Venezuela Begins Process of Certifying Orinoco Reserves

With the perforation of the two first wells under the Orinoco Magna Reserve Project, Venezuela began the process of “quantifying and certifying” its Orinoco belt oil reserves on Thursday, which could recognize Venezuela as the country with the largest petroleum reserves in the world by 2008. 

Chavez stated on Thursday that by 2008, Venezuela will have officially certified “316 billion barrels” in reserves, the total reached by adding the 235 billion barrels of Orinoco reserves to the current 81 billion barrels already certified in the country.  Venezuela is now considered the country with the fifth largest reserves in the world.  Proven Orinoco reserves were previously estimated at only 36 billion barrels. 

Chavez indicated that total certified Orinoco reserves should rise to almost 91 billion barrels by November of next year, putting Venezuela in second place in proven oil reserves with 171 billion barrels.  Currently Saudi Arabia has the largest petroleum reserves in the world with 262 billion barrels of crude. 

“The inauguration of this program for the quantification and certification of the existing hydrocarbons in the Orinoco Oil Belt is the energy strategy of Venezuela.  It has power over the integration of South America, the project of endogenous industrialization, local development and our indigenous communities; for them, what is occurring has a great impact.” Said President Chavez 

Chavez made the announcements in the Venezuelan state of Anzoategui, during the inauguration of the Orinoco Magna Reserve Project and the perforation of the second well of the Carabobo block I, where 5% of the total Orinoco reserves are believed to be located.  According to PDVSA, the Orinoco belt has been divided into 27 blocks, according to their “technical characteristics and strategies.” Thursday’s perforation was part of the first. 

The Orinoco Magna Reserve Project comes under the Sowing the Petroleum Plan, 2005- 2030, with the goal of “achieving the quantification and certification of the existent hydrocarbon reserves in the Orinoco Oil Belt,” according to the Venezuelan state-owned oil company, PDVSA. Venezuela will incorporate the first 9.2 billion barrels of reserves by the end of this year. 

According to Ultimas Noticias, Venezuela invited a group of international observers for the certification.  The Brazilian state oil company Petrobras is already participating in the project and energy companies from India, China, and Argentina have been invited to help evaluate the quantity of hydrocarbons found. 

Venezuela currently produces approximately 3 million barrels of crude per day, of which approximately 600,000 barrels of synthetic crude is currently extracted from the Orinoco oil belt daily.  This crude, until recently, was too costly to produce because of the make-up of the petroleum and the location of the wells, but with oil prices high and increasingly on the rise, as well as improvements in technology and infrastructure in the Orinoco region, it has become increasingly cost-effective to open up the region to development.

Current Orinoco oil production is carried out by PDVSA in conjunction with the foreign oil companies such as ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron.

During last Thursday’s perforation event, Chavez also again reiterated that there are no plans to cut supply to the United States.  Venezuela currently exports approximately 1.5 million barrels to the United States daily.

U.S. Sanctions on Russian Arms Because of Venezuelan Arms Deal, Say Russians

Caracas Venezuela, August 10, 2006—Russia's Defense Ministry said new U.S. sanctions against two Russian state-owned companies were linked to their recent defense contracts with Venezuela.

The U.S. State Department announced last Friday that Russian state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport and jet maker Sukhoi were subject to sanctions for providing Iran with equipment that could be used to develop missile systems or weapons of mass destruction.

The sanctions, which will remain in place for at least two years, were also imposed on two Indian companies, a Cuban entity, and two North Korean firms. Under the 2000 Iran Non-proliferation Act, U.S. firms are prevented from working with affected companies.

Nine days earlier, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was in Russia where he met with his Russian counterpart, Vladmir Putin, and sealed a billion dollar defense contract.

"Obviously, this decision is a reaction to recent successes of our companies in concluding beneficial contracts on arms supplies to Venezuela," Russian news agencies quoted a ministry official as saying.

The Russian Foreign Ministry reiterated Russian companies act in strict compliance with the rules of international law, including Russia's obligations on nuclear nonproliferation. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov called the move politics, "these sanctions don't have the slightest relation to non-proliferation," Interfax reported.

In July, Russia negotiated contracts to supply Venezuela with 24 Su-30 fighter jets and 30 military helicopters. Later that same month, Venezuelan President Chavez spent three days in Russia meeting with officials, and touring the country’s energy and defense industries. Less than two weeks after President Chavez departed Moscow the sanctions were announced in Washington.

"The sanctions should be seen as nothing other than an unfriendly act against the Russian state and an attempt to destabilize its defense co-operation with foreign countries… Such deliveries of arms and military technology to Iran are made by many foreign companies, including by partner countries of the United States in NATO,” Rosoboronexport stated.

Nikolai Zlobin, Director of the Russia and Eurasia Program at the Washington-based Center for Defense Information, spoke to RFE/RL's Russian Service regarding the sanctions, saying, “Venezuela plays a role – the Russian-Venezuelan military contracts have alarmed the Americans… It is a fact that possible future Russian-Venezuelan military cooperation -- not so much what is happening now, but what could happen in the future -- played a role.”

Reuters has reported that Russia signed a contract last year to sell Tehran ground-to-air missile systems, and to modernize Iran's Russian fighters and military helicopters. However, last week, Sukhoi's chairman Alexander Klementiev told the Russian radio station, Moscow Echo, that his company had delivered nothing to Iran for at least six years.

Venezuela Captures Suspected Drug Lord

Caracas Venezuela, August 10, 2006—Venezuelan authorities said Tuesday they had captured the alleged head of an international drug trafficking network. This announcement follows last week’s arrest of a Colombian paramilitary leader wanted on drug charges in the U.S. and Colombia.

Elias Verde Peña, believed to be the leader of a drug ring in Venezuela and Europe, was detained Monday in western Caracas, Venezuela’s Office of the Attorney General said in a statement. Verde is being investigated for multiple homicides and alleged links to 22 Venezuelans who were detained March 21 at a Paris airport. Nearly 45 pounds of cocaine was discovered in the stomachs of those arrested in France.

Following the Paris scandal, the Judicial Police Chief of Venezuela’s Simon Bolivar International Airport and 14 other security officials were dismissed.

Venezuelan authorities last week detained Libardo Parra Gonzalez, a suspected Colombian drug trafficker and paramilitary leader. Gonzalez, who is wanted in Colombia and the United States for alleged crimes including drug trafficking, kidnapping and extortion, was deported to Colombia to face charges.

In 2005, Venezuela signed multilateral agreements with both France and Colombia to collaborate more effectively on counter-narcotic efforts. On Monday, Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel was in Bogotá where he used the opportunity to highlight the neighboring nations’ growing cooperation in the fight against drugs.

Venezuela is not a major producer or consumer of illegal narcotics, but it remains a key transit point for drugs being smuggled out of Colombia headed for the United States and Europe. According to the Venezuelan government sources , 58 .5 tons of cocaine , 18.3 tons of marijuana , and 869 pounds of heroine were intercepted in 2005.

Israel Withdraws its Ambassador for Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela, Agosto 8, 2006—Israel withdrew its ambassador from Caracas yesterday in response to an identical move made by Venezuela towards Israel last week. On the same day, Venezuela sent a Boeing 707 jet full of aid to Lebanon to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis caused by the Israeli bombing.

The withdrawal of Israel’s ambassador was inevitable, “As an act of protest against the one-sided policy of the president of Venezuela and in light of his wild slurs against the state of Israel and in response to the recall of the Venezuelan charge d'affaires to his country, Foreign Minister Tsipi Livni decided to bring our ambassador in Venezuala back temporarily for consultations,” said Israeli Foreign Ministry Mark Regev.

With regards the one-sided policy Regev pointed to Venezuelan-Iranian relations. Regev said, "We have a problem with the leadership in Caracas that hugs the Iranian president who calls for the annihilation of Israel," he said.

All this came after Chávez continued his blunt criticism of Israeli actions in Lebanon and Palestine on his weekly television show Aló Presidente. Again comparing their actions against Lebanon with Hitler's war tactics, he said that, “Israel has gone mad”.

