ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas INTERNATIONALFriday, December 6, 2013 | Nº 186 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

In a continuation of the national government’s push to end corruption and strengthen eco-nomic growth, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro designated personnel to head two new executive agencies that will work to protect the South American nation’s foreign ex-change reserves. The National Center of Exterior Commerce and the Venezuela Corpora-tion of Exterior Commerce were created by decree and officially inaugurated last Friday during a cabinet meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Page 2

2014 Year of growthVenezuelan Finance Minister Nelson Merentes has predicted that 2014 will be a year of increased growth and reduced inflation, in part due to the economic measures being taken by President Nicolas Maduro. Merentes defended the government’s approach to the economy, arguing that the forcible reduction of prices had increased consumer spending power and would dent inflation. Pg. 4

Politics

Car sales regulated to reduce price distortionsPresident Maduro issueda decree to stampout usury in the newand used car markets. P.3

Security

Major achievementsin anti-drug fightVenezuelan authorities seized over 83 tons of illegal substances in 2013, mainly from Colombia. P.5

Social Justice

Food Houses bring hope to communitiesA program createdby President Chavezto guarantee nutritionhas raised communal spirit. P.6

Opinion

Eleazar Diaz Rangel:The municipal elections page 8

Analysis

Is Venezuela in crisis?A critical analysis page 7

Measures Continue in Venezuelato Stabilize Economy

Chavez plan now law

On Tuesday, the revo-lutionary majority in the National Assembly ap-proved the National Plan for 2013- 2019, giving it the status of a national law, which was promulgated by President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday.

The historic objectives outlined in the document are: to preserve national independence, continue building 21st century so-cialism, transform Ven-ezuela into a world power, construct a “multi-centric and pluri-polar world”, and help save life on the planet to ensure the survival of humanity.

The National Plan, a gov-ernment program drafted by the late President Hugo Chavez, was designed with the participation of numer-ous social movements that answered the Chavez’s call to join in debates around the country.

The document became Maduro’s platform for his presidential campaign earlier this year, and in September, he brought it to the National Assembly for evaluation and voting as required under article 236 of the Constitution.

Witnesses & international accompaniers will observe municipal elections

T/ AVN

The president of Venezue-la’s National Electoral Coun-cil (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, announced this weekend that 88,416 witnesses from

Venezuelan political parties have been accredited in mu-nicipal boards to participate in the upcoming municipal elections on December 8. Meanwhile, 50 international accompaniers will also take part in the event.

In a press conference in the CNE building, where the final audit to guarantee the proper functioning of the electronic voting system was held, Lucena indicated that the number of ac-credited witnesses was a good sign and she urged other poten-

tial witnesses to apply quickly so they can be accredited in time.

The CNE president said the electoral timeline is on sched-ule and Wednesday, every vot-ing center had the electoral materials that are installed on Friday and Saturday.

Regarding poll workers, Luce-na reiterated that their partici-pation in training days is impor-tant given that this municipal election has technical details which must be learned.

Diplomatic representatives accredited in Venezuela par-

ticipated in the final audit and received a lesson into the voting process from the CNE’s director of technol-ogy, Carlos Quintero.

Quintero explained that the final audit was a simula-tion of the entire voting pro-cess, including the installa-tion of voting booths, the act of voting, the transmission of results and the counting of votes.

The elections are set to go smoothly on Sunday, with good voter turnout expected.

The artillery of ideas2 Impact | Friday, December 6, 2013

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

In a continuation of the na-tional government’s push to

end corruption and strengthen economic growth, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro des-ignated personnel to head two new executive agencies that will work to protect the South American nation’s foreign ex-change reserves.

The National Center of Ex-terior Commerce and the Ven-ezuela Corporation of Exterior Commerce were created by de-cree and officially inaugurated last Friday during a cabinet meeting at the Miraflores presi-dential palace in Caracas.

According to the head of state, the first of the new bod-ies will be charged with “or-dering the administration of foreign exchange in function of development” and putting an end to the abuse of the cur-rent system which offers US dollars at a preferential rate of 6.3 bolivars.

The existing agency in charge of administering the allocation of US dollars, the Foreign Ex-change Commission (CADIVI) as well as its sister office, SI-CAD, will continue to operate but will now be under the con-trol of the National Center of Exterior Commerce.

Alejandro Fleming, current Commerce Minister and for-mer Vice Minister for Foreign Relations, has been designated to head the new agency. Jose Kahn, Rodolfo Marcos Torres, Julio Viloria, and Victor Aul-ar have also been appointed to the National Center’s board of directors.

Maduro called the creation of the new agency part of “the new stage of the economic rev-olution” and explained that among its duties will be main-taining a registry of those businesses and individuals who require foreign exchange as well as guaranteeing that money solicited is being used as it is intended.

The head of state also stressed the need to streamline the process of supplying dollars to those who are carrying out commercial activities relevant to the nation’s social and eco-nomic development.

“We have the obligation to guarantee that our foreign ex-change is being used in the cor-rect manner, understanding that it is a resource for the de-velopment of our economy and our country”, the Venezuelan President commented.

Parallel to the National Cen-ter, the new Venezuelan Corpo-ration of Exterior Commerce (CORPOEX) will focus on orga-nizing the nation’s imports as well as fomenting new sources

Venezuela: Two new state agenciesto regulate international commerce

of foreign exchange originating from non-oil exports.

