page 7 | Security:
page 8 | Opinion
Venezuela advances in drug war and brings down major traffickers
Why venezuelan women vote for president Hugo Chavez
Friday | April 27, 2012 | Nº 106 | Caracas
ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas
President Chavez returns to Venezuela alive and well Guaranteeing food security During the past nine years, the Venezuelan government has invested heavily in ensuring citizens have access to affordable, quality food. The creation of statesubsidized markets such as Mercal and PDVAL have enabled residents nationwide to meet their nutritional needs while avoiding price hikes and speculation common in private markets. Mercal’s creation nine years ago filled a necessary void in neighborhoods where private shops sold basic consumer items at elevated costs, forcing buyers to pay top dollar for food. | page 4
The Venezuelan head of state arrived home safely early Thursday in the midst of rumors about his health Chavez has been undergoing radiation treatment in Cuba since late February after a small tumor was removed from his pelvic region. He has traveled between Havana and Caracas during the past month, making few public appearances as he attends to his health situation and governs more discreetly. However, after rumors circulated falsely referring to a decline in his health, the Venezuelan President came out to dispel them and warned his followers of psychological operations and rumor laboratories seeking to create instability in Venezuela and place doubt on his capacity to govern. | page 2
International
Venezuela backs Argentina’s right to YPF The expropriation of the oil company has caused tensions with Spain. | page 3
Venezuelan F1 driver hails social progress Pastor Maldonado, the Venezuelan Formula 1 Williams Team driver, has praised the “remarkable achievements” that have taken place in Venezuela over the last twelve years. The twenty seven year-old-driver applauded the Venezuelan government’s commitment to supporting sports in the country. “It’s great to see Venezuela being represented in sports of all genres around the world. This is thanks to the government’s support and financing which gives young people like me a chance to excel and to follow their dreams”. Maldonado won the Grand Prix 2 title in 2010 and has since led his team in Formula One. He is part of a new generation in Venezuela benefiting from state investment in athletics.
Politics
Electoral system guarantees transparency
Money laundering scheme uncovered in Venezuela
Venezuela’s CNE says elections “fraud proof”. | page 5
T/ COI
Integration
Venezuela and Vietnam forge ties Accords with the Asian nation advance energy policy. | page 6
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enezuela’s top security official announced the arrest of five people on charges of money laundering and said Tuesday that there are suspicions that several opposition politicians were involved in the scheme. The network, which includes the secretary of the opposition party, was allegedly “committed
to launder $2 million”, although evidence suggests the total might be closer to $10 million, according to Venezuela's Minister of Interior and Justice, Tareck El Aissami. “This network operated from several states in the country and used several companies and individuals who served as a cover to legitimize these currencies by introducing bolivars [Venezuela’s currency] from
illegal markets into the national economic system”, said El Aissami. He said several fly-by-night businesses, including a construction company, were involved in the alleged scheme. Investigators believe two opposition politicians, Carabobo Gov. Henrique Salas Feo and Nueva Esparta Gov. Morel Rodriguez, maintained ties to the ring of money launderers.
Salas Feo rejected the accusation in a Twitter message, calling the allegations part of “a smear campaign”. Rodriguez could not be reached for comment. El Aissami said much of the laundered money came from drug trafficking profits. Venezuela is victim of neighboring Colombia’s massive drug production and trafficking primarily to the US. Since Venezuela suspended cooperation with US agencies their anti-drug efforts have been increasingly successful.
