Venezuela Analysis

[letter] José Miguel Vivanco's Background

Kenneth Roth — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 19:29:30 -0430

Dear Editors:
By Kenneth Roth

[analysis] Unanswered Phone Calls in Venezuela: Human Rights Watch Exposes Hugo Chavez Yet Again

Joe Emersberger - HaitiAnalysis.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 13:43:30 -0430

Now that HRW has blown the lid off the grave human rights abuse of unanswered questions in Venezuela, perhaps they can finally respond to some questions posed to them. By Joe Emersberger - HaitiAnalysis.com

[newsbrief] Venezuelan McDonald’s Closed Two Days for Tax Irregularities in

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 12:13:53 -0430

October 10, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuela's tax and customs enforcement office, SENIAT, forced a 48-hour closure of all 115 McDonald's restaurants in the country on Thursday as a punishment for tax irregularities.

The McDonald's restaurants, which are operated by three separate franchises in Venezuela, Alimentos Nasif, Alimentos Arcos Dorados, and Compañía Operativa de Alimentos, will be allowed to open again on Saturday at 2 o'clock in the afternoon.
By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] How and Why Venezuela Will Weather the Financial Crisis

Martin Saatdjian — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:56:48 -0430

Regardless of the impact of the existing economic meltdown, the Venezuelan government has taken important economic decisions, even before the crisis was even known, that now benefits and secures its economy against the financial crisis. By Martin Saatdjian

[newsbrief] Venezuela Creates New Holiday to Commemorate Community Medicine School

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:46:00 -0430

October 10, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez created a National Day of Integral Communitarian Medicine this Wednesday.

Chávez created the commemorative day, which is on October 8, during a ceremony for the third anniversary of Venezuela's Integral Communitarian Medicine School, which is also the 41st anniversary of the murder of Latin American revolutionary leader and doctor Che Guevara.
By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[newsbrief] Venezuelan Bonds Lose Value, Inflation Remains High Amidst World Financial Crisis

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 11:30:29 -0430

October 10, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- Venezuelan bonds dropped in value Wednesday. A prominent Venezuelan bond, the Global 27, sunk to 59.5% of its value, lower than it had dropped during the recession caused by the coup against Chávez in April 2002, when the bond sunk to 69.6% of its value.

Amidst a worldwide credit freeze triggered by the collapse of the two largest mortgage firms in the United States last month, the drop in bond values will make it more difficult for Venezuela, the world's fifth largest oil exporter, to obtain loans.
By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[newsbrief] Venezuela Aims to Convert 969 Vehicles to Natural Gas This Year

Daniel Cancel - Bloomberg — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 09:21:38 -0430

Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the country's state-oil company, aims to convert 969 gasoline- burning vehicles to run on natural gas by the end of the year helped by a new conversion center.

The company opened its first conversion facility in the central state of Lara today as part of a plan to install dual fuel tanks in new cars, Venezuela's Information Ministry said today.
By Daniel Cancel - Bloomberg

[news] Venezuelan Police Dismantle Major Secret Bullet Factory

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:59:17 -0430

This Monday the Metropolitan Police of Caracas (PM) discovered and dismantled a secret bullet factory in an important step in the struggle against organized crime, according to the Minister for the Interior, Tarek El Aissami. By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[news] Sexual Assault Victim Protests Vatican’s Asylum for Venezuelan Student Leader

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 22:40:15 -0430

Venezuelan police officer Sofia Aguilar denounced the Vatican Tuesday for granting asylum to Nixon Moreno, the leader of a violent opposition student group called March 13th Movement (M13) that waged violent protests in 2006, during which Aguilar was assaulted and nearly raped, and Aguilar's police partner was left in a coma. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] Interview On Venezuelan Workplaces with Carlos Lanz

Michael Albert - ZNet — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:14:28 -0430

An interview with Carlos Lanz, one of Venezuela's main socialist intellectuals and leaders, who pioneered worker management in one of Venezuela's largest state-owned companies, the Aluminum processing plant Alcasa. He talks to Michael Albert about how the workplace of the future would be organized, among other things. By Michael Albert - ZNet

[news] Investigations Reveal Illicit Business of Murdered Venezuelan Student Leader

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:04:13 -0430

Investigators of the murder of Julio Soto, the student government president at the University of Zulia, have uncovered evidence linking the crime to Soto's illicit selling of government-subsidized student bus tickets and his affiliations with competing political parties within the Venezuelan opposition. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[news] Venezuela Plans “Austerity Budget” for 2009

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:25:46 -0430

Ali Rodriguez, Venezuela's minister for economy and finances, announced the need for a tight 2009 budget on Sunday, but assured that Venezuela's international reserves are safe and the economy remains unaffected by the global financial crisis. By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[news] Ex Coca-Cola Workers in Venezuela Blockade Factories After Pay Negotiations Stall

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 13:30:19 -0430

Nearly 5,000 former Coca-Cola workers in Venezuela have blockaded 23 bottling facilities since last Tuesday to demand compensation for having been laid off when the Mexican firm FEMSA took over the Venezuelan operations from Panamco in 2003. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[news] France Solicits Venezuela’s Help in Negotiations with Iran

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 10:13:03 -0430

During talks between French and Venezuelan government officials on Thursday in Paris, during which the two countries reached ten bilateral cooperation agreements, France asked Venezuela to facilitate dialogue between the European Union and Iran. By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] The New York Times' Real Feelings on Term Limits

Jim Naureckas - FAIR — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 18:45:09 -0430

Less than a year ago The New York Times described ending term limits is not as an attempt to "serve the larger cause of democracy" as it is when Bloomberg tries to do it, but rather said Chavez is seeking "the option to stand for re-election as many times as he wants" as part of "his plan to become president for life."