CORPOEX will be comprised of various state companies working in sectors as diverse as agriculture and oil to home appliances and vehicles. It will have the legal right to engage in importations either at the behest of a third party or under its own volition depending on the needs of any particular na-tional industry.

Ramon Gordilis, current President of Venezuela’s Ex-terior Commerce Bank (BAN-COEX) has been appointed to head the new institution and will be joined by Owen Man-rique, Felix Osorio, Alexander Sarmiento, Jose Cabello, and Jesus Guarco on the board of directors.

“This is a corporation that is going to direct a conglomerate of very powerful state business-es and which is going to create alliances with specific private firms”, Maduro said.

“The time has come for a great productive, economic revolution that can diver-sify [our economy] and cre-ate wealth for Venezuela. [It must be] a great economic revolution that will solidify the new social system that has been created during the Revolution and that includes the social missions and con-solidates our democratic rev-olution while creating a solid base for a productive econo-my”, he added.

PROTECTING THE MIDDLE CLASSThe two new state offices form

part of the Maduro administra-tion’s recent fight against specu-

lation, price gouging and hoard-ing in the OPEC member state.

Since early November, the socialist government has taken on the nation’s inefficient and corrupt distribution chains which have led to exorbitant profit margins for middlemen and wholesalers while dimin-ishing the purchasing power of ordinary citizens.

By forcing firms to remark products at prices on par with acquisition costs, Maduro has been able to boast the first “low-ering of prices in the economic history of the country”.

While many of the policies are directed at shielding the economically vulnerable from speculative attacks, the Ven-ezuelan President has addition-ally been aware of the need to encourage entrepreneurship and assist those working in small businesses.

Although he is referred to as “the working-class president” for his roots as a bus driver and union leader, the 51 year-old has made clear his intentions to strengthen the middle class.

“I want to become, and I al-ready feel that I am, the president who protects the middle class”, Maduro asserted on Friday.

To this end, the head of the United Socialist Party of Ven-ezuela announced a series of measures designed to assist small and medium-sized busi-ness owners who face usurious rents on storefronts.

The rent control measure es-tablishes a limit on leases “not to exceed 250 bolivars ($39) per square meter” and will be en-forced through the Commerce Ministry which will process complaints related to inflated tenancy contracts.

“We are going to take to the streets to guarantee this for our economic growth”, Ma-duro said.

During his address, the first-term president reiterated that the government’s offensive against speculation and mar-ket distortions is directed at the large firms that move the lion’s share of imports in the country.

Local business, on the other hand, need to be assisted and provided with opportunities to expand and create meaningful employment for residents.

“We want to extend our hand, to those suppliers who are hon-est, with financing assistance and with products to distrib-ute in the country or which are brought from the exterior with the country’s dollars. This is our objective: that in Venezu-ela the small and medium-sized businesses become solidified. Here is our hand so that we work together”, Maduro affirmed.

The artillery of ideasFriday, December, 2013 | Politics 3

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro took his offensive

against speculation in the na-tion’s economy to the automotive sector last Monday, announcing the creation of a new law that seeks to stamp out usury in the new and used car markets.

Referring to the measure as a “healing” of the car in-dustry, Maduro explained that the new law would limit the price of used vehicles and provide incentives for greater automobile production in the South American nation.

The point, he informed, is to “regularize and strengthen the

President Maduro decrees law to correct distortions in automotive sector

production of vehicles in Vene-zuela, lower the prices of new au-tomobiles produced in Venezue-la as well as those imported, and lower the price of used cars”.

For years, Venezuela has suf-fered from a shortage of new automobiles and has endured a rising trend of over-charging for used vehicles owing to the lack of oversight of the market, high inflation, and low domes-tic production.

“Venezuela is the only coun-try in the world where a used car costs more than a new car. This is going to end. It’s a ques-tion of hours. We’re going to normalize and heal the produc-tion of vehicles as well as their distribution”, he said.

Among the measures to be taken will be the overhauling of the system of importation that permits dealers to access US dollars at a preferential rate.

This includes allowing indi-vidual citizens who hold for-eign currencies in Venezuelan banks accounts the opportuni-ty to apply for an importation li-cense to acquire a new vehicle.

The Venezuelan President also expressed his administra-tion’s aim to dedicate greater at-tention to domestic automotive production in order to better resolve the problems currently afflicting the industry.

“We are going to control the process from the factory gate to the point of sale. The assembly

plants will report their produc-tion as well as the inputs that they need to the Commerce Ministry”, Maduro said.

The head of state described the new law as something that will “favor the working and middle classes” and re-iterated the country’s need for a holistic and concerted effort to boost car manufacturing.

“Venezuela has a great ca-pacity to manufacture ve-hicles. We’re ready with the investments that we’re mak-ing so that we can duplicate our production in the next 3 to 4 years. We’ll carry out the actions that we need to follow through in the production and regulation of the entire pro-cess”, he affirmed.

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

Venezuelan President Ni-colas Maduro visited the Midwest state of Lara last

weekend and approved the dis-bursement of 100 million boli-vars for community projects under the government’s urban renewal program, Mission New Barrio, Tricolor Barrio.

The money will be used to fund initiatives proposed by the residents of the three geo-graphic zones, called corridors, that have been devised by the program in the capital area of Barquisimeto.

“These corridors have be-gun to work and are setting the example. They are the first to solicit resources with which to immediately start the projects”, Maduro said during a live broadcast of an assembly with activists and community leaders.

