g 7 | Analysis

Pg. y g 8 | Opinion
Pg. p
Mark Weisbrot on Latin America’s Venezuela: An example of governing for
growing independence from US power the people and prioritizing citizens’ needs

FRIDAY | April 15, 2011 | No. 60 | Bs 1 | C ARACAS ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas

Venezuelans celebrate Venezuela in the

Sister nations
strengthen ties
President Hugo Chavez
of Venezuela met with his
Colombian counterpart, Juan
Manuel Santos this week
in Cartagena, as part of an
ongoing effort to reestablish
bilateral relations and solidify
cooperation between both
nations. The two countries
have suffered diplomatic
spats during ths past few
years, particulary during the
previous administration of
Alvaro Uribe in Colombia.
Santos and Chavez signed
several new agreements
to increase commerce and
security cooperation between
their countries.
Politics
Improving agricultural
production
Reviving the country’s
agricultural industry is a
top priority for the Chavez
administration.
Major Leagues
democracy, despite threats
Commemorating 9 years since the failed coup d’etat that briefly ousted President
Chavez from power, Venezuelans reflected on democratic gains and ongoing threats
The days of April 11, 12 and 13 are remembered each year in Venezuela since the 2002 coup d’etat that overthrew
the Chavez government and installed a short-lived dictatorship in the South American nation. The events remind
Venezuelans of the continuing threats against their democracy and sovereignty. As the holder of the world’s largest
oil reserves, powerful interests are constantly seeking to undermine the will of the Venezuelan people,
who 9 years ago rose up against a US-backed coup executed by the nation’s elite and defeated
the attempt to destroy their democracy and dignity. T he wait has ended. On
March 31 a total of 30 base-
ball teams took to the field for
the 2011 Major League Base-
ball season. Last season, the
San Francisco Giants finished
off the Texas Rangers to win
the World Series.
Pablo Sandoval and Elvis
Andrus participated in the
final game, giving some Ven-
ezuelan flavor to one of the
world’s most followed sport
events. During the 2010 sea-
son, a total of 59 Venezuelan
players started on MLB ros-
ters, which set a record for the
growing Venezuelan baseball.
Fifty-eight Venezuelans
played on opening day on
Thursday, March 31, includ-
ing eight who started on the
list of injured.
This season, several Ven-
No FARC presence in Venezuela ezuelans are expected to catch

P resident Juan Manuel San-
Politics tos told Spanish television
on Tuesday he is confident that
Major injustice FARC encampments in Venezu-
in terrorist trial ela have been dismantled.
A US court has freed Cuban- “We are satisfied that the camps
Venezuelan terrorist and that we had previously located are
former CIA agent Luis Posada no longer there”, the head of state
Carriles. said, adding that Venezuela had
provided Colombia with details
Economy on Monday of two FARC guerrillas
Recovery accused of killing two Colombian
marines who had escaped across
on the horizon the border. This move, Santos stat-
Indicators show Venezuela
ed, was an “unprecedented” ges-
will resume economic growth
ture in relations between the neigh-
and reduce inflation this year.
boring countries, Terra reports.
Venezuela has been the focus
of accusations in recent years for
harboring the terrorist organiza-
tion within its border, culminat-
ing in the filing of a complaint
before the Inter-American Court
of Human Rights (IACHR) by
former President Alvaro Uribe
last August.
Since Santos came to power
however, there has been a signifi-
cant thawing in relations between
the two countries, something the
Colombian president praised his
Venezuelan counterpart for on
Tuesday.
Santos said, “We are advancing
each time on the different fronts
[security, economy] we agreed
upon eight months ago”, add-
ing that Hugo Chavez has so far
complied with everything he said
he would and that he, Santos, ac-
knowledges that.
In the same interview, Santos
reiterated that peaceful dialogue
between his government and the
FARC is very much an option. He
warned however that it will be
“very difficult” to achieve if the
group does not renounce its ter-
rorist activities.
T/ Edward Fox
people’s attention, including,
Miguel Cabrera on the Detroit
Tigers; Felix Hernandez, last
year’s Cy Young winner of the
American League, now with
the Seattle Mariners; Carlos
Gonzalez with the Rockies;
Bob Abreu with Anaheim; El-
vis Andrus with the Rangers;
Francisco Rodriguez (K-Rod),
one of the key players on the
New York Mets; Omar Vizquel,
with the Chicago White Sox;
Magglio Ordonez with Detriot
Tigers; and Freddy Garcia,
who won a spot with the Yan-
kees this season.
 | 2 | Impact
Venezuelans celebrate
This week,
rescue of democracy as threats continue
Venezuelans
commemorated the
9-year anniversary of
the failed coup d’etat
that briefly ousted
President Chavez from
power and dissolved
the nation’s democracy,
installing a US-backed
dictatorship. In an
extraordinary turn
of events, a popular
uprising crushed the
coup just hours later
T his Wednesday, April 13,
thousands of Venezuelans
marched on the nation’s capital,
celebrating what has come to
be known as the “Day of Civil-
Military Strength and Dignity”.
It was nine years ago on this day
that millions of Caracas residents,
together with loyal armed forces
and the Presidential Guard, de-
feated a US-backed coup d’etat
that had forcefully taken power
just 48 hours prior.
The coup, executed by business
leaders, corrupt union officials,
private media owners, power-
hungry military officers, former
ruling-party politicians and “civil
society” organizations – all finan-
cially and politically supported
by US government agencies, the
State Department and the White
House (see “The Chavez Code:
Cracking US Intervention in Ven-
ezuela” by Eva Golinger, Olive
Branch Press 2006) – succeed-
ed briefly in ousting President
Chavez and his government from
power on April 11, 2002.
Utilizing images manipulated
by private television station,
Venevision, the coup forces jus-
tified their actions by blaming
the violence and deaths that oc-
cured that day on the Venezuelan
head of state. In reality, as top se-
cret Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) documents have revealed,
the coup was planned in the days
and weeks prior to its execu-
tion. The objective was to use an
anti-Chavez protest to provoke
violence and unrest in the capital,
Caracas, putting into action a de-
tailed plot using snipers to fire on
the crowds, causing deaths and
NoÊÈäÊUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
injuries, which would be blamed
on the government, justifying its
ouster. As one top secret, now
partially-declassifed CIA docu-
ment from April 6, 2002 (5 days
before the coup took place) out-
lines, after the violence was pro-
voked by coup forces, “President
Chavez and other top members in
his cabinet...would be arrested”
and a “transitional government”
would be installed.
