English Edition N°28

Pg. g. 6 | Social JJustice ustice

Pg. g 8 | Opinion p

Major advances in healthcare and education are principal achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution

Lainie Cassel on how the Venezuelan media use fear as a method of garnering votes against Chavez

FRIDAY|September 10th, 2010|No. 28 |Bs. 1|CARACAS

ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

Revolution in tourism

Dudamel on iTunes

The International Tourism Fair (FitVen) in Venezuela is part of a larger strategy to expand the tourist industry and attractions

US interference in Venezuela’s elections Since 2002, US agencies have been funding and advising political groups opposed to President Hugo Chavez to aid efforts to provoke regime change in the South American nation. In every electoral process since 2003, US funding and foreign advisors have supported opposition campaigns, media strategies, political party platforms and even the selection of candidates.

This year’s electoral process is not exempt from such foreign interference.

Rolling, plush, green mountains, breathtaking waterfalls, outer-worldly rock formations, rivers and swamps full of exotic fauna and flora, Amazon rainforests, miles of sand dunes and pristine clear blue Caribbean coast are just some of the incredible offerings Venezuela has for visitors. But this oil-producing nation – one of the largest in the world – had never developed an infrastructure to enable visitors, national and international alike, to discover its extraordinary beauty. For the first time, under the Chavez administration, Venezuela is unveiling itself to the world. Photo: John Márquez

Politics

Strengthening Community Power A key policy of the Chavez government is transfering power to communities and grassroots organizations.

Fighting Crime against the odds The national government is expanding security forces into opposition-controlled regions refusing to collaborate in the battle against crime and violence.

Social Justice

Major social investments, despite recession As Venezuela’s economy recovers, more investment is made in social programs.

Two presidents exchange on twitter, greak ground

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uring a surprising and unprecedented Twitter exchange with Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner (@CFKArgentina) on September 7, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (@chavezcandanga) announced he would meet with representatives of Venezuela’s Jewish community before September 18.

“Hugo, they tell me you’ll be meeting with the Venezuelan Jewish community before Yom Kippur. What great news. A hug from me”, tweeted Fernandez.

In the first unedited exchange between two heads of state on

Twitter, President Chavez responded within minutes to his Argentine counterpart, “Hello Cristina. I was happy to receive your message. It will be a good meeting”. In a second tweet, he added, “And tomorrow we inaugurate the FitVen (Internacional Tourism Fair). Argentina, as you know, is guest of honor. Che!” Yom Kippur is considered by the Jewish community as one of the most sacred days of the year.

Jewish leaders in Argentina met with President Fernandez on September 7, the eve of the start of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

President Chavez confirmed on Wednesday during a televised appearance that he would meet with the nation’s Jewish leaders later this month. “My opponents try to portray me as anti-Jewish, that is wrong. I am not anti-anything. We respect all Venezuelans and their faith”, said Chavez.

David Bittan, vice president of the Venezuelan Confederation of Israelite Associations, affirmed the group would meet with Chavez. “We don’t think anti-Semitism is a government policy and we’re sure measures will be taken against isolated incidents”, he said.

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h brilliant he b illi and d awing i VenV ezuelan conductor, Gustavo Dudamel, has achieved yet another major accomplishment in his short, but outstanding career. His inaugural concert as the youngest conducter in history of the Los Angeles Philharmonic will be the first video of a classical recital sold on iTunes.

The concert, which took place on October 8, 2009 in Los Angeles, will be available as of next Tuesday on the digital music and video superstore site, under the Deutsche Grammophon label.

In the inaugural gala, the Venezuelan maestro led musicians through Symphony No. 1 by Mahler and City Noir by John Adams, a piece specifically commissioned for the premiere of Dudamel’s first official concert as conductor of one of the world’s most renowned orchestras.

Gustavo Dudamel, born January 26, 1981, trained in Venezuela under the direction of Jose Antonio Abreu, founder of El Sistema, an innovative music program that offers music education to children from low-income families in Venezuela. In addition to his privileged role as Conductor and Music Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Venezuelan music superstar is also Artistic Director of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra in Caracas and is the principal conductor of the Gothenburg Symphony in Sweden.

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IMPACT

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President Chavez inaugurated the International Tourism Fair this week as part of Venezuela’s efforts to expand and grow the national tourism industry. He later hosted an important event to socialize the banking system and provide low-interest credits to communal businesses

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n Wednesday, Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez inaugurated the International Tourism Fair “FitVen 2010”, taking place in Caracas through September 12th.

The five-day international event forms part of a broader strategy to promote Venezuela as a tourist destination. A total of 120 tour operators, 110 from Venezuela and 10 from abroad, are participating in the event. Spain, Bolivia, Cuba, Nicaragua, Ecuador and Argentina are all present at this year’s FitVen, also promoting tourism in their own nations.

More than 300 business meetings and gatherings will take place over the course of the week, enabling Venezuela to advance as a tourist destination through different programs, packages and exchanges.

The Tourism Fair provides 250 specialized guides to explain to visitors the multiple tourist services the country has to offer. More than 700 security officers will provide safety for the installations and those who attend the event, which is open free to the public and includes evening concerts with Venezuelan artists during all five days.

A free bus route is available from the closest subway station direct to the entrance of FitVen. FitVen 2010 also has an international hall; a space in which Argentina, this year’s guest of honor, will highlight its national tourist attractions.

