VHeadline News Editor Patrick J. O'Donoghue reports:The Venezuelan Episcopal Conference (CEV) has chosen its new leadership for the 2009-2012 period and there is only one new face, Monsignor Jesus Gonzalez de Zarate, who will take up the position of general secretary. Archbishop of Merida, Baltazar Porras will return as first deputy president, while the Bishop of Coro, Roberto Luckert will remain as second deputy president and the Archbishop of Maracaibo, Ubaldo Santana as president. The continuity of the above as church leaders for another period has been criticized both by government, as well as some opposition sources within the framework of the constitutional amendment aimed at abolishing term-limits for all elected posts. The bishops have been fervent adversaries of the proposal.
According to Police Detective Branch (CICPC), commissioner, Luis Fernandez, a gang specializing in the theft and sale of medicines and equipment destined for and belonging to Integral Diagnosis Centers (CDIs) and the government health's flagship program, Barrio Adentro has been captured. Two men and two women, who worked inside the government warehouse where medicines and other equipment are stored, have been arrested. The CICPC has also dismantled three other gangs, one operating in the El Junquito parish of Libertador municipality and another in the 23 de Enero district, the latter accused of stealing more than 20 vehicles and demanding ransom.
The Chinese have officially handed over the Simon Bolivar satellite to Venezuela during a simple ceremony on Saturday afternoon. President Chavez visited the satellite base situated on the Captain Manuel Rios air force base in Guarico state. The President calls the ownership "one more step in the Socialist revolution" and announces that Venezuela will receive another satellite in 2011. Chavez has reaffirmed his intention of placing the satellite at the service of South American integration. Venezuelans will be able to enjoy tele-medicine, tele-education, and rural telephone services via the new satellite. 60 Venezuelans have been specially trained in China to run the satellite service as operators, and another 30 are currently receiving training there.
United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) deputy president, General (ret.) Alberto Muller Rojas has denied a report published in the afternoon tabloid, "El Mundo" that he disagrees with President Chavez including abolishing term-limits for all elected posts in the constitutional amendment proposal. The General denies making any such declaration, stating that it is "ridiculous," since he worked on setting up a proposal himself. Muller Rojas calls the report a "dirty strategy" aimed at dividing the country's biggest political party. El Mundo based the story on articles and commentaries published on the pro-government website, Aporrea.org, some of which complained that the opposition could avail of the amendment to perpetuate one of their leaders in power at a future date.
During a ceremony to swear-in the Ezequiel Zamora peasant front campaign committee in favor of the constitutional amendment, President Chavez has announced that the Hato Pinero farm will be recovered to become a Socialist development unit. Speaking in Cojedes State where the 45,000-hectares farm is situated, the President promises that beef, food, vegetables, milk, cheese, corn and everything produced on the farm will provide cheap and nourishing food for the whole people of Venezuela. The President calls on Cojedes State Governor, Teodoro Bolivar to continue to fight against landed estates and speculators. If the local government contributes in recovering abandoned companies and warehouses, Chavez maintains, the government will support any project within the framework of Socialist economy by creating industries and production centers that must be in the hands of the people. It is not certain whether the announcement includes the ecotourism venture opened by the Branger family several years or only includes the idle part where cattle can be raised.
President Chavez has opened the first phase of an agro-industrial complex as part of the government's Vuelvan Caras employment scheme. The event took place in Turen (Portuguesa) where the President also held his first Sunday radio address of the year. Chavez insists that Venezuela will continue in its advance towards becoming a world agricultural power and promises that within the next 10 years Venezuela will become a major exporter of food. According to the President, Venezuela has increased its harvest of sunflowers 500% during the last few years, adding that when he came to power, just 5 hectares of sunflower was being sown in Venezuela.
The complex itself will cost (Bs.F) 10 million bolivares and will also have a pasta processing plant based on maize or rice producing three tonnes a day. 300 persons worked on building the first stage of the complex and the communal councils are instrumental in hiring 90% of those that will work in the plant. The President also announced that the agro-industrial complex will be the HQ of the Pedro Camejo agricultural & mechanical transport services company that currently supplies and maintains agricultural equipment brought in from Belarus and Argentina.
Venezuela has finally managed to send humanitarian aid to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip via Egypt. Yesterday Sunday, a Hercules cargo plane left the Simon Bolivar International airport at Maiquetia carrying 80 tonnes of aid. The president of the Arab-Venezuelan Center in Caracas, Samir Mahud Padman, who is heading the mission, says the first consignment of aid consists of clothing, blankets and every type of food and medicine. The center continues to receive donations to help the Palestinian people at its HQ in Caracas.
President Chavez has told followers that there is no time left to convince opposition voters about the advantages of abolishing term-limits for elected posts. During his Sunday radio address, Chavez called on his electoral battalions to make sure that no government supporter stays at home on referendum day. The fundamental task, the President insists, is to "organize ourselves and to work very hard."
Writing in his Sunday column, Las Ultimas Noticias editor, Eleazar Diaz Rangel sketches the history of the proposal to abolish term-limits to all elected posts, not just the presidency. The original idea, he recalls, came from the pro-government Patria Para Todos (PPT) party and was welcomed by some opposition parties. Within the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the majority, Diaz Rangel ventures, agreed with the proposal but there were some who disagreed. On receiving a memorandum with plenty of reasons for supporting the original proposal, President Chavez apparently changed his opinion, which surprised the PSUV leadership, some of which did not agree with the proposal. The editor suggests that some opposition people may vote in favor of the government overall proposal because the amendment would give them a chance of returning to and staying in power.
Commenting on the upcoming constitutional amendment referendum, President Chavez argues that if the amendment to abolish term-limits to all elected posts is approved, then it will neutralize any attempt on the part of the opposition to mount a recall referendum against him, not to mention any coup d'état. During his Sunday radio address, Chavez reiterated his intention to stay in power at least until 2019 to consolidate the Socialist revolution. Supporting the referendum and the "Yes" vote will clear the political horizon, the President declares, and consolidate union around the PSUV party.
President Chavez has come under attack from opposition Primero Justicia (PJ) party leader, Julio Borges for continuing to hand out money to other countries. In his 10 years in power, the opposition leader quips, Chavez has given away more than $53 billion to other countries instead of using that money to undertake important infrastructure works inside Venezuela. Borges insists that there is no justification for the foreign donations, unlike cases of humanitarian aid but rather dishing out political favors to cronies abroad. Cutting preferential dollar quotas for Venezuelan citizens traveling abroad, Borges continues, shows the President's "absolute cynicism" because the reason for the cut was to save dollars for the Venezuelan people. Borges himself has been enjoying preferential dollars during a controversial trip to Puerto Rico last weekend with other opposition leaders and businessmen allegedly to meet up with US officials.
During his Sunday radio address, President Chavez has criticized several opposition politicians for a trip they made to Puerto Rico, allegedly to meet US officials. Chavez accuses them of wasting the Venezuelan people's money via preferential dollars received for the trip and of making pacts with the (US) Empire. Referring to the opposition's main objection to the upcoming constitutional amendment referendum, namely that they want to see alternability in the presidency, Chavez complains that it was exactly what happened in the infamous 40-year Punto Fijo Pact whereby the two governing parties agreed to give both main parties a chance to rule for four years. Chavez comments that he will investigate the alleged participation of a US Embassy official at the Puerto Rico meeting.
Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com
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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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