Chavez was detained by force
on the evening of April 11, 2002,
and kidnapped by dissident mili-
tary officers, on the orders of the
coup leaders. Meanwhile, the US
ambassador in Caracas, Charles
Shapiro, was coordinating the ac-
tions on the ground with media
owners, metropolitan police forces
involved in the sniper shootings,
and of course the business and po-
litical leaders that forcefully took
over the government. Documen-
tary evidence proves that Shapiro
held several meetings and conver-
sations during the events of April
11, 2002, with the metropolitan po-
lice commissioner, Henry Vivas,
as well as with Gustavo Cisneros,
owner of Venevision, and Pedro
Carmona, who subsequently took
over the presidency and declared
himself head of state.
PEOPLE’S POWER
As the coup unfolded and Car-
mona, then head of Venezuela’s
chamber of commerce, Fedeca-
maras, unilaterally and illegally
swore himself into office as presi-
dent, the constitutional president,
Hugo Chavez, was held hostage
and incomunicado on a small is-
land military base off Venezuela’s
coast. The only non-private nation-
al television station, state-owned
VTV, was taken off the air by then
governor of the state of Miranda,
Enrique Mendoza, in an effort to
silence pro-Chavez forces and con-
ceal information and events from
the people. Private media – all
involved in the coup – broadcast
cartoons, old movies and soap op-
eras, while print media published
articles justifying and supporting
the “transition government”.
Before an audience of about 400
people in the presidential palace,
Miraflores, Pedro Carmona issued
a decree dissolving all of the na-
tion’s democratic institutions: the
Supreme Court, the National As-
sembly (Congress), the Attorney
General, Public Defender, Comp-
troller, the Executive cabinet, and
even the national Constitution.
Police forces, under the control of
the coup regime, repressed pro-
Chavez protestors in the streets,
killing and injuring over 100 peo-
ple during those hours.
But despite the media blackout
on the real events that were taking
place, millions of Venezuelans, un-
willing to accept the disappearance
of their constitutionally-elected
president and the imposition of a
dictatorship that openly dissolved
their democracy, took to the streets
in protest. Armed forces loyal to
President Chavez began taking over
military barracks and urging people
to come out in the streets to express
their popular will. Within hours,
the presidential palace was flooded
with demonstrators, demanding the
return of President Chavez and the
ouster of the coup government.
Meanwhile, a low-ranking sol-
dier guarding Chavez, urged the
Venezuelan chief to write a note say-
ing he was alive and still President
of Venezuela, pledging he would
find a way to get the letter into the
public light. He succeeded. The
famous letter, written in Chavez’s
unmistakable handwriting, declar-
ing the Venezuelan president had
never “renounced the legitimate
power given to him by the people”,
made it into the hands of military
forces loyal to their Commander in
Chief. A rescue mission was imme-
diately activated and Chavez was
flown back in a helicopter to the
presidential palace right around
midnight on April 13.
The millions that surrounded
the palace, together with the loyal
presidential guard, were able to
force out the coup leaders, who
incredulously emptied the presi-
dential safes and stole as much
as they could before escaping.
As Chavez descended from the
helicopter, cries and cheers were
heard from the crowd. An ex-
traordinary feeling of community
power, justice and love eminated
from those who had risked their
lives to rescue their democracy,
their constitution, their president,
and most of all, their dignity.
THREATS CONTINUE
During the celebration this
The artillery of ideas
Wednesday, President Chavez,
speaking before a volumunious
crowd that marched to the presi-
dential palace grounds, reaffirmed
that “Nobody can topple our
Revolution again”, warning those
who continue with destabiliza-
tion plans that they will be “swept
away” and “never return”.
As the crowds chanted “The
people united will never be de-
feated”, the Venezuelan Presi-
dent, reflected on the events 9
years ago, “They came at us with
a coup backed by powerful in-
terests, the US government and
the elite, but they were met but
something even more powerful:
the people of Venezuela and our
real soldiers”.
Nonetheless, the majority of
those involved in the coup remain
present in Venezuelan politics to-
day, still aiming to oust Chavez’s
government and put an end to
the Bolivarian Revolution. Dur-
ing the 9 years since the coup, US
government funding for opposi-
tion groups and parties in Ven-
ezuela has increased exponen-
tially, reaching nearly $15 million
annually from State Department
agencies alone.
Several of the key members of
the coup, who were given amnes-
ty by President Chavez in 2007 in
an attempt to promote national
dialogue, today hold positions in
regional governments (governors
and mayors), and in the nation’s
National Assembly. From these
legitimate platforms, they contin-
ue to conspire against the Chavez
administration.
Ironically, during this week’s
coup anniversary, one participant
in the April 2002 events, Maria
Corina Machado, now a member
of the National Assembly, was in-
vited by the Department of State
to dictate several conferences in
the US, including one in Miami
titled “600 Days to Eradicate
Authoritarianism: Transform-
ing Venezuela”. While in Miami,
Machado “celebrated” with a
community of self-exiled Venezu-
elans, many of whom played key
roles in the coup. Machado is slat-
ed to be an opposition contender
in Venezuela’s presidential elec-
tions in 2012.
T/ Eva Golinger
P/ Presidential Press
The artillery of ideas
Victims of 2002 coup in Venezuela seek justice
A coup d’etat 9 years
ago in Venezuela
backed by the US
government cost
the lives of dozens
and injured innocent
residents who today are
still struggling to bring
the truth to light and
ensure justice reigns
on those responsible
D emanding justice for the
families and friends of those
murdered during the Venezu-
elan opposition’s attempted over-
throw of President Hugo Chavez
nine years ago, thousands of
residents took to the streets last
Monday to commemorate lives
lost and celebrate the popular up-
rising that derailed a right-wing
dictatorship in the country.
