January 30th., 2007

Chávez, Imperial President

The Bolivarian Parliament decided to allow the President to elaborate the legal order he considers necessary in the objective of deepening the revolution and give a legal face to the XXI Century Socialism.  Pursuant to Hello President, in order to modify the Constitution, one could resort to a “reform”, without excluding the Constitutional Convention, if the dynamics of the process demand to modify the structure and fundamental principles of the current text.  Government spokespeople have declared that by way of the reform it is possible to qualify the state as “Socialist”, in order to clear any doubts regarding its purposes.  The Opposition has reminded that only Cuba and North Korea qualify their states as such, and that it will be difficult to explain to the International Community the legitimacy of a text as the one being proposed.

The Constitutional modification will establish the indefinite re election of the President, concentrating in him the decision regarding public performance.  Chavez, in Hello President, pleaded to be authorized to dismiss Governors and Mayors pointed out as inefficient and corrupt.  It is a circumstantial aspect. The real issue is that community councils will assume the management of public services inherent to the Governors and Mayor’s Offices.

The Constitutional Law expert, Gerardo Fernandez pointed out that popular councils and assemblies that will substitute local powers, directly elected by all the electoral body constitute an exact copy of the organization of the provincial municipal assemblies and of the popular power councils provided by the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba dated August 1, 1992 (articles 103 through 119).

The Enabling Law will allow the Executive power to nationalize companies of the energy sector “for strategic, security, utility and social wellbeing reasons”.  Regarding the possibility of allowing the nationalization of the oil companies in the Orinoco Basin which are still under private ownership, the President of Parliament, which also directs the Presidential Commission for the Constitutional Reform, stated that they were awaiting the Agenda of the Executive branch to “know which laws will be drafted”.  The other areas wherein the President will legislate are:  transformation of the institutions of the State, popular participation, public function performance, national health system, tributary and financial area, legal and citizen’s security, science and technology, territorial order, infrastructure, transportation, services, security and defense.  Regarding the latter, the Minister of Defense informed that a document will be included to regulate the active participation of the Armed Forces in the development.  “The mission of participating in the national development entails the handling of resources from the public treasure.  Mechanisms must be generated so that our institution is a receiver of such resources and holds an entity to administer same”.  The definite approval of the Law will take place in a people’s assembly, called to meet at the Bolivar Square of Caracas.  In the course of time from the request to the approval of the Law, the President underwent an intense international activity, which was summarized in the affirmation that “he is now not alone in the battle against the empire”.

OIL AND XXI CENTURY SOCIALISM

For Daniel Ortega, his two hour delay for his assuming of the Presidency was not time lost.  The cause of the delay brought him good news.  Chavez announced the condoning of Nicaragua’s debt to Venezuela, valued in US$ 32,8 Million and the installation in Managua of a Venezuelan bank office with a US$  20 Million portfolio for the development of micro businesses.  The measures are part of a cooperation agreement that the Venezuelan mandatory will bring to Nicaragua in the frame of the adhesion to the ALBA project. (Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas).  The agreement includes the construction of a refinery to process 100,000 barrels, an oil pipeline whose center of final operation will be in Nicaragua and a road, built by Venezuelan military, at a cost of US$ 350 Million, which will communicate the region of the Pacific to that of the Atlantic, in a 500 Km trail.  The cost will be assumed by the Venezuelan government as “non reimbursable cooperation”, as declared by Nicaragua’s Minister of Transportation to the newspaper Confidencial. The adhesion to ALBA was signed by Ortega jointly with Evo Morales, a Vice President from Cuba and Chavez, who affirmed that from now on Nicaragua will not have any more fuel problems and will be able to export the excess at international prices to free from the International Monetary Fund.

In the presentation of his annual speech, Saturday, January 13, he lamented not having personally greeted the Iranian President, who he welcomed as “fighting brother for just causes”.  He added that Ahmadineyad would follow his travel to Nicaragua to visit President Ortega, and later attend to Correa´s investiture in Ecuador.  The visit of the Iranian is the second one to Venezuela in less than five months.  According to Chavez, both mandatory agreed to a common strategy to have an Extraordinary OPEC Meeting to agree to a decrease in production with sufficient impact to revert the price fall. 