GROWTH OF TOURISM Venezuela traditionally has had little or no tourism infrastructure.

Governments during the twentieth century focused almost all investment, development and economic policies on the nation’s vast and rich oil industry, which provides the principle income for the country.

Unlike other Latin American and Caribbean nations, Venezuela never developed a hotel infrastructure, services for international guests, tourism packages or routes to attract both national and foreign visitors. Ironically, the country has some of the most beautiful natural attractions in the world, including the highest waterfalls on the planet, Angel Falls.

Venezuela also has one of the most diverse climates, with icecapped Andean mountains to the west, Amazon jungle to the south, wide rivers and tall waterfalls surrounded by tabletop mountains and unusual rock formations to the southeast, and a gorgeous, pristine Caribbean coast to the north that has some of the world’s finest and exclusive beaches, such as Los Roques.

Despite this immense natural beauty, a majority of middle and upper class Venezuelans traditionally travel to Spain, Miami, Aruba or the Dominican Republic for vacation. Spending vacation at a national destination has been typically viewed as a sign of “lesser status” and frowned upon by the elite.

In 2005, the Chavez government established the Ministry of Tourism, with the objective of developing the tourism industry in the country, focusing first on creating programs to attract Venezuelans to visit destinations in their own country. Recently, tourism packages have been promoted by the

government, including low-cost offers to visit the nation’s beaches and exclusive regions, such as Angel Falls and the Amazon.

At this year’s FitVen, members of the Bolivarian Alliance of the Americas (ALBA) also hosted the smaller FitAlba (ALBA Tourism Fair), with the goal of advancing tourist exchanges within the regional trade bloc. Bolivia, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua were represented by their ambassadors and agents from tourism services. Several programs, such as tour packages for Venezuelan workers from the social missions to visit the luxurious beaches of Cuba, were consolidated.

Venezuela’s tourism ministry founded its own agency, Venetur, last year, and has since converted several major hotels into a national chain, providing more affordable, quality service. Venetur also works in conjunction with Conviasa, a state airline created a few years ago, to offer travel deals for national tourists and visitors. The company has created several tourist “routes” to rediscover Venezuela, including one within Caracas that focuses on historical sites where Independence hero Simon Bolivar spent time.

Developing Venezuela’s tourism industry is part of a broader strat-

egy of the Chavez government to diversify the nation’s economy and reduce dependence on oil income.

SOCIALIZING THE BANKING SYSTEM After the inauguration of FitVen, President Chavez attended an important event at the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas alongside several thousand banking employees and communal council members.

At the activity, during which 539 communal producers, family businesses and small and medium size companies were given 9.1 million bolivars (about $2.1 million USD) in microcredits with low-interest rates, President Chavez made several key announcements.

The Venezuelan leader revealed the creation of two new stimulus

programs, “My car to gas”, which will offer incentives to switch engines to use natural gas instead of gasoline, and “My home well equipped”, a program created to provide household appliances at minimal cost.

The former attempts to address environmental concerns and is part of larger efforts of the Venezuelan government to encourage conservation and mindful use of water, electricity and natural resources. The program will include a free exchange of older vehicles that use diesel fuel for newer natural gas consuming cars, as well as the free installation of natural gas converters in regular gasoline using automobiles.

The reduced cost home appliance program is a component of the Chavez administration’s ongoing strategies to combat inflation and price hikes imposed by private companies, which generally sell imported products at massively inflated prices. The new, low cost appliances will come from a line of Chinese products recently acquired

by Venezuela through cooperation agreements with the Asian nation.

During the socialization of the banking system event, several branches of the Banco del Pueblo (People’s Bank) were inaugurated via satellite. These banks will service communities and form part of the communal banking structure, which provides minimum interest loans for start-up community businesses and credits for local infrastructure development. Income generated through interest at these banks will be invested in community programs and used to fund social projects.

“Communes are to socialism like roots are to a tree”, declared President Chavez at the event, referring to the necessity to continue the construction of the communal system, including its economic structure.

“The socialization of the banking system is key to advancing the construction of communes”, exclaimed the Venezuelan head of state. “We will not rest until this is accomplished”.

T/ EG P/ Agencies

ANALYSIS

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In 2002, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) arrived in Venezuela with a mission: Remove Hugo Chavez from power

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report commissioned by the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and published in May 2010 by the Spanish Foundation for International Relations and Foreign Dialogue (FRIDE) revealed that this year alone, international agencies are investing between $40-50 million in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela.

A large part of those funds have been channeled to the opposition coalition, Democratic Unity (MUD), and its campaign for the upcoming legislative elections on September 26.

A majority of funding comes from US agencies, particularly USAID, which has maintained a presence in Venezuela since 2002 with the sole intention of aiding in President Chavez’s removal from power. For the past eight years, USAID has channeled millions into political parties, organizations and private media entities linked to the opposition, helping them to grow and unify, and providing strategic advice, support and resources for their political campaigns.

USAID’S BEGINNINGS IN VENEZUELA In a confidential memorandum obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), dated January 22, 2002, Russell Porter, head of USAID’s Office of Transition Initiatives (OTI), revealed how and why USAID set up shop in Venezuela.

“OTI was asked to consider a program in Venezuela by the State Department’s Office of Andean Affairs on January 4…OTI was asked if it could offer programs and assistance in order to strengthen the democratic elements that are under increasing fire from the Chavez government”.