The march began at the Llagu-
na bridge where more than a doz-
en people were killed on April 11,
2002 by snipers stationed in the
high rise buildings that surround
the streets near the presidential
palace of Miraflores in the capital
of Caracas.
The deaths, part of a calculated
plan to fabricate a violent gov-
ernment crackdown on peaceful
marchers, provided the impetus
for the Venezuelan private media
to incite a rebellion against the
democratically elected Chavez
administration and lend legiti-
macy to the coup leaders.
Although the opposition suc-
ceeded in occupying the presi-
dential palace for some 24 hours,
the efforts to mislead the public
eventually failed as thousands of
ordinary Venezuelans descended
upon Miraflores, demanding
Chavez’s return to power.
Through a combination of street
and military action, the ousted
president was re-installed as the
nation’s head of state on April
13th, in a turn of events unparal-
leled in Latin American history.
Yet, despite the Venezuelan
people’s victory over the repres-
sive and authoritarian opposi-
tion supported and financed by
Washington, the deaths that oc-
curred on April 11 have yet to see
closure.
INJUSTICE PREVAILS
The Association of Victims of
the Coup D’Etat of A-11 (ASO-
VIC), has headed up the efforts
of family members and friends of
those killed and injured to seek
justice for the murders that have
remained unpunished.
“Nine years ago we were here
defending the revolutionary pro-
cess and today we commemorate
the fallen and ask for justice for
them”, said ASOVIC spokesper-
son Yessica Fuentes from the Lla-
guna Bridge on Monday.
According to some residents,
the violence that took place on
Llaguna Bridge also extended to
other areas of the capital and last-
ed for a number of days.
“The repression wasn’t just the
11th of April, but it also went on
until the 14th in [the Caracas] sec-
tors of Catia, Petare, Agua Salud,
23 de Enero. The security forces
repressed demonstrations of citi-
zens who were demanding the
restitution of President Chavez”,
said Jorge Rodriguez, resident of
the 23 de Enero neighborhood.
During Monday’s march, orga-
nized by the United Socialist Par-
ty of Venezuela (PSUV) under the
banner “Against Impunity and
Forgetting”, members of ASOVIC
presented their demands to the
Venezuelan National Assembly
where they were received by As-
sembly President, Fernando Soto
Rojas.
“We are asking that [the Na-
tional Assembly] discuss article
30 of the constitution so that fam-
ily members of the dead can have
NoÊÈäÊUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
a better quality of life”, Fuentes,
who was also shot during the
coup attempt in 2002, told Rojas.
Article 30 of Venezuela’s con-
stitution obliges the state to in-
demnify victims of human rights
abuses, including payment for
damages and suffering.
AGAINST IMPUNITY
In their fight against impunity,
members of ASOVIC have also
demanded the prosecution of cur-
rent opposition legislators who
were involved in the planning
and carrying out of the actions of
April 11th.
“The opposition constantly
talks about the violation of hu-
man rights in the country when
it’s they who have violated con-
Politics
stitutional order like what hap-
pened in 2002 and continues to
happen in the country”, said An-
tonio Molina, lawyer of the vic-
tims’ association.
As such, an appeal has been
made to indict National Assem-
bly representatives who not only
walk freely on the streets but are
carrying out the functions of law-
makers in the country’s highest
legislative body.
“We can’t allow for people
like [congress members] Enrique
Mendoza, Maria Corina Macha-
do, Julio Borges, and Miguel An-
gel Rodriguez, who actively par-
ticipated in the coup d’etat where
innocent people lost their lives,
not to be in prison. They are en-
joying parliamentary immunity
| 3|
when they should be punished”,
Fuentes said.
Monday’s march ended at the
offices of the Public Attorney, the
government institution in charge
of investigating and prosecuting
in the courts, where a document
was presented to the Attorney
General Luisa Ortega Diaz.
“I am receiving this document
with much love and I promise that
I will continue with the investiga-
tion. But it has to be remembered
that the state granted amnesty
in December of 2007 [to some of
those accused of perpetrating the
coup]”, Diaz said.
Although the main political
and military actors behind the
events of April 11, 2002 have re-
mained free, 9 members of the
recently disbanded Caracas Met-
ropolitan Police were convicted
in 2009 for their role in carrying
out the massacre.
MEDIA RESPONSIBILITY
A recent lawsuit in the state
of Aragua, where the members
of the Metropolitan Police were
convicted, may also see proceed-
ings carried out against private
media outlets that colluded with
the Venezuelan opposition to de-
liberately mislead the public on
the events taking place between
April 11th – 13th.
Hamos Ramos Allup, leader of
the opposition party Democratic
Action (AD) and a key player
in the coup, affirmed during a
recent interview with the news-
paper Ciudad CCS that private
television, print and radio outlets
had been involved in the plan-
ning of the coup for weeks before
its execution.
With reference to the events in
the lead up to April 11th, Allup
stated that “there had not been a
single important event that didn’t
have the participation of the own-
ers of the [private] media”.
The 4th Tribunal Court in the
State of Aragua, the Venezu-
elan News Agency reports, will
continue with its investigations
of the media’s role in the coup
and Attorney General Diaz an-
nounced the creation of a spe-
cial commission to receive and
process complaints of human
rights violations that occurred
as a result of the violence on
April 11th.
T/ COI
P/ Agencies
 | 4 | Politics
Venezuela’s agricultural industry:
Increasing agricultural
from fallow to productive
production is a top
priority for the Chavez
Administration
V enezuela’s Land and Agri-
culture Minister Juan Carlos
Loyo reported last Tuesday an in-
crease of 49 percent in the amount
of land currently being cultivated
for the nation’s food production
since president Hugo Chavez
came to office in 1999.
As of last year, the surface
area being utilized for crops has
reached nearly 2.5 million hectares
(6.1 million acres) and the amount
of food being produced has risen
44 percent from 17.1 million tons
in 1998 to 24.6 million in 2010.
“These results correspond to a
large series of public policies that
have permitted the incrementa-
tion of national agricultural pro-
duction”, the Minister said, add-
ing that although the growth is
positive, “we want more and our
country has a lot more to offer”.
