Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs
Bolivarian Government of Venezuela
Vol. 3: Issue 42, 16th October, 2017
Embassies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the World
Weekly Newsletter Regional Elections 2017 Chavismo swept across Venezuela Government
Opposition
Inside This Issue
In Dispute
Reclamation Zone
Participation
Scrutinized Votes
Participation
The National Electoral Council reported on Sunday 15th October 2017 that the Patriotic Polo attained victory in 17 of the 23 governorships that were in dispute. The President of the National Electoral Council reported that there was a participation of 61.14%, a figure that exceeded that one that was seen in 2012. The first bulletin was issued by the National Electoral Council with 95.8% of the votes cast. Officially, the results obtained in Bolivar which remained in dispute until late Sunday night, were not known and were seen to favor the opposition. 75% of the country's governorates were won by the Patriotic Pole, which remains the most powerful political bloc in Venezuela. Following the election results on Sunday, 54% of the national votes have clearly shown support for the forces that support the National Government led by NicolĂĄs Maduro.
2. Mogadishu truck bombings: Deadliest attack in Decades 3. Nyerere's life should inspire all our leaders around the world
Abstention
Conspicuous victory
1. Regional Elections 2017:Chavismo swept across Venezuela
More than 18 million Venezuelans were called to vote in more than 13 thousand polling stations throughout the country. In order to be able to assume their positions, the governors-elect will have to be sworn in before the National Constituent Assembly. The Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said it was the highest turnout in 15 years - more than 10 million people voted. Maduro also said the Psuv won 54 percent of the total vote. Earlier Maduro said the elections had been conducted in a peaceful, exemplary way, "There has not been a single incident, electoral process in peace, perfect." Cuba, Bolivia and Nicaragua have all sent their congratulations to Venezuela. The Bolivian President, Evo Morales, posted a tweet which said, "Democracy has won over intervention and conspiracy. The people defend their sovereignty and dignity."
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4. The silence of the International Media: Venezuela regional elections 2017 5. Mass EV adoption could lead to $10 Oil 6.Mt Kilimanjaro wins Africa top attraction award
This is the second election this year in the South American country — the first was held on July 30 to elect members of the National Constituent Assembly, ANC. Speaking at a news conference, president of the National Constituent Assembly Delcy Rodriguez praised the Venezuelan people for going to the polls and ratifying their desire to live in peace. "This was an election convened by the National Constituent Assembly and we were not mistaken," said Rodriguez. "This election has allowed us to consolidate the peace and to defend (our) sovereignty". She added that the ballot had defeated the opposition's violent agenda and is a lesson from Venezuela to the people of the world. International guests praised the electoral process for its transparency. The Argentine representative, Pedro Bregier said he and his colleagues had seen no irregularties in the western state of Zulia, an observation echoed by his colleagues around the country.
The Opposition did not accept the results and called for protests
While the Ecuadorean representative of the Council of Electoral Experts of Latin America, CEELA, Alfredo Arevalo said "It is one of the best electoral processes, audited many times by all parties and political actors." 1.5 percent of voting centers, which had been hit by election-related violence during the ANC vote, had been relocated ahead of Sunday's poll.
Maduro celebrated the historic victory and called for dialogue
Following the results issued by the National Electoral Council, Maduro celebrated the victory achieved by the Patriotic Pole with a margin higher than nine percentage points. The opposition coalition ignored the results of Sunday 15th October 2017 regional elections in Venezuela, and has demanded an audit of the entire electoral process. The opposition said the process was not balanced and was based on a tricky, non-transparent, unbalanced and abusive government system.
The President of the Republic Nicolas Maduro called upon the opposition to respect the electoral results. He announced to the country that he will have an immediate dialogue with the six governors of the opposition who won. President Maduro however warned that he will not allow violence to be called from the zones won by the opposition. The conservative factors won in TĂĄchira and Zulia, two frontier states with Colombia, that were previously contolled and in the power of Chavismo.
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Gerardo Blyde, on behalf of the opposition, announced that from Monday 16th October 2017 they will start street protests even in the five regions that it won. More than 11 million Venezuelans voted amid a complex economic situation that crosses the country. The figure represented 61.14% of the Permanent Electoral Register.
www.telesurtv.net www.chavezvive.info.ve www.washingtonpost.com
Mogadishu truck bombings: Deadliest attack in Decades
World leaders condemn Somalia bombing 'in strongest terms' World leaders from the United States, Britain, Canada and France have strongly condemned the weekend suicide bombing in Somalia, the worst attack in thecountry to date with at least 137 deaths.
He described the bombing as "the deadliest attack ever." Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said Ankara was sending planes "with medical supplies", adding that the wounded would be flown to Turkey and treated there. He did not specify numbers. Turkey is a leading donor and investor in Somalia.