Included in the projects will be the construction of new sports complexes, affordable housing, and improvements in water services for the vari-ous sectors that comprise the program’s three corridors in the state.

On Saturday, President Ma-duro made a call for the benefi-ciaries of the mission’s financ-ing to continue proposing new

President Maduro promotes far-reaching urban renewal program

projects that can aid in improv-ing security and employment opportunities for citizens.

“We need peace to reign here. There needs to be projects of different scales and different types: those that produce cloth-ing, computers and anything that has to do with production in order to generate income”, the head of state commented.

Mission New Barrio, Tri-color Barrio was launched by the Maduro administration in early November with the in-tention of transforming run-down urban environments, referred to as barrios in Span-

ish, into healthy and thriving neighborhoods.

The program has been linked to other initiatives of the Venezuelan government that have provided subsi-dized housing to low income residents and have strength-ened political participation through the nation’s grass-roots community councils.

More than 50,000 families will reportedly benefit from the mission’s projects in the state of Lara, while a host of other projects have also been put into motion. In the city of Carora, the government inaugurated a lamb

and goat meat processing plant that will expand production of traditional foods in the area.

More than 113 million boli-vars ($17.9 million) in addition to a further $10 million have been invested in the facility which has been erected with the assistance of Argentine technology and expertise.

The leather that will be gen-erated by the factory, officials inform, will have the capacity to supply a full 20 percent of the raw materials needed for shoe production in the country.

In downtown Barquisimeto, a design for a new residential com-

plex that will carry the name of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has been planned to provide new homes for more than 1,500 people.

The series of buildings, con-structed on 4,300 square me-ters, has been laid out with the intention of promoting communal living as well as providing public spaces for productive enterprises, cul-ture and entertainment.

Later on Saturday, in the Plains state of Barinas, Pres-ident Maduro activated an additional three corridors of the New Barrio Mission that encompass 66 neighbor-hoods and more than 50,000 families.

“We’re going to see in 6 months how this entire zone is going to become an urban example with all necessary services”, the commander-in-chief noted.

“Visualize the kind of invest-ments that can be made in the community and let’s develop that communal economy to its maximum level”, he added.

While addressing the public in Barinas, Maduro also made a call for supporters of the United Socialist Party of Ven-ezuela to turn out en masse for Sunday’s local elections in which more than 300 mayoral races will be decided.

“Next Sunday, we have mu-nicipal elections and it’s very important that we finish the job for the new stage [of the revolu-tion]. The mayors that will be elected are those who are going to be working together with the Bolivarian government in the coming years”, the Venezuelan President affirmed.

The artillery of ideas4 Economy | Friday, December 6, 2013

T/ Ewan Robertsonwww.venezuelanalysis.com

The president of Venezuela’s Central Bank (BCV) has re-

jected negative forecasts of Ven-ezuela’s ability to meet foreign currency obligations, arguing that operational international dollar reserves are “in normal conditions”.

The comments come after several financial press outlets speculated as to whether Ven-ezuela could have problems meeting international and internal foreign currency ob-ligations, based on an alleged shortage of dollars available to the government.

Venezuela’s international reserves have fallen 29% this

Venezuelan authorities reject predictions of dollar shortage

year from US $29.9 billion in January to US $21.2 bil-lion currently, reports local newspaper El Universal. The reserves are made up of gold deposits, bonds, and dollar current accounts. When for-mer President Hugo Chavez came to power in 1999, inter-national reserves were below US $15 billion, according to AVN news agency.

Further, Venezuela’s crude oil price has fallen to a sixteen month low, at US $93.98 per bar-rel. State oil company PDVSA states that a drop in the price of a barrel of oil by $1 costs Ven-ezuela about $700 million per year. 95% of Venezuela’s foreign currency earnings come from oil sales.

“Oil prices in the low $90s would leave Venezuela with a current account deficit”, Ben Ramsey, an economist at JPMorgan Chase & Co. told Bloomberg on Monday.

Other observers disagree with such negative forecasts. Washington-based economist Mark Weisbrot recently point-ed out that Venezuela has far higher oil revenue than import or debt repayment costs.

“How can a government with more than $90 billion in oil revenue end up with a balance-of-payments crisis? Well, the answer is: it can’t, and won’t”, wrote Weisbrot.

Meanwhile, local business groups accuse the government of dipping into reserves to cov-er foreign currency demand, and complain that insufficient dollars are being pumped into the domestic economy.

Jorge Roig, the head of business federation Fedeca-

maras, recently claimed that the state has granted 54% less dollars to the private sec-tor this year compared with 2012. Official sources say that 2.6% more dollars have been distributed to the economy this year overall.

Since 2003 the Venezuelan government has maintained currency controls to avoid capital flight, and allocated dollars to companies for the importation of goods neces-sary for production and con-sumption.

Critics blame insufficient dollar allocations for the shortages in some food and consumer products the coun-try has faced this year, as well as inflation of 54% and a black market dollar worth 10 times the official rate of 6.3 BsF to the dollar.

However the administra-tion of Nicolas Maduro has argued that product hoard-

ing, “grotesque” overpric-ing and speculation on the dollar as causes of economic difficulties. Officials accuse business groups aligned with the conservative opposition of waging an “economic war” against the government.