Today, in response to Israel's announcement, Chavez said that Venezuela and Israel would probably break diplomatic relations over Israel's bombardment of Lebanon. "I have no interest in maintaining diplomatic relations ... with a state like Israel, which every day increases its offensive and says they will not stop," said Chavez.

Kofi Annan yesterday, while not going quite so far as Chávez, did make a statement which, if confirmed as true, would make many see Venezuela’s decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Israel as justified. He said that the recent assault on Qana in southern Lebanon, where 28 civilians died should be seen, "in the broader context of what could be, based on preliminary information available to the United Nations ... a pattern of violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law committed during the course of the current hostilities".

This is an all time low for Israel-Venezuela relations which have always been cordial despite Venezuela’s close links to the Arab world through OPEC. Recently, Venezuela and Israel were in negotiations for an arms deal where the Middle East country was to sell weaponry to Venezuela. It reportedly failed only after considerable US pressure on Israel.

The humanitarian aid sent by Venezuela to Lebanon will not only be food, drinking water and medicines but also doctors and paramedics. This is on top of a fund of private Venezuelan donors set up at the start of the conflict. The aid left in the same jet that has been bringing Latin American refugees that have fled Beirut.

National Assembly Delegation Visits Syria

In a separate development a delegation from the Venezuelan National Assembly visited the Syrian capital Damascus yesterday to meet with Palestinian groups in order to, “ support and identify as parliament members with the Lebanese and Palestinian peoples.”

The delegation was headed by Second Vice President of the Assembly Desiree Santos Amaral. In all they spoke with ten different Palestinian factions. Amaral condemned Israeli aggression and supported the Palestinian peoples “right to resist” the occupation of their land. She also expressed support for the withdrawal of Israel from the Syrian Golan Heights, which they have occupied illegally since 1967.

Venezuela Recuperates Largest Landed Estate in Country

Caracas, Venezuela, August 7, 2006 —This Sunday, from the Venezuelan state of Bolivar, President Hugo Chavez announced the recuperation of the “largest latifundio” (plantation) in the country, and the creation of the Socialist Production Unit "Manuel Piar."

The announcements were made on Chavez’ 259th transmission of his weekly television program, “Alo Presidente,” broadcasted from the recently recuperated “La Vergareña” latifundio, which, at 187,238 hectares (468,095 acres), was considered to be the largest in the country.

According to the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication, La Vergareña, is twice the size of the Margarita Island and within its borders are a forest reserve that “has been indiscriminately disrespected for a long time,” six campesino land occupations, and various indigenous communities.

According to the press release, the Socialist Production Unit “Manuel Carlos Piar”, was created after the recuperation of the estate, with the objective of “diversifying the region’s production… and proposing to improve the living conditions of the families located in the area, through the organization and participation of the community,” said Chavez.

Chavez announced that they would be moving forward to launch the “ambitious project” to build the former estate in to “a pole of economic, social and human development.” “This is land that is precisely being recuperated for the indigenous, agricultural production, and everything that is necessary to live a better life,” he said.

Among the projects for the region, Chavez announced the creation of the “Great City of Wood” and called for the development of infrastructure in order to interconnect the area with the rest of the country.

Latifundios and violence

During the program, Chavez called for an end to all latifundios throughout the country, and announced that no latifundio is “untouchable.”

“The Revolution will continue and will continue to recuperate territory. The day will arrive, sooner than later, that there won’t be one latifundio in Venezuela. Zero latifundio!”

According to Prensa Latina, the 1950 Venezuelan agricultural census reported that almost 200,000 families owned 900,000 productive hectares and 5,286 families had 18,600,000 hectares (much of which were unproductive).

The 1998 census reported that 376,868 campesino families had 1,600,000 hectares, while 10,000 families owned 18,000,0000, demonstrating that the agrarian structure has remained in place.

The Venezuelan president also condemned the continued violence against campesino leaders, including the recent assassination attempt against National Assembly representative, Braulio Alvarez.

“The violence from assasins continues to hurt the campesinos,” he said. “The impunity is terrible and this is a reflection that should push us to efficient action.”

“If someone who I have put in charge doesn’t feel up this struggle… resign, but we can not let them massacre campesino leaders without anyone being held responsible.” Chavez said, calling on the Ministry of Justice and the Venezuelan Intelligence Agency (DISIP) for increased action and investigation.

The assassination of campesino leaders in Venezuela is a growing problem where over 150 Venezuelan campesino leaders have been assassinated since the passage of the land reform law in 2001.

See Also:

• Venezuelan National Assembly Representative Survives Assassination Attempt
• Venezuela to Compensate Campesino Families for Assassinations

Súmate Investigated For Receiving More Foreign Funding

Caracas, Venezuela, August 7, 2006 —According to José Albornoz, National Assembly Representative with the Patria Para Todos (PPT) party and president of the commission currently investigating financing for the opposition primaries, Súmate has received over $400,000 in undeclared deposits from foreign banks since 2003. This does not include contributions made to Súmate by the US Congress funded National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the German- Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the Canadian Embassy, deposits of less than $10,000, or the approximately $1 million that the Superintendent of Banks and Other Financial Institutions (SUBEDAN) verifies that the organization has been managing.

The largest of the undeclared deposits in Súmate accounts over the past three years were made public this past week, including a deposit of $300,000 from a Bank of America account, on November 18, 2005. This transaction in particular has raised attention, because of the large sum and the fact that the deposit was made just ten days before the opposition withdrew from last December’s congressional elections.

According to Albornoz, the funds were never declared to the Commission of Currency Administration (CADIVI), which manages currency transactions, and Súmate is not registered in the national agency.

“Any citizen or legal entity that receives more than $10,000 should be registered with CADIVI,” said Albornoz in late July. “The aforementioned organization [ Súmate ] received $240,000 last year, but nevertheless, this organization is not registered. That is a crime in violation of the laws and the Constitution.”

Súmate co-director, Alejandro Plaz, rejected the accusations this week, stating that Súmate never had to register the funds because the banks automatically transfer the donations from Dollars into Bolivares, and they arrive in their accounts in the Venezuelan currency.

“Mr. Albornoz knows this and if he doesn’t know it, he should get more informed,” said Plaz, according to the daily El Nacional. “The exchange of Dollars to Bolivares is made by the responsible banks,” added Plaz.

Súmate’s accountant, Félix Sánchez, has been summoned to appear before the National Assembly next Tuesday in order to respond to questions regarding the organization’s books. Súmate’s directors criticized this move because they say that Sánchez is a volunteer and cannot represent the organization.

SUBEDAN Investigation

The bank regulatory agency SUBEDAN began an investigation into the Súmate accounts last week at the request of the National Assembly. Last Wednesday, in an effort to carry out the “exhaustive” study, SUBEDAN director Trino Alcides Díaz called on the financial institutions of the country to deliver all available information to his office within three days about the movements in accounts pertaining to Súmate and its directors.

“We are opening up the investigation and we have asked the banks to send all of the information regarding any deposit, for any sum. With this we will be able to, by next week, indicate the exact total that they have received,” said Díaz

According to the daily El Universal, as of Friday, SUDEBAN had detected no illegalities in the financial transactions carried out by Súmate in six Venezuelan banks. Díaz verified that they are investigating the origins of these funds to see if there are any irregularities.

Injunction to Halt Primaries

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan Supreme Court (the Supreme Tribunal of Justice- TSJ) received a petition from a lawyer, Juan José Abreu Araujo, calling for an injunction to halt the opposition primaries, organized by Súmate, and planned for August 13, 2006.

According to Abreu, regarding the Presidential elections set for December 3, 2006, since Súmate does not recognize the “right of the National Electoral Council (CNE), as the constitutional power established under legal Venezuelan order,” to organize internal party elections in Venezuela. “This should be seen, not just a usurpation of power, but also a political coup d’etat to the rule of law and social justice, enforced in Venezuela at the roots of the new Bolivarian Constitution,” said Abreu.