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2 | Impact
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
President Chavez alive and well, dismisses rumors about health T/ COI with reporting from Tamara Pearson P/ Estudios Revolucion enezuelan President Hugo Chavez reappeared on television Monday after an eight-day silence, scoffing at rumors that his health had taken a turn for the worse and saying he planned to be back home Thursday after his latest round of cancer treatment in Cuba. The popular head of state arrived back in Caracas shortly after midnight on Thursday and appeared briefly on television conversing with cabinet members. Chavez had said in a live phone call on state television Monday that radiation therapy takes a physical toll and that he will need to recover. He dismissed rumors of complications in his treatment. “We’ll have to get used to living in the coming days and weeks and months among those rumors, and well, when necessary come out to make them crumble”, Chavez said. These are “dirty war laboratories” and “psychological operations” led by his opponents, explained the Venezuelan President. Over the weekend and on Monday, Venezuelan and international media began reporting on an alleged decline in the President’s health, and some rumors on social media networks such as Twitter claimed he had passed away in Cuba. The opposition-owned Venezuelan daily El Nacional reported Monday that, “Never has the uncertainty been greater in Venezuela”, while international media claimed Chavez’s state of health had “raised doubts” over his “political future as he campaigns for re-election in an October 7 vote”. Last Friday, the Miami Herald had headlined, “Venezuelan President lack of visibility fuels health speculation” and AP on Saturday led with, “Venezuelans anxious at Chavez’s disappearing act”. The same day, Fox News Latino’s headline was “Silence from Venezuela’s Chavez Raises Concerns”. The rumors spread despite statements by close Chavez allies regarding his prompt return home. National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello told press Friday that the opposition spread such rumors as a part of a “desperate” campaign, “because the polls aren’t giving them the results they’d like”. He also criticized private media for not publishing poll results. The latest survey, conducted this month by opposition-aligned company Hinterlaces found that 53% of voters intend to vote for
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Chavez, while 34% intend to vote for opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski. Other pollsters have found that closer to 60% will vote for Chavez. “The same people who complain that he talks a lot are the ones who panic
when they don’t hear him”, added socialist legislator Dario Vivas. MORE TREATMENT During his television broadcast Monday, President Chavez said once he’s back in
Venezuela, he plans to return to Cuba for one more round of radiation treatment. “They’re rough treatments,” Chavez said. “And you have to rise up to the level with a lot of will, a lot of strength, a lot of faith”. He joked that some might like to see him out running a 100-meter race or playing baseball, “but hey, not right now. Let me recover”. “Ask anyone what radiation of four to five weeks is like. Can you all imagine? And also with the work that I constantly take on”, he said. Despite undergoing the radiation treatment, President Chavez has remained actively involved in his daily tasks, reviewing government programs, new legislation and even approving millions in funding for several energy-related projects and public pension funds. Monday’s appearance was the South American leader’s first on Venezuelan television since he left for Havana on April 14. Since then, he had communicated only through messages on his Twitter account and other written statements. ALL METHODS OF COMMUNICATION The Venezuelan head of state responded to criticism by opposition presidential candidate Henrique Capriles, who on Sunday chided the President for “governing by Twitter, approving laws without consulting them with anyone”. “I don’t know why they’re going to criticize that I’m sending messages by Twitter”, Chavez exclaimed. “It’s one of the ways that I have to communicate, like any form of media. That’s what it’s for”. “It’s so absurd to say that Chavez is governing by Twitter”, he added. “I’m merely informing my nearly 3 million followers and beyond of the issues I’m attending to”. Chavez, who is running for re-election in October, said that he was working with his Foreign Minister, Nicolas Maduro, his brother Adan and Science and Technology Minister Jorge Arreaza, discussing issues including a new labor law that he expects to enact next month. He began radiation treatment in Cuba in late March after undergoing an operation in February that removed a second tumor from his pelvic region. The first tumor was taken out last June, and he then underwent chemotherapy. On Tuesday, the Venezuelan President appeared again on television in a cabinet meeting broadcast from Cuba. He appeared vibrant and energized. Photographs of him playing bocce in Havana over the weekend with his cabinet members and daughters were also circulated to the press. Late Wednesday evening Chavez sent out a tweet announcing he was on the plane and headed back home. “We are on the plane! We’re all very happy that we’re heading back to our beloved Venezuela!” His arrival a few hours later was greeted by a flutter of messages on Twitter.
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
International | 3 |
Venezuela stands with Argentina in struggle for energy sovereignty T/ COI P/ Agencies enezuela was the first to express its full “support and solidarity” for Argentina as President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner decided to assert greater control over the country’s natural energy resources. In response to the “energy sovereignty” announcement made last week, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and high-ranking members of his cabinet asserted, once again, that Latin America continues along the path of “sovereignty and independence”. On Monday, April 16, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Krichner announced it was in the “public’s interest” to control at least 51% of the country’s oil investment and extraction efforts. As such, she ordered the immediate intervention of Spanish-owned YPF, the largest oil firm currently exploiting Argentine crude, and announced that its shares “were subject to expropriation”. Kirchner accused the firm of failing to invest a sufficient amount of its earnings ($3.7 billion since 2007) in Argentina, blamed it for declining output, and sent the proposal to the country’s legislature for further discussion and approval. Though some debate ensued regarding how much should be paid for the YPF shares, the vast majority of lawmakers backed the nationalization. Once the nationalization becomes effective, 26% of shares will be held by the national government while another 25% by the Argentinian state governments involved in oil exploration. A poll taken over the weekend found 75% of Argentines favor the decision. The move, however, did not come without harsh attacks from corporate-backed governments and their allies in the media. Threatening “grave consequences” for the Argentinian economy, private media outlets from across Spain, Western
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Europe, the United States and elsewhere issued dire warnings against any additional moves at natural resource sovereignty. The Wall Street Journal, for example, called the decision a “theft”, while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, and Mexican President Felipe Calderon all called it “unjustifiable” and “a mistake”. British Foreign Affairs Minister William Hague said he was “very concerned about the decision” while the European Parliament called it “deplorable”, warning a trade agreement between Europe and Mercosur was now “at risk”. VENEZUELA OFFERS “FULL SUPPORT” Venezuela’s support came one day after the April 16 announcement, with President Hugo Chavez phoning his Argentine counterpart directly. Chavez called Kirchner to voice his unwavering support for “the doctrine of sovereign control over natural resources” and added, “he had watched the entirety of her televised address announcing the nationalization”.