The Office of Transition Initiatives is a division of USAID that works exclusively with political matters to further US government objectives abroad. OTI provides short-term, rapid and flexible assistance to aid “political transitions and stabilization

efforts” in countries of strategic importance to Washington.

Porter visited Venezuela on January 18, 2002 and met with representatives from opposition political parties and organizations. “There is a belief among nearly everyone I spoke with that Chavez will not finish out the year as president”, wrote OTI’s chief, noting, “Rumors of a coup are pervasive”.

To facilitate Venezuela’s political destiny, Porter commented, “For democracy to have any chance of being preserved, immediate support is needed for independent media and the civil society sector…One of the large weaknesses in Venezuela is the lack of a vibrant civil society…

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) has a $900,000 program in Venezuela that works with NDI, IRI and the Solidarity Center to strengthen political parties and the Unions…This program is useful, but not nearly sufficient. It is not flexible enough, nor does it work with enough new or non-traditional groups. It also lacks a media component”.

“Civil society needs to be strengthened in order to reduce social conflict and begin to rebuild the democratic infrastructure.

While OTI is not the right office to rebuild long-term democratic infrastructure, it is the office that can best reduce social conflict by working with the media and civil society. Success, however, is far from guaranteed. No matter how good the program, anti-democratic forces may well overrun democracy, but then OTI will need to be there to pick up the pieces and strengthen those democratic elements that remain”, elaborated Porter, evidencing the extent of US intervention. He concluded, “I recommend OTI send an assessment team to Venezuela as soon as possible with a prejudice toward starting an active program to support civil society and the media”.

ELECTORAL INTERVENTION: RECALL REFERENDUM After the failed coup d’etat against President Chavez in April 2002, OTI formally established its office in Caracas with a clear objective: facilitate a recall referendum against the Venezuelan President.

Another confidential memo dated October 2003 from OTI outlined the strategy: “The most im-

mediate program objective…is the realization of a successful referendum, followed by the restoration of stable democratic governance”.

To achieve this objective, USAID channeled more than $750,000 to a “public information campaign” in Venezuelan media.

“The purpose of this assistance… will be to help the population better understand the procedure and what is at stake…”

Through USAID/NED support, Sumate, a Venezuelan organization, was created to provide “domestic observation/quick count” and “electoral education campaigns”, all of which were directed against President Chavez.

From that time on, Sumate has maintained the same role in all subsequent electoral campaigns.

Sumate’s founder, Maria Corina Machado, met personally with President George W. Bush in the White House in May 2005 as a sign of support for the Venezuelan opposition. Today, she is a candidate in the upcoming National Assembly elections.

For the recall referendum process, USAID additionally invested $1.3 million into opposition “political party strengthening” to aid in “campaign organization and structure, message development and grassroots campaigning”.

OTI field offices usually do not extend beyond a time period of 2-3 years. However, in the case of Venezuela, USAID anticipated an exception. “The US objective in Venezuela is the continuation of

a stable, free market-oriented democracy. Regardless of the result of the referendum process, given the continued potential for conflict and volatility, the OTI program should probably continue into FY ’05…If instability and volatility continue, the eventual restoration of stability in Venezuela is important enough to USG interests for consideration of reintroducing a longer-term USAID program”.

After the recall referendum was won victoriously by the Chavez camp, USAID opted for a greater investment and expansion of the agency’s interventionist activities in Venezuela.

INTERVENTION IN LEGISLATIVE ELECTIONS – 2005/2010 A declassified cable sent in April 2005 from then US Ambassador in Caracas, William Brownfield, to the Secretary of State and the National Security Council outlined the work the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) were pursuing “to facilitate the renovation/transformation of Venezuela’s political parties”.

“They are working with opposition parties to help them focus on their survival as relevant political institutions”, revealed the cable.

“In January 2005, NDI began implementation of a year-long $500,000 project focusing on party transformation…Of primary importance will be the mobilization and engagement of reformist forces (e.g. young leaders, wom-

en, civil society) so that necessary change does indeed occur” in the legislative elections.

Brownfield indicated how “experienced trainers/political consultants” were brought from the US to aid opposition parties in the “development of strategies and messages that address the aspirations of low-income voters”, which the US Ambassador considered a “high priority”, considering it’s the base of hard-core Chavez supporters. And although opposition parties AD and COPEI appeared as principal beneficiaries of these programs, the cable also revealed support to rightwing party Primero Justicia for “modern techniques of message development and diffusion”.

In January 2005, IRI also received $500,000 to continue its program of “campaign schools” for opposition candidates. According to the document, “Topics to be covered in the campaign schools include: campaign strategy and organization, message development, outreach, fundraising, public relations, get-out-the-vote techniques, and candidate selection”.

Not only were US agencies funding and training opposition candidates, but they were involved in selecting them as well.

In the end, the opposition chose to boycott the legislative elections in 2005 instead of facing severe defeat at the polls.

2010 Five years later, the funds opposition parties are receiving have multiplied by the millions, as have the hundreds of new anti-Chavez organizations created in Venezuela under the façade of NGOs. In 2003, USAID funded 66 programs in Venezuela. Today, this figure has grown to 623 with more than $20 million. USAID’s original objective of “strengthening civil society” has been achieved.

There remains no doubt the Venezuelan opposition – in all its manifestations – is product of the US government. US agencies fund and design their campaigns, train and build their parties, organize their NGOs, develop their messages, select their candidates and feed them with dollars to ensure survival.

