Socialism: Quick, what’s the murder capital of the world: Kabul? Juarez? Try Caracas, Venezuela, a city whose dictator, Hugo Chavez, has made murder a means of extending his control.
The silent protest at Monday night’s Miss Universe Pageant in Las Vegas was invisible to nearly everyone — except Venezuelans. On her final catwalk, the ranking Miss Universe, Stefania Fernandez, suddenly whipped out a Venezuelan flag in a patriotic but protocol-breaking gesture.
Fernandez waved her flag for the same reason Americans waved theirs after 9/11 — to convey resolution amid distress. Her flag had seven stars, significant because Chavez had arbitrarily added an eighth, making any use of a difficult-to-find seven-star banner an act of defiance.
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Miss Universe candidate protests the killing fields of Venezuela
Two Venezuelans face prison for Twitter messages
Hugo Chavez seems to like Twitter as a mouthpiece for power. Since joining the service last April, he’s sent 522 messages, sometimes dozens a day, all apparently from his BlackBerry.
But he’s not such a fan of uncensored microblogging from the masses. Last week two Venezuelans, a 35-year old woman and a 41-year old man, were charged with making statements on Twitter critical of Venezuela’s banking system and face up to 11 years in prison, according to Reporters Without Borders. Fifteen more Internet users may face similar charges in the coming days.
The two defendants are accused of violating a 2001 law prohibiting spreading false rumors about or attempting to destabilize the nation’s banks, a loaded topic in the midst of wider financial troubles in the country. “Ladies and Gentlemen, don’t say you weren’t warned… Pull out today… I’m telling you, there are just a few days left,” Luis Acosta Oxford wrote late last month, for instance.
But the threat of a decade of imprisonment for 140 characters of investment advice goes beyond any financial fears, says Lucie Morillon, head of the Internet desk at Reporters Without Borders (RSF). “We see this arrest and the fact that these individuals face 11 years in jail as not just an unfortunate incident, but a way to intimidate other users who would use Twitter as a platform to criticize the government and its decisions”
Chavez’s “communes”
Tucked into forested hills in southwest Caracas, a red-brick housing complex for the poor is a testing ground for Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s latest step to build socialism in the Latin American oil producer.
The phalanx of simple five-storey apartment blocks, some still being built, anchors the “Cacique Tiuna Commune”. This is one of a network of “socialist communes” that Chavez and his supporters want to extend across the nation in a political and legislative offensive to dismantle “bourgeois” capitalism.
Not surprisingly in a country whose politics is as flammable as gasoline, the project enshrined in a package of “power to the people” laws is stoking a political firestorm.
Chavez jails opposition leader, plants evidence
Venezuelan intelligence agents have detained a government opponent on suspicion of links to a Salvadoran man accused of bombings in Cuba.
Alejandro Pena Esclusa was detained at his apartment Monday night by agents acting on a court order, and they found what appear to be explosives and more than 100 detonators, said David Colmenares, counterintelligence director of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service.
Agents raided Pena’s home based on information provided by the Salvadoran, Francisco Chavez Abarca, who was captured and handed over to Cuba last week to face trial for a series of bombings in 1997, Colmenares said in comments broadcast by TV channel Globovision.
Pena’s wife, Indira de Pena, called her husband’s detention a sham.
“These people dared to plant those explosives in a very crude way because they put some explosives in the drawer of our 8-year-old girl’s desk,” she said in an interview with the Colombian radio program “La Hora de la Verdad.” She accused authorities of planting the explosives while her husband was handcuffed and she was in another part of the apartment.
Venezuela’s private retailers targeted as Hugo Chavez declares ‘economic war’
Cedeño’s alleged crime: selling beef for £4 a kilo, well above the regulated price of £2.58. He does not deny it – prices are marked on a white board behind the counter. “I’ve got to cover my costs. What business doesn’t? Yet eight officials came here to arrest me. It’s an abuse of power.”