A LAW TO PRODUCE
Loyo cited Venezuela’s Land
Law, first passed by presidential
Injustice in Luis Posada Carriles trial in US
A fter a trial over three months
long in the Federal Court of El
Paso, Texas, the jury took less than
three hours to find Luis Posada
Carriles not guilty, in a process in
which he was not charged for ter-
rorism, but rather for lying to the
US immigration authorities.
Posada Carriles was found not
guilty of the 11 charges of per-
jury, fraud and obstruction filed
against him, according to a ver-
dict of a jury formed by seven
women and five men, most of
them of Hispanic heritage.
At 11:57am, El Paso, judge
Kathleen Cardone received a note
from the jury – which had been
deliberating in private – letting
her know that they had reached
a unanimous verdict: meaning all
twelve agreed.
In a statement through the
phone from El Paso, lawyer Jose
Pertierra, who represents Ven-
ezuela’s extradition request for
NoÊÈäÊUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
decree in 2001, for the nation’s suc-
cess in turning once fallow farm-
lands into productive communal
estates for the country’s people.
The Land Law establishes the
legal basis for the government
to redistribute unused lands oc-
cupied by wealthy elites to small
Posada Carriles, commented that
the judge summoned lawyers and
prosecutors, and the members of
the jury entered the courtroom.
Judge Cardone asked Posada to
stand and she read the charges
and each verdict. Eleven times
she announced “Not guilty”.
The only charges pending are
the 73 charges of murder filed
in Caracas for the bombing of a
commercial aircraft on October 6,
1976, added Pertierra.
“The Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela will continue fight-
ing for justice to be served in this
case, and for the US to fulfill its
international obligations and ex-
tradite Posada Carriles”, assured
Pertierra, the lawyer who will
continue to represent the Venezu-
elan government for the extradi-
tion of the terrorist.
“The verdict in El Paso proves
that the US courts gives more im-
portance to the circus than to the
farmers and represents the corner-
stone of Venezuela’s wide rang-
ing agrarian reform program.
In addition to land, the Ven-
ezuelan government is also pro-
viding machinery, technical as-
sistance, and low credit loans to
small farmers in efforts to create
evidence”, said the attorney, who
has been publishing a daily diary
of the trial on the websites Coun-
terpunch and CubaDebate.
LATIN AMERICAN
“OSAMA BIN LADEN”
Luis Posada Carriles, accused
employment opportunities and
lessen the country’s dependence
on foreign food imports.
A new social program launched
earlier this year, known as Mis-
sion Agro Venezuela, seeks to
continue this trend by accelerat-
ing food production strategies in
of being the author of the worst
terrorist action in Latin America,
as well as of various terrorist at-
tacks against Cuba, the coordina-
tor of illegal war actions in Cen-
tral America, and an outed agent
of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA), faced charges in a case that
included for the first time in the
United States evidence of his ille-
gal activities and terrorist acts.
However, despite the thou-
sands of pieces of documental
evidence and several witnesses
who testified about his terrorist
activities, in a country that claims
to be a world enemy of terrorism,
Posada Carriles has enjoyed life
as a free man and has even been
celebrated as a hero in Miami
during the past several years.
Although he is wanted on crimi-
nal charges in other countries, has
a pending request for extradition
by Venezuela, is sought by Inter-
pol and has been identified as a
The artillery of ideas
the wake of lost harvests caused
by torrential rains in late 2010.
Thus far, the results of Venezu-
ela’s land reform initiatives have
been measurable.
Loyo reported that use of agri-
cultural machinery has increased
by 42 percent and the implemen-
tation of irrigation systems has
also risen by 39 percent.
Agreements signed with coun-
tries such as Iran, Argentina and
Brazil have strengthened the
transfer of agricultural technolo-
gy and have aided in the produc-
tion and processing of important
Venezuelan staples such as corn,
black beans, and rice.
Loyo also pointed out that in
terms of animal agriculture, poul-
try has risen by 106 percent in the
last 11 years as has milk produc-
tion, reaching 2.4 billion liters, an
increase of 68 percent.
The numbers presented by the
Minister on Tuesday were the out-
come of Venezuela’s agricultural
census carried out in collabora-
tion with the National Institute of
Statistics.
T/ COI
P/ Agencies
dangerous terrorist by several US
authorities that even have placed
him on a list of people who are
not allowed to travel by plane,
Posada Carriles was not incarcer-
ated in El Paso, nor did he face a
process similar to those carried
out against terrorist suspects in
that country or in Guantanamo.
The charges of perjury he faced
in Texas were centered in his il-
legal incursion in the US in 2005
and the subsequent lies to several
authorities about his role in some
cases of terrorism.
Now, the man guilty of plotting
and executing bombings in Latin
America that have caused the
deaths of 74 people and imposed
a reign of terror on the region,
will live free in Miami with the
protection of the US government
he has served for decades.
T/ Cubadebate
P/ Agencies
The artillery of ideas
Venezuela and Colombia solidify relations
Since last year’s brief
break in relations,
Venezuela and
Colombia have been
working hard to
strengthen cooperation
and ease diplomatic
tensions
W orking together to reconcile
differences and increase
economic cooperation between
two neighboring countries, Ven-
ezuelan President Hugo Chavez
met with his counterpart, Juan
Manuel Santos in the Colombian
city of Cartagena last weekend,
signing a range of agreements
targeting different social and eco-
nomic interests.
“Increasing bi-national com-
merce once again is our short
term objective and we’ve commit-
ted ourselves to continue push-
ing for this exchange, in order to
reach the same level that we had
just a short time ago”, President
Chavez said last Saturday during
the encounter.
Sixteen accords were signed
between the two presidents dur-
ing their third formal meeting
since Santos took office last Sum-
mer amidst tensions provoked by
ex-Colombian President Alvaro
Uribe regarding Venezuela’s al-
leged harboring of Colombian
guerillas in its national territory.
Although Uribe’s allegations
were never proven, the accusa-
tions led to a severing of dip-
lomatic relations between the
countries and threatened the
prosperity of the heavy economic
and social ties that bind the two
neighbors.
