During his Sunday radio address from Caicara de Orinoco in south- eastern Venezuela, President Chavez has defended the passing of a package of 26 laws through the Enabling Law. Many of the new laws, the President insists, will modernize the state administration, bureaucracy and corruption in public office. Perhaps the most controversial is the law governing the Armed Forces (FAN). The President declares that with the new law, the FAN is now finally " Bolivarian." Chavez denies charges from opposition groups that the laws were done in secret, stating that they were debated and openly discussed and anyone who has an argument against them can take their complaint to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) because in Venezuela there is a rule of law. Under the new law, the national reserve will be called the Bolivarian National Militia, the Army (Ejercito) The Bolivarian National Army, the Air Force (FAV) the Bolivarian Military Aviation and the Navy will be called Bolivarian War Marine Force. Finally, the National Guard (GN) will add Bolivarian to its title. The President insists that it is not just a change of name but a change in the structure of the Armed Force. What is not yet clear is whether the Reserve will start receiving wages and promotions as promised by the President.
Former Bolivarian strongman who went over to the opposition camp, Luis Miquilena has questioned the 26 new laws that were passed before the 18-month Enabling Law period ended on Friday. The former constituent assembly president argues that many of the titles were rejected in last December's constitutional reform referendum and accuses President Chavez and the government of introducing the laws by stealth. The opposition is taking exception to the inclusion of the national reserve into the Bolivarian Armed Forces, which, it claims. was part of the constitutional reform and rejected by majority vote.
President Chavez has appointed university student, Hector Rodriguez as Presidency Secretariat Minister, replacing Jesse Chacon, running as candidate for the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Chavez comments that the appointment gives the government an injection of young and fresh blood. The announcement was made during the Sunday radio address from Caicara del Orinoco.
During his Sunday radio address, the President insists that the State should be able to complete with private industry without eliminating it. The government rejects the premises of neoliberalism that the State should not get involved in the economy and that all profits should go to the private sector. The President says he would like to see state companies offering insurance and providing efficient and quality services to the public. The purchase of the Banco de Venezuela, Chavez maintains, is an example that will allow the State to compete in the area of interests.
Referring to the purchase of Banco de Venezuela, President Chavez says he would like to see it performing similar to Brazil's Banco Caixa, which has a branch in every town. In comparison, he points out, Caicara de Orinoco where the Sunday radio address was being held, has only three banks, of which two are public, adding that many municipalities that do not have a bank. President Chavez met the directors of the Banco Caixa do Brazil last week and it now appears that the reason for the meeting was to see how the bank works. The visit was made before the President announced the nationalization of Banco de Venezuela. One of the aims of the nationalised bank will be to connect to communal organizations.
Answering critics, President Chavez contends that there are important investments in Venezuela. In the Orinoco oil belt, he proclaims, investments have reached $70 billion for the next six years, while money has been poured into bridges, roads, metro system and trains to a total of $30 billion, partly financed by the government and partly by foreign investment. China has invested $4 billion this year to boost its current investment to around $1.2 billion in thermal-electrical generation centers and other projects. Chavez maintains that Venezuela is working with Brazil and Argentina for technological independence and the country is a good state to push the process forward.
Chavez will be meeting Brazil's President Lula da Silva and Argentina's Cristina Fernandez this week for talks on economic development in what he calls the Caracas- Buenos Aires- Brasilia development axis.
In an interesting insight to some of the problems facing President Chavez in getting the Bolivarian revolution to make inroads locally, several cases of mayors and even State Governors getting cold feet when implementing Socialist policies have been revealed. During the radio address, Chavez tells the story of a meeting with one mayor. When quizzed by Chavez why he was not applying one government measure, it emerged that the mayor was afraid of the reaction of the local Catholic bishop. In other cases, local officials were afraid of traditional land-owners known for reacting violently to any agrarian reform. Chavez insists that public officials must rise to the task and lose their fear. He even quoted a story of a revolutionary leader in South America whose son had been kidnapped to stop the father from pursuing his goals. The leader asked to talk to his son by phone and on hearing the boy, shouted so that the kidnappers could hear him. "You must die like a hero." That is the kind of leader needed in a revolution, Chavez insists.
The government has finally finished the Yacambu-Quibor hydraulic system which will bring water from Lara State hill areas to Barquisimeto, Quibor and Cabudare. The tunnel was started 35 years ago, after a series of technical difficulties, delays and abandonment. The tunnel carrying the vital water is 24 km long and 1,200 meters underground. The water will be used for agricultural purposes in the Quibor Valley which is an important agricultural zone and to supply the city of Barquisimeto. The Bolivarian government has guaranteed 62% of the financial support needed to conclude the infrastructure, which should be fully operational in 2010. The excavation of the tunnel is said to have been one of the most difficult in the world and in the 10 years of the Bolivarian government workers were able to advance 10 km of the 24.
A spokesperson for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson has contacted VHeadline Venezuela News regarding a piece we wrote, stating that Johnson will return money from the London-Caracas agreement to the Venezuelan government. It is "incorrect. As yet, no money has been returned, and no-one is being 'forced' to do anything. Livingstone should have got his facts straight before attacking the Mayor in the media. The fact remains though that, under the widely derided deal, Venezuela - a very poor country, has given London - one of the world's richest cities, some £16m of which several million has not been used. Boris Johnson feels that this was a morally bankrupt approach, and it would be ridiculous if unspent money was not returned. Negotiation between the parties will decide the final amount. The Mayor is discussing with Transport for London (TfL) how best to ensure that low income Londoners who rely on the public transport system will continue to get the assistance they require." VHeadline Venezuela News would like to clarify to TfL and its press office that our source was an article written in Spanish by El Universal broadsheet and not former Mayor Ken Livingstone.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
Venezuela is facing the most difficult period of its history with honest reporters crippled by sectarianism on top of rampant corruption within the administration and beyond, aided and abetted by criminal forces in the US and Spanish governments which cannot accept the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people to decide over their own future.
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