In his written petition, Abreu asks that a legal injunction be issued to “expressly prohibit the NGO Súmate from carrying out the primary elections foreseen for August 13, 2006 in order to choose an opposition candidate.”

According to Union Radio, Abreu also “formally” asked that the TSJ issue an order for Súmate to “carry out elections through the CNE, all in conformity with… Number 6 of Article 293 of the Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.”

In support of the Venezuelan organization, the Secretary General of the political party, Solidaridad (Solidarity), José Luis Farías criticized this week what he called the “irrational, barbaric and absurd [persecution] of the civil organization, Súmate.”

Súmate is the Venezuelan organization that led the recall referendum against Venezuelan President Chavez in 2004 and is currently organizing opposition primaries in advance of the December 3rd Venezuelan presidential elections. In 2003, Súmate received a controversial $31,000 from the US Congress funded NED, for which its directors are currently on trial for “conspiracy against the republican form of the nation.” Since 2003, Súmate has been accused of accepting hundreds of thousands more from various other international sources.

Decree Enables Expropriations of Homes for Renters in Venezuela’s Capital

Caracas, Venezuela, August 4, 2006 —On Tuesday, The Greater Metropolitan Caracas Mayor’s office approved a reform to its May 16th decree on housing expropriations, opening approximately 700 buildings throughout Caracas to the possibility of expropriation. The Association of Urban Real Estate Owners (APIUR) has criticized the move as “populist” and intended to hide the government’s inefficiencies in housing construction, while the Social Renters Foundation (FUSI) has applauded the move as a huge step forward in renter’s rights and in their struggle against the forced removal of renters across the metropolitan region.

The August 1st reform requires that in order for a building to be “expropriable,” it must have been constructed before January 2, 1987; have more than three apartments rented; have the same habitants living in those apartments for more than 10 years; and be located within the Greater Caracas Metropolitan region (which includes the municipalities of Libertador, Chacao, Baruta, Sucre and El Hatillo). Prior to the decree, only buildings that had all of the apartments rented for more than 10 years were “expropriable.”

According to El Universal, the reform also opened up the possibility of expropriation for buildings under horizontal proprietorship—a new legal definition of collective ownership in Venezuela, where a particular building is owned by several individuals or families. Each individual family owns a piece of the building, which they are free to sell or manage as they see fit. In order to expropriate a building under horizontal proprietorship, a majority of the habitants must agree to the expropriation.

The reform and decree come in response to the Caracas housing shortage and the increasing number of “illegitimate” evictions across the Venezuelan Capital. The reform further opens the door for renters who have been living in their apartment for more than 10 years to be able to legally acquire the deed to their home, and gives Caracas renters an extra tool in the struggle against forced evictions.

Renters must file a request and qualify for expropriation through the Housing Foundation of the Metropolitan District of Caracas (FUNVI) of the Caracas Metropolitan Mayor’s office. Once expropriated, the real estate can only be acquired by the families that currently are—and have been living—in the apartment. The long-time occupants of the apartment are the only ones permitted to file for expropriation.

Landlords will be paid an indemnization for the expropriation of their property by the Metropolitan government, who will then sell the apartments directly to the occupants. According to El Universal, “the mode of payment will depend on the results of the social-economic study. In any case the beneficiaries will receive preferential loans.” The elderly, sick, and incapacitated will be exempt from paying for the property.

APIUR has labeled the reform “populism with eyes on an election year” and has criticized it for leading to corruption, confusion, and false expectations. According to El Universal, APIUR Vice-president, Roberto Orta also stated that the Metropolitan Mayor’s office is attempting to hide the inefficiencies in the government’s ability to construct new homes due to the housing shortage.

Meanwhile, Veneconomy blasted the reform as a “tremendous irresponsibility.” “This new agreement not only attacks the right to private property, but also focuses on a middle class whose savings and only capital is it’s home,” said a recent Veneconomy article.

But renters and members of the fledgling Venezuelan renter’s movement are rejoicing.

In Caracas, due to the shortage of housing, rental prices have gone up. Families renting the same apartment for many years often have basic rent control, and pay very affordable rates. With rental prices on the rise, however, various landlords have moved to evict their current and longstanding tenants in order to raise the rent on new occupants.

According to Orangel Azoaje, one of the leaders of FUSI, formerly the Network of Evicted Renters, landlords usually use the excuse that the rental contract has expired in order to kick the renters out, even though after a stipulated period of time rental contracts are automatically renewed annually. Azoaje verified that in the past six months there have been approximately 300 such illegitimate eviction attempts in Caracas alone.

“But we don’t let these people get kicked out,” he told Venezuelanalysis on Thursday. “They have been living there for 30 years and suddenly they are treated as if they are squatters? That’s not right.”

Azoaje’s group is organized. They hold meetings in the buildings of people who have received eviction notices, and try to “raise the consciousness of the other renters in the building so that they will support these people.” When FUSI gets word of an eviction attempt they activate their phone lists, and send out the address of the building.

“We go to the building, call VTV (Venezuela state television station), call others, and of course we are peaceful,” said Azoaje. “We stay in the apartment, in the building and tell them that they are not going to evict this person.”

The reform, which passed this week, is one additional tool at their disposition. If a landlord threatens to evict, they can now petition the Metropolitan Caracas Mayor’s office for the apartment to be expropriated and sold to the family. Although this legal measure was available before, Tuesday’s reform increased the number of “expropriable” buildings by more than half. According to El Universal, the list is now at approximately 1200.

Although these buildings are now, by decree, “expropriable,” that does not mean that all the apartments in a building must be expropriated at the same time. According to Azoaje, in most cases, individual tenants are evicted one at a time, and the expropriations are often made per apartment as well.

The threat of expropriation has landlords thinking twice about evicting long-time residents. But according to Azoaje, this has also brought trouble. Once the landlords know that a building is going to be expropriated, they don’t have anything to lose and start to take out the residents. The renters can continue with the courts to try and win the expropriation, but in the mean time they are in the street.

Most landlords find out about the potential for expropriation when the inspectors arrive to inspect the building and analyze the case. Azuaje’s group, FUSI, is now pushing for another reform that would outlaw evictions for 15 days while a building is being studied for expropriation. But that’s just the beginning. FUSI was only formed this past January, and Caracas renters only began to organize themselves out of the Urban Land Committees (CTU) last November.

“We are just beginning,” said Azuaje enthusiastically “We are going to continue to struggle for housing. It’s not a game. Housing is part of life. Without housing, there is no life. When you have your own roof, you know that no one is going to take you out of your home… We don’t want to take anything from anything and we just want a fair price.”

Venezuela and Brazil to Build Shipyard in Venezuela

Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2006—The Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazilian construction company Andrade Gutierrez SA to build a shipyard in Venezuela that would help maintain the 42 new oil tankers it intends to build by 2012.

This is all part of a wider diversification plan to reach new markets and to reduce the dependency on the international transport companies with their widely fluctuating prices, “PDVSA takes one step further towards exporting its crudes and derivatives and attractive prices in important markets such as those in Asia…and minimize our dependence on the international transport of hydrocarbons,” Chávez said.

Venezuela currently has sixteen tankers which transport only twelve per cent of crude exports.  By 2012 it hopes to be producing 5.18 million barrels of oil a day as opposed to the current 3.3 million.  The additional 42 tankers would mean that 45% of petroleum exports would be transported by state owned tankers.  The project should begin next year and although the exact location has yet to be revealed it is expected to be in the east of the country.

PDV Marina will also explore the possibility of building three or four special vessels that would transport liquid natural gas that is expected to be exploited with Russian assistance within the next few years.

“Within ten years we will be witness to an unprecedented jump in the heavy and light industry of the country, allowing us to penetrate new markets in the maritime industry in line with the strategy of PDVSA and the national government,” he added

Asdrúbal Chávez, the Manager of Trade and Supply of PDVSA and President of PDV Marina, the subsidiary of PDVSA involved in the agreement, said that this would be the first time that cutting edge technology for the fabrication, maintenance and repair of tankers and offshore platforms has been introduced to Venezuela.