SHARED INTERESTS
Since Santos’ swearing-in as the
new head of state last year, rela-
tions have been restored as both
parties have worked to ensure
commercial activity, join forces in
the fight against drug-trafficking
and respect each other’s differenc-
es in terms of political orientation.
The pacts signed between the
two presidents last Saturday re-
flect this willingness to work
together and focus on issues of
technology, infrastructure and
security.
Specifically, the new accords in-
clude a commitment to strengthen
both agricultural and security in-
vestment in border areas through
development programs aimed at
improving the quality of life for
residents in both countries.
Two agreements were created to
coordinate the fight against drug-
trafficking through the sharing of
information and increasing com-
munication between Venezuelan
and Colombian security forces.
A factory for the manufacture of
steel and aluminum construction
materials has also resulted from
the talks as well as pacts designed
to further Venezuela’s push to in-
crease affordable housing in the
country through its new social
program, Mission Housing.
Three agreements were also
signed regarding trade of medical
supplies and discussions were con-
tinued on the construction of an oil
pipeline that would link Venezuela
with Colombia’s pacific coast.
ANDEAN COMMUNITY
In addition to the accords
signed last weekend, the two
presidents also discussed creat-
ing a new commercial pact which
would replace current regulations
covering trade between Colombia
and Venezuela as stipulated by
the Andean Community of Na-
tions (CAN).
NoÊÈäÊUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
Venezuela decided to leave
the CAN in 2006 after Colombia
and Peru signed free trade agree-
ments with the United States,
thereby undermining, according
to President Chavez, the purpose
and integrity of the regional orga-
nization.
Despite Venezuela’s stated
departure, certain commercial
activity continues to be legally
bound to the country’s partici-
pation in the trade block and is
set to expire in little more than a
week.
On Saturday, the two presidents
agreed to extend the current legal
arrangements until a new trade
accord can be defined in the com-
ing months.
“We have some legal umbrellas
under the CAN, but as of April
21, Venezuela will cease to be a
part of the CAN. We’re studying
the situation so that there will be
no interruption [of commercial
activity], but as we have not ar-
rived at a new agreement, we’ve
decided to extend the rules of
the game which today bind com-
merce between Venezuela and
Colombia for three months so
that our teams can continue to
negotiate”, Santos informed after
the talks.
Integration
UNASUR
In the continued effort to mend
diplomatic relations, Chavez and
Santos also spoke last weekend of
strengthening the Union of South
American States (UNASUR) as a
mechanism for integration and
peace on the continent.
UNASUR, previously led
by former Argentine President
Nestor Kirchner, was fundamen-
tal in the overcoming of the recent
diplomatic row between Venezu-
ela and Colombia.
Kirchner passed away unex-
pectedly last October and for-
mer Colombian Foreign Minis-
ter Maria Emma Mejia has now
assumed the Secretary General
position of the regional alli-
ance.
“We had a very important meet-
ing with the Secretary General of
UNASUR, Maria Emma Mejia,
preparing ourselves so that this
supreme mission gets going and
the new South American archi-
tecture takes shape. Dr. Mejia has
all of South America’s support”,
Chavez said.
Ali Rodriguez Araque, Venezu-
ela’s current Energy Minister, will
take over as the organization’s
head upon Mejia’s completion of
her term in 2012.
| 5|
HONDURAS
A good part of the discussions
held on Saturday dealt directly
with the question of Hondu-
ras and the Central American
nation’s re-admittance into
the Organization of American
States after its expulsion in 2009
following a coup d’etat carried
out against it’s democratically
elected president Manuel Ze-
laya.
In attempts to normalize re-
lations between the ostracized
country and the rest of Latin
America, Porfirio Lobo, winner
of Honduran presidential elec-
tions carried out by the coup
government in 2009, attended
the talks last weekend in Carta-
gena at the request of Manuel
Santos.
Venezuela, along with Argen-
tina, Brazil, Bolivia, and Ecuador,
has refused to recognize Lobo’s
presidential victory given the
anti-democratic circumstances
under which the elections were
held.
This refusal to consent to Lo-
bo’s mandate may change, how-
ever, as Colombia and Venezu-
ela discuss an initiative to permit
Honduras’ re-integration into the
OAS and a plan for reconciliation
between the current government
and the ousted president Manuel
Zelaya.
Zelaya, whose return to Hon-
duras has been a key question of
the talks, has been living in the
Dominican Republic as a Guest of
Honor and spoke with the three
leaders via telephone on Satur-
day.
According to Chavez, Satur-
day’s discussion was the first step
towards a promising future for
Latin America - Honduras rela-
tions.
“The results of the conver-
sation were very positive and
we’re sure that there will be
even better results in the coming
weeks and months…For us, it’s
a great pleasure to be useful in
this process of harmonization,
unity, friendship and integra-
tion”. he declared.
The next general assembly of
the OAS will take place in El Sal-
vador on June 5-7 where the issue
of Honduras will be further ad-
dressed.
T/ COI
P/ Presidential Press
 | 6 | Economy
Venezuela to resume economic growth
and reduce inflation in 2011
This year, Venezuela
will resume economic
growth and reduce
inflation, explained
Minister of Planning
and Finances Jorge
Giordani on Monday.
A reorientation of
industries to provide
an integral approach to
social needs has also
aided in the creation
of a more dynamic
economy in the country
G iordani attributed the posi-
tive economic perspectives
to the social policies implement-
ed by the Venezuelan govern-
ment and the private sector’s
boost to the development of the
non-oil economy and national
production.
“The growth of the construc-
tion sector is important, because
it will advance other sectors,
including industrial factories,
wood, cement, aluminum, etc.”,
he added. Additionally, the min-
ister highlighted that Venezue-
la’s economy will be dynamized
through the housing program
Gran Mision Vivienda Venezu-
ela (Venezuela’s Great Mission
Housing), through which 150,000
new homes will be built this year
and about two million more will
be completed by 2017.
“With this increase in construc-
tion, especially in the housing sec-
tor, an important social problem
will be solved and additionally
the economic apparatus will be
activated. We will have growth,
reduction of inflation rates and
maintenance of unemployment
rates way below other countries’
figures”, he remarked.
