstrated effectiveness in the prosecution of these crimes which go beyond international standards”, outlined the Venezuelan statement. Venezuela has also detained 51 organized crime bosses since 2006, sixteen thus far in 2010, and has impounded ten thousand tons of chemicals destined for cocaine production in Colombia.
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n an oficial statement released last week by Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan government referred to the White House’s assessment of its efforts to combat the llegal drug trade as “irresponsible, unilateral and arbitrary”. The statement condemns what Venezuelan officials consider a misinformed and biased attack against their nation, claiming that the US has no right to play the role of international judge in terms of drug enforcement. “The Bolivarian Government of Venezuela believes that the United States government does not have, nor do any of its institutions have, the moral authority to accuse the efforts of independent states”, the statement reads. The annual report, released by the White House last week, identifies 20 countries which are, according to US President Barack Obama, “major transit or major illicit drug-producing countries”. Per the US report, these nations are: Afghanistan, The Bahamas, Bolivia, Burma, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Jamaica, Laos, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, and Venezuela. Bolivia, Burma and Venezuela have been designated by the US President as countries that “have failed demonstrably during the previous 12 months to adhere to their obligations under international counter-narcotics agreements”. This is the fifth year in a row that Washington has classified Venezuela as having “failed demonstrably” to cooperate with international counter-narcotics efforts. In 2005, the Venezuelan government suspended agreements with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) based on alleged
Venezuela Has Arrested 53 Drug Kingpins in Five Years
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n Monday, Venezuela’s Minister of Interior and Justice, Tareck El Aissami, announced that Venezuelan authorities have captured 53 drug kingpins facing international arrest warrants, including 16 in 2010 alone. In his comments, El Aissami also reiterated the Venezuelan government’s rejection of a recent US report that accused Venezuela of “failing demonstrably during the last 12 months to adhere to the obligations required under international counterna-
rcotics agreements”. He stressed that the real facts demonstrate the efficacy of the policies undertaken by the administration of President Hugo Chavez. By deporting two drug traffickers arrested in the country to the US on Monday, El Aissami said, Venezuela has turned over six people wanted for drug smuggling to the US this year, and 17 people since 2007. He recalled that between 1999 and 2005, when the country had an agreement with the US Drug
Enforcement Administration (DEA), not one drug kingpin was captured. On Tuesday, El Aissami inaugurated the National AntiDrug Fund (FONA) in Caracas, a new institution created by Presidential Decree to establish programs for drug prevention. The Anti-Drug Fund will help integrate the fight against drug-trafficking and illegal drug consumption.
evidence of sabotage, espionage and undermining of Venezuelan authorities’ anti-drug actions. Shortly afterward, the White House designated Venezuela as not collaborating with its counter-narcotics efforts. The Venezuela government has dismissed these annual allegations, claiming them to be politically motivated and hypocritical given the fact that the United States is largest consumer of drugs in the world. “The goverment of the United States should concern itself with the enormous internal problems afflicting its institutionality as well as its population, which have turned the country into the main consumer of illicit drugs in the
world, a paradise for drug trafficking money, and day by day, the main producer of marijuana in the world”, countered Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry. Indeed, recent statistics from the US government demonstrate that the country has done little to effectively curb its high level of consumption. According to the US government’s own organization, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association, drug abuse in the United States is on the rise. The organization recently reported a 9% increase in illegal drug consumption in 2009, putting consumption levels at the highest in a decade.
MAJOR ADVANCES IN WAR ON DRUGS The Venezuela government, in response to the accusations levied by the White House, has highlighted the advances which its country has made recently in the fight against drug trafficking. “It is unacceptable that the United States make political usage of the topic of the drug trade and illegal drug abuse to attack a democratic government with an impeccable conduct with respect to the fight against this aberration of drug production and trade created by the culture of capitalist consumption and the US lifestyle”.