Until USAID achieves its principal objective – Hugo Chavez’s ouster – their work will continue.

T/ Eva Golinger

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POLITICS

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Õ ` }ÊV Õ ÌÞÊ« ÜiÀ Upon receiving his land title, Francisco Francisconi spoke about the attention the current government has given to small agricultural producers.

“We’re very grateful for these socialist projects”, he said. “If this were the [past government] of the fourth [republic], with this little piece of land, we wouldn’t have been able to receive credit”.

According to Juan Carlos Loyo, Minister of Agriculture and Land, the titles being distributed consist of small lots of two hectares accompanied by financing for production provided by Venezuela’s Agrarian Bank.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez toured the states of Lara and Tachira last weekend, meeting with community activists and workers to strengthen local organization and promote productive socialist enterprises

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hile in the state of Lara on Saturday, Chavez approved the allocation of 876 million bolivars ($203 million USD) for grassroots projects planned and implemented by local residents across the country.

The President signed the act during his visit to the Villas de San Jose Bolivar “Commune in Construction” where he witnessed first hand some of the advances that organized community members have achieved through grassroots initiatives supported by the national government.

“The socialist Villas de San Jose Bolivar Commune in Construction is an example, a true example we must follow and which really motivates me because it is leading the way to accelerate the march of the Revolution”, exclaimed the Venezuelan head of state during his visit.

The Commune, located in the municipality of Irribaren in the state of Lara, is comprised of eight local community councils – grassroots organizations sponsored by the Chavez government to promote participatory democracy.

In accordance with Venezuelan law, local residents organized in community councils have the right to petition the national government for direct financing of projects such as housing or public services.

There are currently more than 30 thousand such councils registered in all of Venezuela.

In recent years, the Chavez government has been promoting the integration of community councils into regional umbrella organizations known as Communes in Construction.

A new government ministry was established in 2009, the Ministry for Communes, to aid and assist in the formation of the communes and to expand the vision of the community organizations beyond mere assistance programs

to the development of local selfgovernance with socialist values.

“The commune is the concentration of efforts in a specific area in order for the force and vigor of socialism to blossom”, Chavez explained. “It’s not just about putting band-aids on problems or fixing a few houses”, he added.

In the two years that the San Juan Bolivar Commune has been operational in the state of Lara, the community has achieved the successful construction of a primary school, a communications center, a sports complex, and 251 homes for local residents.

During his visit, President Chavez approved funding for the construction of an additional one hundred houses for community members.

FIGHT AGAINST BUREAUCRACY One of the main obstacles that community councils and communes have faced in their formation and implementation of projects has been the excessive bureaucracy that still exists in Venezuela.

When he announced the allocation of the 876 million bolivars for community initiatives on Saturday, Chavez was emphatic about the money arriving directly to the community councils and communes without the interference of local bureaucrats.

Directly addressing the Communes Minister, Isis Ochoa, Venezuela’s President expressed a policy of zero tolerance for bureaucratic meddling.

“Isis, you have to answer to me to ensure that in no way these resources are going to be taken by the bureaucracies of governors and mayors”, Chavez implored. “All of the projects must be carried out by the commune, not the bureaucracy”.

GRANTING LAND TITLES Chavez announced on Saturday the granting of over 1,000 land titles and agricultural equipment to individual small farmers in the region of Sanare, also in the state of Lara.

According to the Venezuelan News Agency, 1,034 families will benefit from the titles, which make up a total of 3,578 hectares (8,841 acres).

Another six titles for a total of 2,117 hectares (5,231 acres) will be granted to local community councils and will benefit 354 families.

For the Venezuelan President, the granting of land titles to small producers and community organizations disproves allegations emanating from sectors of the conservative Venezuelan opposition claiming the government is attacking private property in the country.

“This act shows that the Revolution guarantees individual, private, and social property”, he affirmed.

In a similar ceremony that took place on Sunday in the state of Tachira, Chavez delivered an additional 500 land titles to small producers.

Upon delivering the titles to a small group of farmers, the Venezuelan head of state reinforced the need to create productive projects in the countryside that include housing, schools and water supplies.

INCREASING PRODUCTION Also during his visit to the Andean state of Tachira, Chavez attended the inauguration of a milk processing plant, beneficiary of a 26.5 million bolivars ($6.1 million) investment from the national government.

The plant, known as the “Admirable Campaign Social Property Unit”, is part of the state’s national food production and distribution network and has the capacity to process 540 thousand liters of milk per month for school lunch programs, as well as cheese products.

Our current production capacity is 18 thousand liters per day, which is proportional to the milk we receive from the five municipalities close to the plant”, explained coordinator Katerin Torres.

According to Torres, these figures represent the plant’s current functioning at 60% of operational capacity, a number that should rise to 93% by the end of the year.

President Chavez pointed out during his tour of the facility that milk production has increased by 47% in Venezuela since 2006.

Calling on his cabinet members to increase the revolutionary government’s efficiency, the Venezuelan head of state made an appeal for further organization.

“Socialism must be better than capitalism”, Chavez said. “It requires planning, a strategic plan, a tactical plan, power to the people.

The [Venezuelan] state has intervened in the economy together with the people, creating new spaces of power. That is how we will achieve true economic balance”.

