Hugo Chavez invites Russia to be protector against US

Hugo Chavez invites Russia to be protector against US

All the fault of the US sTRATEGY OF the PNAC Gang’s Control of the US gOVERNMENT!

Sending the Fourth Fleet into South American Waters to Establish Air and Ocean Controls! And the use of Threats to entend 'Policing' “inland”!

ChAV.

The runt v reason eh Comrade.

tHE runT.

Well LilComrade chav answer that MMmm.

Copious amounts of Spin.

Comrade. I too have to go. I’ll return when i find my handkerchief.

Brothers at arms

Never notived how much chavez looks like his twin mugabe ( robert gabriel )
Same stupidity, beliefs and fat bank accounts?

Brothers at arms

Never noticed how much chavez looks like his twin mugabe ( robert gabriel )
Same stupidity, beliefs and fat bank accounts?

thiefs, liars and lil's

poor loser sits in a cell we think and explodes oops explores his inner brain cells for some solace in a lost world. Maybe he can waste more energy with ten more sritings of nothingness. Hugo and me...we are just darlings together!!

This Puto's days are numbered

he ods makeres in Vegas give it 7:1 he’ll be out by 2010. 2:1 by US, 3:1 by indigenous insurgentes.

He who lives by the sword will die by it

FEAR can you smell it? This comes from a world withoutlove.. America’s greatness has come from its faith and holding dear the ideals of freedom.. All this war and weapons and greed is causing fear! There is a lesson here for ALL Sides that wish to heed them.. Trust in God and the Love Jesus teaches us about.. All the rest is just a waste.. except it does give some here something to complain about :0

WAIT... Let me drink some more coffee OR Am I reading correctly?? I think it’s about time we remove some troop from the mess in Iran.. and shove them in Chavez face. “Get rid of the #$**%%&#@ runt”.

As always forget facts go with propganda streams!

The hypocrit speaks of wind noise and nonsense then does as he has said others do.
He speaks with a forked tongue and from both sides of his mouth in his propaganda campaign of hate on America and the sitting president.
He once again pretends Venezuela is better then America and holds up a dictator Hugo and the grand society of Venezuela as a model.
Without Oil Venezuela has no economy!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1925514.stm


Hugo has stolen the assets of any large company doing business in his country!


Your lack of ability to process anything bu the swill and propaganda coming from this countries bought and paid for media makes any post on the subject null and void of logic or reason.


Are you a bought and paid for asset!

Try this on for size numbnuts
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/18/america/18venez.php?page=2

Quote:

Chávez tightens grip on Venezuela economy

Faced with shortages of foods, building materials and other staples, President Hugo Chávez is intensifying state control of the Venezuelan economy through a new wave of takeovers of private companies and the creation of government-controlled ventures with allies like Cuba and Iran.

The moves come just months after voters rejected a referendum to give the president sweeping constitutional power over the economy and public institutions, leading to new accusations that Chávez is more interested in consolidating power than in fixing Venezuela’s problems.

And while he has argued that aggressive action against the private sector is needed to correct social injustices and fight soaring inflation, his critics say his moves are instead compounding those troubles.

One significant measure is foreign investment, which has hit record levels in several other Latin American countries but has fallen in Venezuela.

As foreign interests reacted to Chávez’s socialist-inspired changes, including nationalizations last year of major electricity, telephone and oil companies, outside investment dropped to just $500 million in 2007. In contrast, Peru, with a population comparable to Venezuela’s 27 million, received $5.4 billion in foreign investment last year.

Still, Chávez is pressing ahead with the takeovers of companies big and small. These include Sidor, a large, Argentine-controlled steel maker; cement companies owned by Mexican, Swiss and French investors; more than 30 sugar plantations; a large dairy products company; and a sprawling cattle estate on the southern plains.

Chávez has avoided outright confiscation of private companies by offering some compensation, but the terms of these deals are growing increasingly contentious, with the president threatening to withhold payments. In Sidor’s case, the company had asked for up to $4 billion in compensation; Chávez is giving it $800 million.

Pavel Gómez, an economist with ODH, a financial consulting business here, said, “In the end, the nationalizations carry the risk of making the economy even more dependent on oil exports than it already is."

The state role in the economy is broadening as Venezuela’s once torrid growth has slowed somewhat, even though world oil prices have climbed to record highs. Private economists expect the economy to grow about 6 percent this year, compared with 8.4 percent in 2007.

But Chávez is wagering that he can fill the gap, particularly in foreign investment, through new ventures with allies like Cuba and Iran.

For instance, after a three-day visit here last month by a high-level Iranian delegation, Venezuela and Iran agreed to build a manufacturing plant for tractor parts and a cement factory. Similarly, Venezuela announced the creation this month of two companies with Cuban partners in the fishing and pork industries.

Potentially of greater impact, China and Venezuela inaugurated the headquarters here of a $6 billion fund this month to carry out infrastructure projects. Beijing is putting $4 billion into the fund, part of an effort by Chávez to export more oil to China in exchange for more Chinese investment in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Chávez is testing new policies to curb a slide in the currency, the bolÃ*var, and restiveness over food shortages. Protests broke out this year in parts of Venezuela over food shortages and climbing food costs, including one disturbance in Sabaneta, Chávez’s impoverished home city, in Barinas State.

Some of the new economic policies, aided by ample oil income, are working relatively well.