Andrade Gutierrez SA is an international leader in marine construction with 60 years experience.  The Managing Director of Industrial Business Pedro Antonio Dias was satisfied with the agreement and recognized it as a step down the road of regional integration, “We celebrate working with PDVSA a contribution to the maritime development of Venezuela under the framework of the integration project.”

The project should not only mean the diversification of external markets.  The national economy should benefit too, as supply industries will be required.  PDVSA expects that factories involved in the manufacture of parts for the construction work will be generated as well as design centers.  These new industries will not be temporary and will remain to service future contracts.

Chavez Concludes Whirlwind World Tour in Africa

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez and Mali's President Amadou Toumani Toure
Credit: Prensa Presidencial

Caracas, Venezuela, August 3, 2006—Venezuela’s President Chavez concluded his two week world tour in Africa today, visiting the countries of Mali and Benin, where he continued his effort to strengthen ties with a wide variety of leaders from the Third World.

Upon his arrival in the West Africa nation of Mali, Chavez said that Third World unity was not needed to fight “against someone or against a particular country,” but to “confront the great challenges of this imperialist neo-liberal era.”

Chavez went on to say, “It is of primordial importance that we cultivate a conscience that we are a single people, so as to achieve true integration.”

Chavez met with President Amadou Toumani Toure and visited the Malinese Solidarity Bank and a housing complex. Chavez also signed a variety of cooperation agreements and a memorandum of understanding, so as to establish ties between Venezuela’s ministry of Energy and Petroleum and its Malinese counterpart.

Chavez’s last and final stop of his world tour was the West African nation of Benin, where he visited President Yayi Boni and promised to support that country’s micro-finance program. Also, Benin assured its support for Venezuela’s effort to acquire the temporary UN Security Council seat, which opens up in 2007.

The Venezuelan President’s world tour took him to eight countries in 14 days, starting with the Mercosur summit in Argentina and then on to Belorussia, Russia, Qatar, Iran, Vietnam, Mali, and Benin.

Venezuela Signs More Deals during Chavez’s Visits to Iran and Vietnam

Caracas, Venezuela, Julio 31, 2006 —After spending the previous 3 days in Iran, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez arrived in Vietnam on Sunday evening on his international tour, where more cooperation agreements were signed.

It was a like a trip from one era to another. Iran, although a long time foe of the US since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, really epitomizes today, in the era of the “War on Terrorism,” the new enemy the US has chosen to fight. Vietnam, a ghost from the Cold War era and, for the US, the communist menace. Both countries in these distinct periods saw themselves fight US imperialism. The Symbolism was surely not lost on Chávez.

The visits themselves on this tour have now become somewhat routine for Chávez. Guided tours, agreements, warm and kind words of mutual support, and plenty of photo opportunities.

In Iran, besides signing eleven commercial agreements with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Chávez was given the highest badge of honor Iranian Republic bestows on foreign dignitaries.

As usual, Chávez spoke of the importance of a united front against the US, “If we are united, we can not only resist but we can also defeat imperialism.” The Iranians, predictably, agreed.

The eleven commercial agreements were for the energy, pharmaceutical, civil aviation, medicine and environmental protection sectors. The Iranian state oil company Petropars plans to invest four billion dollars in agreements with its Venezuelan counterpart PDVSA.

There has been much made about the relationship between the two countries. Being the world’s fourth and fifth largest oil exporters respectively and both members of OPEC, Iran and Venezuela are natural allies in the arena of oil politics. And they are both under constant criticism and pressure from the US government, which is the reason Chávez pushes for a common united front.

There are limits to their cooperation, however. Iran is an Islamic Regime and first and foremost looks towards the Islamic world to build alliances. Also, while Chávez has used the windfall from the high price of oil to increase the quality of life of Venezuelans, Ahmadinejad has done little in this arena. On the contrary, his regime oppresses efforts by Iranians to form labor unions and fight for better wages.

In fact, much closer ideologically to Venezuela, at least rhetorically, is Vietnam, or more correctly, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

While in Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital, Chávez praised its socialist model and said he was very keen to learn from it. He also, naturally, referred to Vietnam's achievement in forcing the US to withdraw from its lands, “Vietnam, with its bravery, was victorious over imperialism not only on the battlefield. Vietnam has also been maintaining the socialist standard in the ideological field.”

Commercial agreements were signed between the two countries, in particular, a petroleum cooperation agreement. Vietnam's largest export is crude oil and due to the high oil price recorded growth of 8.4% last year. This made it, along with Venezuela, one of the world's fastest growing economies.

Chávez made the point that while Vietnam exports crude oil (eighteen million tons/year) it imports refined products like gasoline. He said that they were losing two billion dollars a year and recommended they build a refinery in Vietnam. It is hoped the cooperation agreement would facilitate this development.

Chávez also said that he wanted Vietnam's help in creating a multi-polar world.

For the first time on the tour, however, he was met with silence on this topic. Vietnam's President Triet has been trying to build a strong relationship with the US. The US is now Vietnam's number one trading partner.

Russia Backs Venezuela for Security Council Seat

Venezuela's President Chavez and Russia's President Putin meet in Moscow.
Credit: AFP

Caracas , Venezuela, Julio 29, 2006—Russia's President Putin presented his Venezuelan counterpart with a departing gift yesterday, as he gave his public backing to President Chavez's campaign for a seat for Venezuela on the United Nations Security Council.

The seat will be vacated by Argentina in October and, since two seats are conventionally held by Latin American countries, this one will again be filled by a country from that part of the world. Venezuela and Guatemala are the two contenders fighting for the support needed to win the seat.

During a meeting with President Chávez in the Kremlin Putin said, "We applaud Venezuela's legitimate aspirations to occupy a seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council."

There are ten non-permanent members of the Security Council, each serving two years, with five being replaced each year. By convention normally only Latin American countries would choose their representative by consensus. However, as this time their are two clear contenders, the UN General Assembly, made up of all the world's nation states, will choose from the two in a secret ballot on a one member, one vote basis.

It is widely believed that a major reason for Chávez's international tour is to win support for Venezuela's campaign to overcome US resistance to its membership. The US is a strong and vocal supporter of Guatemala and has been doing a fair bit of arm twisting in order to divert votes in the Central American country's direction. This has not gone down well everywhere, however.

In typical menacing fashion, US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld announced after a meeting with Chilean Defense Secretary Vivianna Blanlot that he would “not understand it” if Chile voted for Venezuela. Blanlot actually concurred in a public statement but she has since been rebuked by President Bachelet. Bachelet said Chile would not be pressured by the US and that no decision had yet been taken. It is still unclear who has most support.

Three Billion Dollar Arms Deal

As more details emerge over the arms deals Russia and Venezuela have signed, it appears that they will be worth three billion dollars not the one billion originally reported. The deal includes 24 Sukhoi-30 fighter planes and 53 attack helicopters, in defiance of U.S. requests to Russia not to make the deal. A few months ago Venezuela had already agreed to purchase 100,000 kalashnikov automatic rifles.

Chavez said of the deal in Russia, “ Russia has stretched out its hand to us in the face of international pressure, and even an embargo that was to be imposed on us. It gives our soldiers a special spirit of firmness when we hand them Kalashnikov rifles that replace old 1940s guns.”

Russia ’s President Putin, seeking to calm U.S. supposed concerns, said the new Venezuelan weapons are “ not directed against other states.”

Other deals that Venezuela signed with Russia include one with Gazprom, Russia's largest gas producing company, which will not only play a part in the Gasoducto del Sur, but also plans to partner with Venezuela in the development of Venezuela's gas sector. Technicians from both countries will spend the next twelve months working out a production and development plan for the next fifty years.