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600 KILOS OF COCAINE SEIZED IN CARACAS A further advance in the fight against the illicit drug trade came just two days after the publication of Washington’s “blacklist”, when members of Venezuela’s counter-narcotics agency, the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA), and the National Guard successfully seized 542 bricks of cocaine. The seizure took place in two different raids in Eastern Caracas and resulted in the capture of a total of 600 kilos of the illegal drug. An additional 659 kilos of marijuana were seized the day before in the Western state of Tachira. In a parallel development, last week the Venezuelan government apprehended a major Colombian drug lord, Jaime Alberto Marin, known by his alias, Beto. Marin is considered to be the boss of Colombia’s notorious Norte del Valle cartel. Venezuela’s criminal investigation police also announced the capture of Ana Solanes Comellas, a Spanish citizen wanted by INTERPOL. According to Venezuelan authorities, Comellas is linked to the criminal gang known as Los Catalanes which is an active player in the South American - European drug trade. While Venezuela is not a drugproducing country, the nation suffers from its proximity to Colombia, the larger producer of cocaine in the world and the biggest exporter of drugs to the United States. T/ Edward Ellis P/ Agencies
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social justice
The artillery of ideas
Mercal: Advancing food security
Food sovereignty and security are key priorities of the Chavez administration. The Mercal program forms part of a chain of stores providing lowcost, accesible food products to consumers
elan population’s food consumption, President Chavez informed on Sunday.
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he Venezuelan population has saved approximately 21 billion bolivars ($4.8 billion USD at current exchange rate) over the past seven years thanks to the prices provided by the government owned and operated food supply network. The announcement was made last Sunday by Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez during the inauguration of a new state-sponsored food market, known as Supermercal, in the Andean state of Merida. The figure of 21 billion bolivars represents, according to Chavez, money that the Venezuelan bourgeoisie wasn’t able to “rob from the people” through the inflated prices of private sector food companies. “The capitalists charge an arbitrary price that has nothing to do with the true value or production cost of a product because the most important thing for them is profit”, declared the Venezuelan head of state.
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Mercal, one of the most successful government run social programs, or missions as they are called, was founded in 2003 to provide affordable food products to the Venezuelan people and ensure access to basic commodities. The program, together with other state administered food outlets such as PDVAL and the government’s Bicentennial Markets, has grown steadily over the years. According to the Venezuelan Food Minister, Carlos Zambrano, the number of Mercal out-
lets now available to residents throughout the country has reached sixteen thousand. There has also been steady growth in the amount of food sold at the markets. Over its seven years of existence, Mercal has increased its sales from 45 thousand tons of food products in 2003 to eight million in 2009. In 2010, the mission has distributed some 9.4 million tons of food, a number that should reach ten million by year’s end, marking a 39% increase in the Venezu-
AFFORDABLE AND ACCESSIBLE The prices found in the government run shops are considerably less than those found in private commercial establishments. In the Mercals, a kilo of powdered milk costs 7.89 bolivars while in the private sector it can reach up to 17 bolivars. Staple products like black beans are sold at 2.8 bolivars, 1.7 bolivars less than in private shops, while the price of meat is nearly 60% cheaper. The mission is composed of different sized markets, from small community bodegas known as Mercalitos, to traveling outdoor markets and large supermarket-sized stores, such as the Supermercals. Food Vice Minister and President of the program, Felix Osorio, informed that the Western state of Merida now boasts 357 different Mercals and the government’s goal of creating 96 new community shops in 2010 has been met. According to government officials, 900 inhabitants of the neighborhood Domingo Peña will benefit on a daily basis from the 120 tons of food provided by the new Supermercal. “The community contributed their part in the installation of
the Supermercal”, said a neighborhood activist, Milagros Araujo, on Sunday. “Now we’ll have greater access to products and we’ll be able to buy more food since we’ll have prices up to 40% less”, she explained. Officials also informed that the new state-run supermarket would be offering, in addition to basic food products, affordable domestic appliances and books. Edita Pereira, a regional coordinator of Mercal in Merida, said that appliances like refrigerators and stoves would be on sale at prices well below those in private markets. The appliances are the result of an agreement signed between Venezuela and the Chinese company Haier, and comprise part of a new government program referred to as “My WellEquipped Home” launched earlier this month. Pereira mentioned that the refrigerators would be sold for 40% less than traditional retail outlets while washing machines and stoves will represent a savings of 14% and 10%, respectively. Apart from the Supermercal’s grand opening in Merida on Sunday, the government also inaugurated 55 other Mercals in various regions of the country. T/ Edward Ellis P/ Presidential Press
UNESCO: Venezuela has the world’s fifth highest university enrollment