The black market rate of the bolÃ*var climbed more than 20 percent in the past two months, to 3.4 to the dollar, after the government soaked up demand for foreign exchange by selling dollar-denominated bonds to investors here. The move brought some stability to a currency that had been shaken by accelerating capital flight in the past year.

A recent surge in oil prices has also helped Chávez’s government mask declining production at the national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela. His supporters in the National Assembly recently approved a windfall tax on oil producers, potentially giving the government more than $2 billion in extra revenue this year.

Anxiety here has also eased with the reappearance of some foods on supermarket shelves, notably milk. Stung by criticism over milk scarcity, the government eased price controls for milk and recently took over a large dairy concern, Lácteos Los Andes, directing it to reduce yogurt production and raise milk output.

However, fears are intensifying that Chávez will press ahead with even more nationalizations. Recent disarray in the gold mining industry, with licenses of several foreign companies suspended, has raised speculation that the government could take over mining concessions next.

And Chávez is increasingly issuing threats of expropriation, against entities ranging from private hospitals to cacao plantations.

Despite the new nationalizations, and the creation of state companies in recent years as varied as a national airline, Conviasa, and the Hotel Alba, which occupies the building of the old Caracas Hilton here, Venezuela’s economy remains an amalgam of private and state enterprises.

Mark Weisbrot, a Washington-based economist who is broadly supportive of Chávez’s economic policies, estimates that the public sector accounts for less than a third of the economy even after the latest nationalization wave. “The present government is so far mainly just reversing some of the privatization that took place in the 1990s," Weisbrot said.

But Chávez’s political opponents are questioning why the president is putting even greater power in his government’s hands, with the National Assembly, Supreme Court, federal bureaucracy and most state governments already controlled by his followers.

Opposition figures point out that some of the new policies are reminiscent of measures put forward by the president in last year’s failed referendum, which would have vastly increased his powers.

Chávez is also trying to introduce changes to school curriculums so that they would look uncritically at his government. That move has generated fierce criticism from parents' groups.

The president may be having more success, at least for now, in asserting control over the armed forces. In a move similar to a measure in last year’s referendum that would have transformed the military reserve into “popular militia units," Chávez created a reserve force last month, with a budget separate from the other armed forces, and with commanders under his direct control.

Some of the most pointed criticism in this coup-prone country is coming from Chávez’s former military comrades. “Chávez is stimulating a pre-insurrectional climate in the country," said Raúl IsaÃ*as Baduel, a retired general who was the top commander of Venezuela’s military until he broke with the president last year, saying Chávez was going beyond the law with some projects.

The nationalizations, Baduel said, were part of a plan by Chávez “to annihilate the productive apparatus so that we depend more on petroleum income, which is to depend more on the state, or in other words, to depend more on Chávez

No money to feed his people but in true dictator fashion always a way to buy more weapons!



Venezuela, Russia Sign Weapons Deal
Jeremy Wolland

Defying the United States, Russia agreed in July to sell $1 billion in combat aircraft to Venezuela. The deal marks the latest in a series of Russian arms sales to a state that has increasingly clashed with Washington over different ideological approaches to Latin America and the developing world.

Capping Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s July 25-27 visit to Russia, the deal’s announcement comes just two months after Washington said it would no longer permit new U.S.-origin arms sales to the South American state. At that time, U.S. officials said they were disturbed by Venezuelan ties to Iran and Cuba, allegations that Venezuela was serving as a transit point for arms and individuals of concern, and the Chavez government’s links to left-wing Colombian guerrilla groups. (See ACT, June 2006.) By contrast, Moscow has been a willing arms supplier to Venezuela, concluding more than $3 billion in weapons deals, including the most recent agreement, over the past 18 months.

The latest deal will send 24 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 fighter jets and 53 military helicopters to Venezuela. Chavez also announced that Moscow has agreed to build a Kalashnikov rifle factory in Venezuela. Under a prior deal between the two countries, 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-103 rifles are supposed to arrive in Venezuela this year. (See ACT, May 2005.)

The Bush administration has questioned both the necessity and motives for Venezuela’s increasing expenditures and new arms buys. Department of State spokesperson Tom Casey told reporters July 25 that “the arms purchase planned by Venezuela exceeded its defensive needs and are not helpful in terms of regional stability.” He further urged Russia to “reconsider the sale.”

Russian officials defended their deals with Venezuela, saying that they do not break international law. At a press conference July 27 with Chavez, Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to defuse tensions with the United States by asserting that “cooperation between Russia and Venezuela is not directed against any third country.”

Chavez claims that the military purchases are necessary for Venezuela’s self-defense, commenting July 26 that “it is a state responsibility to equip and train the nation’s military bodies. In my case, that is what I am doing, nothing more.”

In an interview the same day with Colombian radio station Radio Caracol, Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel echoed Chavez. “ Venezuela’s purpose [behind its arms buys] is to guarantee the country’s defense and not to attack other countries,” Rangel stated.

In the past, Venezuela purchased U.S. arms, including a 1982 acquisition of 24 F-16A combat jets, but new sales and the supply of spare parts have declined over the course of Chavez’s rule. Venezuelan officials say that this trend has left their military in need of new and replacement weapons and military equipment.

U.S. politicians have questioned how Venezuela intends to use any new arms imports. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, said at a July 13 hearing that “it is the fear of many that these weapons, or the weapons they replace, will end up arming left-wing terrorist groups.”