Most economists attribute Venezuela’s soaring inflation to loose monetary policy, exchange controls, devaluation and anaemic domestic production, dynamics that show no sign of abating.
“The government has boxed itself in with a misguided policy mix of rampant spending and price and foreign exchange controls that has resulted in a growing output gap and galloping inflation,” said Patrick Esteruelas, of Eurasia Group political consultancy. He added that the government, unwilling to risk austerity measures in the run-up to September’s congressional elections, was deflecting blame. “It has found it highly convenient to persecute private food retailers.”
Venezuela’s authorities disagree. They say private firms are cheating customers with unjustified price rises that are driving 30% inflation, Latin America’s highest. Food prices are rising even faster, at 40%. According to Chávez, it is part of a plot by US-backed “fascist oligarchs” to destabilise his leftist experiment.
Venezuela seizes oil rigs owned by US company
Venezuela’s government has seized control of 11 oil rigs owned by U.S. driller Helmerich & Payne, which shut them down because the state oil company was behind on payments.
Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez announced that Venezuela would nationalize the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based company’s rigs. He said in a statement Wednesday that Helmerich & Payne had rejected government demands to resume drilling operations for more than a year.
Hugo Chavez spearheads raids as food prices skyrocket
CNBC (Reuters), “Hugo Chavez Spearheads Raids as Food Prices Skyrocket”
Mountains of rotting food found at a government warehouse, soaring prices and soldiers raiding wholesalers accused of hoarding: Food supply is the latest battle in President Hugo Chavez’s socialist revolution.
Venezuelan army soldiers swept through the working class, pro-Chavez neighborhood of Catia in Caracas last week, seizing 120 tons of rice along with coffee and powdered milk that officials said was to be sold above regulated prices.
“The battle for food is a matter of national security,” said a red-shirted official from the Food Ministry, resting his arm on a pallet laden with bags of coffee.
It is also the latest issue to divide the Latin American country where Chavez has nationalized a wide swathe of the economy, he says to reverse years of exploitation of the poor.
CNBC (Reuters) article continues here.
Chavez orders takeover of iron-makers
BusinessWeek, “Venezuela’s Chavez orders takeover of iron-makers”
President Hugo Chavez announced Saturday the expropriation of a group of iron, aluminum and transportation companies in Venezuela’s mining region.
Among the expropriated companies is Materiales Siderurgicos, or Matesi, which is the Venezuelan subsidiary of Luxembourg-based steel maker Tenaris SA.
Venezuela’s socialist president said in a televised that his government was going to take over Matesi because “we couldn’t reach an amicable and reasonable settlement with the owners.
BusinessWeek article continues here.
Chavez hires 200 people to manage his Twitter account
Google News (AP), “Chavez rockets to No. 1 on Twitter in Venezuela”
by Christopher Toothaker
He urged supporters to join as well, calling Twitter “a weapon that also needs to be used by the revolution.”
Since then, Chavez says, he has been overwhelmed by nearly 54,000 messages from supporters, critics and people writing to ask for help with a problem or lodge a complaint. On Thursday, he announced that a new team of 200 aides would help him manage the stream.
“I’m creating a team due to the avalanche of requests, and some grievances,” he said.
Opposition lawmaker Juan Jose Molina said he was not surprised by Chavez’s ability to attract a crowd in cyberspace, but he thinks the president should spend less time tweeting and more time working to reduce soaring inflation and violent crime.
Google News (AP) article continues here.
Venezuela annual inflation rate hits 30 percent
My Way News (AP), “Venezuela annual inflation rate hits 30 percent”
Venezuela’s annual inflation rate has surpassed 30 percent after consumer prices surged in April.
The Central Bank and National Statistics Institute on Friday reported a 5.2 percent increase in consumer prices during April, driving up the annual rate to 30.4 percent.
President Hugo Chavez’s government has been struggling against the highest inflation rate in Latin America and a weakening economy in general.
My Way News (AP) article continues here.