The high-level cabinet mem-
ber explained that there are signs
in almost every sector that the
economic growth tendency will
continue in the first trimester of
2011, according to figures by the
Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV).
The goal of 2-percent increase in
the GDP estimated in the budget
will be exceeded.
Additionally, Giordani high-
lighted that the country is enter-
ing into a new phase of inflation
NoÊÈäÊUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
reduction. In the first trimester of
2011, according to figures of the
National Consumer Price Index
Rate (CPI), which adds 6 percent
including the 1.4 percent regis-
tered in March, inflation reached
its lowest figure in the last six
months.
Giordani explained that the es-
timated inflation in the 2011 bud-
get is between 23 to 25 percent.
“We were prudent regarding the
budget, expending resources and
in estimations of inflation and
growth”, he revealed.
LONG CYCLE GROWTH
Also discussing issues relating
to the nation’s economic situation,
Armando Leon, director of the
Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV
in Spanish), considers that the
recovery of Venezuela’s economy
could be in the framework of the
new long growth cycle, involving
all productive sectors.
“What trends show is that al-
most all sectors of the economy
should grow this year”, he said
and highlighted that this recov-
ery began during the last trimes-
ter of 2010.
“Venezuela’s economy was af-
fected by foreign and domestic
factors. As these issues were over-
come, the economy began recov-
ering. The connection between
the private and public sector has
improved”, he explained.
Leon highlighted that the main
signs of economic growth can be
evidenced in the areas of telecom-
munications, food, chemical, pet-
rochemicals, trade, manufactur-
ing and services.
“There is an industry that has
not stopped its growing impetus,
which is essential because is the
key for our human and social de-
velopment: education and health
services”, he underscored.
Likewise, Leon mentioned the
progress achieved in the manu-
facturing sector due to an in-
crease in the arrival of raw ma-
terials and consumables used for
production.
In this regard, he made refer-
ence to the economic recovery
and an increase in production in
the country’s basic companies,
particularly the iron and steel
industries.
“These heavy metal industries
have been improving significant-
ly. They are placing their prod-
ucts at an important level and
efficiency in foreign markets and
supplying domestic market with-
out any inconveniences. This cre-
ates a positive chain of produc-
tion, because these companies are
sending their products to the con-
struction sector and other heavy
industries that then use them for
further economic activies”, he
pointed out.
This year, other industries will
join in the recovery of economic
activities, such as publishing
houses and printing presses.
“In the past years, these sectors
have been very dynamic thanks
to government policies, which
have financially subsidized and
aided everything related to edi-
torials, publishing and the distri-
bution of publications, helping
them grow and expand nation-
wide. These industries have now
become emerging economic sec-
tors with substantial growth po-
tential”, he stated.
Likewise, Leon said that the
food and beverage industries
have also registered a significant
upturn as a consequence of new
production plants built by the
state and the joint work of public
and private companies operating
in the country.
In Leon’s opinion, strengthen-
ing the microindustry sector and
family businesses has been essen-
tial in the past five years.
“They both generate a good
number of jobs and are likely to
include new technologies and
The artillery of ideas
new education methods. They are
also high consumers of services,
materials and consumables pro-
duced in the country. Therefore,
they create positive productive
economic chains”, he stressed.
In addition, the microindustry
sector always ensures jobs for the
highly skilled, trained and edu-
cated, and dynamizes social secu-
rity, he commented.
PUBLIC INDUSTRY SUPPORT
Moreover, the director of the
BCV highlighted the importance
of goods and services from com-
panies that have been national-
ized over the past few years,
which are now contributing to
Venezuela’s growing economy.
“We have to prove that the new
system of services and attention to
citizens is better than we had be-
fore, which is evidenced through
our improved socially oriented
industries”, he emphasized.
In this regard, he mentioned
the state-owned telephone com-
pany CANTV, re-nationalized
by the Chavez administration in
2007, as an emblematic case prov-
ing that a public company can be
efficient and improve its attention
to citizens.
CANTV, which is the nation’s
leading telephone and commu-
nications company, provides
low-cost cellular and land-line
services, as well as high-speed
Internet to customers. The com-
pany has dramatically improved
its outreach and attention to cli-
ents, as well as its services and
coverage during the past three
years. Previously, residents in
remote areas or poorer commu-
nities had little or no access to
telephone services, and no ac-
cess to Internet at all. After na-
tionalization, CANTV has made
it a key policy to ensure that all
Venezuelans are able to acquire
telephone and Internet services,
at affordable rates.
The state-owned company also
regularly hosts and funds social
events and projects that contrib-
ute to cultural and community
development in the country, as
part of the new vision of “social-
ist companies” in Venezuela.
T/ AVN
P/ Agencies
The artillery of ideas
Latin America shakes off the US yoke
L ast Thursday, the US expelled
the ambassador from Ecua-
dor, in retaliation for last Wednes-
day’s expulsion of the US ambas-
sador from Ecuador. This now
leaves the United States without
ambassadorial relations in three
South American countries – Bo-
livia and Venezuela being the
other two – thus surpassing the
Bush administration in its diplo-
matic problems in the region.
US Ambassador Heather
Hodges was declared “persona
non grata” and asked to leave
Ecuador “as soon as possible”,
after a diplomatic cable released
by Wikileaks showed her saying
some disparaging things about
Ecuador’s President, Rafael Cor-
rea. In the cable, she alleges that
President Correa had knowledge
of corruption by a former head of
the national police.
Although the Bush administra-
tion intervened in the internal af-
fairs of countries such as Bolivia
and even Brazil, it was somewhat
better at keeping its “eyes on the
prize” and avoiding fights that
would distract from its main goal.
The prize, of course, is Venezuela
– home to the largest oil reserves
in the world, estimated by the US
Geological Survey at 500bn bar-
rels. Washington’s goal there for
the last decade has been regime
change. The Bush team under-
stood that the more they fought
with other countries in the region,
the less credible would be their
public relations story that Ven-
ezuela was the problem.