Get your facts straight and get out of Utopia

Another Article that makes obvious your cowardly messianic lies

The following article is way above your comprehension level, however most other readers will have no trouble comparing this article to your posts, and finding your lies!

The Article:
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Miguel Angel Nuñez
“Agroecology in the Venezuelan Revolution”

October 16, 2007



Professor Miguel Angel Nuñez discusses his work on agroecology on October 16.

A Food Revolution: Agroecology in Venezuela
By Tanya Kerssen

The “Bolivarian Revolution” underway in Venezuela is “trying to build a new society without making the mistakes that the capitalist system and the socialist system made in the past. We are trying to build a participatory democracy.” So spoke Venezuelan professor of agroecology Miguel Angel Nuñez in his CLAS-sponsored talk. Indeed, Nuñez came equipped with an impressive arsenal of statistics showing a side of the Venezuelan revolutionary process that rarely makes headlines: its revolution in food and agriculture.

For Nuñez, agroecology has a key role to play in laying the groundwork for a more sustainable food system in Venezuela . The founder of the Institute for Production and Research in Tropical Agriculture (IPIAT), Nuñez has also served as an advisor on agricultural policy to the government of Hugo Chávez since 2004.

Food Sovereignty and Agroecology

Nuñez identified “food sovereignty” as the cornerstone of Venezuela ’s new sustainable development agenda. Coined by the international peasant network Via Campesina at the 1996 World Food Summit, the phrase “food sovereignty” serves as a rallying cry for family farmers, landless people and indigenous people worldwide. Via Campesina defines “food sovereignty” as the right of a people or state to define its own agriculture and food policy. The food sovereignty agenda calls for production for local consumption; a halt to the “dumping” of cheap food imports which threaten farmer livelihoods; peasant access to land, seeds, credit and water; and the rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Nuñez was careful to differentiate the concept of “food sovereignty” from mere “food security.” Food security is about having access to food, a concept which doesn’t necessarily question where food comes from, who produces it or how it is produced. In contrast, food sovereignty implies a commitment to fostering self-sufficiency through land reform, community participation, ecologically-sound methods and socially accountable research and policy agendas.

Food sovereignty also requires a “new science”, said Nuñez, an alternative to the Green Revolution that is seen as having failed in Venezuela . This new science is to be found in agroecology, which he defined as a synthesis of modern scientific knowledge and the traditional and indigenous knowledge of small farmers for the creation of sustainable food systems that meet the needs of local communities.

In contrast to the one-size-fits-all industrial model of the Green Revolution, agroecology emphasizes the social and cultural dimensions of agriculture. Instead of using purchased chemical inputs, for instance, agroecological farming employs locally-adapted techniques that maximize yields while maintaining soil fertility. Farmers in this model are seen as key partners in conserving the environment and managing biodiversity.

Nuñez’s new book La Agroecología en la Soberanía Agroalimentaria Venezolana (Agroecology in Venezuela ’s Food and Agricultural Sovereignty), contains data compiled by IPIAT which details the transition from conventional to agroecological farming in seven Venezuelan states. In these states, all in the Northwest region, the study followed 2,267 farmers producing 169 different crops on 3,731 hectares of land (approx. 9,220 acres) using agroecological methods.

With the help of students from the Bolivarian University in Barinas, IPIAT is tracking the success of agroecology with the use of “sustainability indicators.” For example, the level of diversity in an agro-ecosystem and the nutritional content of each crop are measured; a diverse farm with crops of high nutritional value would be scored high in terms of sustainability.

Venezuela’s Path to Food Sovereignty

The transition to food sovereignty is a slow process in a country that just 10 years ago imported approximately 86 percent of its food, the result of Venezuela ’s dependence on oil revenues and a historically weak agricultural sector. But Nuñez is hopeful. In the last 10 years, he notes, that number has been reduced to about 63 percent.

He is also ambitious. By 2013, Nuñez envisions 70 percent of the country to be in a process of transition from conventional agriculture to agroecology. Of course, this will depend not only on the work of organizations like IPIAT but also upon the political will and ability of the Chávez government to implement policies that favor food sovereignty. These policies will have to include access to credit, land and extension services for small farmers; incentives for urban residents to move to the countryside; and education to create the human capital needed to carry out this agroecological revolution.

The Bolivarian constitution, adopted in December 1999 and approved by popular referendum, already contains language — in 33 separate articles — that compels the state to promote sustainable agriculture as the basis for development. Rural social movements, said Nuñez, are putting pressure on the government to enforce these constitutional pronouncements.

Nuñez is also vying for the explicit inclusion of agroecology and food sovereignty in the constitution, through the modification of Article 305 which most specifically relates to agriculture and food security. The new Article 305 would require the state to promote agroecology as the scientific and strategic basis of rural development; privilege domestically-oriented production in agriculture, livestock and fishing; and advance the necessary infrastructure, market conditions and human resources needed to guarantee food sovereignty.

Of course, there is also the pressing issue of hunger which requires immediate action. To this end, the government created Mercal, a national network of subsidized food markets, in 2002, one of a number of “missions” created to address the needs of Venezuela ’s poor, such as healthcare and education.