President Chavez also told Argentina’s Cristina Fernandez that her public address “reminded him of conversations held in 2003 with President (Nestor) Kirchner” in which the two discussed the urgent need “to build energy security and sovereignty – renamed ‘the South American energy equation’ by Cristina Fernandez”. Chavez affirmed that Kirchner’s energy policies “are to provide stability to the region for the next 100 years”, and went on to congratulate the Argentine President “for her commitment to keeping Argentina on the path of development”. Both presidents “committed themselves to maintaining regular contact so as to continue the advance towards a unified South America and a strategic, binational alliance in strategic sectors, with all efforts dedicated to the well-being of both peoples”. VENEZUELA & REPSOL With corporate media spreading fear of further nationalizations in the region, Venezuelan Minister of Energy
and Petroleum Rafael Ramirez told reporters that he expected “no problems to arise” when it comes to private oil investments in Venezuela. Though Ramirez was firm in his support for Argentina’s decision, he added that oil investments are safe in Venezuela because, “agreements with Repsol are on very clear terms, including a majority share controlled by us”. Ramirez explained that moves towards greater energy sovereignty in Venezuela, consolidated by the Chavez government between 2005 and 2007, had “strengthened” oil production in the country and resulted in “a period of significant growth” for the country. Of the twelve transnational oil firms forced to renegotiate oil deals with Venezuela in 2006, only two (Conoco-Phillips and ExxonMobil) rejected negotiations and took Venezuela to court. The rest, including Repsol, currently enjoy positive economic development through oil extraction in the country. According to Ramirez, current cooperation agreements be-
tween Venezuelan state-owned oil giant Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) and Repsol subsidiary Upstream “are advancing very well”. Repsol is currently involved in Venezuela through the jointly-held oil firm, PetroCarabobo. Though the Spanish firm holds only 11% of the company’s shares, an estimated 40% of production (165,000 of 400,000 barrels per day) is to be refined by Repsol and its subsidiaries. While he recognized the successful collaborations between PDVSA and Upstream, Ramirez also stressed that “the decision made by the Argentine Government must be respected”. “Reasons exist for Argentina’s decision”, Ramirez said, referring specifically to the “grave situation of declining production and a need (by Argentina) to import gasoline”. “It’s no longer acceptable that a company holding the rights to production of Argentine oil be exporting earnings while they fail to attend to internal needs”, he affirmed. Ramirez added that he had spoken personally with Argentine Minister of Planning Julio de Vido, telling de Vido that Venezuela “is at their service when it comes to operational capacities and the definition of legal policies”. Venezuela’s Minister of Energy and Petroleum added that he was “concerned” with declarations coming out of Spain and insisted that the Spanish President, among others, “should calm down a bit and understand that governments have the right to protect the national interest.” “TRUE INDEPENDENCE” Speaking to the press last week, Venezuelan Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro described Argentina’s decision as “concrete proof that we are moving towards a new state of true independence, of the consolidation of a regional block in which we defend ourselves in spite of ongoing attempts by other sectors of the world to colonize and use our natural resources”. Maduro told the press that he to had spoken with his Argentine counterpart, Foreign Minister Hector Timerman, and said that Timerman was “very pleased” to receive the “solidarity” of Venezuela.
