Up till August 15, the currency administration office (Cadivi) has granted around $133 million to pulp importers and media outlets. Around $80 million came under the concept of paper for press, an increase of 21% from the same period last year. Cadivi president, Manuel Barroso says that in the case of the provincial newspaper, El Carabobeno authorization was denied because the owners failed to include a certificate of insufficient production needed to import metallic plaques for printing. Barroso points out that the newspaper has received $2.8 million for imports and another $2.2 million to buy paper. The newspaper owners have been crying discrimination. The opposition in Venezuela has been pushing a new campaign publishing a list of " political prisoners." The main broadsheets, El Nacional and El Universal have published adverts titled, "Get to know the political prisoners of your country." Among the supposed political prisoners are police officers involved in April 11-13 coup d'etat in 2002 and accused of ordering the police to fire on people marching to defend the government in Miraflores. Others are former state security officials, Rolando, Otoniel and Juan Batista Guevara, accused of assassinating state prosecutor, Daniel Anderson, November 18, 2004. Three others were involved in placing explosives outside the embassies of Spain and Colombia in Caracas. The president of the Microstar phone company, Gustavo Arraiz is under arrest for alleged smuggling, tax fraud and inappropriate use of foreign currency granted by Cadivi. He is also down as a political prisoner.
President Chavez has announced the creation of an area of special use in the Orinoco Oil Belt in southeastern Venezuela. The President says he is creating the legal entity to help boost what he has dubbed the Orinoco Socialist Project aimed at promoting integral development in a strategic territory. The single authority that will run the area is charged with executing development projects, such as the agri-productive development plan 2008-2012 to plant more than 150,000 hectares with cassava, cotton, soya and sugar cane, as well as establishing a complex for poultry, cattle and pigs. In the initial stage of the plan (Bs.F) 878 million bolivares has been assigned and 13 camps will be installed in the zone. The plan includes the building of four petroleum improvement plans to convert extra heavy crude into light crude.
The Mexican cement company, Cemex has announced that it will go to international arbitration against what it calls the " confiscation of assets" by the Venezuelan government. On Tuesday, the government took over the company's subsidiaries in Venezuela after failure to reach an agreement between the two sides. The company produces 50% of cement in Venezuela. According to Cemex, President Chavez has violated Venezuela's constitution and laws concerning the reciprocal protection of investments. The company has rejected the government's proposal to compensate Cemex by paying $650 million against the companies assessment that its assets in Venezuela are worth $1.3 billion.
President Chavez has rejected charges that he is creating a State Capitalism in Venezuela, insisting that what he is doing is to get the State to take on the fundamental role in boosting the country's economy. The process of nationalization in the main industries, he maintains, is part of a national policy by which the State is setting up different mechanisms to establish social property. The President made the statement during an interview on VTV State Channel. Speaking about the nationalization of the cement industry, Chavez promises that the production will increase, stating that it was necessary to break the private sector's monopoly. One of the benefits of nationalization will be the possibility of setting up popular brick factories belonging to communal councils in an effort to solve the housing problem. However, Chavez contends that while the private sector is important in the house building sector, it cannot solve the housing problem ... "only the State and local communities will be able to solve the problem."
Executive director of the Venezuelan Chamber of Dairy Product Importers, Producers and Distributors (Cavilacteos), Teresa Lopez says she is concerned about the interpretation of the new law called defense of persons to access assets and services and the role of the new organisation which has replaced the consumer defense unit (Indecu). "At the moment, there is no difference between storage and hoarding and presuming that there is hoarding seems to be the rule." Lopez has called on the new organisation Indepabis to establish clear rules regarding how much traders can store in their warehouses and forecasts that if the problem is not solved, there will be shortages during the Christmas period, because traders are not willing to import in bulk for fear of inspection and confiscation.
After meeting to analyze the latest increase in prices of beef, the Venezuelan Council of Beef (Convecar) says national production is on a downward spiral. Last year, with consumption around 21.3 kg per head, the private sector covered 58%. The council forecasts further decreases because, it declares, the government will have to import more beef from abroad. At the current rate, the organisation states, the national offer per head will reach 9 kg. According to its figures, the domestic offer five years ago was 16 kilos per head and 12 kg last year.
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.
HELP US TO KEEP BRINGING YOU THE TRUTH
http://tinyurl.com/n4fg
No comments:
Post a Comment