Additionally, a study is to be undertaken on the viability of a new Aluminum plant opening in Venezuela. If approved, the Russian firm SUAL would, in partnership with CVG, a Venezuelan state owned company, process Aluminum and manufacture high-value added products for export. Aluminum is processed from the mineral Bauxite Ore, of which Venezuela has plenty.

Chávez explained the strategic reason for welcoming Russian foreign investment diversity. He bemoaned Venezuela's long standing reliance on solely US investment, saying, “The idea is to diversify technology, the market, and investment,” adding that Venezuela had no intention of breaking economic ties with the US.

Diversity of products for international trade, especially high value products, mean a much more stable economy, less vulnerable to the whims of international oil prices. And diversity of investment means more competition among investors which means a better deal for Venezuela. It also means a single country has less of a grip on Venezuela's economy, using threats of withdrawal as leverage to squeeze out maximum capital.

Chávez has often said his project is long term. He spelled out his vision for Venezuelan-Russian co-operation at the end of his trip, saying, "Every process has its phases. Five years ago Russia was not present in Venezuela at all. In the energy sector, nothing. Now, Lukoil has an office in Venezuela. We have Gazprom, and its technicians are already studying a project to build a gas pipeline from Venezuela to Argentina. Lukoil works in two areas. One is the rehabilitation of old fields. The second: oil production in the Orinoco basin. A system is already in place and production will start at the beginning of 2007."

William Brownfield, US Ambassador to Venezuela, expressed concern over the Venezuela’s Russian military hardware agreements. He said that Venezuela had a responsibility to the “International Community” to carry out arms negotiations with clarity and transparency, something he suggested it wasn't doing in the recent agreements with Russia.

Venezuela’s Electoral Council Announces Presidential Campaign Rules

National Eletoral Council President Tibisay Lucena
Credit: ABN

Caracas, Venezuela, July 27, 2006—Tibisay Lucena, the President of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, announced the proposed rules for the December 3rd presidential campaign on Tuesday. According to these rules, the campaign officially begins next week, on Tuesday, August 1st. Opposition leaders rejected the proposed rules, saying that they did not sufficiently restrict the President’s power to campaign.

Lucena made the announcement during a weekly radio program on state radio, saying that the CNE was “looking for, in the best way possible, an equilibrium between the right of candidates to emit their messages and the use of the mass media for diffusing these.”

Lucena also explained that coming up with these rules took a long time because this is the first time in Venezuelan history that a president may be reelected. This is not including the presidential election of 2000, which was a special case, because Chavez was elected under the new constitution of 1999. He had originally been elected in 1998, under the old constitution.

The proposed regulations, which will be adopted on Friday following consultations with the presidential candidates, political parties, and with mass media outlets, stipulate that public officials cannot campaign for themselves or for others during their regular work hours or at their place of work. Also, no public funds or public buildings may be used for their campaigns.

Other restrictions include the prohibition on campaigning outside of the designated campaign period, the use of candidates’ names, images, or party symbols without their prior authorization, nor to call for abstention.

While some of these rules are similar to ones that existed during previous presidential campaigns, an important innovation is the institution of special prosecutors or campaign observers. There would be two special prosecutors (fiscales) per state, who would ensure that campaigns adhere to the campaign rules. Previously the CNE dealt with violations only after complaints had been submitted by citizens, which often meant that the issue was not dealt with until after the election was over.

Following a meeting today of the CNE directorate with directors of the private mass media, Federico Ravell, the director of the news channel Globovision, stated that the CNE “guaranteed to us that the right to inform and to opine will be preserved, that the rules will not enter into this area.”

According to the daily El Universal, Ravell, in the name of all of the private mass media declared his trust that the CNE will have clear rules about the president’s activities during the campaign period.

The opposition NGO Súmate, though, declared that the proposed campaign rules are insufficient because they do not recognize the democratic ideal that elections should be carried out under conditions of equity and transparency.

According to Súmate, the rules do not “regulate presidential transmissions via the state television channel nor the hundreds of media that are under the control of the national government, with which the candidate-President could … abuse public resources and public media, which belong to all Venezuelans.”

Venezuela has one main state TV channel, whose director the President appoints, plus a national community TV channel, and a TV channel of the National Assembly. Also, it has a 51% stake in the continent-wide satellite TV channel Telesur. In addition to this, it controls a handful of radio stations. The private mass media, which are almost entirely opposed to Chavez, consist of five major TV channels, and the vast majority of radio stations and newspapers.

Súmate also complained that the campaign regulations do not penalize public officials who pressure their employees to support the President, nor do they prohibit the President to inaugurate public works projects or to disburse public project funds during the campaign. According to Súmate, such acts are prohibited in Colombia and in Brazil.

Presidential candidate Teodoro Petkoff argued similarly, that the rules do not limit the president’s use of state media. According to Petkoff, the regulations ignore the fact that President has access to the largest network of broadcast media, the state’s media.

CNE Meets with European Ambassadors

CNE President Lucena met with a grouping of ambassadors from Europe yesterday, so as to explain to them Venezuela’s electoral system. Ambassadors from 15 of Europe’s most important countries participated in the meeting, along with a delegation from the European Union.

Lucena’s presentation covered the legal basis for Venezuela’s voting system and the functioning of voting machines. With regard to the voting machines, Lucena explained that the machines were far more reliable than manual voting because of the numerous audits that are conducted along every step of the voting process.

Lucena also reiterated the CNE’s intention to concede to some of the opposition’s demands, such as the decision not to connect the voting machines to the CNE server until after polling stations have closed and the plan to conduct a sizeable audit, of 53% to 55% of all ballot boxes. Furthermore, the CNE will open more voting centers, so that areas that used to have few voting centers would be less congested and it will invite a diversity of international elections observers.

Russia Rejects US Pressure not to Sell Jets to Venezuela and Welcomes Chávez

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez speaks to the press in Russia.
Credit: Prensa Presidencial

Caracas , Venezuela, Julio 26, 2006—President Hugo Chávez was delighted yesterday when Russia rejected US pressure to reconsider plans to sign arms sales agreements with Venezuela.

The deals, purported to be worth one billion US dollars, involve the purchase of at least 22 sukhoi-30 Russian jet fighters that will replace Venezuela’s aging F-16s. Also on the menu are around the same number of helicopters and a number of other smaller agreements.

Russia said it saw no reason to take advice from the United States. And while it has welcomed Chávez with open arms, the US government is upset over the deals. Tom Casey, the US Department of State spokesperson said, "We have expressed our concern to the Russian Government and encouraged them to reconsider the sale."

He added that his government felt the deal would not help stability in South America and that the deal would go beyond Venezuela's basic defensive needs.

However, in the end it was to no avail. Russia was never likely to bow to US pressure, especially given their resurgence as an international power. A “multi-polar world,” which Chavez has been advocating, is probably even more in the interests of the Russian government than those of Venezuela.

Chávez’ response on hearing Russia’s comments said it all: “I would like to thank Russia, the producer of armaments, because Russia has helped to sever the blockade that was tied by the United States around Venezuela. American imperialism wants to hold the world in its fist, but it will not succeed in this.”

Venezuela-Russia cooperation is expected in the military, metallurgy and energy sectors. Upon landing in Russia, Chávez had three days in front of him, his first port of call being Volgograd, the former Stalingrad, where he visited a memorial, a tractor plant, and the Russian Metallurgical Piping Company.

Chávez also announced his interest in signing an agreement with Russia for a new factory that would supply materials for the Gasoducto del Sur, the planned South American gas pipeline, which would be a joint Russian-Venezuelan project. “We are open to the signing of an agreement for the construction, in Venezuela, of a pipe-engineering factory that would operate using Venezuelan steel and Russian technology,” said Chavez.

Yesterday he visited Izhevsk in the autonomous Republic of Udmurtia, a city renowned in Russia for its defence industries, where he visited a Kalashnikov rifle factory and announced Venezuela’s intention to open a similar rifle factory in Maracay, Venezuela. It is expected to begin producing the first rifles in around two years’ time. Pre-empting criticism of the decision he said, “I consider it the state’s responsibility to equip and train the armed forces of the nation. And that is all I’m doing, nothing more.”