T/ Edward Ellis P/ Presidential Press

POLITICS

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6i iâÕi >\Ê ÀiÊÌ > ÊfÎÎäÊL ÛiÃÌi`Ê Ê- V > Ê*À }À> à Earlier this week, Venezuela’s Minister for Planning and Finance, Jorge Giordani, highlighted the $330 billion USD invested in social programs over the last ten years and the important role those funds have played in the development of a socialist economy

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he massive financial commitment has come from the profits of Venezuela’s oil industry, and represents the first time in the nation’s history that such wealth is being equitably distributed.

According to Giordani, this investment has had a significant impact on national development indicators and has been praised by the United Nations.

The health, education and housing programs - known as missions - were first created by the government in 2003, but they have grown in number with new projects introduced on a regular basis. These social programs and policies now tackle a range of problems such as homelessness and the scourge of high food prices.

Giordani explained, “Practically $330 billion USD have been invested socially in education, health, housing, pensions for the retired, and bringing the minimum salary up to a dignified wage”.

Giordani underscored the 2009 report of the United Nations Development Program, which stated that Venezuela’s Human Development Index (a measure of development based on people’s ability to live long and healthy lives, gain knowledge and have a decent standard of living) had increased to 0.844.

MODEL FOR THE WORLD He also revealed that Venezuela had almost achieved the UN Millennium Development Goals, ahead of the 2015 deadline for all countries.

Only a month ago, United Nations General Assembly President Ali Abdessalam Treki, came to Venezuela and provided independent verification of the minister’s claims, confirming,

“What Venezuela has achieved with regards to the Millennium Development Goals should serve as a model for all other countries”.

Giordani emphasized the reason for the creation of the programs, which did not exist before Chavez was president.

“None of this comes free. This has been a systematic and permanent effort on behalf of the national government to improve lives, eradicate poverty and reduce inequalities”.

The Chavez administration’s determination to tackle inequality in society has also had success, affirmed Giordani. The Gini Index, which measures income distribution across a population, has also reduced - meaning less inequality - to 0.3928.

T/ Steven Mather P/ Agencies

} Ì }ÊVÀ iÊÌ Ê}Õ>À> ÌiiÊÃ>viÌÞ The Chavez administration is deploying security forces into regions governed by opposition leaders who refuse to cooperate on security measures, instead using crime and violence as a political badge

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ore than 930 members of the national government’s security forces were deployed last week in the central state of Miranda to crack down on crime and improve safety for the residents of the area, Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua announced last Friday.

The initiative came as part of the Venezuelan government’s renewed efforts to step up security measures in high crime areas, many of which, according to Jaua, are under the political control of the country’s conservative opposition.

The state of Miranda, where the deployment took place, borders the nation’s capital of Caracas and has the highest crime rates in the country.

It’s governor, Henrique Capriles Radonski, is a member of the political opposition to President Hugo Chavez and, according to government officials, has refused to cooperate with national public safety measures.

During the act of deployment last week, Interior and Justice Minister, Tareck El Aissami, pointed out that this lack of collaboration has led to a 15% rise in homicides in the state.

“This increase is happening because the counter-revolutionary, fascist governor [of Miranda] hasn’t utilized his police to support the efforts of the Bolivarian Government [of Hugo Chavez] on security issues. He only uses them to protect the powerful sectors. The poor people of Miranda have been abandoned”, El Aissami declared.

OPPOSITION NEGLECT According to El Assaimi, of the 2,530 members that make up the

local police force of Poli-Miranda, only one person provides attention to the barrio of Petare – one of the most populated and crimeridden areas of the country.

Public officials maintain the deployment of nearly a thousand national security operatives last Friday in the five Miranda municipalities which comprise the area known as the Tuy Valley, is the Chavez government’s answer to the continued problem of crime in the state.

Vice President Jaua insisted the national government would

continue to step up efforts to fill the security gaps left by opposition governors.

“Where there is no regional government that works for family safety, the government of Hugo Chavez will fulfill this right, guaranteed to every citizen”, Jaua affirmed during the deployment.

The security body being put to work in Miranda includes members of the Venezuelan armed forces and the National Bolivarian Police and makes up part of a nation-wide plan known as the Bicentennial Security Deployment (Dibise).

Dibise went into effect last March in the thirty-six Venezuelan municipalities with the highest crime rates.

Jaua stated on Friday that in the places where Dibise has been working, “The crime rate has begun to diminish”, but in states where there is an opposition governor, “crime continues to grow”.

In Miranda, Jaua reported the government has committed, in addition to the nearly 1,000 officials activated, 67 vehicles and 128 motorcycles to enhance patrols.

According to Minister El Aissami, the implementation of the Dibise plan and the execution of other public safety initiatives by the current government are indications of the Chavez administration’s commitment and determination to combat crime in the country.

Such initiatives run counter, El Aissami said, to the opposition’s intents to “use death as a flag” and exploit violence for their political benefit.

T/ Edward Ellis P/ Agencies

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SOCIAL JUSTICE

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he number of secondary care health facilities has grown in Venezuela by 551% since Hugo Chavez assumed the presidency in 1999 and national life expectancy has increased by two years, Health Minister Eugenia Sader reported during a television interview last Friday.

Sader informed the number of secondary care facilities has grown from 883 to 5,421 in the past eleven years and health centers now have the capacity to treat 85% of pathologies, providing preventive medical treatment to patients in order to avoid hospitalizations.

Important diagnostic services such as X-rays, mammograms, electrocardiograms, MRIs and laboratory testing are among some of the services offered by the centers.