The blast on Saturday the 14th occurred at a junction in Hodan, a bustling commercial district of the capital Mogadishu which has many shops, hotels and businesses. Hundreds of people had been in the area at the time of the blast. The United States condemned the bombing "in the strongest terms" in a statement released by the State Department.
The fragile government and institutions, including its national army, are backed by the African Union's 22,000-strong AMISOM force and powers like the United States. But the gradual withdrawal of the Amisom troops is due to start in October 2018 and doubts persist over the readiness of Somali forces to confront the Qaeda-aligned Shabaab.
Washington "will continue to stand with the Somali government, its people, and our international allies to combat terrorism and support their efforts to achieve peace, security, and prosperity," the statement added.
President Nicolas Maduro condemns the terrorist attacks in Somalia
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said his country "condemns in the strongest terms the cowardly attacks in Mogadishu, which have claimed so many innocent lives". French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted: "Solidarity with Somalia. Support to the African Union against Islamist terrorist groups. France stands by your side".
The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolรกs Maduro Moros, on behalf of the Government and the Venezuelan people, condemned and totally repudiated the terrorist attacks against hotel facilities and a popular market in Mogadishu, capital of the Federal Republic of Somalia that caused the loss of up to 230 lives and injured more than 350 people.
"The attacks in Somalia are horrifying & Canada condemns them strongly. We mourn with the Canadian Somali community today," Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of the African Union Commission asked the government "to show renewed unity at this critical time and overcome divisions, to rebuild cohesion at all levels of the federal institutions."
Venezuela reaffirms its firm position of rejection of all forms of terrorism; and expresses to the People, the Government and the families of the victims its sense of regret in this hour of pain for Somalia. The Bolivarian Government and People of Venezuela once again call for the urgent search for an integral solution against the terrible scourge of organized terrorism.
It said the pan-African body, which has deployed a peacekeeping mission in the east African country, would "continue its support to the Somali government and people in their efforts to achieve sustainable peace and security." Police official Ibrahim Mohamed told AFP that the death toll could rise further "because there are more than 300 wounded, some of them seriously".
www.mppre.gob.ve www.telesurtv.net www.theguardian.com
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Nyerere's life should inspire all our leaders around the world
The then Tanganyika’s Chief Minister, Julius Nyerere (L), receives Kenyan leader Jomo Kenyatta during the independence celebrations in 1961 in Dar Es Salaam, future Tanzania.
Nyerere was a rare breed of African leader who led an exemplary life. He was honest, just and a man of integrity. Not surprisingly, after more than 20 years in office, no one has come up to accuse him of corruption.
Nyerere is recognized by Tanzanians and beyond as “Mr Clean,” the man who united the 120 ethnic groups in the country and devoted his life to serving the country selflessly, a rare phenomenon in Africa and in the world then and now.
He worked for the poor and lived a humble life. He didn’t even realise that he had no pension to live on when he retired in 1985. It was the Tanzanian Parliament which hurriedly passed a law that gave him some income to live on. When he realised that his Ujamaa economic experiment was a failure, Nyerere was quick to admit his mistakes and apologise. Few leaders own up to their mistakes.
He voluntarily retired from office in 1985 but remained the most influential figure in Tanzanian politics until his death in 1999. Nyerere built a nation from scratch, jealously protecting its natural resources and preaching the equality of its people.
For all his sins, Nyerere gave Tanzania a sense of unity and national consciousness. That is why apart from a few problems with Zanzibar, Tanzania remains largely peaceful in the volatile Great Lakes Region.
He tolerated no exploitation of any kind in his country and beyond, uniting African to fight against foreign domination and oppression. Under his leadership, Tanzania became home tooppressed citizens of Southern Africa who were still struggling for independence in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique.
Nyerere combined deep intellect and integrity. He sacrificed so much, yet he hated to be glorified and thanked for doing his job. When he felt that enough was enough, after serving as president for 23 years, Nyerere simply handed over the reigns of power to Ali Hassan Mwinyi in 1985. He even rebuked those who had suggested that he extend his rule for another five years.
His aim was to get the best out of Africa’s social fabric. Under his Socialism and Self Reliance policy, he rejected the idea that an African country should depend on a Western country in one way or other, and worse, after Independence. In retirement, he recounted: “We inherited a country in which 85 per cent of the adult population was illiterate. The English governed us for 43 years. When they left, we were left with two engineers and 12 doctors.”
Leaders around the world have got a lot to learn from this man. In a world where politics is known as a dirty game, for someone to play it clean for 23 years is no mean achievement. www.theobserver.ca www.telesurtv.net www.bbc.com www.theeastafrican.co.ke The views and opinions expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy
Julius Nyerere belonged to a generation of African post-independence leaders, like Ghana’s Kwame Nkrumah and Zambia’s Kenneth Kaunda, who had an unshakeable belief in their mission to lead their countries to a better world. 4
The silence of the International Media:
Venezuela regional elections 2017
The Venezuelan president added that this information is hidden in order to continue the smear campaign that claims to affirm that in Venezuela there is a dictatorship and thus create the conditions for a foreign military intervention.
