On Saturday, the President signed an agreement with the Bolivarian Ranchers Federation creating a special fund to help increase milk production and improve irrigation. On the same day Chavez met and talked with members of cooperatives who complained about a lack of technical aid to help increase milk output of their herds.
The Army C-i-C has been commanded to prepare non-operational military vehicles to help in the crusade to lower production costs and secure food for the population.
President Chavez says Colombian paramilitaries are threatening people and agricultural producers on the Venezuelan side of the border. Interior & Justice (MIJ) Minister Ramon Rodriguez Chacin has been ordered to ensure a greater presence of security forces in border areas and establish close cooperation with producers. The new security plan, the President insists, will have the support of mechanisms such as social intelligence and will not be repressive as in the past.
Chavez reveals that he does not trust Colombian government declarations that paramilitaries have been dismantled. "On the one hand, it makes a big show of paramilitary groups handing over their weapons and on the other hand, it creates new organizations such as the Black Eagles. Chavez has told Minister Rodriguez Chacin to arrest any local producers bringing Colombian paramilitaries to Venezuela.
As for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Chavez has made what is an important announcement that has been largely ignored by the opposition press, namely a commitment from the FARC not to carry out kidnappings in Venezuela. "They have made a commitment ... I have simply told him (Manuel Marulanda) that his problem is in Colombia and what we would like to see is one day a peace agreement in Colombia ... in the meantime, we will protect our borders and agricultural producers."
There have been protests over a visit of US Ambassador, Patrick Duddy to Zulia State. Communal councils in the eastern coast of Lake Maracaibo allege that meetings between the Ambassador and opposition State Governor, Manuel Rosales allegedly to talk about the future of the region are highly suspect. Duddy's predecessor, William Brownfield was a frequent visitor to Zulia.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
Socialist Venezuela does not need "productive private producers". What it needs are communal productive units. "Productive private producers" are what you're forced to turn to when you can't organize communes or co-ops, etc., for one reason or another. Like having a low level of available support infrastructure because of decades of capitalist economic mismanagement, for instance.
ReplyDeleteAnd when it comes to protecting farmers in the border region: along with a more serious and concerted military effort, all farmers' co-ops and communes and councils should organize militias and be co-ordinated with the military for the protection of the entire state and the population and their infrastructure, against the plans of the oligarchs.
And expropriate all oligarchs caught colluding with the paramilitaries. Hell -- expropriate all oligarchs who withhold produce or keep any land out of production. Enough of these selfish, dangerous people.