In terms of the government health program, Barrio Adentro, which provides free health care to residents, the number of Integral Diagnostic Centers (CDI) has grown to 510 across the country, with another six in a trial period.

“In one month, 1,478,692 consultations have been carried out in the 510 CDIs that exist in the country”, Sader affirmed.

Barrio Adentro, the Venezuelan government’s flagship health pro-

gram, was founded seven years ago through an agreement with Cuba.

There are currently more than 30,000 Cuban doctors, nurses and health care specialists providing free care to Venezuelan residents and training Venezuelan medical students.

MORE FACILITIES, MORE ACCESS Sader reported last Friday that primary care facilities, where patients can receive medical consul-

tations from qualified health professionals, have also grown.

According to the health chief, there are now 10,748 such centers in the country, an increase of more than 50% since Chavez became president.

Hospitals have seen a boost as well.

More than two hundred public projects have been undertaken by the government to renovate facilities, improving technology and services.

The hospital Perez de Leon in the barrio of Petare, one of the poorest and most populated neighborhoods in the country, is one such facility currently under renovation.

According to Sader, the work includes the construction of three buildings that are currently between 50% and 80% complete.

“In this hospital, there will be advanced systems. We’re going to have four operating rooms for elective and emergency surgery.

There will also be areas desig-

nated for intensive, pediatric, and neo-natal therapy”, the Health Minister explained.

During an inspection of the hospital’s renovation last Thursday, Labor and Social Security Minister, Maria Cristina Iglesias, highlighted the advances the Chavez government has made in health care, stating that such progress is only possible in revolution.

“Its always good to remind folks that now we have 6,712 Popular Consultation Centers as part of Barrio Adentro, 4,794 clinics, 3,019 dental centers and 459 optical centers – none of which existed a few years ago.

And of course, we have 283 public hospitals at the service of the people”.

These gains in national health care stand in stark contrast to the past, Iglesias noted, when the public system was “practically in shambles”.

“The hospital and clinical network had been exhausted and was deteriorating in route to privatization, while the private clinics were getting rich through exploitation of the people, turning health care into a commodity, buying new equipment and acquiring new spaces”, she recalled.

T/ Edward Ellis P/ Presidential Press

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s a result of improved social policies promoted by the Chavez administration, Venezuelans now can enjoy one more year of life expectancy, highlighted Health Minister Eugenia Sader.

Sader explained that after eleven years of the Bolivarian Government, life expectancy at birth increased to 74 years, up from 72.9 years in 1999.

Similarly, the Health Minister revealed that children in the country are taller today than eleven years ago, “In 1998 the average height of seven year-old girls was 119.8 centimeters (3 ft 11”), today, it’s 121.4 centimeters (about 4 feet)”.

Boys are almost two centimeters taller.

Minister Sader emphasized that this increase in height is

due to the improved conditions in health care, immunization and nutrition that Venezuelans now enjoy.

One example of these beneficial social policies has been the increase in disease prevention through vaccines.

BCG immunization has increased by 1700%, and vaccines against diptheria and pertussis (whooping cough), as well as tetanus, have increased by 115%.

MORE SCHOOLS, MORE EDUCATION “The Chavez government has built more than 4,500 schools in the past ten years nationwide in order to expand access to education and guarantee the right of all Venezuelans to receive a free, quality education”, affirmed

Education Vice-Minister Edgar Leon this week.

“In the last ten years, the Venezuelan State has invested more than ever before, more than all the investments in education made in the previous 40 years. In these ten years, more than 4,500 school have been built, while in the previous 40 years not a single new school was constructed”, Leon emphasized.

Regarding the conditions of schools when the current government took power, the education official recalled, “During the past ten years, we have not just built schools but we have renovated thousands of them.

The investment in this sector has been huge. The results are there and we are not just talking about

formal schools, but also the missions [government social programs]”, he stated.

Leon explained all these policies have allowed school enrollment to increase to about 7.7 million students, just in the primary school system.

He also underlined that the national government dedicates 23% of the nation’s budget to social investment; of that, 11% is allocated to education.

“These are extraordinary achievements of the Revolution”, he exclaimed.

Regarding the country’s literacy rate, Leon reaffirmed that recently, Venezuela was declared “territory free of illiteracy” by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

He pointed out that thanks to the educational program Mision Robinson, a total of 95.2% of the population that did not have any educational degree before, now can read and write, and many have advanced on to secondary and university-level education.

The education Vice-Minister also mentioned Mision Ribas, through which more than 700,000 Venezuelans who had not completed secondary education were able to obtain their high school diplomas.

“Regarding university education, we went from an enrollment of 600,000 students ten years ago, to close to 2.4 million this year” he underscored.

T/ Bolivarian News Agency

SOCIAL JUSTICE

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V VÊ> `ÊÃ V > Ê« V iÃÊ}À ÜÊÃÌÀ }iÀ The Venezuelan government has implemented social and economic policies seeking to reduce the effects of the world financial crisis and end corrupt, inflationary tendencies in the country. End of recession is imminent says Venezuela’s Planning Minister

W

ith stable rates of inflation and unemployment and the maintenance of social spending and public investment, Venezuela’s economy is poised to emerge from its six-quarter recession with a stronger productive capacity, according to Planning and Finance Minister Jorge Giordani.

“The economy is passing through a sort of gymnasium in which it is strengthening itself in the area of production”, Giordani said. “We have been training for two years, unfortunately with a recessive period, but there is no doubt that there is going to be growth in the third or fourth quarters of this year and those to come”, said the minister.