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4 | Economy
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
Venezuelans celebrate 9 years of food security
Food sovereignty has been a priority of the Chavez government in order to ensure access to affordable and quality food for all T/ COI P/ Agencies enezuela’s Food Minister Carlos Osorio highlighted last Sunday the role that the revolutionary government of President Hugo Chavez has played in ensuring food security to the nation by providing more than 10 million tons of important staples for the economically disadvantaged. The announcement came as the government and citizens celebrated the 9th anniversary of the popular social program Mercal, which supplies subsidized food products to Venezuelans and insulates consumers from the volatility of national and international prices. From its humble origins of only 3 small shops and two warehouses that distributed a
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mere 45,000 tons in 2003, the food program has grown to provide distribution centers throughout the nation’s 23 states and closed 2011 supplying 3.7 million tons of products to the South American country’s residents. “We advanced in 2011 and closed the year with 14,948,690 people who visited our establishments”, Minister Osorio said during the opening of a meat distribution center in the neighborhood of San Juan in the capital of Caracas. As evidence of the program’s effectiveness, Venezuelan Vice President Elias Jaua cited Mercal’s recognition by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) “as one of the fundamental instruments that has allowed Venezuela to be at the vanguard of the fight against hunger”. Speaking during a tour of one of the government’s markets in the state of Miranda, the Vice President informed that the program has subsidized more than 7 billion bolivars ($1.6 billion) worth of products in 2012, resulting in a savings of between 50 and
60 percent for residents when compared with commercial retail outlets. Specifically, Jaua highlighted the prices of some products such as cooking oil, which is available at a savings of 79 percent while chicken is sold for 69 percent less than the normal regulated price. The same is true for red meat, which is offered at half of the price found in private outlets. “Thanks to [President Hugo] Chavez, the poor also now have the right to eat meat and they can buy it in Mercal at only 7 bolivars ($1.62) a kilogram”, he stated. As part of the celebratory activities marking Mercal’s 9th year of service, the government put on sale more than 3 million kilograms of food products last Saturday in 552 different sales points belonging to the state’s growing network of food distribution outlets. “In socialism, food is a sacred right of the people and everyday it will continue to be more so while with capitalism it’s a business of the powerful”, Jaua asserted.
AN EXPANDING NETWORK Apart from Mercal, the state’s distribution networks have also grown to include other outlets such as the Venezuelan Food Producer and Distributor (PDVAL) and the Bicentennial grocery market chain that have offered important products to residents at prices far below the private sector. “Mercal continues to be directed towards the most disadvantaged sectors with a subsidy of more than 60, 70 and even in some cases 80 percent. Now we have the PDVAL network and the Bicentennial stores which are quickly developing so that all Venezuelans have access to food products”, the Minister said on Sunday. PDVAL was created in 2008 as a program of the state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) while the Bicentennial markets were founded after the state nationalized the Frenchowned Exito grocery markets in January 2010. The idea has been to ensure that the population has access to basic commodities and that the prices of such goods are shielded against the kind of speculation and hoarding that has become commonplace in the Venezuelan private market. Specifically, the concept of Mercal arose after the Venezuelan right-wing, in its efforts to force the democratically-elected Hugo Chavez from the presidency, embarked upon an oil lockout at the end of 2002. The economic sabotage shut down the nation’s privatelyowned and operated food distribution chains and brought widespread hardship to many in the country. “The [government’s] Food Mission can only be possible in Socialism and is a consequence of the great battle that our peo-
ple had during 2002 and 2003”, Vice President Jaua said on Saturday. Programs such as Mercal, PDVAL and the Bicentennial markets also serve to protect the population against unscrupulous business practices seen in the everyday transactions of the marketplace. In order to avoid price regulations enacted by the government, some food distributors and commercial retailers refuse to sell certain products, such as sugar or cooking oil, creating an artificial scarcity that forces staples into higher prices in a parallel market. Between the three state programs that make up part of the Chavez administration’s Food Mission, government officials now report that the state’s expanding distribution network has more than 21,000 outlets, making speculation and hoarding by retailers more difficult. This has also been followed by the establishment of popular “arepa” restaurants that sell the traditional corn meal patties at discounted prices in more than 230 mobile and fixed units in Venezuela. While the cost of arepas can reach up to 50 bolivars ($11.62) in private venues depending on the meat, cheese or bean filling used, the price of the patty in state run facilities is only 7.5 bolivars ($1.74). Writing on his Twitter account last Sunday, President Hugo Chavez praised the advancements being seen in terms of food security in Venezuela and congratulated the workers of the program for their success. “Mission Mercal is only possible with a socialist government! Congratulations to everyone on this 9th Anniversary! Long Live Mercal!” he declared.
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
Politics | 5 |
New voting system to prevent fraud in elections T/ COI P/ CO File enezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE) revealed last Monday innovations in its voting system, making the South American country one of the most advanced nations in the world with respect to polling security and efficiency. The new Integrated Authentication System (SAI) will defend against fraud by making it impossible to cast a ballot without the electronic recognition of the voter’s fingerprint. The announcement of the new system was made by CNE President Tibisay Lucena during a press conference where she explained the new machinery and the relevance of the security measures. “The kind of security that we have in order to give election results doesn’t exist elsewhere”, Lucena said of Venezuela’s voting system which has been recognized internationally for its transparency.