You are not watching it on television, you do not read it in the newspapers, or hear it from the brilliant radio analysts , but Venezuela has been at peace for two and a half months. Not only that, but on Sunday 15th October 2017 elections of governors were held in the 23 states that make up the country and there were 226 candidates present from all parties.
"The news agencies AP, Reuters, AFP, EFE, CNN in English and Fox News are silent and do not cover the fact that in Venezuela on October 15 the 22nd election will be held in 18 years and all political parties registered the call for these elections made by the National Constituent Assembly, " said Maduro.
Thus, the media is silent because the reality of Venezuela is not functional to their interests, because it is no use saying that the strategy of the Venezuelan government led by Nicolรกs Maduro was successful, because they are not interested in saying that the National Constituent Assembly (ANC in its spanish acronym) brought back peace to the country.
This election has two key elements: 1) the participation of the opposition with its own candidates in all states; 2) recognition of ANC decisions involving participation in this election by the MUD opposition party.
President Nicolรกs Maduro denounced on Wednesday the 11th at night the silence of this electoral event by the international media, the same silence was also witnessed during the National Constituent Assembly elections of 30th July .
In fact, the election of governors was scheduled for next December, but the National Constituency Assembly (ANC) decided to advance them in order to contribute to bringing back peace in the country.
The elections were 22 in number in the 18 years of the Bolivarian Revolution that began precisely through electoral means in December of 1998 and takes place less than three months after the election that designated the 545 constituents that compose the National Constituent Assembly (ANC).
So the participation of the MUD party in the elections implies that they recognise the ANC and its decisions, as well as recognise the National Electoral Council (CNE for its acronym in Spanish). Political Schizophrenia The opposition did not only have a double position in relation to the National Electoral Council and the elections but also, dialogue with the Government, the recognition of the rule of law, and parliamentary work, not to mention the position that the right has around peace and democracy.
More than eight million Venezuelans participated in the last election, despite the fact that the right-wing opposition group (MUD) did not present candidates and called on their followers not to participate.
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The dialogue with the Government, which the opposition denies but which at the same time participates is perhaps one of the clearest examples of this situation.
On Tuesday, September 19th , in an unparalleled episode in the history of relations between nations, President Donald Trump threatened the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela with more sanctions and to exert pressure from third countries to achieve its isolation .
Despite the violence, the economic war against the people, in spite of successive coup attempts, despite the unsuccessful songs of sirens to military sectors, despite the betrayal of the country by supporting foreign sanctions that affect their own people,in spite of all this, Venezuela needs peace and it also requires dialogue.
In an almost surreal gesture, President Trump made these statements at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, the highest forum that has been given by mankind for the preservation of peace and the construction of an international legality that distances us from war.
For that reason, at the urging of former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and Dominican President Danilo Medina, a delegation from Chavismo, made up of Mayor of Caracas Jorge Rodriguez, ANC President Delcy Rodriguez and the veteran diplomat Roy Chaderton and on behalf of the MUD, a delegation led by Julio Borges, president of the mostly opposition National Assembly and the ex-governor of the Zulia state, Manuel Rosales, the opposition participation in this meeting occurred despite the fact that MUD opposition party issued a statement on September 12 stating that such a dialogue did not really exist (https://goo.gl/hDB2Gn).
He also threatened the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by make it disappear, accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of corrupt regime funding international terrorism and announced to the Republic of Cuba that it would restore the sanctions whose uprising the two countries have been negotiating for some time already for almost three years now. Not content with that, he said that he was reinforcing his country's warlike power, defended trade protectionism in his country, kept silent about climate change and threatened without too much subtlety the UN itself by cutting the budget if it did not assume the priorities that are important for the United States .
Last September the 26th the MUD announced that it would no longer participate in that dialogue that it had previously said that it did not participate in, even though it did, but President Nicolás Maduro himself revealed that the dialogues are continuing in the background and that the dialogues will be maintained despite the public statements by the opposition sectors.
This coupled with the blockade and the international economic war that has caused the Venezuelan people great hardship, sanctions against civil servants, travel restrictions of Venezuelan citizens, among other measures of imperialism which he has launched against the Bolivarian Revolution.
Democracy will triumph
And yet, Venezuela continues and its people defiantly defend their right to build their destiny.
The election of last weekend was an evident demonstration that Venezuela reigns a broad democracy. Whatever the outcome, it demonstrated that the Venezuelan people aspire to solve their problems in peace and in a sovereign way.