Venezuela already has a contract for the supply of 100,000 rifles from Russia, of which 30,000 have been delivered thus far.

Today will be the final leg of his Russian tour, when he will meet with President Vladmir Putin in Moscow.

Venezuelan National Assembly Representative Survives Assassination Attempt

Caracas, Venezuela, July 25, 2006 — Braulio Álvarez, representative of Chavez’s MVR party in the Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) and campesino leader, survived a second assassination attempt on his life last Saturday. Venezuelan Vice President José Vicente Rangel has called the crime “of a political nature, intended to eliminate a leader in the agricultural sector.'' Venezuela is also investigating the possibility that the assassination attempt could be linked to Álvarez’s participation in the reopening of the investigation of the Yumare case, in which nine people were murdered in 1986, presumably at the hands of the Venezuelan intelligence service (DISIP).

The assassination attempt came early Saturday morning when Álvarez came under fire while driving in the Venezuelan agricultural state of Yaracuy. According to the Venezuelan Minister of Communication, William Lara, in an interview with Venezuela Television, the gunfire caused him to lose control of the car, and an impact to the face resulted in a serious injury to the mouth. Álvarez is currently in stable condition.

The assassination attempt comes just over a year after a first attempt on Álvarez’s life in which he was shot twice, wounded, and hurried to the hospital to undergo surgery.

According to a release from the Venezuelan Ministry of Communication, Lara expressed his “repudiation, rejection and ‘profound’ condemnation” regarding the assassination attempt.

Yaracuy state governor Carlos Jiménez stated shortly after the events that the DISIP is working to discover those responsible for the homicide attempt. Vice President Rangel declared, “We are going to investigate until the very end so there isn’t the slightest doubt regarding the events that took place around this attempt.”

During his discourse on Monday in celebration of Simon Bolivar’s 223 birthday, the Venezuelan Minister of Interior and Justice, Jesse Chacon, announced that the original hypothesis is that the assassination attempt was perpetrated by those in support of the latifundios (large plantations), and in reaction to the work that Álvarez has been carrying out in the AN in favor of the application of the Venezuelan land reform law.

Álvarez, however, is also a member of various AN committees, including head of the Special AN Committee to Investigate the Assassinations, Disappearances, and Torture of Venezuelans during the 60s, 70s and 80s and a Special Committee for the Investigation of campesino, indigenous, and fisherman deaths at the hands of assassins.

Chacon explained that both are possible motives for the attempt, and that at this time, although the investigations are advancing, “it would be irresponsible” to rule out either of the two hypotheses.

Nevertheless, Álvarez’s work in support of Venezuelan land reform has received more attention from the press and high government officials. Last Saturday, Communications Minister William Lara indicated that the situation “responds to strategies from internal groups that use mercenaries to assassinate social leaders in the country, particularly campesino leaders.”

Lara added, “In no way are these assassination attempts going to intimidate the campesino movement or the Venezuelan government in our ability to fully execute the Land Law.”

The assassination of campesino leaders in Venezuela is a growing problem and Vice President Rangel verified in a recent interview with Union Radio that there is a list of over 150 Venezuelan campesino leaders who have been assassinated since the passage of the land reform law in 2001. “There has been a large campaign in Venezuela to neutralize [the land reform’s] execution,” he stated.

According to a recent report by Venezuelan Human Rights Defender, German Mundarain, there have been 54 contracted killings of campesino leaders over the past seven years. As a result, Venezuela decided earlier this month to set aside $10 million for a compensation fund for the families of campesino leaders who have been assassinated in the course of Venezuela's land reform program.

See Also: Venezuela to Compensate Campesino Families for Assassinations

Venezuela and Belarus forge “Strategic Alliance”

Caracas, Venezuela, July 25, 2006 —Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus cemented their ties yesterday by signing an array of cooperation agreements at the Presidential Palace in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The two men were full of praise for one another:

“Here, I've got a new friend and together we'll form a team, I thank you, Alexander, for your solidarity and we've come here to demonstrate our solidarity”, said Chávez.

Lukashenko responded by saying, “You are versed not only in the economy of Venezuela but in the Belarus economy as well, you know military science, the military-industrial complex, and this impresses me very much.”

The agreements, seven in all, are part of what Chávez described as a “Strategic Alliance” between the two countries designed to strengthen relationships in the fields of science and technology, agriculture, petrochemicals & energy, food stuffs, mining, and military-technical cooperation. There was also a geo-strategic element to the accords which sought to shore up Chavez’ common themes of national sovereignty and economic independence.

The most significant agreement was that for the petrochemical and energy sectors. A joint venture company is planned to exploit oil and gas reserves. The two leaders agreed to set up a commission to oversee the project which will be presided over by the Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum, Rafael Ramírez.

It is hoped the agreement will be the catalyst for joint projects in all the various processes in the petrochemical and oil & gas industries such as extraction, distribution, storage and sales. T he Venezuelan government is particularly interested in the research and development of technologies for the processing and refining of heavy and extra heavy oil. Venezuela has an abundance of these, but until the recent high oil price they were considered uneconomical due to the costs involved in processing and in extraction.

The agreement on military-technology is also significant. While short on details of the agreement Chávez said it would contribute to the strengthening of national defense capacity, leaving Venezuela more capable of facing internal or external threats. G iven that Eastern Europe generally is considered a producer of quality defense hardware, it is said that the agreement could also help build relationships across that region.

While emphasizing an exchange of knowledge and expertise, Chávez also hinted at the potential for an increase in trade between Venezuela and Belarus, “ We are importing equipment and oil services worth US$10 billion a year and a good part of this money goes to the United States. We're sure that Belarus can supply a good part of this equipment.”

And all of this was wrapped in the rhetoric of anti-imperialism. Lukashenko said that “a natural urge to depart from the unipolar model of the global order to a community of equal partners is becoming an irresistible consolidating factor.”

Chavez continued, saying, “Belarus is a model of a social state, which we are also building and we must defend the interests of the individual and not the hegemonic interests of the capitalists, wherever they may be, in Europe or Latin America.”.

But while the agreements on economic cooperation may seem relatively benign, politically this is a much more controversial trip for the Venezuelan government. President Chávez has had his shouting matches with the US government and there have been disagreements with one or two European leaders. Economic relations have, however, remained normal.

On the other hand, Belarus has actually been sanctioned by the US and the EU for allegedly rigging elections and for the political oppression of opponents. Lukashenko is known among US and EU elites as “Europe´s last dictator.” Chávez is bound to come under criticism for this meeting from both at home and overseas.

Not everyone views Belarus in such a negative manner, however. Some, such as Dr. Mark Almond, a historian from Oxford University, while acknowledges that Belarus “is far from perfect,” but points out that “Belarus has an evolving market economy. But the market is orientated towards serving the needs of the bulk of the population, not a tiny class of nouveaux riches and their western advisers and money launderers.”

At the end of the meeting between Venezuela and Belarus President Chávez invited his counterpart to Venezuela and both parties seemed to part company relatively satisfied.

Next stop for Chávez is Russia and a meeting with President Putin.

Venezuela and Cuba Highlighted at 30th Mercosur Summit

Havana, Cuba, July 24, 2006—The 30th Mercosur (Common Market of the South) Summit came to a close last Friday in Cordoba, Argentina with the passage of a final declaration and an economic agreement between Cuba and the Mercosur countries. Venezuela will incorporate into the agreement once it has completed the process of integration as a full member of the southern trading block. The Summit also marked Venezuela’s first official meeting as the fifth full member of the trading block since its incorporation earlier this month.

On top of the presidents from the five full member countries; Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Paraguay and Venezuela, the summit was additionally attended by Cuban President, Fidel Castro, and Mercosur associate members; Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Chilean President Michelle Bachelet.

The Complementary Economic Agreement reached between Cuba and Mercosur, was signed under the objective of, “driving the trade exchange of the parties through the reduction or elimination of taxes and other applied restrictions regarding the importation of negotiated products.”