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The CNE president explained during the press conference that the institution already has the fingerprints of 16.8 million registered voters while some 1.2 million people who have yet to participate in an electoral contest are not yet present in the voter database. To remedy this situation the entity in charge of the country’s election has launched the campaign “Put Your Print” to encourage new or inactive voters to participate in the advanced security measures. Lucena informed that the CNE would embark on awareness campaigns and even make house calls to ensure that the new system operates with maximum efficiency. “I want to let everyone know that the rules have been established. We’re extremely proud of what we’ve achieved because it’s for the country and the voters”, she said. While the CNE president expressed her confidence in attaining 100 percent of registered
voters fingerprints, no citizen will be prevented from voting if their marks do not appear in the system. A written form will be facilitated to make sure that everyone is able to exercise his or her democratic right to vote. “The only way that someone won’t be able to vote is if they have already voted. The SAI will determine that”, Lucena assured. In affirmation of the new system on Monday afternoon, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez praised the CNE President and the institution’s workers for their dedication while calling in to state television. “I saw her this morning giving a marvelous explanation of the best electoral system that exists on the planet... Congratulations Tibisay”, he said. The CNE has set October 7 as the date of its presidential elections when voters will decide between incumbent Hugo Chavez and opposition candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski, current governor of the state of Miranda.
The majority of polls give a substantial lead to the socialist Chavez, ranging as high as 30 points over the conservative Radonski. During his phone call on Monday, Chavez also warned of attempts by the opposition to discredit the electoral process and
Saving the environment: An innovative venezuelan program plants 45 million trees T/ Ewan Robertson www.venezuelanalysis.com enezuelans participated in a national day of seed gathering to mark World Earth Day on Sunday, while government figures and environmentalists highlighted the advances of the Venezuelan government’s Mision Arbol (Mission Tree) reforestation program. The National Seed Gathering Day took place in national parks across the country to collect seeds for planting new trees as part of Mission Tree. Staff from the Environment Ministry, the National Parks Institute, Mission Tree, environmental activists, community members and schoolchildren participated.
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Julio Cesar Piñango, coordinator for Mission Tree in the Capital District and Vargas State, commented that the day was
“contributing, responding and giving continuity to environmental conservation in front of global warming and climate change”.
Environment Minister Alejandro Hitcher informed press yesterday that Mission Tree’s aim was to collect 12,000 kilograms of seeds this year, with 9,200 collected so far. These will be used to plant 13,000 hectares of new forest. “The organized people are recuperating our ecosystem damaged by deforestation… Through Mission Tree we are recovering natural resources for our well-being”, stated the minister, adding, “Socialism must be ecological, because it educates people to have a respect for life”. Mission Tree, initiated by the Venezuelan government in 2006, aims at community-led restoration, conservation and sustainable use of the South
sow instability in the country through a campaign of misinformation. “Venezuela is a nation that despite the intents, will no be destabilized... it’s a solid nation, a solid republic but it needs to be cared for and strengthened”, the President affirmed.
American country’s forests. 32,000 hectares and 45 million trees have since been planted as part of the initiative, according to Hitcher. Central to the program are volunteer-run Conservation Committees, which receive public funding and are responsible for planting, growing and maintaining new tree plantations. There are currently 4,000 registered committees throughout the country, comprising around 40,000 active volunteers. “Before the Chavez government arrived it was necessary to pay people off in order to look after the environment, now communities gather the seeds and plant the tree nurseries and plants”, said Mission Tree coordinator Piñango. Five newly formed Conservation Committees also received 60,000 Bolivars (US $6,977) in government funding Sunday to support their participation in the Mission Tree program.
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6 | Integration
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
Caracas-Hanoi ties strengthen as agreements bear fruit T/ COI P/ Agencies enezuela and Vietnam took another step forward in bilateral relations last week in Caracas when representatives of the two governments reviewed a series of previously signed energy accords and formalized a new group of seven joint projects. The Second Intergovernmental Commission Vietnam-Venezuela meeting saw the presence of Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung alongside 54 other officials from the Asian country and more than 80 Venezuelan officials including the Minister for Oil and Mining, Rafael Ramirez. “We are very satisfied to see the positive changes that have been taking place since we finished our last visit. From 2008 to 2012 both parties have embarked on more than 50 collaborative projects”, Prime Minister Nguyen said, adding that the cooperation between the two countries represents “an opportunity for Venezuela to amplify its relations in Southeast Asia”. Nguyen also remarked that he considered the cooperation to have “a very high strategic importance” and represents an advance “to guarantee energy in Vietnam”. Seven working groups reviewed the progress underway on previously signed agreements between Caracas and Hanoi, including the formation last year of a joint company between Venezuela’s PDVSA and Vietnam’s Petrovietnam. Known as Petromacareo, the mixed enterprise has been allocated more than 247 square kilometers in Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt, the site of the largest crude reserves in the world. The company is currently producing 50,000 barrels daily with a goal of raising that figure to 200,000 in the next 3 years for refining in Vietnam’s Dung Quat facilities. Per Venezuelan law, the South American country’s state oil firm, PDVSA has a majority
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stake in Petromacareo at 60 percent with Petrovietnam holding the remaining 40 percent of the company’s assets. “We are convinced that these types of meetings will contribute to the strengthening of the ties of solidarity and brotherhood that unite more than ever
our two nations”, Minister Ramirez said of the successful interchange last Thursday. Apart from oil, other bilateral accords between the two nations include projects addressing agriculture, housing, technology, science and maritime transportation.