Venezuela’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrank by 3.3% in 2009. This year, the 12-month rate of contraction slowed from 5.8% in the first quarter to 1.9% in the second quarter.

Giordani said the government’s maintenance of social programs and public investment during the recession helped bring about this impending recovery. “The Venezuelan economy is going to grow in a much stronger manner in terms of its own capacities”, he said.

These investments included an increase of the state’s presence in the banking sector to more than 25%, according to the government.

The Bank of Venezuela grew from third largest in the nation in terms of deposits when it was nationalized in 2009 to first largest today, and it increased its loans to manufacturing and agricultural production.

Several privately-owned banks that were found to be either insolvent or in violation of banking laws were nationalized and merged into a new state-owned bank, Banco Bicentenario, which began granting low-interest credits to small and medium-sized producers this year.

FOOD AND PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION The state also increased its participation in the production and distribution of food and other goods at controlled prices. This week, the state-owned chain of markets began selling children’s school supplies at a discount of between 50% and 70% and home appliances such as stoves and refrigerator at prices as much as 30% below market prices.

President Chavez visited the II School Supply Fair in Caracas on Tuesday, where over 260 products from small and medium size Venezuelan businesses are being sold this month at up to 70% discounted prices. Chavez underscored the importance of national production of basic consumer goods, and called on private companies to advance development “until the moment arrives when we can produce everything we need here in Venezuela”.

Venezuela has long been battling speculation and price hikes induced by the private sector and dependence on imports. Under the Chavez government, national production has increased exponentially, aided by state programs, such as the Bicentennial Production Fund, which provides low-interest loans to domestic businesses.

INTERNATIONAL CONFIDENCE China has demonstrated its confidence in the Venezuelan economy by promising $20 billion in credit – $5 billion of which have been granted so far mainly for

agricultural investments – a testament to Venezuela’s economic stability and ability to borrow, said Giordani, who recently returned from a diplomatic trip to China.

Venezuela’s total public debt is 18.4% of the GDP, and the Central Bank holds $28.3 billion in foreign currency reserves.

Venezuela’s national budget for 2010 was based on the cautious estimate of $40 per barrel of oil, while the price of oil has stabilized this year at around US $70 per barrel.

UNEMPLOYMENT LOW The National Statistics Institute (INE) recently released data showing that Venezuela’s rates of unemployment and inflation also remain stable.

Monthly inflation during August was 1.6%, the average between the June rate of 1.8% and

the July rate of 1.4%. This is lower than the 2.2% monthly inflation rate in August 2009. Cumulative inflation over the past twelve months was 29.7%, in line with the government’s target inflation rate of no more than 30% for this year.

Cumulative inflation during the 11 years of the Chavez presidency is 733%, compared to cumulative inflation of 8,104% during the 11 years preceding Chavez’s presidency, according to AVN. The INE recorded the unemployment rate at 8.7% in July, compared to a 14.7% unemployment rate in July of 1999, the year Chavez took office. The unemployment rate was 7.2% in July 2007, its lowest point before the world financial crisis hit and drove down the price of oil, Venezuela’s chief export, sparking Venezuela’s recession.

INE Director Elias Eljuri stated publicly that a total of 3.25 million jobs have been created during the Chavez government, while the active working population grew by 2.66 million people during that time. The number of unemployed people has dropped from 1.7 million in 1998 to 1.1 million currently, he said.

Venezuela has a substantial informal economy, which shrank from 51% of the workforce in July 1999 to 45% of the workforce currently, Eljuri said.

Venezuela’s working age population is 20.2 million people. In addition to the 1.1 million unemployed, 7.1 million people (35.3% of the total) are not looking for work because they are full-time students (the number of which increased from 900,000 to 2.5 million during the Chavez presidency), homemakers, or incapable of working, according to the INE. President Chavez has recently been hot on the campaign trail in support of his party’s candidates for the National Assembly in the elections scheduled for September 26th. He has framed the election as a referendum on his presidency, placing emphasis on many of Venezuela’s economic improvements over the last decade.

These improvements include the reduction of extreme poverty from 24% to 7.2%, and the reduction of income inequality, now among the lowest in the Western Hemisphere.

Chavez has emphasized that these changes are not enough, because the richest 20% of the population continues to control 47% of the wealth. Last weekend, he called for all government ministries to join the recently created Ministry for Communes to accelerate the formation of communes.

Communes are networks of neighborhood-based decisionmaking bodies called communal councils. The communal councils link together into broader participatory governing bodies which provide expanded services to their communities such as subsidized food markets and crime prevention. The vision of many communities is that the communes will eventually replace the current institutions of representative democracy and market economy.

T/ James Suggett www.venezuelanalysis.com

FRIDAY|September 10th, 2010|No. 28|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

Manufacturing fear in exchange for votes

“V

enezuela, more deadly than Iraq” read a headline in the New York Times on August 23 – a headline of such shock value that it can only mean one thing: it’s election time in Venezuela. Inside Venezuela, similar headlines are printed almost daily in corporate media in the run-up to the September 26 national assembly elections.

The point of the articles is not to illuminate the real crime problem in Venezuela, but rather to persuade potential voters during the election campaign. Corporate media in Venezuela, which is owned by wealthy elites largely opposed to President Hugo Chavez, has continually used fear as a way to create an atmosphere of insecurity in an attempt to generate votes during elections.