It’s nothing personal, really
– Venezuelan President Hugo
Chavez could have chosen to
be the perfect diplomat and he
would still be treated in much the
same manner by the US govern-
ment. And it’s not the oil itself,
since Venezuela still sells the US
more than 1m barrels a day and
there is a world market for oil, in
any case. It’s just that any country
with that much oil is going to have
regional influence; and Washing-
ton just doesn’t want to deal with
someone who has regional influ-
ence and doesn’t line up with its
own goals for the region – not if
it can get rid of them. And they
have come closet o getting rid
of Chavez, in the 2002 coup – so
they are not giving up.
But Washington is losing
ground there, too. A big blow was
the change in Colombia’s foreign
policy last summer, when Presi-
dent Juan Manuel Santos took of-
fice. An important part of Wash-
ington’s strategy in Venezuela is
to maintain tension between Co-
lombia and Venezuela. They have
a head start on this project since
the 2,000km border between the
two countries has been plagued
by paramilitary and guerrilla
violence for decades. Conflict be-
tween Venezuela and Colombia is
also important to Washington’s
electoral strategy in Venezuela.
When there is trouble between the
two countries, as in 2009, when
Venezuela cut off bilateral trade
in response to the US effort to ex-
pand its military presence in Co-
lombia, it has a negative impact
on a lot of Venezuelans in border
states. This helps garner some an-
ti-Chavez votes in border states,
as in last year’s congressional
election in Venezuela. And accu-
sations of Venezuelan support for
the FARC for the Farc guerrillas in
Colombia – despite Washington’s
failure to offer any evidence – are
a key element of bringing its anti-
Venezuela efforts under the “war
on terror” umbrella.
Although Colombia’s previ-
ous president, Álvaro Uribe, was
– in recent years – very much al-
lied with the US strategy toward
Venezuela, Santos immediately
rejected it and decided to make
peace with Chavez. This turned
out to be quite easy to do, despite
their past fights when Santos
was Uribe’s defence minister. As
NoÊÈäUÊFriday, April 15, 2011
anyone who follows Venezuela
knows, Chavez is friendly to any
head of state or government that
is friendly to Venezuela.
Santos’s U-turn towards Ven-
ezuela is very interesting for sev-
eral reasons. First, it shows how
important regional economic in-
tegration is as a force for peace
and stability in the area. The at-
tempt by Washington and Santos’
predecessor to expand the US
military presence in Colombia led
to a cutoff of $2.3bn of Colombia’s
exports to what had recently be-
come their second most important
trading partner, Venezuela. This
was more than 11% of Colombia’s
exports, and the bulk of it was in
livestock and textile products for
which replacement markets were
not so readily available. Venezu-
ela also has very close relations
with Brazil and most of the rest
of South America, and they all
felt the same way about Colom-
bia’s foreign policy. They were es-
pecially concerned about the US
military expansion in Colombia
– and even more opposed after
US Air Force documents made it
clear that this expansion was for
“mobility operations … on the
South American continent” and
against the “constant threat” from
“anti-US governments”.
Santos was basically faced
with a choice of continuing to do
Washington’s bidding or being
part of South America. He chose
South America. The key role of
Analysis | 7 |
commerce here, as South America
continues to integrate economi-
cally, illustrates some of the most
important “gains from trade”.
These are far greater than the neo-
classical “efficiency gains”, often
exaggerated by advocates of “free
trade” agreements.
Also, Santos’ choice to rejoin
South America shows how geo-
political changes led by the left
governments of the region have
now encompassed even right-
wing governments. This is a re-
sult of changes in institutions
(foreign ministries, multilateral
organizations such as UNASUR,
the Rio Group), ideas, and norms
that have taken place over the last
decade.
Now comes Washington, de-
manding that Colombia extradite
one Walid Makled, an accused
Venezuelan drug-trafficker ar-
rested in Colombia, to the US.
No, thank you, says President
Santos – this guy goes to Venezu-
ela. Santos cites Colombian law,
stating that, first, Colombia has
an extradition treaty with Ven-
ezuela, not with the US; second,
Venezuela got their extradition
request in first; and third, Makled
is wanted for more serious crimes
(including murder) in Venezuela
than in the US (drug-trafficking).
All of these are facts that legally
require extradition of Makled to
Venezuela.
This is most infuriating to Wash-
ington. To understand why this
is so important to the State De-
partment, one has to look behind
official pronouncements about
Makled getting “a fair trial” in
Venezuela and other nonsense re-
peated with charming innocence
by the major media. Venezuela
has a presidential election next
year. For every important elec-
tion or referendum in Venezuela
– and there are many, but none
more important to Washington
than this one – there is an interna-
tional media campaign, with the
participation of the US govern-
ment. Makled has already offered
to sing about alleged corruption
of Venezuelan officials, but only
if he is extradited to the US. So, if
they could only get him to Miami,
they could have a splendid show
trial that would be better than any
international media campaign
that the state department could
organise.
If all that seems like it’s not
worth the trouble, it’s exactly
what happened in 2008. US au-
thorities used a sketchy show trial
of a Venezuelan slapped with du-
bious “failing to register as a for-
eign agent”– but not with actual
espionage – in order to broadcast
allegations of corruption at the
“highest levels” of the Venezu-
elan government. The allegations
made headlines throughout the
hemisphere and, of course, were
a mainstay of the Venezuelan op-
position-dominated media. Just
think what the Makled trial could
do: no one would ask what the
witnesses were offered for their
testimony, or whether there was
any corroborating evidence for
their allegations. It would be one
big free-for-all smear-fest, with
reporters gobbling it all up.
But Santos is not co-operating,
despite enormous pressure and,
of course, the currently pending
“free trade” agreement between
the US and Colombia. Perhaps
Washington wants this agreement
more than he does.
In any case, the Obama ad-
ministration – like its predeces-
sor – is fighting a losing battle.
President Obama’s recent trip to
Latin America was hardly more
successful than those of Bush. He
gets better press, but every presi-
dent and foreign minister there
can see that US policies haven’t
changed one bit.
