can you tell me what happened today? Was there a news conferenceMy response:
scheduled that was, in fact, preempted by the Minister's comments?
If President Chavez was planning to speak, but didn't after his
minister made her statement, then that implies (to me) that he
concurs and that this indeed is the government policy.
Please help me to understand the chronology of events today... I
would like to know there is hope, but it is looking worse all the time.
A news conference was planned with foreign correspondents for 10.00 a.m. on Thursday and it DID take place. The subjects covered in that press conference did NOT include Las Cristinas or anything to do with the gold mining sector (why? I do not know since I was not present!) but focused mostly on the visit by a Portuguese delegation ahead of this weekend's Latin American summit in Lima-Peru. President Chavez has been engaged almost exclusively in talks with the Portuguese and preparations for the Lima summit.
A series of meetings have taken place between Rodolfo Sanz, his immediate close executives and representatives form the Environment Ministry (including Ortega) but a lot of political attention has been deflected into the process of deciding candidates to the new PSUV party which is a collective of socialist parties to replace the myriad that had gone before. This appears to be reaching its culmination this weekend and will lead to an election at the beginning of June.
Reports from my own confidential (and they will remain confidential) sources say that Sanz and Ortega are at each other's throats and that she is pushing out the boat in some sort of "Macha" attitude supported by the fact that her husband is the vice-president and that she thinks that this gives her some degree of superiority over Sanz who is NOT going to take it lying down.
As a result Crystallex is caught in the middle of a 'pissing match' between two ministers -- the one (Ortega) who speaks loosely to the likes of Raul Gallegos and finds herself in the headlines -- and the other (Sanz) who gets things done behind the scenes in a professional and diplomatic manner ... AND fully aware that he is confronted with a rat's next of corruption and indolence which has only got worse because the people at the top have either, through illness as in the case of Jose Khan or incompetence (as in the case of quite a few others) have been unable to deal forcibly with it.
Ortega and Sanz are, however, now faced with a backlash from the citizens of southeast Venezuela who have already called for a consultative referendum which will almost certainly reverse any claim by Ortega that she has the autocratic right to tell investors basically to ****-off!The people want to have jobs, they want progress for their communities and, historically anyway, they have not given a damn for the environment when they have taken gold without any regard for environment or any other regulations.
The Chavez government can, usefully, impose regulations -- as it has already done -- and attempt to gain control over the lives and the economy of the likes of Sifontes municipality, but in the end game it is the local people who decide the toss and not some political madcap a thousand kilometers away in Caracas who may or may not be abusing his/her position of presumed responsibility.
The decision to halt open-pit mining is so utterly crazy that it is not to be contemplated since it must necessarily be applied to all forms of mining in Venezuela if Ortega is to retain any shred of credibility -- if indeed that is possible at this stage of the proceedings. Just think! How are they going to mine bauxite, iron, nickel, coal etc., etc. otherwise?
- As I said in my Breaking News yesterday -- the fat lady ain't done singing! And it isn't over until it's over!
I am trying to make arrangements for a special radio program on The American Voice Radio at 1pm New York time today -- I do not know yet if it is achievable (such arrangements cost money and effort) but I will advise later today if I am successful in that regard.
As regards deja vu I can only excuse my reporting of the succession of events in similar vein to how I reported the Supreme Court decision some ten years ago when Chief Justice Cecelia Sosa Gomez had told me personally a couple of days before the event that the decision was naturally in favor of Crystallex. I reported the events as they happened the morning of the decision. Sosa Gomez went into the final meeting convinced that the natural decision would be made. She was routed during the following couple of hours and a negative decision was issued at 2pm that afternoon. It was so very much against logical thinking that in fact I had to call Crystallex lawyers in Caracas (a matter of undeniable record) to inform THEM that the decision had gone against THEM. They had had to cross town in a hell of a hurry to be served the official sentence which was a complete and utter surprise to everyone involved.
Okay, in the years since then, a can of worms has been exposed relating to $million payments to certain people and real estate purchases in Florida etc. but at the time, everyone innocently believed that the truth and common decency would prevail.
Unfortunately that is still NOT the case and it is also why we at VHeadline have been strangled for funds to keep up the job of searching out the details and publishing the truth as it happens. We are not appreciated in many sectors -- especially the political opposition and certain nefarious sectors of the current administration -- but we are pledged to support Venezuelan democracy, constitutionality and the rule of law. Which is perhaps our downfall!
We desperately need to relaunch the main VHeadline.com website so that we can get a greater spreading of the truth about what is happening in Venezuela. Without recourse to the 70,000+ pages that made up the VHeadline.com website, it is very difficult for anyone living abroad to get a greater understanding of the vagaries that regrettably are inflicted on Venezuela's day-to-day scenario.
At times, like perhaps you also feel at this juncture, I am utterly deflated by a turn of events that is so topsy-turvy as to be quite incredible, but the ONLY thing to do is to pick oneself up and face the fact that the truth will ultimately prevail ... in whatever form it will take is entirely a different matter on which I cannot at this time make any judgement other than to express my deeply held faith that the Venezuelan people will not allow it -- in that respect Venezuela's democracy will, indeed, have the final say!
best regards
Roy S. Carson
vheadline@gmail.com
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