This week Venezuelan Cen-tral Bank’s (BCV) president Eudomar Tovar assured the public that the country’s “op-erational” foreign currency reserves are in “normal condi-tions” and dismissed negative forecasts on Venezuela’s inter-national reserves.

The BCV president ex-plained that the economy was growing and the country was fulfilling its debt obligations as normal.

This year PDVSA estimates it will have given the state a total of US $47.3 billion for dis-tribution in the economy. “That is sufficient for the economy”, said Tovar.

T/ Ewan RobertsonP/ Agencies

Venezueltan Finance Min-ister Nelson Merentes has predicted that 2014 will

be a year of increased growth and reduced inflation, in part due to the economic measures being taken by President Nico-las Maduro.

The minister said Tuesday that the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) and the National Institute of Statistics (INE)

Venezuelan Finance Minister:2014 will Be year of growth

were analyzing the possible effects of Maduro’s strategy to deal with the country’s eco-nomic difficulties.

This year Venezuela has faced shortages in some basic foodstuffs, annual inflation of 54% and a black market dollar worth ten times the official rate. The government says that the situation is the result of an “economic war” being waged by business sectors aligned with the conservative opposition.

The opposition denies the accusations, and blames the government for the situation instead.

The Maduro administration has characterized its response to these problems as an “economic offensive”, which has included cracking down on abuse of cur-rency controls, forcibly reducing “grotesque” overpricing in some sectors, and ensuring that food products reach supermarkets rather than being hoarded or di-verted as contraband.

“We are sure that this well-directed offensive by Maduro against the economic war, where businesses had been marking up prices irrationally for nine months, will bear its fruits in the economy”, said Me-rentes on state channel VTV.

The finance minster added, “We’re still going to end the year with high inflation lev-els but Venezuelans should be aware that 2014 will be very dif-ferent from 2013 for economic development and job creation”. The BCV predicts the economy to grow by 2.5% by the end of this year.

Merentes defended the govern-ment’s approach to the economy, arguing that the forcible reduc-tion of prices had increased consumer spending power and would dent inflation.

The government is also look-ing to strengthen the bolivar currency to help maintain eco-nomic stability and weaken the value of the black market dollar.

Recent measures include increasing interest rates on savings accounts from 12.5 to 16% to encourage citizens to hold more savings in boli-vars. Further, from 2014 Ven-ezuelans will be able to buy government bonds in bolivars or dollars.

Commenting on the latter policy, Merentes said, “This is important because they [government bonds] have good performance and are zero risk. If something has characterized Venezuela it is the payment of her [finan-cial] obligations, internal as much as external, without any difficulty”.

FINANCES IN GOOD SHAPEThe statements come after

some international financial press outlets speculated as to whether Venezuela would face a liquidity crisis due to increased demands for foreign currency and a falling oil price. 95% of the country’s foreign currency earnings come from oil sales.

However Venezuelan au-thorities and US economists such as Mark Weisbrot have dismissed this, pointing to the country’s large current ac-count surplus from oil income and the high levels of reserves and credits that the govern-ment has at its disposal.

Further, the price of Venezu-elan crude has risen over the past three weeks and is cur-rently sells at $94.69 per barrel, below the government’s ideal level of $100 per barrel, but well above the price needed to main-tain a current account surplus.

As such, in his interview Me-rentes was upbeat about Ven-ezuela’s future economic per-formance. He mentioned that extreme poverty was between 6 - 7% and unemployment 6 - 8%, down from 17% and 15% respec-tively when the Bolivarian gov-ernment assumed power in 1999.

“We would like poverty to be zero and unemployment to decrease, and this can only be achieved by increasing pro-ductive capacity, social well-being and inclusion”, the min-ister said.

He also pledged that, “To those who haven’t voted for our project we say that we’re going to favor those who still haven’t been included, because we don’t have any type of distinction”.

The artillery of ideasFriday, December 6, 2013 | Security 5

T/ Tamara Pearsonwww.venezuelanalysis.comP/ Agencies

On Monday night a blackout which affected the majority

of the country saw the national government accuse the right-wing of sabotage.

The blackout affected cen-tral and western Venezuela, where the largest cities are. It began at 8pm and electricity returned to Caracas at around 9.30pm, while it returned to Merida at 2am.

Electricity minister Jesse Chacon alleged that the black-out was intentional. He said a

Venezuelan President blames“opposition sabotage” for blackout

special commission was inves-tigating the failure, which he said originated in the substa-tion La Arenosa, between Cara-bobo and Aragua states, in the central north of Venezuela.

Chacon said that authorities had found a 3.3cm diameter electrical conductor that had split in one of the towers of the national grid, causing a short circuit. Chacon said such a problem hadn’t occured before in the thirty year life of the electricity system.

President Nicolas Maduro also alleged that the black-out was intentional. He said Venezuela’s intelligence agen-

cies “revealed that a series of actions were planned” for yesterday, “In three different places they had organised dis-turbances. Immediately after the blackout, they went out into the street to burn tires”.

He accused the rightwing of “taking electricity away from the people in order to provoke a state of irritation and dis-content with the government... they are desperate because they know they face a big defeat on December 8th... they see the polls and the support for us in the street”.

President of the national as-sembly, Diosdado Cabello also said that the electricity black-out “smelled of sabotage”.

Opposition governor, Hen-rique Capriles alleged that Monday night’s blackout is

“what the greater part of the country experiences every-day” and the opposition co-alition, the MUD, said the government’s accusations of sabotage were “politically and electorally motivated”.