T/ Mark Weisbrot
- The Guardian
FRIDAY | April 15, 2011 | No. 60 | Bs 1 | C ARACAS
A publication of the Fundacion Correo del Orinoco • Editor-in-Chief | Eva Golinger • Graphic Design | Alexander Uzcátegui, Jameson Jiménez • Press | Fundación Imprenta de la Cultura
Venezuela: Putting people first
T he deep global recession of
recent years has been used as
a political excuse by the current
Government in Britain, supported
by large sections of the media, to
ruthlessly and heartlessly drive
through savage cuts to public ser-
vices and welfare spending. Such
pain, it is argued, is 100% necessary,
and similar arguments can be heard
globally from those again proposing
the ‘solutions’ of neo-liberalism.
But the actions of many go-
vernments in Latin America of
countries considerably poorer -
including Venezuela - show that
a different choice can be made.
They have instead chosen the
path of building a fairer and more
equal society through investing in
people and public services. In the
case of Venezuela this is despite
the fact the economy has, prima-
rily as a result of falling oil prices,
faced recession for two years.
For those of us campaigning
for social justice and against in-
equality and poverty, 2 key things
stand out. First, that poverty fell
during both years of recession,
and second, that the government
has protected – and in some areas
even expanded – social spending,
including on key areas such as
health and education.
EDUCATION
The charge sheet against the Bri-
tish Governments’ record on edu-
cation in less than a year is stark.
Overall education expenditure is
being cut by an average of 11%;
some universities are facing an
80% cut in public funding and hig-
her education students will now
have to pay up to £9000 a year.
The ladder for the poorest is also
being kicked away - the Education
Maintenance Allowance and ‘Aim
Higher’ have been scrapped. Ins-
tead, the Government’s sentiment
appears to be to ‘aim lower’.
In contrast, despite the reces-
sion, Chavez’s government in
Venezuela has continued to reach
out to include the poorest in edu-
cation, for example by providing
free school meals and discounts
on school supplies.
ENGLISH EDITION The artillery of ideas
Indeed, in Venezuela today free
education is now a constitutional
right, illiteracy has been eradi-
cated and support for the disad-
vantaged now institutionalized.
This has included educational
provision for adults without an
educational background, indi-
genous communities, disabled
people, and many others through
social programs known as ‘mis-
sions’, such as Mission Robinson
and Mission Ribas which allow
people who fell out of education
to complete it at any age.
Additionally, the country now
boasts 83% enrollment in Higher
Education, second only to Cuba,
and the fifth highest in the world.
HEALTH AND NUTRITION
As we fight against cuts and
privatization in the UK, we can
take inspiration from the Vene-
zuelan advances in health, which
include the provision- for the first
time in the county’s history - of
universal public health coverage.
This has led to new community
doctors in most neighborhoods;
a drop in the infant mortality
rate from 19 per 1,000 live births
in 1999 to 13.9 per 1,000 in 2008;
and a 1.5 year increase in life ex-
OPINION
pectancy in just 9 years (from 72.4
years in 2000 to 73.9 in 2009).
Alongside the amazing achieve-
ment of creating a national health
service, the food and nutritional
intake of Venezuelans has vastly
improved, meaning the most im-
portant human right – the right
to life – is being respected more
than ever.
The government’s support for
people’s right to food is another
inspiring example of putting
people’s needs ahead of those of
private profit. State-subsidized
food networks and stores across
the country have been developed
and since 1999, agricultural pro-
duction has surged by 44 percent
in the country. This has dramatica-
lly improved the quantity and cost
of food. The combination of these
production efforts, with the sub-
sidized food measures and initia-
tives such as free school and nur-
sery meals, have meant that the
average yearly calorie intake has
increased by nearly 1 thousand ki-
localories over the past 12 years.
This, combined with other
health and social measures, has
meant that Venezuelan children
have grown taller, as well as now
having longer life expectancy,
From 1998 to 2009, there was an
increase of 1.8 cm in the height of
children aged 7 years. In contrast
the increase in the 8 years prece-
ding the Chavez-led government
was only 8 mm; a remarkable
change attributed to the huge in-
creases in access to clean water,
food and healthcare, and another
example of how progressive choi-
ces can make a real difference to
people’s lives.
WOMEN
As women face the brunt of the
cuts here, including in health, it is
an inspiration to see women at the
forefront of leading progressive
change in Venezuela, supported by
numerous specific social policies.
Banmujer, Venezuela’s Women’s
Development Bank, for example,
is the only state development bank
of its kind in the world. Recently
celebrating its 10th Anniversary
it has helped more than 2.4 mi-
llion women through offering low
interest loans to set up small en-
terprises and co-operatives with
nearly half a million jobs having
been directly or indirectly created.
Other social programs also fo-
cus specifically on women, such as
‘Mission Madres del Barrio’ which
addresses the extreme poverty
faced by women working in the
home whilst caring for children.
Since its launch in March 2006 over
225,000 women have received a ba-
sic wage from this program.
Additionally, more than 300,000
children aged from 0 to 6 are
now receiving high quality day-
care, including meals and health
checks, thanks to ‘Simoncito’ cen-
ters, while childcare faces cuts in
the UK which will force women
to give up work.
Furthermore, Initiatives such
as Banmujer and ‘Madres del Ba-
rrio’ are now run under the new
‘Ministry for Women and Gender
Equality’, with such a revolu-
tionary approach meaning that
Venezuela has now achieved the
most positive gender equality in-
dex in the region.
SOLIDARITY
Of course, this social progress
has many enemies across the
world and in Venezuela, including
those worried about ‘the threat of
a good example’. Despite massive
popular support and a democratic
mandate, as evidenced by win-
ning14 out of 15 national votes,
Venezuela’s government is still
under constant attack from the
former ruling elite who previously
ran the country into the ground,
and their allies on the hard right
in the US who, following recent
electoral gains, have regained con-
fidence in calling for intervention
and ‘regime change.’
Additionally, allies of the Ve-
nezuelan Opposition in the in-
ternational media continue to
propagate disinformation in an
attempt to isolate the government
internationally and prevent the
truth about social progress from
reaching a wider audience.
It is therefore vitally important
in the run-up to 2012’s presiden-
tial elections in Venezuela that we
continue to spread the truth about
these enormous social gains and
counter media misrepresentations.
T/ Jennie Bremner
- Red Pepper