One such pact involves the creation of the company Vietven to facilitate the assembly of high-efficiency light bulbs in Venezuela as a part of the Caribbean country’s National Energy Savings Plan. Another project plans to install more than 18,000 solar-
South Korean builders eye $11.1b energy projects in Venezuela Daewoo, STX, SK, Hyundai firms sign MOUs on major construction projects T/ Kim So-hyun orean companies have inked preliminary deals with Venezuela to participate in energy infrastructure businesses worth a total of $11.1 billion in the South American country, the Ministry of Knowledge Economy of South Korea said Wednesday. Seoul and Caracas also reached a framework agreement to have Korea Gas Corporation take part in a $10.4 billion project to develop liquefied natural gas fields in Venezuela. Venezuela has the world’s largest crude oil reserve and
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the eighth-largest natural gas reserve. A consortium of Daewoo Engineering & Construction and STX Construction signed a memorandum of understanding with Venezuelan state-owned petroleum company Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. on strategic cooperation for an $8.8 billion project to build an oil pipeline along the coast, a crude oil storage facility and a harbor for exports. It will be the largest-ever construction deal for Korean companies in South America. Daewoo and STX plan to establish a 50:50 joint venture and seal a contract on the basic designs with PDVSA within the first half of this year. Hyundai Engineering and Construction inked an MOU
with PDVSA to jointly push for construction of a $1 billion petroleum coke-fired power plant. The 900-megawatt plant will be built in Venezuela’s Carabobo of the Orinoco Oil Belt. Hyundai E&C also agreed to jointly push for the $800-million initial-stage construction of an oil refinery in Junin of the Orinoco Oil Belt with PDVSA. SK Engineering and Construction signed an MOU to build petrochemical facilities worth $500 million with PDVSA, and a letter of intent to collaborate with the Venezuelan state-owned petrochemical company Petroquimica de Venezuela S.A. for a $35 million Polinter Petrochemical project to build a petrochemical complex. The complex will have an
powered street lamps in the capital of Caracas. Last week’s Intergovernmental session also saw the creation of 7 new agreements including the installation of a solar power system to provide electricity to 50 indigenous communities in isolated Venezuelan border areas. According to a statement released by PDVSA, the photovoltaic project “will provide electricity for houses, as well as educational, health and community centers”. Other agreements stipulate Venezuela’s purchase of more than 10,000 solar water heaters for its large scale public housing initiative founded in 2011. Additionally, the two nations have prioritized the erection of asphalt and concrete plants in Venezuela as well as providing the Caribbean country with technical agricultural assistance, especially with respect to the cultivation of rice. Minister Ramirez considered the accords signed last week to “reflect the excellent relations” between Venezuela and Vietnam, two nations which he esteemed to be “backed by revolutionary processes that continue to be consolidated”.
annual production capacity of 800,000 tons of synthetic resins such as ethylene. Lee Kwan-seop, the Korean Knowledge Economy Ministry’s head of energy resources, and Venezuelan Deputy Minister of Energy Ivan Orellana sat through the signing ceremonies at the Gwacheon government complex and discussed the business plans in detail. Seoul and Caracas also held their fourth resource cooperation committee meeting in Seoul on Wednesday, during which they discussed the petrochemical complex construction and advancement of refineries. Lee asked Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez, who led the Venezuelan delegation, to pay more attention to Korean companies that have the world’s leading capabilities in carrying out plant and infrastructure projects. The fifth bilateral resource cooperation meeting will be held next year in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas.
The artillery of ideas
NoÊ£äÈÊU Friday, April 27, 2012
Security | 7 |
“Venezuelan government advances in fight against drug trade, without US “assistance” Venezuela’s war on drugs improved dramatically after cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) was suspended in 2005
sion of the United Nations (UN) and INTERPOL, with organizations such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) having ratified Venezuela as a “drug-cultivation free territory” for the past six consecutive years. The UNODC has also confirmed that Venezuela now ranks fifth in the world for the quantity of drugs seized. The government has cited these latest figures as a direct contradiction of the US government’s claims that Venezuela is a “narco-state” in need of US assistance.