Maduro also said the black-out occurred in the same place as the large blackout in Sep-tember this year. At the time he argued that the blackout was a “rehearsal” for the December 8th municipal elections.

T/ Ryan Mallett-OuttrimP/ Agencies

Venezuelan security forces have seized 83 tons of nar-cotics and arrested 110

drug lords this year, according to head of the National Anti-Drug Office (ONA) Alejandro Keleris Bucarito.

Keleris stated that the Ven-ezuelan government remains “committed” to stamping out narcotics traffickers, and pledged to deepen anti-drug ef-forts in 2014.

“Thanks to intelligence work and international cooperation we have managed to destroy 141 narcotics laboratories over the past five years, most of which were located in border areas in order to access raw materials”, he stated last Thursday.

Keleris also affirmed that 43 laboratories were shut down in 2013 alone and Venezuela remains free of drug crops. Ac-cording to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, while Venezuela is not a major drug producing country it is used by international narcotics traffickers as a transit route be-tween the Andean region and intercontinental markets.

The coca leaf, from which cocaine is derived, is mostly grown in countries like Co-lombia, Peru and Bolivia. Ven-ezuela’s geographic position makes it a convenient step-ping-stone for Andean narcot-

Venezuela seized a totalof 83 tons of narcotics in 2013

ics bound for North American and European markets, ac-cording to some analysts.

“We are confident that we will continue making prog-ress in this important work to ensure that our country is free from drug cultivation and trafficking, although geo-graphically we are the bridge between the largest producing country and the largest drug consumer”, he stated.

Keleris credited joint efforts between the armed forces, the national and states govern-ments and the public for Ven-

ezuela’s progress on tackling drugs. Between 2006 and 2013 the heads of more than 100 nar-cotics organizations have been apprehended by Venezuelan au-thorities, according to figures from ONA.

Keleris also pointed to Ven-ezuela’s appointment to head the Union of South American Nations’ (UNASUR) regional council on anti-drug efforts in October as evidence of in-ternational recognition of the country’s anti-narcotics efforts. “The UNASUR mem-ber countries unanimously

decided to appoint our coun-try to pro tempore presidency against the global drug prob-lem in South America, which is a demonstration of the ef-forts we have made in this area”, he stated.

However, he also called for more public awareness of the problem of drug trafficking.

“We should all join the fight...against this scourge so that it doesn’t affect our children, who are the next generation”, he said.

Keleris made the announce-ment the same day Venezu-elan authorities charged four

more people in relation to a record cocaine haul made by French authorities in Sep-tember. The three men and one woman were charged for allegedly cooperating with an operation to smuggle a 1.3 ton shipment of cocaine onto an Air France flight from Ca-racas to Paris.

When 31 suitcases stuffed with cocaine were discovered by French authorities after the plane landed in Paris’ Charles De Gaulle Airport in Septem-ber, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls described the haul as “the biggest seizure of cocaine ever made in main-land France”.

Venezuela has so far arrest-ed 25 people in connection to the case.

An Air France manager and five military personnel including a lieutenant colonel who was responsible for secu-rity at Maiquetia Internation-al Airport are among those facing charges.

French authorities also ar-rested “several members of a criminal organization”, While acknowledging that the two countries have been coop-erating in relation to the case, last month Keleris questioned French handling of the bust.

During an interview with private broadcaster Televen, Keleris questioned the amount of time taken for French au-thorities to announce the dis-covery of the haul, and how the cocaine went undetected by Air France.

“It is very strange”, Keleris said.

Air France has pledged to improve its own checks on baggage “on departure from certain sensitive destinations” since the incident.

The artillery of ideas6 Social Justice | Friday, December 6, 2013

T/ Mariana Serrano–AVNP/ Agencies

A humble house located on the second street of the La Cortada sector in Ca-

tia, Sucre parish [Caracas], offers the country one of the most important contributions to the social sphere in Ven-ezuela; the country in Latin America with the third low-est rate of poverty, achieved through reducing hunger.

Although 18 people are living in the house, 100 plates of food are served daily at lunch. The house number is 83, which is barely enough to identify itself in the middle of a row of homes that line the street of the first al-leyway in the area. The house has been converted to guarantee that one hundred people receive a plate of “hot and very tasty” food, prepared by the hands of women of the house who com-prise the Liendo family.

The alarm sounds at 4:00 in the morning. Mrs Zaida Liendo is up first and her colleagues follow behind her: her daugh-ters and granddaughters. Sea-sonings, vegetables and meats are chopped, and the assembled food is a balanced diet with a nutritional content equal to al-most 50% of the caloric require-ment of a person for a day. It’s work that occupies at least sev-en hours a day.

From Monday to Friday, the women of the Liendo fam-ily prepare an amount of food equivalent to 100 plates of food a day, for a total of 500 servings per week and 2,000 per month.

“It’s not an easy job, there’s a lot to do, and sometimes you’re provoked to throw in the towel because you have to know how to deal with people, but we al-ways keep going because we help people who really need it. Now I can help, but when I had my eight children nobody helped me”, said Mrs Zaida Liendo, who is the owner and proprietor of house number 83, that was volunteered by her to become one of the 6,000 food houses of the country.

Last Friday, recognition from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO is its English abbrevia-tion) reached the house of Mrs Liendo. This year the same or-ganization awarded Venezuela for its fight against hunger. For

Mrs Liendo, having assumed the responsibility to help with her seasoning and dedication, there’s a personal sense of sat-isfaction and a commitment to the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Hugo Chavez.