The more long-term solutions, however, hinge primarily on the success of one key initiative: land reform. So far, says Nuñez, three million hectares have been recovered and redistributed under Venezuela ’s land reform program, enacted in November 2001. What distinguishes Venezuela ’s land reform, and offers hope for food sovereignty, is the principle of “social productivity” in which the use of land takes precedence over formal ownership. Under such a law, idle or unproductive lands may be taxed or reallocated to a socially productive use (food production and employment) with compensation to the owner by the government at the current market price.


Professor Nuñez argued that Venezuela’s agroecology-based reforms will have a deeper impact than would pure land redistribution.

In addition to land redistribution, the government is promoting the creation of agricultural cooperatives and the provision of technical assistance, special credits, infrastructure for commercialization and education centers. In a February 19 article in the online In Motion Magazine, Nuñez noted that approximately 7,000 agricultural co-ops have been created in the last five years; 1,436,000 Venezuelan women have received credit and have organized themselves into 1,389 cooperatives and 16,421 small enterprises; and approximately 480,000 small industrial enterprises are functioning with the help of government credit.

At the grassroots level, Venezuelans are organizing and establishing community councils to pressure municipal governments and gain funding for community projects. So far, over 16,000 community councils have been established, approximately 14,500 projects are currently underway and 997 communal banks have been created to provide credit for local projects. These projects are developed by the communities themselves, with participatory oversight and budgeting. For Nuñez, this is what “participatory democracy” means.

Education plays a critical role in the advancement of food sovereignty. However, Nuñez noted, it is important to ask, what kind of education? A new university, created by the Bolivarian government in partnership with Via Campesina and the Landless Workers Movement of Brazil (MST), was established in 2005 to train students in agroecology. The Paulo Freire Latin American Institute for Agroecology, named after the Brazilian educator, promotes education, training and research that addresses the needs and technical problems faced by small farmers. In its first semester, 250 students from various Latin American countries enrolled at the university, over half of whom were women.

In the question-and-answer session, Prof. Nuñez was asked about the connection between agroecology and oil in Venezuela . He responded with one word: money. Unlike countries like Bolivia or Ecuador , Venezuela has the economic resources to make the switch to agroecology. Whether Chávez can overcome internal divisions in his government and implement the necessary policies remains to be seen. Nuñez appeared confident that social movements and local organizations will play an important role in both applying political pressure and working towards food sovereignty on the ground.

Miguel Angel Nuñez is a professor of agroecology and tropical agriculture and the founder and International Relations Coordinator of IPIAT, the Institute for Production and Research in Tropical Agriculture in Venezuela . He spoke at CLAS on October 16. Several of his articles on Agroecology and Food Sovereignty in Venezuela can be found at: www.inmotionmagazine.com.

Tanya Kerssen is a graduate student in the Latin American Studies program.


Miguel Angel Nuñez





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Doing so will do what?

FotoStan;92898:
WAIT... Let me drink some more coffee OR Am I reading correctly?? I think it’s about time we remove some troop from the mess in Iran.. and shove them in Chavez face. “Get rid of the #$**%%&#@ runt”.

The next socialist pig will show up.
One hundred years of stay out of my backyard policies have caused serious mistrust of the US and it’s policies.
Russia is not the problem Hugo Chavez is nuts..
Hamas cells and Iranian controlled groups have taken a foothold on Venezuela.
There is a reason Hugo the hitman Chavez is paranoid he is doing things that will allow others a way to attack the US.
Why go to war with a country when one person is the problem?
Take the one person out of the picture and make ovetures of peace and good will.
Venezuela needs to be pulled into the WTO and world bank spere of influence after all that’s really what this is all over!

Russia is not the problem

Russia has it’s opwn issues to work out.
Hugo the hit man Chavez is the problem.
Venezuela is not controlled by the international banking cunsortium most the countries onj the axis if evil are not beholden to foreign money loans.
Go figure.
Hugo is paranoid because he is playing with the bull and allowing groups who wish to attack the US into his country.
Hugo is the issue get rid of Hugo and allow peacwe to reign.

Mafia

Hugo wants to be boss in south AMERICA. Who is going to protect Columbia, El Salvador, Peru etc. from this ego hugo maniac?

Reading the other posters...

... . Its not very hard to Paint an Immage of these Posters that bear a strong resemblance to couple different flocks of birds!

What’s missing from the immage are facts and reason! Thus the immage is one of noise!

So what are the objections that have worked up these posters?

Do they object to Venezuelans Making improvements to their earning a living? To determining their own Government and Laws? Their Own Democracy? Their improving their Education? Their improving their own Health Care? Their Economy is going up while Ours is going down, so are these posters jealous?

Or is something else going on with these posters? Are they really just uninformed about the realities of Venezuela? Are they overly sensitive having Our lil pResident being named for his acts against the Venezuelan Democracy that is out performing the lil administration’s?

Are these the reasons that only noise is produced? No Facts! No Reasons thought out!

Galljdaj long on wind short on facts and stupid as always.

The hypocrit speaks of wind noise and nonsense then does as he has said others do.
Nothing but wind and nonsense in all your posts!
I loath your postions and posts.
He speaks with a forked tongue and from both sides of his mouth in his propganda campaign to hate on America and the sitting president.
He once again pretends Venezuela is better then America and holds up a dictator Hugo and the grand society of Venezuela as a model.
Without Oil Venezuela has no economy!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/1925514.stm


Hugo has stolen the assets of any large company doing business in his country!


Your lack of ability to process anything bu the swill and propaganda coming from this countries bought and paid for media makes any post on the subject null and void of logic or reason.