By Jim Naureckas - FAIR

[news] Venezuelan Government Promises Rapid Investigation of Murder of Student Leader

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 22:51:59 -0430

On Thursday, the Venezuelan government launched an investigation into the murder of Julio Soto, the president of the student government at the University of Zulia, and asked that the crime not be used as a pretext for violent destabilization as the November regional and local elections approach. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] Latin American and Caribbean Unity

Noam Chomsky — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 11:55:37 -0430

During the past decade, Latin America has become the most exciting region of the world. The dynamic has very largely flowed from right where you are meeting, in Caracas, with the election of a leftist president dedicated to using Venezuela's rich resources for the benefit of the population rather than for wealth and privilege at home and abroad. By Noam Chomsky

[newsbrief] Venezuela Supports 2,275 Bolivian Projects

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:58:30 -0430

Venezuela is supporting the implementation of 2,275 projects in Bolivia through the program "Bolivia changes, Evo achieves" with a contribution of US$214 million.

The Bolivian chancellor, David Choquehuanca said that such economic support is subject to social control. It is also part of an agreement of cooperation around areas of social development signed by the two countries in January 2006.
By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[newsbrief] Venezuela Acts in Solidarity with the Cuban Five

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 10:56:09 -0430

Mérida, October 1, 2008 (venezuelanalysis.com)-- A range of Venezuelan authorities and organizations expressed their solidarity with the campaign to free the Cuban 5 yesterday and over previous days, as the term served by the prisoners reached 10 years.
By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] The South American Defense Council and the Region’s Political Process

Alex Sánchez - COHA — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:37:27 -0430

The most ambitious and significant recent project undertaken by South America's armed forces has been the creation of Conselho Sul-Americano de Defesa (South American Defense Council - CSD), an agency of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR). By Alex Sánchez - COHA

[analysis] Capitalist vs. Socialist State Intervention of the Economy

Martin Saatdjian — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 21:33:50 -0430

It is not that pure capitalist politicians are all against the state intervention in the economy, they just want that the money go straight into very rich people, this time for the amount of $700 billion dollars. On the other hand, socialist state intervention prioritizes the most basic needs of people. By Martin Saatdjian

[news] Venezuela and South American Allies Advance Integration

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 19:31:31 -0430

The presidents of Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Brazil met in Manaus, Brazil, on Tuesday to advance the economic and political integration of the South American continent. They discussed plans for expanded infrastructure, the formation of new banks among nations in the Global South, and the impact of the world financial crisis on their countries. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] Venezuelan State Oil Company's Growing Presence in Latin America

Humberto Marquez - IPS — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 11:34:32 -0430

Central America, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and islands in the eastern Caribbean are receiving more and more oil from Venezuela, while major refineries are planned in South America -- at Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil, and at El Aromo, on Ecuador's Pacific coast. By Humberto Marquez - IPS

[analysis] Human Rights Watch in Venezuela: Lies, Crimes and Cover-ups

James Petras — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:22:45 -0430

A close reading of the recent Human Rights Watch "Report" on Venezuela reveals an astonishing number of blatant falsifications and outright fabrications, glaring deletions of essential facts, deliberate omissions of key contextual and comparative considerations and especially a cover-up of systematic long-term, large-scale security threats to Venezuelan democracy posed by Washington. By James Petras

[news] Venezuelan President Congratulates Ecuador for Ratifying New Constitution

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:12:59 -0430

In a phone call, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez congratulated Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa for the ratification of a new national constitution by 63.9% of voters in a nation-wide referendum Sunday. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[news] Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez Launches Campaign for Regional Elections

Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 21:54:03 -0430

At the main national launch of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela's (PSUV) electoral campaign on Sunday Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez declared that it would be possible to win all the governor positions but warned against complacency and betrayal and also looked at the tasks of the revolution beyond the elections. By Tamara Pearson - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] Human Rights Watch and elections in Venezuela

Francisco Domínguez — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 16:20:06 -0430

Although Venezuela under President Chavez is by no means perfect, it bears no relation to the country depicted in HRW’s 2008 Report. By Francisco Domínguez

[news] “Ahead of Financial Crisis,” Venezuela’s Chávez Spins through Europe

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 20:02:38 -0430

Continuing on a world tour that started with Cuba and China, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez concretized plans for a joint energy company and bank with Russia, strengthened political ties with France, and secured the importation of one million laptop computers from Portugal this Thursday and Friday. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com

[analysis] Venezuelan Legal System

Michael Albert - ZNet — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:32:02 -0430

An interview with Fernando Ramón Vegas Torrealba, justice of the Venezuelan Supreme Court, who talks about the role of the law and legal system in the new Venezuela. By Michael Albert - ZNet

[news] Venezuelan Government and its Allies Respond to Human Rights Watch Report

James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 20:58:10 -0430

Over the past week, Venezuelan government officials, labor union leaders, and journalists criticized what they say are inaccuracies in the report on Venezuela that the NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW) published last Thursday. By James Suggett - Venezuelanalysis.com