Hugo Chavez delighted with Twitter results, invites Fidel to join
Reuters, “Hugo Chavez invites leftists Fidel, Evo to Twitter”
Delighted at his cyber success, Venezuela’s new Twitter convert President Hugo Chavez on Thursday praised the micro-blogging site and invited Cuba’s Fidel Castro and Bolivian President Evo Morales to join.
After several months grumbling that social networking sites in Venezuela were dominated by opponents of his socialist government, Chavez opened his own account this week and was clearly pleased to have gathered 100,000 followers.
“The potential this has … it’s not capitalist, it’s not socialist, it depends on how it is used,” he said after posting two messages on his page @chavezcandanga.
Reuters article continues here.
Hugo Chavez to join Twitter
Telegraph, “Hugo Chavez to join Twitter”
by Nick Allen
Mr Chavez speaks to the nation for hours every Sunday on his radio and television program but on Twitter he will be limited to much shorter messages of just 140 characters each time.
His use of Twitter also marks a new tactic in his approach to the internet and social networking.
In January Mr Chavez said that using Twitter, the internet and text messaging to criticise his regime was “terrorism.”
He has now decided to use the social networking tool for his own purposes.
Telegraph article continues here.
Putin’s weapons exports to Venezuela may reach as much as $5 billion
Yahoo! News (AP), “Putin: Russian arms to Venezuela may be $5B”
Arms exports to Venezuela may reach as much as $5 billion, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Monday, a few days after he traveled to the country.
Putin visited Venezuela late last week to meet with President Hugo Chavez and pledged to sell more weapons to the country but gave no concrete figures.
“Our delegation has just returned from Venezuela, and the total volume of orders may exceed $5 billion,” Putin said in televised remarks.
Yahoo! News (AP) article continues here.
Putin bolsters oil, defense ties with Venezuela
Reuters, “Putin bolsters oil, defense ties with Venezuela”
by Darya Korsunskaya and Anthony Boadle
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin visited Venezuela on Friday to discuss oil, defense and nuclear energy cooperation with Latin America’s main leftist foe of the United States, President Hugo Chavez.
They were to launch a $20 billion venture between Russian firms and Venezuelan state company PDVSA to pump 450,000 barrels a day — almost a fifth of the OPEC member’s current output — from the vast Orinoco heavy oil belt.
Putin’s 12-hour visit provides a welcome lift for Chavez, who is facing domestic and international criticism for failing to solve Venezuela’s economic woes and attempting to silence opposition to his 11-year rule.
Reuters article continues here.
Chavez arrests president of Globovision
Cato @ Liberty, “Chavez Arrests the President of Globovision Television”
by Ian Vasquez
Today, the Venezuelan government arrested Guillermo Zuloaga, president of Globovision Television, the only remaining television on public airwaves critical of Hugo Chavez. According to the government, Zuloaga made offensive comments about Chavez (which is against the law in Venezuela) while speaking at a conference of the Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) in Aruba, where media representatives criticized the Venezuelan regime’s crackdown on freedom of speech.
Globovision and Zuloaga have been under constant harassment from the government, and Chavez has promised to close the station.
Cato @ Liberty article continues here.
Lightbulbs by dictate in Venezuela
BBC News, “Light bulbs power Venezuela out of electricity crisis”
by Will Grant
On the Fuerte Tiuana military base in Caracas, there is a warehouse full of light bulbs. Hundreds of boxes of Firefly energy-efficient bulbs are sitting in vast stacks, ready to be loaded onto waiting trucks by the troops.
Meanwhile, the other half of the warehouse is a graveyard for used and spent light bulbs.
Huge amounts of filaments and broken glass have been swept into small mountains before being shipped to Venezuela’s second city, Maracaibo, for safe disposal because of the mercury content.
Outside the warehouse, a platoon of soldiers is standing to attention for their colonel before being dispatched to hand out the light bulbs in one of the capital’s poorest neighbourhoods.
“Today’s mission is vital for the health and development of the nation. And it comes directly on orders from the commander-in-chief,” barks the colonel.
BBC News article continues here.