The agreement essentially consolidates the already existing bilateral agreements on preferential tariffs that Cuba has with each of the Mercosur members. The text of the agreement indicates that, “the parties will not maintain or introduce new restrictions or tariffs in their reciprocal trade.”

“The trade liberalization of Latin America, with the base of sub-regional and bi-lateral agreements, constitutes one of the instruments for economic and social development,” continues the document.

With the presidents of the Mercosur countries falling politically left of center, there has been a push to expand Mercosur’s traditionally economic role into a more social one.

“Without a doubt, the ideological agreement between the governments that are driving the social process of Mercosur is a necessary condition in order to solidify it. This transformation is the point of convergence towards a new model of integration,” said Argentine diplomat Hugo Varsky, according to Agence French Press.

During his speech at the summit, Fidel Castro offered the Cuban experiences of heath and education in order to fortify the new social concept of the trading block. According to Castro, 261,034 Latin Americans and Caribbeans have received eye operations under the program Misión Milagro. The program is expanding and, together with Venezuela, they have agreed to carry out 600,000 eye operations in ten years. Castro also added that 1.5 million Venezuelans have been taught to read and write under the Cuban literacy method, Yo, si puedo; almost 30,000 Cuban doctors are serving communities outside of the country; and thousands of youth from across the planet are studying medicine in the Caribbean country. Castro also declared that more can be done to lower the infant mortality rate across South America and mentioned that Cuba’s level of 5.6 deaths per every thousand people is well below even that of the United States.

On top of the Cuba-Mercosur agreement, Mercosur countries also released a Final Declaration and a joint communiqué committing to support Venezuelan’s candidacy for the UN Security Council seat.

The Summit’s Final Declaration included 42 points pertaining to strategic energy, institutionalization, and the possibility of the creation of a Development Bank in order to finance common projects.

In a closing act that came after the official summit, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, along with Fidel Castro and the Hebe de Bonafini, the President of the Argentine organization Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo, spoke to a large crowd in the Argentine city of Cordoba and called for the further integration of other South American nations into Mercosur.

“Sooner rather than later, Bolivia should be in Mercosur. Sooner than later, I aspire that Cuba is also a member of the unity of Mercosur! This is the road!” Called Chavez to the thousands gathered at the University of Cordoba. “The day will come, and it is not very far away, that from the Caribbean, to here in the Rio Plata, we will have a solid political body. A League of Republics. Simon Bolivar called it the mother of nations, the mother of Republics. The Union of all of us in one great political, social and economic force.”

According to Mexico’s El Universal, last year global trade exchange with the Mercosur countries reached over $227 billion, with exports over $140 billion. Although trade with Cuba corresponded to only 0.17% of those totals, the Cuba-Mercosur agreement comes at an especially important time just one week after the United States released the 2nd report from the Commission for a Free Cuba, in which it defines further steps towards pushing for an end to the current Cuban government, and strengthening the economic blockade against the Caribbean nation, which has been in effect since 1962.

Petrobras and Chevron Sign Joint Ventures with Venezuela’s PDVSA

Caracas , Venezuela, July 22, 2006 —Petrobras and Chevron this week became the latest companies to partner with Venezuela’s state owned oil company PDVSA in new joint venture contracts that are changing the way Venezuela deals with foreign companies.

These contracts give foreign investment a major role in industrial operations, but, unlike the previous contracts negotiated in the 1990’s, leave the Venezuelan state firmly in control of its own resources.

The deal with Petrobras gives the Venezuela Petroleum Corporation (CVP, a subsidiary of PDVSA, responsible for managing the joint ventures) a 60% controlling share of the business, Petrobras 36% and Williams International Oil & Gas (Venezuela) Ltd. 4%. The venture will operate in the Concepción field in Zulia state under the company name of Petrowayú S.A. Chevron has negotiated a similar agreement.

The President of CVP, Eulogio Del Pino said, “This is the first of the four contracts we expect to sign with Petrobras, one of the companies with which PDVSA has been developing important plans.”

Petrobrás is the Brazilian state owned petroleum corporation and the company’s President, Gerson Fernandes thinks the contract signifies more than a company to company agreement. “The signing ratifies the trust not only among the countries but also among the businesses and peoples,” said Fernandes.

However, this is not an exercise in Latin American integration. Shell (UK/Netherlands), Perenco (France), and Tecpetrol (Argentina) already signed contracts earlier this month and in all there will be twenty-one agreements with eighteen different, mostly non-South American, companies. The contracts do, though, mean a significant shift in the balance of power between companies and the Venezuelan state.

Under the old “Operating Agreements” negotiated during the period known as “The Opening” (Apertura) of the 1990’s, Venezuelan oil fields were in the hands of trans-national corporations. They paid no royalties and only paid 36% tax on their profits. This was agreed without consulting the National Congress and was inconsistent with the Nationalization Act which prevented the hand over of the hydrocarbon industry to private capital.

The new agreements are consistent with both the new Venezuelan constitution and the new Organic Law on Hydrocarbons (OLH). Under the constitution all hydrocarbon fields within Venezuelan territory are and must remain the property of the state and the OLH requires that any business unit must be more than 50% state run.

Under the joint ventures companies have to pay a royalty of 16.6% and taxes of 50% and the state will hold between 60% and 80% of the newly formed businesses.

There have been few complaints, in public at least, from the corporations about these changes. Upon signing its agreement, Chevron said that their strategy was in line with Venezuelan oil politics and the President of Shell Venezuela said, “This company has been operating in Venezuela for more than ninety years and could continue another ninety more. The potential of the oil industry here can be taken to other areas, working with PDVSA.”

Not all companies found the new relationship and costs so easy to accept. Total Oil and Eni failed to reach agreement with the government and Eni threatened legal action for a breach of contractual rights. That was in April, however, and nothing has materialized up till now.

Preliminary Results of Venezuela’s Voter Registry Audit Show No Intent for Fraud

José Miguel Bernardo, coordinator of an independent audit of Venezuela's voter registry.
Credit: Globovisión

Caracas, Venezuela, July 22, 2006—The Coordinator of one of the voter registry audits conducted by the universities, José Miguel Bernardo, says that first results of their audit indicate that while the registry has many errors, there is nothing to suggest that these are there to perpetrate fraud.

Bernardo is coordinating an audit independent of Venezuela’s electoral council (CNE), on assignment by the Catholic University Andrés Bello (UCAB), the Central University of Venezuela (UCV), and the University of Simon Bolivar (USB). Another audit is currently being conducted by the CNE itself with the cooperation of seven other universities and under observation of the Carter Center and a delegation of the Belgian Senate.

Bernardo, who is a statistics expert, told the TV station Globovision that his analysis of the voter registry has shown that there are many errors, but these are administrative and lack political intentionality that could alter the results of an election. Errors that the opposition has found recently, such as the large number of over 100 year olds are true, he said, but, “In practice [these] do not favor the government and their distribution is uniform.”

Similarly, USB mathematician Raúl Jimenez, who is also involved in the audit, said, “One must be responsible. The electoral registry is a disaster and the CNE has done nothing to improve it, but there is nothing to indicate a political intention in the anomalies.”

Jimenez explained that his audit estimated the electoral results from the recall referendum without the erroneously registered voters and found that the President would have won the vote in any case. “The newly inscribed are not being placed so that they vote for the President. We have an aspect that is conclusive: there are no [political] tendencies [to the data],” said Jimenez.

Venezuela’s National Electoral Council, which oversees all electoral processes, had originally invited nine universities and an institute to make proposals and to participate in a second audit of the voter registry, which has recently been strongly criticized by the opposition. While the CNE rejected the audit proposal of three of the universities, it has allowed them to conduct their own independent audit, but their results will not be taken into consideration for the correction of the registry’s data. The CNE will, however, evaluate the results of the three universities’ audit.