Are you a bought and paid for asset!

Try this on for size numbnuts
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/05/18/america/18venez.php?page=2

Quote:

Chávez tightens grip on Venezuela economy

Faced with shortages of foods, building materials and other staples, President Hugo Chávez is intensifying state control of the Venezuelan economy through a new wave of takeovers of private companies and the creation of government-controlled ventures with allies like Cuba and Iran.

The moves come just months after voters rejected a referendum to give the president sweeping constitutional power over the economy and public institutions, leading to new accusations that Chávez is more interested in consolidating power than in fixing Venezuela’s problems.

And while he has argued that aggressive action against the private sector is needed to correct social injustices and fight soaring inflation, his critics say his moves are instead compounding those troubles.

One significant measure is foreign investment, which has hit record levels in several other Latin American countries but has fallen in Venezuela.

As foreign interests reacted to Chávez’s socialist-inspired changes, including nationalizations last year of major electricity, telephone and oil companies, outside investment dropped to just $500 million in 2007. In contrast, Peru, with a population comparable to Venezuela’s 27 million, received $5.4 billion in foreign investment last year.

Still, Chávez is pressing ahead with the takeovers of companies big and small. These include Sidor, a large, Argentine-controlled steel maker; cement companies owned by Mexican, Swiss and French investors; more than 30 sugar plantations; a large dairy products company; and a sprawling cattle estate on the southern plains.

Chávez has avoided outright confiscation of private companies by offering some compensation, but the terms of these deals are growing increasingly contentious, with the president threatening to withhold payments. In Sidor’s case, the company had asked for up to $4 billion in compensation; Chávez is giving it $800 million.

Pavel Gómez, an economist with ODH, a financial consulting business here, said, “In the end, the nationalizations carry the risk of making the economy even more dependent on oil exports than it already is."

The state role in the economy is broadening as Venezuela’s once torrid growth has slowed somewhat, even though world oil prices have climbed to record highs. Private economists expect the economy to grow about 6 percent this year, compared with 8.4 percent in 2007.

But Chávez is wagering that he can fill the gap, particularly in foreign investment, through new ventures with allies like Cuba and Iran.

For instance, after a three-day visit here last month by a high-level Iranian delegation, Venezuela and Iran agreed to build a manufacturing plant for tractor parts and a cement factory. Similarly, Venezuela announced the creation this month of two companies with Cuban partners in the fishing and pork industries.

Potentially of greater impact, China and Venezuela inaugurated the headquarters here of a $6 billion fund this month to carry out infrastructure projects. Beijing is putting $4 billion into the fund, part of an effort by Chávez to export more oil to China in exchange for more Chinese investment in Venezuela.

Meanwhile, Chávez is testing new policies to curb a slide in the currency, the bolÃ*var, and restiveness over food shortages. Protests broke out this year in parts of Venezuela over food shortages and climbing food costs, including one disturbance in Sabaneta, Chávez’s impoverished home city, in Barinas State.

Some of the new economic policies, aided by ample oil income, are working relatively well.

The black market rate of the bolÃ*var climbed more than 20 percent in the past two months, to 3.4 to the dollar, after the government soaked up demand for foreign exchange by selling dollar-denominated bonds to investors here. The move brought some stability to a currency that had been shaken by accelerating capital flight in the past year.

A recent surge in oil prices has also helped Chávez’s government mask declining production at the national oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela. His supporters in the National Assembly recently approved a windfall tax on oil producers, potentially giving the government more than $2 billion in extra revenue this year.

Anxiety here has also eased with the reappearance of some foods on supermarket shelves, notably milk. Stung by criticism over milk scarcity, the government eased price controls for milk and recently took over a large dairy concern, Lácteos Los Andes, directing it to reduce yogurt production and raise milk output.

However, fears are intensifying that Chávez will press ahead with even more nationalizations. Recent disarray in the gold mining industry, with licenses of several foreign companies suspended, has raised speculation that the government could take over mining concessions next.

And Chávez is increasingly issuing threats of expropriation, against entities ranging from private hospitals to cacao plantations.

Despite the new nationalizations, and the creation of state companies in recent years as varied as a national airline, Conviasa, and the Hotel Alba, which occupies the building of the old Caracas Hilton here, Venezuela’s economy remains an amalgam of private and state enterprises.

Mark Weisbrot, a Washington-based economist who is broadly supportive of Chávez’s economic policies, estimates that the public sector accounts for less than a third of the economy even after the latest nationalization wave. “The present government is so far mainly just reversing some of the privatization that took place in the 1990s," Weisbrot said.

But Chávez’s political opponents are questioning why the president is putting even greater power in his government’s hands, with the National Assembly, Supreme Court, federal bureaucracy and most state governments already controlled by his followers.

Opposition figures point out that some of the new policies are reminiscent of measures put forward by the president in last year’s failed referendum, which would have vastly increased his powers.

Chávez is also trying to introduce changes to school curriculums so that they would look uncritically at his government. That move has generated fierce criticism from parents' groups.

The president may be having more success, at least for now, in asserting control over the armed forces. In a move similar to a measure in last year’s referendum that would have transformed the military reserve into “popular militia units," Chávez created a reserve force last month, with a budget separate from the other armed forces, and with commanders under his direct control.