he Venezuelan government under Hugo Chavez has marked a milestone by reaching fifth place worldwide in university enrollment, according to figures released by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Venezuela even exceeds “first-world” nations such as the United States, France, Spain, Italy, Japan and China in higher education enrollment. Venezuelan University Education Minister, Edgardo Ramirez, explained that this ranking corresponds to the nation’s high rate of 83% of eligible citizens currently enrolled in higher education programs. Ramirez reiterated that per UNESCO’s figures, the countries with the highest level of university enrollment are Cuba
(109%), South Korea (95%), Finland (94%), Greece (91%) and Venezuela (83%). “For the first time in history, Venezuela exceeds, for example, the United States, whose university enrollment ratio is 82 percent. This is a significant achievement that shows the country’s progress in the education field, thanks to policies of the Chavez Government”, he affirmed. The Venezuelan University Education Minister also highlighted that Venezuela ranks second among Latin American countries in higher education enrollment, only surpassed by Cuba. Venezuela’s net university enrollment ratio is 2.5 times higher than the regional average, which is around 34 percent. In the region, Cuba is followed by Venezuela (83%), Ar-
gentina (67%), Uruguay (64%) and Chile (52%). Finally, the Venezuelan official recalled that enrollment in university education increased by 193% between 1999 and 2009, thanks to the policies implemented by the Chavez administration, which have allowed nearly 2.5 million students to have access to a quality university education. Public universities, which comprise the majority of higher education institutions in Venezuela, are free of charge. There are no tuition fees at state institutions. Private universities charge tuition, but costs are much lower than in countries such as the United States, where the average student graduates from college over $100,000 in debt. T/ AVN
social justice
The artillery of ideas
The Venezuelan labor union confederation, the National Union of Workers (UNETE), organized a two-day meeting in Caracas on radical workplace organization last week in the run up to the National Assembly elections
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he National Meeting on Workers’ Control and the Socialist Management Model was well attended by over 200 worker representatives from unions, government-expropriated businesses and worker-occupied factories across the country. UNETE leader Marcela Maspero opened the event by arguing that the Bolivarian Revolution was at a critical phase and that workers in Venezuelan industry had a leading role to play in the push for a socialist economy and in the vote on September 26th. Maspero said, “Next Sunday, let’s all get up very early and vote for candidates of the Revolution because they are who will guarantee that the working class is respected”. “Through the Revolution, workers have been dignified. We have better salaries, benefits and active and leading participation”, she added. “The national government is working to eliminate the contracting out that exists in different companies, especially in private firms like Polar Group”, Maspero announced, referring to workers
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Labor in Revolution
hired as contractors instead of full-time employees in order to avoid the extra cost of benefits. Firms that have been renationalized after a period of privatization, such as Cemento Andino, Cementos de Venezuela, Sidor steel works, CANTV and Cafe Venezuela spoke of their experiences since the government intervened in their industries. These workers agreed with Maspero that the state has improved pay and conditions. However, in their attempts to move beyond top-down hierarchical decision-making by state managers to socialist forms of organization, they expressed frustration. Cemento Andino delegate Alexander Santo commented, “The state management is trying to divide the workers in Cemento Andino and prevent a collective bargaining contract between workers and management from taking place”. The union that represents workers at Japanese factory Mitsubishi also complained of inaction and indifference from certain representatives in the Ministry of Labor. The workers have endured a struggle for over a year to fight against the firing of union leaders and 250 other workers, alongside representatives from Vivex, an automobile parts company, where workers have been occupying their workplace for 21 months now without intervention from the state. Workers from Pescalba, a fishing and marine company owned jointly by the Venezuelan and Cuban gov-
ernments were also in attendance at the event. In its economic performance, the firm has increased tuna fishing stocks by 100% since it was taken out of private hands. Company union leader Jhonny Esparragoza explained, “In 2008, 91,759 kilos of tuna were fished and in 2009, 14,892 kilos. This year, already we’ve fished 296,487 kilos, an increase of more than 100% in relation to past years”. Esparragoza spoke of the importance of the meeting to discuss workers control. He said it was essential to divide discussions into two themes. First, the shape, organization and structure of unions and, second, how productive workplaces are managed and run. Esparragoza argued that workers organizations must be drivers
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No 30 • Friday, September 24, 2010 | |
for change and be democratic and free of exploitation so they could be in a position to control factories. “To achieve this objective means the organizations of workers have structures where there are people in charge of production, purchasing, marketing, accounting, maintenance, links with the community, environment and security, control and defending humane working practices”. The distinct situations of these workers in the battle against management - both private and state - is an expression of the difficulties in moving beyond capitalist relations of production. Despite the many progressive steps made by the Chavez government, industries that generates some 75% of domestic GDP still remain in private hands.