Carter Center and Belgian Delegation Join Audit

The CNE audit, in conjunction with the seven other universities and a research institute, started a few weeks ago and will now incorporate observers from the Carter Center and the Belgian Senate, announced the CNE earlier this week.

In a letter from Carter Center representative Jennifer McCoy, the Carter Center had recently requested permission to observe the CNE audit. “Considering the importance of having a reliable voter registry for the electoral process, we salute the CNE Board of Directors’ decision to conduct a new audit of the registry. In that sense, we would enormously appreciate the possibility of being in direct touch with the development of this initiative,” said McCoy in her letter to the CNE.

Also, this Monday, two delegates from the Belgian Senate, who are members of the inter-parliamentary Belgian-Venezuelan group, will begin observing the audit of the voter registry.

Opposition Launches More Charges of Registry Errors

Meanwhile, an opposition party has launched more charges of irregularities in the voter registry. Earlier this month, the former governing party, but now minor opposition party, Copei presented its own results of an audit, in which it claimed that 1.8 million registered voters had the same address and 2.1 million had no address at all.

It is not clear, though, where Copei got its copy of the registry from, since the CNE has refused to turn over the complete registry, with all voters’ addresses, arguing that doing so would be a violation of privacy.

Last year, the CNE contacted CAPEL, an electoral consulting group of the Inter-American Human Rights Institute, to conduct the first audit. The results of that audit showed that the percentage of “sensitive” errors, that is, errors that could lead to fraud, were below 3%, which is well below the internationally accepted margin of error of 5% for voter registries.

CAPEL’s final report stated, “The technical team of IIDH/CAPEL did not find reason to imply a delegitimation of Venezuela’s Voter Registry as a legally valid instrument for conducting elections.”

Venezuela Says Press Association Is Biased Towards Media Owners, Not Freedom of Speech

Inter-American Press Association Logo

Caracas, Venezuela, July 21, 2006—Rejecting a report by the Inter-American Press Association that says there is little freedom of speech in Venezuela, Venezuelan government officials said the organization is biased because it represents media owners and not journalists.

The Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) declared Wednesday that there has been a “sharp deterioration in press freedom” in Venezuela.  In a three day visit, its delegation says it met representatives of the Venezuelan press, NGOs, and academics, but that they were refused meetings with any government official.

According to IAPA Press Freedom Committee Chairman Gonzalo Marroquín, there has been an increasingly restrictive legal structure in Venezuela which has meant journalists facing legal action are subject to harsher penalties if found guilty. “We have noticed a growing tendency to file libel suits against journalists, which appears to indicate an attempt to silence independent voices. This is made worse by the imposition of stiffer penalties for crimes committed through the press, as in the latest reform of the Penal Code, and by the judiciary’s lack of independence,” said Marroquín.

IAPA also says journalists face harassment and attacks when they wish to access government information.

The main example cited by IAPA is the newspaper Correo del Caroní, based in Ciudad Guayana in the state of Bolívar, where it is claimed journalists have been attacked and that the paper is put under constant pressure by officials.  For example, in May of this year the state legislature applied to have the offices of the paper moved, claiming the space was a “green area.” This application was denied by the local mayoralty.

“Since the outset of the Chávez administration a clear tendency toward limiting information has been observed, the typical action of authoritarian regimes that always see the press as an enemy,” said Marroquín.

The Vice-minister of Communication Strategy at the Communication and Information Ministry, Amelia Bustillos, responded by saying there was nothing new in the report and that it was disrespectful and slanted. “I regret that the IAPA representatives, maybe because of their tight agenda, haven’t had time to read, see, or listen to the media in our country, since it is well known that freedom of expression exists and also that official information is distributed equally.  They, instead of wasting time with political operators of Venezuelan newspaper businesses, should have examined objectively how our media relates to the country.  That is the best evidence.”

Venezuela's main newspapers, such as El Universal and El Nacional, and the 24-hour news channel Globovisión are vehemently anti-government.

IAPA says it is an independent body that campaigns for press freedom. It operates throughout Latin America and releases frequent reports on the nature of the press across the continent.  Critics argue, however, that it is “an owners’ club,” interested more in protecting corporate freedom than journalistic freedom.  Indeed, Diana Daniels, President of IAPA and head of this investigative mission is also Vice-president of The Washington Post Company, one of the largest newspaper businesses in the U.S.

Accoridng to Bustillos, “The IAPA, in its role as defender of communication businesses and not of its journalists and workers—because we don’t recognize it as anything but that—accomplished again in our country its role as agent of the opposition, encouraged by the usual actors, repeating lies that only seek to discredit the Chávez government.”

IAPA is governed by the Chapultepec Declaration signed in Mexico in 1994, which is composed of ten governing principles that signatories believe are essential for the freedom of the press.  Diana Daniels says that Venezuela is not fully observing the principles.

However, Bustillos says the Venezuelan government hasn’t recognized the Chapultepec Declaration, so they aren’t obliged to comply with it.

Venezuela’s Chávez Slams Israeli Bombing of Lebanon

Caracas, Venezuela, July 20, 2006—Shortly before his departure on a seven country international tour, Venezuela’s President Chavez denounced Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, discussed south-south cooperation, and emphasized the need for a multi-polar world. He spoke at Maquetía (Caracas) International Airport before boarding a plane to Argentina, which will be only the first stop of his international tour.

Foremost on his mind was the current crisis in the Middle East.  He criticized Israel’s actions, the responses of many other nations and the media’s coverage of the events,

“They are bombing entire cities, it is a true genocide.  Where will this madness end? God only knows!  It extends from Iraq to Lebanon and Palestine.  Let’s hope it doesn’t spread further.”

“The most virulent, loud, and high-handed critics of North Korea are the same ones that, in view of Israeli aggression against innocent men, women and children, say nothing.”

He also addressed the media’s use of language in their reporting of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Palestine, singling out CNN for special treatment, CNN doesn’t “speak of invasion, they don’t speak of aggression, they don’t speak of any of that, [they speak of] the conflict, and the Isreali army against the terrorists.”

Chávez has long been a vocal proponent of the sanctity of national sovereignty and a fierce critic of US foreign policy which he brands simply as imperialism.  His government has criticized CNN in the past and has created a cable TV channel named Telesur which offers an alternative for Latin American viewers to the “North American-centric” CNN in Spanish.

In a direct swipe at the US, their recent veto of a UN resolution that demanded a halt to Israel’s offensive in Gaza came into the firing line.  From there, he glided smoothly on to the subject of his government’s campaign to win a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

“They have stabbed the Middle East peace process in the heart, and we see a security council blocked by the power of the veto, that of the government of the United States especially.”

If Venezuela could occupy a seat on the council he said he hoped they would be able to, “Contribute modestly towards the battle to free the world from the imperialist threat”.

Unsurprisingly, the US government is strongly opposed to Venezuela’s campaign for the seat and is campaigning hard for Guatemala to take the one to be vacated by Argentina later this year.  Guatemala is seen as a government that will not cause trouble for the US, unlike Venezuela.

Chávez praised Russia, though, and he mourned the death of the old Soviet Union.  In the view of Chávez it seems Russia should be a regional power in a multi-polar world and he wants Venezuela to develop strong economic ties with her. “Let’s see what a great scientific and technological contribution Russia is going to give us with the installation of the munitions factory, the armament factory, because it’s not only the armament, the product, it is the processes applied to many other fields,” said Chavez.

His time in Argentina will be spent at a Mercosur Summit, the first for Venezuela since becoming a full member earlier this month.  He reiterated his desire for a more “social” Mercosur.

After Argentina he will head to Belarus, Russia, Qatar, Iran, Vietnam, and Mali.

There have been some complaints that he should be staying at home as there are enough problems to solve in Venezuela.  A number of residents of Coche, in the south of Caracas, where there have been more than five gangland murders since the weekend, say he should be sorting out the problem of insecurity in their area.

Elsewhere on the domestic front Chávez announced that National Assembly Deputy Francisco Ameliach would be managing the upcoming presidential election campaign.  Ameliach will leave his post as Deputy during that period.