T/ Rachael Boothroyd P/ Agencies arlier this week, Venezuelan Justice and Interior Affairs Minister Tareck El Aissami confirmed that the Venezuelan authorities had seized 637,000 kilos of drugs since Chavez took office in 1999, as well as capturing and extraditing 81 drugs kingpins since 2005. According to the figures, the majority of the drugs were seized from Colombian drug gangs operating on the Venezuelan border, where a total of 106 cocaine-processing laboratories have been dismantled. At a press conference in Caracas, the minister highlighted that the government had made substantial progress in its antinarcotics operations since it expelled the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in 2005 and he criticized the US agency for having played a counter-productive role in the fight against the drug trade in Venezuela. “It’s an organization which has been infiltrated by narcotrafficking gangs... the US refuses to forgive us for the fact that since President Chavez decided to break the agreement (with the DEA) in 2005, we have doubled the amount of drugs that we have confiscated”, he said. El Aissami made the comments as Eladio Aponte, a Venezuelan ex-magistrate accused of having connections to drug gangs, fled to the US early this month after being dismissed from his position in March pending investigations. El Aissami strongly criticized the role of the DEA in the case of the ex-judge, revealing that the agency had been aware of Eladio Aponte’s criminal connections since 2006 but that the organization did not communicate this knowledge to the Venezuelan state.
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“They never once informed the country, they stayed quiet”, he said. “It was us who, after (Walid) Makled was captured in Colombia and extradited to Venezuela, and the through the investigations that we are undertaking, detected the ex-magistrate’s links. That’s how the dismissal process began... The US protects important drug traffickers, criminals and bankers who are wanted by the Venezuelan authorities”, he added.
The DEA has also come under fire for having facilitated Eladio’s escape to the US, after it emerged that one of the organization’s official planes transported the judge to North America from Costa Rica. El Aissami went on to explain that, prior to Chavez being elected in 1999, no drug-processing plants had been dismantled in Venezuela, where drug cartels “were free to operate with absolute freedom”. The minister criticized the international corporate media for
refusing to highlight the government’s counter-narcotics efforts in comparison with previous administrations’ because it is “not in their interest” to do so. “Why aren’t the private media in our country or the international corporate media saying this?” he asked. Despite the government’s rupture with the DEA in 2005, Venezuela is fully compliant with the Inter-American Commission for the Control of Drug Abuse, the Narcotics Commis-
Former judge received drug money ustice and Interior Minister Tareck El Aissami accused on Monday a former Supreme Court magistrate of receiving money from drug traffickers. El Aissami made the accusation against ex-Magistrate Eladio Aponte, who charged in a television interview shown last week that government and military officials have manipulated court cases. Venezuelan authorities on Friday put out an international request for Aponte’s capture. “He fled because he was dismissed in order to be brought before justice”, El Aissami said at a news conference. Aponte was dismissed from his post by Venezuela’s National Assembly on March 20 over ac-
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cusations that he had ties to drug kingpin Walid Makled. Aponte was accused of providing Makled, who is now jailed in Venezuela, with an official identification card. Aponte later traveled to Costa Rica, where he was then flown to the United States last week aboard a US Drug Enforcement Administration plane. El Aissami criticized the DEA’s handling of the affair and said Venezuelan officials plan to present evidence that Aponte received money from drug trafficking. Makled, currently on trial in Venezuela, alleged on Wednesday that he paid Aponte 300 million bolivars monthly (approx. $70,000) for his loyalty and services.
In his television interview, Aponte denied receiving drug money but acknowledged that he had participated in manipulating cases at what he said was the request of government and military officials. El Aissami denied accusations by Aponte that some military officials, including the chief of the national anti-drug office, have ties to drug traffickers. The justice minister said Aponte had made false claims because Gen. Nestor Reverol, the head of the anti-drug office, “had been following his steps”. Aponte didn’t provide evidence to back his claims during the interview.
A SOCIAL SOLUTION The government’s hard-line against drug trafficking in the international arena has been accompanied by communitybased prevention initiatives aimed at addressing the social roots of drug consumption and dependency at home. Following the break with the DEA in 2005, the government founded the “National Anti-Drug Office” in 2006, with the aim of decreasing drug consumption and increasing access to treatment for addicts. One of the office’s principal projects is to change Venezuelans’ attitudes towards drugs through the 2008 “Sowing values for the Life” plan, which includes the training of educational officers to give anti-drug workshops in communities and schools. The country’s new national police force is also beginning to play an increasing role in drug prevention activities, with trainee recruits working in conjunction with local communal councils in order to identify “problem areas” in the community where drugs might be sold or consumed. Part of the recruits’ training is also based around developing projects in conjunction with the community in order to transform problem areas into recreational public spaces, with officers also giving sports classes to youth in some of the country’s most deprived areas in a bid to offer an alternative to a criminal way of life associated with drug consumption.