UNETE was formed in 2003 after it split from the old Confederation of Venezuelan Workers (CTV), which was always in alliance with big business and is today an important arm of the opposition. UNETE has been divided over the past several years, preventing the union from playing a lead role in the Bolivarian revolution. Some within UNETE have argued for uniting behind the government and keeping unions reformist, such as collective bargaining over pay and conditions. Other more radical elements in the organization push for state-owned industry under worker control and the end of private ownership of the means of production. T/ Steven Mather
Venezuela to achieve Millennium Development Goals
enezuela is making great efforts to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which were discussed this week at the UN General Assambly in New York. In the past decade, the South American nation has eliminated illiteracy, cut extreme poverty in half, enrolled more children in school, reduced infant mortality and controlled the spread of HIV/AIDS, announced Jorge Valero, the Venezuelan permanent representative to the UN, on Tuesday.
The statement came as Valero was addressing the high-level UN meeting on the Millennium Development Goals this week. World leaders gathered in New York to review achievements and difficulties in efforts to translate the goals into reality by 2015. Before the target date of 2015, Venezuela will achieve universal primary education, will substantially reduce the infant mortality rate and maternal mortality, decrease the spread of HIV/AIDS and reverse malaria and dengue, declared Valero.
Venezuela’s poverty rate fell from 49% to around 24% in late 2009, extreme poverty was reduced in half between 2003 and 2009 and the country’s unemployment rate fell from 15% in 1998 to 6.6% in 2009. In 2001, Venezuela reached the goal of providing universal drinking water to all citizens. Currently 60% of total tax revenue is earmarked for social investment, and as a contribution to gender equality, four of five existing Venezuelan branches of government are presided by women.
In 2005, Venezuela was declared a territory free of illiteracy by UNESCO. Venezuela is a “participatory and protagonist democracy where political freedoms are exercised and the benefits of development are enjoyed”, Valero added. Touching on the global financial crisis, the Venezuelan representative said, “the financial economy exercises hegemony in the world and increases the accumulation of billions of dollars without creating any good”, de-
nominating the current economy a “casino economy”. “It has subjected States, and intends to destroy the public sphere, privatizing everything, from public services to war”, he alerted. Venezuela is free from the “tyranny” of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), affirmed Valero, noting that the country utilizes state policies to “promote independent and autonomous development”. T/ CO
FRIDAY September 24, 2010 No. 30 Bs. 1 Caracas
ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas
A publication of the Fundacion Correo del Orinoco Editor-in-Chief | Eva Golinger • Graphic Design | Arturo Cazal, Pablo Valduciel L., Alexander Uzcátegui, Jameson Jiménez • Press | Fundación Imprenta de la Cultura
Opinion
The failure of US capitalism
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44 million living in poverty in the US
he number of people living in poverty in the US rose to 43.6 million in 2009, the US Census Bureau reported last week. This is the largest number since the agency began making such estimates 50 years ago and represents an increase of 3.8 million compared to 2008. As of last year, one in every seven Americans was poor, according to the government’s definition of poverty. The official poverty rate of 14.3 percent is the highest since 1994. The poverty rate jumped more than a full percentage point, from 13.2% in 2008. There were 8.8 million families living in poverty in 2009, including one child in every five. This is the same rate of child poverty that existed nearly five decades ago, when President Lyndon B. Johnson announced his “War on Poverty”. Reflecting the impact of the economic slump and mass layoffs and wage-cutting, the increase in poverty was concentrated among working-age adults and their children, with the poverty rate for those 65 and older actually falling from 9.7% to 8.9%. The poverty rate for children rose from 19.4 percent to 20.7 percent, and the poverty rate for working-age adults rose from 11.9 percent to 12.7 percent. Poverty increased for all racial and ethnic groups, but was far higher for blacks and Hispanics. The poverty rate for blacks was 25.8%, and for Hispanics 25.3%. For whites the poverty rate was 9.4%, up from 8.6% in 2008. An entire section of the report was devoted to health insurance coverage. The massive elimination of jobs over the past two years has had a devastating effect on health care coverage, which in the US is largely employment-based. The number of people without health insurance topped the 50 million mark in 2009 for the first time since such statistics began to be collected, in 1987. The figure rose from 46.3 million in 2008. Some 16.7% of the population is without health coverage, up from 15.4% in 2008. This figure is understated, since an individual had to be without coverage for the entire year to be counted as uninsured. A worker laid off in July 2009 and losing his or her coverage three months later would be counted as insured for the year. The number of people with governmentsponsored health coverage rose from 87.4 million to 93.2 million due to increased