International coverage was sparked most recently by the publication in the Venezuelan newspaper El Nacional of a graphic and highly disturbing photo of corpses piled haphazardly in a morgue in the epicenter of Venezuela’s violence – the capital city of Caracas. While the photo was printed in the lead-up to this year’s election campaign, it was quickly discovered that it was taken no later than December of last year.

Yet El Nacional’s owner, Miguel Henrique Otero, waited for a more political opportune moment. As he pointed out on CNN, he decided to hold off printing the photo until this month because now, “Venezuela is in campaign-mode”.

Using the media as a political tool is not a new strategy of the opposition. When the government decided not to renew the license of RCTV - a television station involved in inciting protest and misreporting events during the 2002 coup that briefly overthrew President Hugo Chavez - media reports claimed freedom of speech was threatened in Venezuela.

What the reports do not mention is that the press, a majority of which still remains in the hands of Venezuela’s right-wing opposition, is used as a tool to advance the narrow political interests of the country’s oligarchy. The photo printed in El Nacional, which was too graphic to be shown in US media, is just one example of how the opposition has abused the freedom of press for their own political gain.

HISTORY OF MEDIA AND VIOLENCE A look back to before Chavez was elected in 1999 helps give context to the current challenges facing Caracas today. One of the wealthiest countries in Latin American largely due to its immense oil reserves, Venezuela also became

known for its drastic inequalities. After the implementation of numerous neoliberal policies that cut social programs and raised the price of basic goods, many of the city’s poor were forced to turn to gangs and illegal activities. Police corruption and easy access to guns created a sense of chaos in the streets. In The Street is my Home, author Patricia C. Marquez reports on research she conducted on violence in Caracas in the 1990’s: “In effect, Caracas, is now in a state of siege.

The walls that surround the properties of the well-to-do grow higher and higher, and even among the less well off and the poor, there is anxiety, uncertainty, and hopelessness. But while some seek to protect themselves in their fortresses, others cannot escape the bullets flying inside their thin rancho wall”.

However, as Marquez claims, the media largely underreported the violence. “The violence in Caracas is much more serious than anything portrayed in the media”.

Before 1999, the media underplayed “the dimension of the problem to avoid disturbing the public”.

Julio Cesar Velasco, resident of a poor barrio in Caracas, reaffirmed Marquez’ remarks: “Before President Chavez, the media reported one of every hundred killings. Now, the media report every killing a hundred times”.

GOVERNMENT POLICIES TO IMPROVE SECURITY Since Chavez took office, numerous policies have been experimented with to tackle the violence. General policies to battle poverty that provide healthcare, education, jobs and rehabilitation centers to Venezuelan citizens have had positive results.

Since the initiation of the programs, poverty has dropped in half and youth have new alternatives to a life on the street.

H o w e v e r, with easy access to we-

apons, gun crime remains common and impunity often leads to repeat offenders.

Resolving that issue, however, has been difficult in part because the corruption of the Metropolitan Police of Caracas (PM).

As a method to tackle the problem, Chavez’s administration created the National Bolivarian Police (PNB). The idea for the PNB was developed from a National Police Reform Commission in 2006 in which the government and police forces participated in numerous community-based assemblies to determine the structure of police reform.

In January of this year, the first officers were deployed in Catia, the largest barrio on Caracas’s west side, which since then has seen an over 50% reduction in murders.

COMMUNITY RESPONSE One of the most successful initiatives of the government in battling violence has been through the support of community organizations and councils that directly respond to the needs of their neighborhood. In

areas such as La Vega, which used to hold the title as being one of the most dangerous barrios, cultural programs have been the primary response in taking youth off the streets. On any given evening, sport, music and art programs aimed at young males, those most likely to get involved in gangs, can be seen in almost every neighborhood.

Additionally, in 23 de Enero, an area with a population of over 500,000, residents were successful in actually removing the police from their barrio completely. Since then, the community created their own police force and have taken over former areas home to drug-sellers, turning them into parks and meeting spaces. According to accounts from those living in the barrio, there has been an over 90% reduction in murders.

PROBLEM AREAS Violence still remains an issue, though one that is not unique to Caracas but which also affects numerous cities around the world.

Failure to produce reliable statistics that are available to the public has been an obstacle in understanding the size of the problem.

Other obstacles facing the government are the concentration of violence in areas that are difficult to patrol. Petare, the largest barrio, and quite isolated on Caracas’s east side, has had scattered outcomes. The region is home to a large Colombian immigrant population and also one of the poorest and most densely populated barrios in the city.

In western Venezuela, new threats of violence continue along the 1,375-mile border of Venezuela and Colombia, which has been a challenge for authorities to control. Drug traffickers and paramilitaries operate along border cities and even as far east as Caracas.

Reducing the murder rate in Caracas and elsewhere will continue to be a challenge to the current government in the coming years.

However, with the creation of the national police force and the increased involvement of community organizations, there is strong optimism the situation will improve. Unfortunately, the wealthy elite has shown it is in their interest for Venezuela to remain violent - making it increasingly apparent that it’s not Chavez’s policies that stand in the way of a safer Venezuela, but the manufacturing of fear promoted by the opposition’s own media.

- Lainie Cassel Lainie Cassel currently divides her time between Caracas, Venezuela and New York City. She can be reached at Lainie.Cassel[at]gmail.com.