Friday | April 27, 2012 | Nº 106 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas
A publication of the Fundacion Correo del OrinocoÊUÊ ` Ì À ivÊEva GolingerÊUÊ À>« VÊ ià } ÊArisabel Yaya SilvaÊUÊ*ÀiÃÃÊFundación Imprenta de la Cultura
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Why do venezuelan women vote for Chavez? /ÉÊ >À >Ê*>iâÊ6 VÌ À f the the international press is to be believed, President Hugo Chavez of Venezuela is a dictator, a menace to the region and is driving his country to the ground. If that is so, why do his people vote for him in landslide numbers? Why does he have an enormous following of the women of his country? Are they all deluded? Are they all paid or coerced to vote? It would seem so to the casual reader of headlines because the achievements of the Chavez government are treated like a top secret: Venezuela’s new participatory democracy should not be advertised. A new form of economic and social development that does not pay homage to global capital should be shunned. Nevertheless, a new world is being formed in a Latin America that has refused to be any power’s “back yard”. These developments are not ignored in Latin America where the Venezuelan revolution has had a deep impact. The women of Venezuela have especially embraced the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuela, not because they are “followers” but because actually, they have become protagonists of a social, economic and, cultural revolution that has transformed Venezuela and the region. It all started with the Constitution of 1999, written by an elected assembly in clear and inclusive language, which contained legislation that would transform the lives of Venezuelans and particularly, of women. It gave women the right of equal pay for equal work, (Article 91); the right to a life without violence, according to International Convention against Discrimination against Women (Article 21): the right to protection and public assistance for during maternity in all its phases (Article 76); and the now world famous Article 88 that recognizes women’s domestic work as productive economic activity entitled to public pensions. The constitution also adheres to the International UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. When the Constitution was only two years old and by no means was its mandate entirely implemented in law, in April of 2002, President Chavez was deposed and kidnapped in a coup d’etat orches-
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trated by the financial elites and abetted by the United States. It lasted 48 hours. The catalyst for its end was the tens of thousands of ordinary people who took to the streets to demand the return of their democratically elected president. They faced sharpshooters who were shooting indiscriminately at the crowds to create chaos. Masses of these people were women – women who realized that this government that they had elected now had been taken from them. The loyal armed forces then chose to side with the people and not the elites, and President Chavez was returned to his rightful position, becoming the first president in modern history to be deposed only to brought back due to widespread popular protest. Today, 13 years after President Chavez’s first election, the lives of Venezuelan women have dramatically changed. The constitutional promises have been implemented in regulation and policy con-
cerning gender equality and for the prevention violence against women. Laws have outlawed discrimination and have categorized 19 types of violence against women and created the institutions necessary to make the rights of women a reality. Granted, these issues all call for cultural and attitude changes in the relationships between men and women, which take time and education, but a clear legal basis is a strong impulse for such changes. One of the main factors for the popularity of the Chavez Government is the reduction of poverty. This was largely attained because the government took back control of the national petroleum company PDVSA, and has used the abundant oil revenues, not for benefit of the rich as previous governments had done, but to build needed infrastructure and invest in the social services that Venezuelans so sorely needed. During the last
ten years, the government has increased social spending by 60.6%, a total of $772 billion. Women tend to be the majority among the poor all over the world due to their economic and social disadvantages and Venezuela has not been an exception. The Chavez government has significantly reduced general poverty from 49% in 1998 to 27% in 2011 and extreme poverty has been reduced from 27.4% (5.5 m) in 1998 to 7.3% (2.5m) today. The Organization of American States and the UN Development Program have both stated that Venezuela is at the head of the list of countries of the region that have reduced poverty the most. Economic milestones these last ten years include a reduction in unemployment from 11.3% to 7.7%; doubling the amount of people receiving social insurance benefits, and the public debt has been reduced from 20.7% to 14.3% of GNP. In general, the Venezuelan economy has grown 47.4% in ten years (4.3% per annum). Among the many initiatives to promote popular economic enterprises, BAN MUJER was established in 2001, a bank solely for women. A very successful instrument helping women create their own businesses, it has given out 150,000 micro-credits to 2.5 million women, along with technical expertise and support for cooperatives. Women hold some key and powerful positions in the government: as several ministers, President of the Supreme Court, Attorney General, National Ombudsman, National Elections Council, and Vice-presidency of the governing party PSUV are all women. Indeed, Venezuela is the country in the region with the highest inclusion of women in education and professional fields, according to the UN Human Development Program. While problems inherent to developing countries still persist in Venezuela, the progress that its government has made to satisfy its people’s real needs is impressive, and it is the reason that it has overwhelming support of women because it has improved their lives and those of their families. It is an indictment of the sorry state of the media in the northern developed countries, supposedly “independent” but prisoners of their political biases, that those achievements are not better known. On October 7 of this year, when President Chavez is re-elected with a handsome majority, those who have been fed by the mainstream media distorted views of the situation in Venezuela will be shaking their heads, not understanding that there are pivotal reasons why people in Venezuela vote for him, especially the women.