enrollment in Medicaid, Medicare and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. But this was more than offset by a drop in the number of people with private insurance coverage, which fell from 201 million to 194.5 million. Only 55.8% of the population has job-based health insurance. Other figures reported in the Census Bureau report document the deepening social crisis in the US: Household income stagnated in 2009, declining slightly to $49,777, from $50,112 in 2008. Women who worked fulltime, year-round earned only 77% of the income of men who worked similar hours. Median income declined between 2008 and 2009 by 4.4% for black households and by 1.6% for non-Hispanic white households. Compared to the prerecession peak in 1999, median household income was down 11.8% for blacks, 7.9% for Hispanics, 5.7% for Asians and 4.2% for whites. Income inequality continues to increase. In 2009, the top 20% received 50.3% of all income, and the top 5% received 21.7% of all income. Even before the onset of the recession, poverty was a familiar experience to one-third of all Americans. From 2004 to 2007, some 31.6% of the population lived in poverty for at least one period of two months or more. The current slump has already driven up the poverty rate by 1.9 percentage points and the total living in poverty by 6.3 million, including 2.1 million children. This is larger than during any other recession since World War II, with the exception of the 1980-81 and 1981-82 recessions combined, when the number living in poverty rose by 10 million. Equally significant is the large number of Americans just barely above the official poverty line, subsisting on incomes that are completely inadequate for a decent life. Extended unemployment benefits, for example, kept 3 million families above the poverty line last year. These benefits were allowed to expire three times this year already, and
are likely to end completely after the November election, plunging millions of working people into destitution. There is ample reason to believe that the actual poverty level is far higher than that reported by the Census Bureau. The official poverty threshold is set ridiculously low, at an annual income of $22,050 for a family of four or $10,830 for a single adult. It is not adjusted for geographical location, and accordingly greatly understates the poverty level in high-cost areas like New York City, Boston, Washington DC and California. The poverty line is also grossly out of date, since it is based on a 50-year-old formula derived from a period when food was the single largest expense in family budgets, most women did not work outside the home, most young people did not attend college, and the typical family had only one car. It therefore understates the impact of rising costs for health care, education, childcare, transportation and other necessities. The number of multifamily households increased by 11.6% from 2008 to 2010, and the proportion of adults 25-34 living with their parents rose from 12.7% in 2008 to
13.4% in 2010. The poverty rate for these young adults was 8.5% when they were considered part of their parents’ household, but would have been 43% if they had been living on their own. The poverty figures demonstrate both the bankruptcy of US capitalism and the failure of the Obama administration. The White House greeted them with a perfunctory nod. Obama issued a five-paragraph statement conceding that the census data “illustrates just how tough 2009 was”, while boasting that the stimulus bill adopted early last year had prevented an even worse situation from developing. “A historic recession does not have to translate into historic increases in family economic insecurity”, he argued. “Because of the Recovery Act and many other programs providing tax relief and income support to a majority of working families—and especially those most in need— millions of Americans were kept out of poverty last year”. “It could have been worse” is the only argument the Obama administration can make heading into the fall election campaign, but it is doubtful that the millions of workers who have lost their jobs, health insurance and homes over the past two years draw any comfort from it. Obama’s statement combined this minimizing of the crisis with a concluding declaration that: “For all of our challenges, I continue to be inspired by the dedication and optimism of our workers, and I am confident that we will emerge from this storm with a stronger economy”. This rhetorical flourish might be translated as follows: As the chief political representative of US capitalism, I am amazed that there has not yet been a mass upheaval among US workers against both my government and the financial aristocracy it serves. I hope to be able to delude working people with rhetoric about “hope” and “change” for at least a few more years. Patrick Martin