Some of the most pointed criticism in this coup-prone country is coming from Chávez’s former military comrades. “Chávez is stimulating a pre-insurrectional climate in the country," said Raúl IsaÃ*as Baduel, a retired general who was the top commander of Venezuela’s military until he broke with the president last year, saying Chávez was going beyond the law with some projects.

The nationalizations, Baduel said, were part of a plan by Chávez “to annihilate the productive apparatus so that we depend more on petroleum income, which is to depend more on the state, or in other words, to depend more on Chávez

No money to feed his people but in true dictator fashion always a way to buy more weapons!



Venezuela, Russia Sign Weapons Deal
Jeremy Wolland

Defying the United States, Russia agreed in July to sell $1 billion in combat aircraft to Venezuela. The deal marks the latest in a series of Russian arms sales to a state that has increasingly clashed with Washington over different ideological approaches to Latin America and the developing world.

Capping Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s July 25-27 visit to Russia, the deal’s announcement comes just two months after Washington said it would no longer permit new U.S.-origin arms sales to the South American state. At that time, U.S. officials said they were disturbed by Venezuelan ties to Iran and Cuba, allegations that Venezuela was serving as a transit point for arms and individuals of concern, and the Chavez government’s links to left-wing Colombian guerrilla groups. (See ACT, June 2006.) By contrast, Moscow has been a willing arms supplier to Venezuela, concluding more than $3 billion in weapons deals, including the most recent agreement, over the past 18 months.

The latest deal will send 24 Russian-made Sukhoi Su-30 MK2 fighter jets and 53 military helicopters to Venezuela. Chavez also announced that Moscow has agreed to build a Kalashnikov rifle factory in Venezuela. Under a prior deal between the two countries, 100,000 Kalashnikov AK-103 rifles are supposed to arrive in Venezuela this year. (See ACT, May 2005.)

The Bush administration has questioned both the necessity and motives for Venezuela’s increasing expenditures and new arms buys. Department of State spokesperson Tom Casey told reporters July 25 that “the arms purchase planned by Venezuela exceeded its defensive needs and are not helpful in terms of regional stability.” He further urged Russia to “reconsider the sale.”

Russian officials defended their deals with Venezuela, saying that they do not break international law. At a press conference July 27 with Chavez, Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to defuse tensions with the United States by asserting that “cooperation between Russia and Venezuela is not directed against any third country.”

Chavez claims that the military purchases are necessary for Venezuela’s self-defense, commenting July 26 that “it is a state responsibility to equip and train the nation’s military bodies. In my case, that is what I am doing, nothing more.”

In an interview the same day with Colombian radio station Radio Caracol, Venezuelan Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel echoed Chavez. “ Venezuela’s purpose [behind its arms buys] is to guarantee the country’s defense and not to attack other countries,” Rangel stated.

In the past, Venezuela purchased U.S. arms, including a 1982 acquisition of 24 F-16A combat jets, but new sales and the supply of spare parts have declined over the course of Chavez’s rule. Venezuelan officials say that this trend has left their military in need of new and replacement weapons and military equipment.

U.S. politicians have questioned how Venezuela intends to use any new arms imports. Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), chairman of the House International Relations Subcommittee on International Terrorism and Nonproliferation, said at a July 13 hearing that “it is the fear of many that these weapons, or the weapons they replace, will end up arming left-wing terrorist groups.”

The lil theif that stole my name has posted(2:46pm) an extensive amount of spin ...

... . It does not come from his own knowledge or research, in comes from a prepared propaganda machine. So I will take it from the top and work my way through each misrepresentation!

The cowardly theif presented “shortages of Foods, Building Materials, and other Staples” And connects them to a “ChAjvez state takeover”

What are we supposed to conclude from this material? That a dicator is opperating under pressure applied by freedom loving democracy agent lil bush? Or some such happening?

Is Venezuela operating from a top down decision making process like the lil pundit is functioning with? No it is not! And I will get back to the process in a minute. Chavez did not simply conceive to 'takeover' businesses corporations and or land! Especially for his personal gains!

The 'Problems' developed under US Stripminning of Venezuelan Assests we call natural resources. The Us was/is not the only stripminer involved in Venezuela. The US is one of the major abusers, or contributors to the Problems of Insufficient Foods and Materials.

Cheap Products were removed from Venezuela and sold elsewhere at Economic Profits, and the Venezuelan Peoples ended up with shortages and high prices for their own cheap goods.

The 'Policy' and the Solution for the People was the Corporate entities were told to produce First for Venezuela, and then they could export! They have to a large extent refused! As a result have been accepted the Government’s Declaration Produce for Venezuela or you will loose your right to Own and Produce. They were informed they would bought out and the conditions under which they would be bought out in Advance!

The Conporations have attempted to Gain the Profits they 'could have made' without making the goods! This is the price they have demanded!

Even the worst of fools will not pay such amounts! Fair Value is what they have been offered, Just as even Court in the US SETTLES CASES on!

I have to leave now, but will return to take on the next falsehood of the lying lil theft!

Your post has taken on nothing

Another rant from Girliejihad.


You have provided nothing but words!
Spinning as only a liberal marxist supporter would.
Stop with the disinformation!
As a whole the entire country of Venezuela has suffered under Chavez’s heavy hand except of course himself and his cronies!
He has destroyed the middle class in Venezuela!
You speak of strip mining and forget that Chavez has stolen the wealth of Venezuela for his own uses namely the now state run and controlled slowly failing oil business!
He trumpets the little good he does to the heavens using his media machine to spin the minds of his hapless people while he gives them pennies from the billions he bilks!!