“After my comandante died, I felt a greater commitment to this. Because he was a humani-tarian, because he wouldn’t al-low his people to starve, because he, out of his heart would have given me and my family one or one hundred plates of food”, she said with the same certainty that her tears came with.

When she first opened the doors of her home to feed those most in need, there were about 150 people who came every af-

ternoon. Today, that number has been reduced to one hun-dred neighbors; mostly chil-dren and the disabled.

“When we started in 2004 we had 150 people, but many of them grew up; they began to work and have already left, others left after the tragedy of the floods (in 2010) and now we serve only 100 people”.

Mrs. Liendo considers the work done by the national government through the Food Houses program (Casas de Alimentación) to be compre-hensive, and it has served as a connection between the needy and public institutions in order to attend to chronic and struc-tural problems.

As an example, she mentioned the case of a boy who was fed at the house who had recently had a kidney operation. “The mother of the boy, who also has a few [other] kids, handed a re-quest for help for the child to the president of the Foundation of the Strategic Foods Program (Fundaproal) and they are look-ing for ways to help her”.

Another specific case is that of a man of advanced age who lives alone, has no known fami-ly, and recently suffered a para-lyzing disability that made him unable to work.

“Through the program and the foundation he is going to get a pension”, she said.

Mrs. Zaida said that these contributions and solutions stimulate her to continue writ-ing her own history as owner and proprietor of one of the food houses that has allowed for re-duced rates of extreme poverty, poverty, child malnutrition and hunger in the country.

According to a recent report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbe-an (ECLAC), in Venezuela’s case between 2002 and 2010 poverty decreased by 20.8 %; from 48.6 % to 27.8 %, while extreme poverty went from 22.2% to 10.7%, result-ing in a decrease of 11.5%.

More than a plate of food: Food Houses serve examples and hopes of life

She also argued that from 1999 to 2010 Venezuela experi-enced the second highest reduc-tion in poverty levels at 21.6%, from 49.4 % to 27.8 %. The high-est was Ecuador, which had a reduction of 26.4 %, bringing this indicator from 63.5 % to 37.1 % in the same period.

This data is consistent with the figures published by the Venezuelan National Insti-tute of Statistics (INE), which show that poverty declined 21.6% between 1998 and the first half of 2011, from 49% to 27.4 %.

The INE reported this year that the Bolivarian government has reduced structural poverty from 16.7% to 6.9 % as a result of the fairer distribution of the country’s wealth.

A PLATE OF FOOD: 941 CALORIESThe ideal daily caloric in-

take for a Venezuelan is be-tween 2000 and 2500 calories. Nonetheless, the average Ven-ezuelan consumes around 3000 calories, eating three or more meals per day.

Through the Food Houses program, 50% of this is guaran-teed, with an average of 941 cal-ories being provided per plate of food at lunchtime.

According to Douglas Trujil-lo, Fundaproal nutritional coor-dinator, the program provides a free meal based on a nutritional study of the population, which also promotes the consumption of local produce.

Trujillo stated that since the program’s inception in 2004, 3,334,000 free meals have been provided through 6000 homes that now exist across the country.

Regarding the prioritization of the consumption of foods lo-cal to each region of the coun-try, in 2014 a restructuring of the menu will be achieved to offer regionalized menus at the food houses.

He explained that the idea is “to promote food production in these regions, for our consump-tion, and make the meal we of-fer closer to the food of the peo-ple. All of this is in the context of the objectives of the Second National Plan [of the Nation, 2013 - 2019]”.

Trujillo noted that the food program was devised by co-mandante Hugo Chavez, and now is also a form of social in-clusion, productive activity and social development for the en-tire population.

“The food houses are going to move on to be a program of training and nutritional inclu-sion, without losing their rai-son d’être: to be homes of nutri-tional care”, he said.

The artillery of ideas Friday, December 6, 2013 | Analysis 7

T/ Ewa Sapiezynska & Hassan Akram

Bleak media reports about the country’s polity and economy are exagger-

ated.Alvaro Vargas Llosa wants

us to believe that Venezuela is an example of a “new Latin-American dictatorship”. He even goes so far as to claim that President Nicolas Ma-duro rigged last presidential election (in spite of Venezue-la’s electoral system that Jim-my Carter called “the best in the world”). Does the poetic license of his father, Mario Vargas Llosa, one of the great-est Latin American novelists, extend to Alvaro?

He is certainly not alone in his opinions. The Washington Post writes in its editorial last week about the “sickening spectacle” of “the unravelling of Venezuela’s economy and political system” and “the re-gime’s self-destruction”. The new scare-story from those proclaiming disaster is about the new powers granted to Maduro by the National As-sembly on November 21 in or-der to fight corruption, specu-lation and usury. For one year the Venezuelan President will be able to make some laws by decree, which analysts in Mi-ami have denounced as un-democratic.

In fact, these Enabling Laws are nothing new in Venezuela. Similar powers were granted to Hugo Chavez (during his 13 years in office they were granted four times). Moreover these decree-powers were granted to Venezuelan presi-dents before Chavez: in fact, Enabling Laws were used six times before he came to power in 1999. It is a constitutional authority granted by the elected legislature and can be overruled by that legisla-ture. It is difficult to criticize the objective of streamlining administrative procedures on an issue as important as cor-ruption; declaring that such a move puts democracy at risk is clearly an exaggeration.