They signed 11 agreements, one of them establishing a mixed company to explore, produce and commercialize oil, and another to create an Investors Heavy Strategic Fund that will start operating with a capital of US$ 2,000 Million, that will be able to, according to Chavez, finance investments in third countries “whose governments make efforts to liberate from the Imperialist yoke.  The economic exchange between Venezuela and Iran made this country, during 2006, its second major investor, only superseded by the United States.  The ABC newspaper from Madrid was accused by the Venezuelan Chancellor of “media terrorism” for a column according to which the coalition between Iran and Venezuela create for the world a giant responsibility since “if Iran builds the atomic bomb, who is to assure that it will not be transferred to Venezuela?”.  On Monday, January 29, the Minister of Defense informed that the agreements with Iran include the construction of non fitted air planes, whose prototype, tested last year, has a range of 100 Km and flight autonomy of 5 hours.

The closeness between Ahmadineyad and Chavez intrinsically carries the risk for South America of importing the tensions from the Middle East, as assured by the French news paper Liberation, icon of the French left wing.  “The new Bolivarian Messiah has not only little favored the democratic values, but has also dragged the region to the worst geopolitical swamp of the planet:  the Middle East.  Upon uniting with the Ayatollah Iran and promoting the closeness of other countries of the region to Ahmadineyad regime, he can only create tensions with other democratic countries”. It concludes stating that the importation of the bloody Middle East conflicts to South America introduces discord in its communities and with time, violence.

PRODIGIOUS AND RISKY DIPLOMACY

Chavez international activity has been intense.  On Sunday, January 14, accompanied by Evo Morales, he attended in an Ecuadorian prairie, the ceremony by which Correa received the Ceremonial Baton Staff (Baton) from Chief Indians.  Chavez wore a ritual Poncho and proposed to constitute a Bolivarian Confederation, integrated by Bolivia, Ecuador and Venezuela. He supported the Constitutional Convention proposed by Correa, “as the sole peaceful path to a new founding of the Republic”.  He declared to be at Correa´s disposition and at the same time invited him to integrate ALBA.  The next day, in Quito, Correa assumed the Presidency with the promise of installing Socialism, he summoned for the Constitutional Convention and supported the proposal for the Bolivarian Confederation, offering Quito as the headquarter.  With Chavez he signed numerous cooperation agreements, amongst others, the Venezuelan commitment of refining, free of charge, 100,000 barrels of Ecuadorian crude and to financially support the updating of the Esmeraldas refinery.  He offered the opening of a Venezuelan Bandes office with an initial investment of US$ 25 Million for micro credits.  Chavez expressed:  “we are not looking to gain money; it is Socialism what we proclaim”.  Correa declared that the agreements are a sample of the XXI Century Socialism.

He returned to Caracas and exposed his ideas to “dismantle the bourgeois state”.  He announced the designation of Presidential Councils for the Constitutional Reform and the community power, which according to him, “it is the Venezuelan atomic bomb”.  He traveled to Rio de Janeiro to participate in the Mercosur Heads of State Summit.  He was godfather to the adhesion of Bolivia and guaranteed Brazil the provision of gas to the north and northeast and announced the next meeting of OPEC Heads of State to examine the need to revert the decrease in the price of oil.  In “this new summit, politics is imposed, not the market”, as he expressed upon reiterating his thesis that Mercosur be “re made”.  According to Lima’s press, Petroperú is looking for a commercial agreement with Pdvsa wherein the latter provides the oil needed for their refineries, an issue that was supposedly object of conversations between Alan Garcia and Chavez. 

He announced the next visit to Caracas from the Cuba’s Vice President Carlos Lage to sign strategic and structural agreements.  The visit was Wednesday January 24.  16 agreements linked to oil, mining, telecommunications and other sectors were signed, which investment rises to US$ 1,120 Million.  The placing of a submarine fiber optic cable of 1,552 Km was highlighted, which will join the Venezuelan coast with the Island, and an agreement whereby Cuba will receive, in the concept of social tourism, 100,000 Venezuelans.  We are dealing with “a knowledge exchange”, declared Lage.

The international dynamics has had effects.  Once again, brushes with Washington, to the point of threatening with declaring Ambassador Brownfield as personae non grata.  Once again, setbacks in the normalization with the relationship with Mexico.  For the major Colombian press organs, that country is threatened by political pliers with hands in Caracas and Quito, and in which Evo Morales and Daniel Ortega will take part in.  The major papers in Brazil state that there is concern in Itamaraty.  From the reading of papers in Madrid, France, England and Germany, Europe starts to also worry.  The “concern” of the North American media, by reiteration, is no longer news in Venezuela.