He has also taken to attempting to control the elections of other countries something you pretend to not like about US policy!
Hypocrit presenting yourself as a fair person only worrried about US law yet you only present it when it goes counter to the good of America and its assets.
You are an asshole of the largest sort.
He is turning this once fair country of Venezuela into a welfare state!
Of course welfare is all you know!

The Rejected Referendum...

... . Why is the referendum included by the theif poster of 2:46PM?

Certainly it is not Justice the Poster is after.

However, the “rejected referendum is only noteworthy due to the interferrences of the USA, in the internal affairs of another sovereign country.

The interferrences being covert acts and funding, that are against International Law. And, are acts of war as people were killed by US paid agents, in the execution of the US pLAN! to disrupt and cause a failure to a Venezuelan Referendum!

The Argument that Our Government can engage in illegal activities outside Our Border is a false claim! Our Constitution goes with Our Government wherever it Operates! And as such is Bound to the Constitution! Every Oath requires it!

The lying theif cites 'anonymous critics' to...

... . Unnamed critics say Chavez is lying about the reforms taking place in Venezuela!

Unnamed critics and weasle wording are used to attempt dicreditation of the Reforms RATHER THAN facts and data!

The weasle wording, “agressive action against the private sector”, is the distortion of the facts.

First came the Venezuelan Constitution Reform that Placed the People, all the People to be represented by the Government for everyones' benefits! Not just the benefit of the few over the rights of Other Venezuelans! The Win loose Policies were under reformation! The Private Sector was and Is being made to honor its license and responsibilities!

If they do not do so, the People have the right under the Venezuelan Constitution to appeal to their Government for the People to take over the operation of the corporation.

A far cry from Chavez confiscating for his own pleasures! And the 'agressive action' the lil poster would mislead readers with!

The poor lil anonie can't comprehend anonymous critics...

are worthy zero compared to logical argument and statements that can be checked such as the Venezuelan Constitution Allows the workers to petition their Government... !

Maybe that why he hides behind it wasn’t me mama posting!

The following Article disproves much of the Post I have been critiquing that the lil anonie posted as his other self the lil theif. And now says I have not posted sufficiently to please his lil messianic suitcase!

The article includes about 16 references that can also take apart all the anonymous critic’s claims against the Venezuelan Government. And the focus on Chavez rather than the will of the People and the Government, as determined by the New Venezuelan Constitution that is designed for the betterment of all Venezuelans rathe than simply the powerful rich barons!

The article:

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Home » Opinion & Analysis » Economy
Venezuela’s Women’s Development Bank - Creating a Caring Economy
July 15th 2008, by Kristen Walker - COHA
Venezuela’s Women’s Development Bank, abbreviated Banmujer, joins a long line of micro-credit institutions intended to alleviate poverty by encouraging small-scale entrepreneurs. What makes Banmujer unique is that it loans only to women; in fact, it is the only state-sponsored women’s micro-credit bank in the world. Since its inception on March 8, 2001, Banmujer has been commended for its successes in helping women escape poverty and in instilling a new economic model of cooperation instead of competition.

Women’s Rights in Venezuela

Over the past decade, the Venezuelan government has been consistently supportive of women’s rights. For example, the Bolivarian Constitution, adopted in 1999, uses non-sexist and gender-neutral language throughout. Instead of “all men are created equal,” as is stated in the U.S. Constitution, Venezuela’s constitution holds that “all persons are equal before the law.”1 When discussing the role of the President, it says “Presidente o Presidenta,” instead of using only the male form.

The Venezuelan Constitution also explicitly prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender: “no discrimination based on race, sex, creed, or social standing shall be permitted.” Moreover, it prohibits not only intentional discrimination, but also any actions with discriminatory effects. Gregory Wilpert, a researcher at VenezuelaAnalysis.com, commented that “what this means in practice is that public policies must be reexamined for their possible discriminatory effects. For example, if women were under-represented at public universities, the state would have to examine the causes for this and eliminate any barriers that exist that cause fewer women then men to attend the university.”2 In contrast, the U.S. Constitution has no language explicitly forbidding even intentional gender discrimination. Although a coalition of feminist groups fought to add such a provision to the Constitution, the Equal Rights Amendment narrowly failed being ratified by the necessary three quarters of the states after passing Congress in 1972.

Finally, Article 88 of Venezuela’s 1999 constitution recognizes housework as a valuable job that, like any other vocation, entitles the worker to social security benefits. This provision has substantially furthered the cause of women’s rights because it allows many women to receive social security and other protections which when in the past were denied to them. This and other provisions on women’s rights have led expertsto conclude that Venezuela’s new constitution “is now among the most progressive in the Western Hemisphere on gender issues.”3

The government’s effort to support women’s rights has not been limited to the constitution. Starting in 1998, the Law of Violence Against Women and Families increased legal penalties for domestic violence, an effort which in recent years has also included a government-sponsored television campaign and the 2007 Organic Law on the Right of Women to Live Free of Violence. Under the Chávez administration, the National Institute on Women (Inamujer) has been very active, coordinating activities such as educational workshops on reproductive rights, lobbying congress for more protection of women’s rights, and supporting women campaigning for office.4

