Desperate opposition pre-candidate to the Caracas Metropolitan Mayor's office, Leopoldo Lopez has convoked a march on Saturday, August 9 to defend his right to run for election, despite a legal ban against him. The march will start from the Ombudsman's Office and end in front of the National Electoral Council (CNE) HQ. The march will coincide with a visit from the Southern Cone Economic Zone (Mercosur) human rights commission that wants to investigate the " inhabitation" ban slapped on many opposition pre-candidates.
The National Elections Council (CNE) has announced that it is waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ) on the ban against 250-plus aspiring candidates that are facing legal charges for a series of matters while exercising public office. CNE president, Tibisay Lucena says she hopes the ruling will come sometime this week before the enrollment deadline lapses. The CNE, she states, will respect and abide by any ruling.
According to the newly-named Bolivarian National Guard (GNB), 14 tonnes of assorted drugs have been seized in the first months of 2008, which averages around 2 tonnes a month. GNB commander, General Fredy Salon says the seizures were undertaken by GNB agents working in conjunction with other state security organs. The National Anti-Drugs Organisation (ONA) reports that last year an average 4.79 tonnes a month were seized. The total amount seized last year was 57.5 tonnes, which was down 12.5 tonnes to seizures in 2006 when the monthly average was around 5.83 tonnes. One of the biggest successes of the GNB this year has been the seizure of 2.95 tonnes of high- purity cocaine on March 14 in a commercial centre of Carabobo State. In 2007, 4,150 persons were arrested, of which 400 were foreigners mostly Colombian and Spanish.
Federation of Chambers of Industry & Commerce (Fedecamaras) president, Jose Manuel Gonzalez has questioned the promulgation of 26 laws via the Enabling Law process. According to Gonzalez, they are a "fraud to democracy" and he insists, as do other opposition leaders, that President Chavez wants to impose the rejected constitutional reform on the Venezuelan people. The businessman mouths the claim that the laws were passed by stealth, an accusation that President Chavez has vigorously rejected, arguing that the laws are part of public domain and debated in Parliament. President Chavez has promulgated 164 laws, Rodriguez comments, but insists that the problem facing Venezuela has not been solved because what Venezuela needs, he challenges, are clear rules, production, foreign investment and not frightening investors off with measures such as the nationalization of Banco do Venezuela.
The Fedecamaras president quips that people should be asking why the Santander Group that owns Banco de Venezuela wants to leave Venezuela. "The sale of the bank is not a positive message for what is happening in Venezuela ... the President of the Republic wants to become the only businessman in the country." Gonzalez prefers to call the takeover of the private bank not nationalization but "statization" or state control and he says it will allow the State to control a fourth part of the financial markets. Pointing to the history of the Banco Industrial de Venezuela (BIV) which, he asserts, has been characterized by corruption and inefficiency, Gonzalez hopes that the Banco de Venezuela will continue to run with transparency, efficiency and optimum service for all Venezuelans.
Executive Vice President, Ramon Carrizalez has told members of the National Guard (GNB) that a new rank will be created between General of Division and General-in-Chief. The new rank will be called Major General and in the Navy the new rank will be called Admiral-in-Chief, which will be the highest rank in the Navy. Speaking about the new Armed Force Law, Carrizalez says the national territory will be divided into a number of integral defense zones, consisting of all branches of the National Armed Force where there will be divisional commands, regional commands and commands of tactical units. The Vice President also mentioned the new category of technical officers that will affect current professional career sub- officials as an answer to a long-running aspiration for lower-ranked officials.
A spokesperson for Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed to VHeadline Venezuela News that news reports published in El Universal are incorrect in as far as London Mayor, Boris Johnson has not agreed to hand back any specific sum of money to Venezuela. What is emerging is that the Mayor's office is doing its sums and seeing how much of the discount money has been been used. Johnson apparently is willing to return money unused. It has been learned that Venezuela's Ministry of Foreign Relations (MRE) is also applying a bit of mathematics to gauge the input of the technical team sent to aid Caracas in solving traffic. garbage and other problems. The spokesperson says he is unaware at the moment whether the Mayor's Office and TfL will make a public review of the achievements or failure of the agreement, which officially expires on August 20.
Patrick J. O'Donoghuepatrick.vheadline@gmail.com
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