Last Sunday we saw long queues of voters with smiling faces. Well, maybe you saw, maybe the TV did not show it, maybe in your newspaper that is not news,still it is better for you to know that the expression of the people will be the way of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.
Regardless of who the elected governors were, the number of voters will be what really matters, since as Nicolás Maduro pointed out, each vote will be a vote for peace and against imperialism.
In democracy, in peace, with social justice, but also with the dignity and joy of which only the simple people of the Latin American people are capable of.
This actor, the imperialist government of the United States, along with his allies in some international organizations such as the Secretary General of the Organization of American States (OAS), Luis Almagro, and some governments that "tail" to Donald Trump , have been the real spearhead in the attack on the Bolivarian Revolution.
www.albatv.org www.theconversation.com The views and opinions expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy
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Mass EV adoption could lead to $10 Oil
The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) could lead to global peak oil demand as soon as 2023, which will result in oil prices crashing to $10, Chris Watling, CEO & chief market strategist at Longview Economics, told CNBC on Friday.
For next year, the International Energy Agency (IEA) expects the ongoing production gains from non-OPEC countries to probably act as a “the ceiling for aspirations of higher oil prices”, despite the fact that now everyone acknowledges that the global oil market continues to make progress toward rebalancing.
Watling said he didn’t see oil crashing “in the next few weeks or months, or maybe even quarters, but I think the long-term outlook for oil—because of what’s happening in terms of electric vehicles” with 70 percent of oil used for transportation, is oil plummeting to $10 somewhere around 2023-2025.
Of course, there are other views among experts and analysts, with Citi, for example, expecting tighter supply next year, regardless of what OPEC does. Several big OPEC members are already pumping at capacity, and even though some have plans to ramp up production, they may not have room for more, according to Citi’s Ed Morse, the head of the bank’s commodity research.
“We used to talk about peak oil in terms of supply, we now need to talk about peak oil in terms of demand,” Watling added. China is on an aggressive push to EVs adoption, and the analyst thinks that “often new economies, emerging economies, adopt new technologies first, because they don’t have the old infrastructure that they have to keep servicing.”
Oil trader Trafigura also begs to differ from the herd expecting “lower for longer” to continue for longer, or even forever. Trafigura’s co-head of group market risk, Ben Luckock, said at a presentation at the conference, as carried by the Financial Times:
The key catalyst for the oil market next year would be Saudi Aramco’s planned IPO—the biggest initial public offering ever—Watling agreed, and added “Well, I think they need to get it away quick before oil goes to $10.”
“We are nearing the end of ‘lower for longer’.” www.oilprice.com www.gilmermirror.com The views and opinions expressed in this article are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy
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Mt Kilimanjaro wins Africa top attraction award MOUNT Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest peak, has scooped the 2017 ‘Africa’s Leading Tourist Attraction’ title in the recent World Travel Awards (WTAs). The Moshi located mountain was one of Tanza nia’s three entries that won in the African Category of the 24th instalment of the prestigious WTA whose gala was held at the Kigali Convention Centre in Rwanda on Tuesday night. Tanzania National Parks (TANAPA) Director General Allan Kijazi received the coveted trophy. Kilimanjaro National Park, under which the mountain is managed, is one of the country’s 16 national parks under TANAPA. Kilimanjaro Mountain has retained the title for the fourth time, after winning it consecutively in 2016 and 2015. The mountain first won the award in 2013. The Diamonds La Gemma Dell’Est of Zanzibar was crowned ‘Africa’s leading All-Inclusive Resort 2017 and the property also won the ‘Africa’s Leading Beach Resort 2017’ in the WTA. The ‘Four Seasons’ of Serengeti was crowned ‘Africa’s Leading Safari Lodge,’ while the Thanda Island of the Shungimbili Island of Mafia District in the Indian Ocean, won ‘Africa’s leading Luxury Island’ title. The ‘Africa’s Leading Private Island Resort,’ title went to the ‘And Beyond Mnemba Island Lodge.’ Tanzania also scooped one of the Tour Company awards, with Arushabased Abercrombie and Kent crowned ‘Africa’s Leading Luxury Tour Operator.’ Other winners from Tanzania include ‘And Beyond,’ the luxury lodges’ operator, winning ‘Africa’s Leading Conservation Company 2017, the Singita Game Reserves was crowned Africa’s Leading Game Reserve Brand. Kenya Airways won the Africa’s leading ‘Business Class’ airline, while Ethiopian Airways, the continent’s largest carrier, topped the ‘Africa’s leading economy class airline category. ‘Fast Jet’ was crowned “Africa’s Leading Low-Cost Airline.” Rwanda, which hosted the 2017 Gala for the Africa’s WTA version was named ‘Africa’s Leading Destination 2017,’ while South Africa’s Cape-Town International Airport was declared the continent’s leading airport in 2017. www.dailynews.co.tz www.tanzaniatourism.go.tz
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