VENEZUELA’S STABLE ECONOMY

Of course, the request of decree powers on economic issues is due to the recogni-tion that Venezuela is facing problems in this area. But contrary to the myth peddled by the media and many ana-lysts, especially those close to the US government, Venezu-ela is not nearing economic collapse. The economy, as has

always been the case, is largely dominated by the extraction of oil which the country uses to purchase food and consumer goods. The earnings from oil exports are comfortably above spending on imports, so Ven-ezuela is not facing anything like a debt crisis.

In fact in 2012 oil exports brought in $94 billion, while imports (at historically high levels) were just $59.3 billion. Today there are some $22 bil-lion in reserves at the Venezu-elan Central Bank. There is also an account surplus that is currently at 2.9 percent of GDP. Given these very positive in-dicators, US-based economist Mark Weisbrot is quite certain that Venezuela will not face a future balance of payments (debt) crisis. His confidence is shared by US banking multi-national Wells Fargo, which recently produced a report de-claring Venezuela one of the emerging economies most pro-tected against the possibility of a financial crisis and by Bank of America Merrill Lynch which has recommended investors purchase Venezuelan govern-ment bonds.

POLITICAL ROOTSOF ECONOMIC WOES

Although the economy does not suffer from any balance of payments or fiscal crisis, Venezuela is facing significant

problems in the form of short-ages of specific consumer goods and lengthy queues for some of what is available. But this is not so much an economic problem as a political one. Following the death of immensely charismatic Hugo Chavez (electorally one of the world’s most popular politi-cians), there followed a highly polarizing election in which Chavez’s chosen successor for-mer Vice President Nicolas Ma-duro was elected with a narrow margin. As George Ciccariello-Maher, Venezuela specialist at the University of Drexel, told us in a private conversation, “the tensions and destabilization fol-lowing the April elections result from the fact that Venezuela’s empresarios think they have a chance to get rid of the new government”. Specifically, the Venezuelan business elite has responded to the uncertainty surrounding the new govern-ment by taking money out of the country (capital flight) and de-liberately creating chaos.

Currently the government earns Venezuela’s dollars through oil exports and then distributes them to importers at a controlled rate in a system not very different from that applied during the “economic miracle” in South Korea which moved that country “from third world to first” (Korean capital controls were actually much more stringent than Ven-

Is Venezuela in crisis?ezuela’s). This system of foreign exchange rationing should en-sure that foreign currency is used to satisfy the needs of or-dinary citizens and develop the country’s productive capacity. The difficultly for Venezuela is that business-people are using the dollars that are allocated to them for the purchase of vital imports to engage in specula-tive activities on the black mar-ket, and to swell their foreign bank accounts. And of course, this means that essential goods are not imported.

At the beginning of the year, the government responded to misuse of the foreign ex-change which it provides by partially reducing the levels of dollars it makes available, but this has had the effect of exac-erbating shortages and driving up the black market value of the dollar. Prices have also shot up in the last months because Ven-ezuelan businesses have made use of their oligopolistic control over distribution networks to massively increase prices,as part of a campaign to reduce the government’s popularity in the run-up to the municipal elections in December.

In response to the problem of price increases, shortages, and the dollar black market, Ma-duro has now introduced a new strict system of price controls. The new measures place a 30 percent limit on mark-up levels.

Nevertheless, the problem will not be resolved while the gov-ernment relies on the private sector to import and distribute consumption goods, and this private sector is committed to a political conflict with the gov-ernment despite their sizeable profit margins. Bringing infla-tion under control will require complementing price controls with measures to shrink the black market (i.e. an overhaul of the way the exchange rate is managed to make it more flex-ible along the lines of the Mo-rales government’s approach in Bolivia). Such measures would reduce speculation and capital flight, and thus push the pri-vate sector into using dollars to make necessary imports.

UPCOMING MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS

Only five thousand people participated in the protest march against the government called by the opposition leader Henrique Capriles in Caracas last Saturday, the first one since the presidential election in April. It is not a good sign for the opposition that it is cur-rently trying to portray the upcoming municipal elections as a “plebiscite” on Maduro’s government. A poor showing for Maduro’s supporters would be used by the opposition to claim that the government lacks legitimacy. However, the opposition suffered a great de-feat in the state-governor elec-tions last December winning 3 out of 23 governorships and according to a poll by Hinter-laces, the government alliance is likely to win the majority of municipalities once again. The same source shows a rise in Maduro’s popularity to 55 per-cent after the latest economic measures.

The achievements of the Bo-livarian Revolution are consid-erable. Poverty was reduced by more than 50 percent in the last decade and there have been enormous improvements in access to health and educa-tion. The FAO (Food and Ag-riculture Organization of the United Nations) awarded the government special recogni-tion this year for its success in reducing hunger among the country’s poor. Nevertheless, continued political success will require bolstering support among the middle classes and this means streamlining the economy, something that will only be possible, if the govern-ment is able to rein in the spec-ulative and rentier elements of the business elites.

Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera - Audra Ramones

INTERNATIONAL Friday, December 6, 2013 | Nº 186 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

Opinion

T/ Eleazar Diaz R angel

In the context of nationwide mu-nicipal elections to be held this weekend, renowned editor and

journalist Eleazar Diaz Rangel suggests that the real winner of Sunday’s vote will be his coun-try’s burgeoning democracy. In this piece, the Director of Ven-ezuelan daily Ultimas Noticias discusses growing confidence in the electoral system as well as the shrinking likelihood that extremists might successfully disrupt both the voting process and its results. Though he is of-ten cautious in supporting either side of the political debate, he also expresses his open support for so-cialist candidate Ernesto Villegas in the race for the Metropolitan District of Caracas.

TRANQUILITY: BY DIAZ RANGELThe municipal elections set

for this Sunday, December 8th, are likely to result in greater peace and tranquility for Vene-zuela and its people. In part, the holidays are right around the corner, with people cashing in year-end bonuses and – thanks to recent measures taken by the national government – find-ing more reasonable prices at the cash register. More impor-tantly, however, voters in each of the over 300 municipalities up for grabs have numerous local reasons to conduct themselves in a responsible manner. At the same time, those who are con-vinced that they cannot trust the country’s electoral system are likely to abstain from par-ticipating at all.

In a survey carried out by Ulti-mas Noticias, 2,454 readers were asked what they expected of the 2013 municipal elections. Half of the respondents affirmed that political stability would result, while an additional set of read-ers said polarization would also be reduced.

THE QUESTION What do you expect will oc-

cur after the December 8th election? Of the 2,454 read-ers surveyed, 1,222 (49%) an-swered that they expect “more political stability” while only 640 (26%) responded that they anticipate “more uncertainty”. Another 386 respondents (15%) said they were “indifferent” to the results, while 204 (8%) af-

Venezuela: The municipal elections

firmed that “polarization will be reduced”.

Simply put, some 57% of vot-ers (49 + 8) are optimistic. These people don’t believe that the op-position will occupy mayor’s of-fices – as has been threatened by

some – and they don’t believe it will be necessary to use the state security mechanisms created to maintain the peace. These vot-ers, a majority, are convinced that the elections will take place in all normality. In addition, they are convinced that once the results are announced, the coun-try’s major political forces will accept the outcomes. Though some are expected to accept re-luctantly, very few are expected to subvert the established order, reject the results, and or cause disturbances. In cases where such illegal conduct does take place, police and military forces are expected to react immedi-ately, reestablishing order.

If we add the 15% of respon-dents who expressed indiffer-ence – people who are likely to abstain from participating be-fore, during, or after the vote – the aforementioned optimists (57%) are part of 72% of voters who aren’t anti-anything. This figure stands in stark contrast to the 26% of people who said they expect “greater uncertain-

ty”, which does not necessarily mean they expect violence. In conclusion, the vast majority of Venezuelans are inclined to be-lieve in, contribute to, and await a peaceful post-election climate. Naturally, a radical minority exists and has always existed. They seek shortcuts, and as most Venezuelans spend the week preparing for Sunday the 8th peacefully, these extremists may very well attempt desperate acts to disrupt the elections.

THE SPOTLIGHTOf the hundreds of munici-

palities with mayoral elections this Sunday, two stand out in the national spotlight: the Met-ropolitan District of Caracas (the nation’s capital, with some 3.5 million inhabitants living in 5 separate municipalities) and Maracaibo (capital of the oil-rich state of Zulia). In both these cases, the opposition looks to reelect mayors with very little to show of their time spent in of-fice. Meanwhile, the candidates of the ruling United Social-

ist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) are new to the scene, bring a fresh perspective, and express a greater willingness to win and get things done. The results, as such, shouldn’t surprise any-one. While the recent reductions in prices may encourage voters to choose PSUV candidates, the unresolved shortages of basic consumer goods may also lead them to vote the other way.

SURPRISEDWith respect to two other mu-

nicipal elections, one in the state of Merida’s Libertador Munici-pality and the other in Caracas’ Sucre Municipality, it’s surpris-ing to see the similarities in candidates’ priorities. In both cases, the opponents’ platforms seem to coincide on the need to address three main problems, pretty much in the same order: garbage, insecurity, and street vendors. In Merida’s Libertador, as in Caracas’ Sucre, opposition mayors have all but abandoned their post, with garbage flooding the streets, insecurity running wild, and street vendors roam-ing around with city permis-sion. In the former, the opposi-tion is running a new candidate who promises to do better than his departing ally. In the later, right-wing Mayor Carlos Ocariz promises to do more “this time” to resolve people’s problems. What has he done in five years?

RECOMMENDATIONSThough I don’t usually make

recommendations in non-pres-idential elections, this time I’d like to make an exception. For those readers who trust in what I write, and who have yet to decide how to vote in the race for the Metropolitan District of Caracas, I have a name to share. I don’t name him because he is a friend or colleague. No, I name him be-cause I sincerely believe he is the best choice for the impor-tant task. His name is Ernesto Villegas, he is young, honest, enterprising, and he has the support of both the national government and the adminis-tration of Caracas’ most popu-lated municipality, Libertador. He is the only candidate capa-ble of managing the multiple needs of Caracas’ five munici-pal administrations (Liber-tador, Sucre, Chacao, Baruta, and El Hatillo) and his plat-form for the overall Metropoli-tan District will substantially improve Greater Caracas. I am going to vote for him.

The municipal elections set for Sunday, December 8th, are likely to result in greater peace and tranquility for Venezuela and its people. The holidays are right around the corner, with people cashing in year-end bonuses and – thanks to recent measures taken by the government – finding more reasonable prices at the cash register.