BANMUJER: Encouraging Female Entrepreneurs

It was in this context that President Hugo Chávez launched the Women’s Development Bank on International Women’s Day in 2001. The bank, led by economist Nora Castañeda, issues micro-credit loans to small groups of women to help them start small-scale local business projects. Typical loan projects range from a cooperative farm to a craft workshop to a bakery to a hair salon. The credits average between 500,000 and 1,000,000 bolívares (US$260 to $520) and are subsidized by the government, allowing the bank to charge interest as low as 1 percent.5

Unlike most banks, Banmujer does not have regional offices but instead employs women who travel to rural communities to help develop loan proposals. Castañeda explained that this decision was made to facilitate the bank’s ability to assist poor women. She questioned, “How can the poorest indigenous women in the state of Amazonas, the southernmost state in the country, come here, if they are so poor, to ask for a credit?”6 Thus Banmujer is able to reach women with no access to typical banks.

In addition to helping develop loans, regional workers of Banmujer provide “non-financial services,” or training, to women in rural communities. The training, which is the bank’s secondary purpose after issuing credits, typically focuses on basic business principles such as teaching women how to develop an entrepreneurial idea, use the loans, and manage their business.7 Banmujer also offers workshops on broader issues such as women’s health, leadership, community organizing, and prevention of domestic violence.8 Thus far, the bank has provided training to more than 100,000 women.9

Banmujer was initially criticized for its high default rates. After its first year of operation, 41.6 percent of its loans had not been paid back, leading some analysts to conclude that the bank had failed financially.10 Yet after only two years, almost 23,000 credits had been repaid and the default rate had dropped to 26.3 percent.11 In strictly economic terms this is still far from successful, but the Women’s Development Bank is far from a traditional economic institution. Rather than measure success by profits alone, the bank prefers to focus on the progress it has made in empowering women and helping to break the cycle of poverty. In the pursuit of these goals it has indeed been successful; according to one estimate, the credits issued by the bank have created more than 260,000 jobs and assisted more than 1.3 million people.12

Combating Poverty by Working Collectively

Almost 45 percent of Venezuelans live in poverty and 70 percent of these are women, so targeting women can be an effective approach to try to reduce poverty in general.13 Banmujer’s micro-credit loans are specifically designed to reduce poverty in a sustainable manner. Castañeda explains, “If we just gave them money the women would continue to be poor, but … with debts.” Instead, the bank strives to help women form businesses that will provide them with a long-term source of income, allowing them to escape the cycle of poverty. By helping women become entrepreneurs and lead their own businesses, Banmujer actively encourages them to step outside their traditional roles and claim more respect in society.

Another of the bank’s overarching goals is to encourage women to work collectively. Although the loans are issued individually, recipients must belong to a group of five to nine women working together on a project. Men can receive loans, but only if they are in a group comprised of a majority of women; to date, women have received 96 percent of Banmujer’s loans. The groups must work collectively to develop a proposal and apply for a loan, and the ultimate goal is to encourage them to continue working collectively in the business even after the loan has been repaid.

“Creating a Caring Economy”

At the center of Banmujer’s philosophy is an economic model that is very different than the accepted version in the United States. Castañeda told VenezuelaAnalysis.com that “we are creating a caring economy, an economy at the service of human beings, not human beings at the service of the economy.”14

Perhaps what the United States so intensely dislikes about Venezuela is not so much its political system (which is, after all, democratic – Chávez won 56 percent of the popular vote in 1998, compared to Bush’s 48 percent in 2000), but rather its rejection of free-market capitalism as the ruling economic paradigm. Instead, Chavez is using programs like the Women’s Development Bank to encourage the formulation of what Castañeda terms a “popular economy.” This economy is intended to serve average people instead of large corporations by mirroring on a larger scale the cooperative work that Banmujer encourages for the groups of women with whom it collaborates.15 Just as the individual women work together to run their business or workshop, the “popular economy” promotes larger economic actors to work together, complementing each other instead of competing for resources. An article in The Guardian commented that “the mini-entrepreneurs [given loans by Banmujer] are encouraged to cooperate with other small business rather than competing with them. If one group is given money to rear chickens, another nearby will be given a loan to slaughter the chickens.”16 Thus, Banmujer uses financial and non-financial services to empower women, enabling them to overcome poverty sustainably, while also promoting Venezuela’s vision of a “popular” or “caring” economy.

1 http://www.analitica.com/bitblioteca/venezuela/constitucion_ingles.pdf
2 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/70
3 http://www.rethinkvenezuela.com/downloads/Revolutionizing%20Women’s%20Roles%20in%20
Venezuela.htm
4 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/877
5 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/918
6 http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/nc_wdb_int.html
7 http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/nc_wdb_int.html
8 http://www.banmujer.gob.ve/view/serviciosList.php?parent=3&id=7
9 http://www.banmujer.gob.ve/view/galeriaList.php
10 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/918
11 http://www.gerenciasocial.org.ve/bsocial/bs_03/bs_03_pdf_point/jueves/ba...
12 http://www.greenleft.org.au/2006/686/35614
13 http://www.ruralpovertyportal.org/english/regions/americas/ven/index.htm
14 http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/918
15 http://www.inmotionmagazine.com/global/nc_wdb_int.html
16 http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2005/mar/24/accounts.venezuela

This analysis was prepared by COHA Research Associate Kristen Walker
Source:Council on Hemispheric Affairs (COHA)

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El Presidente for life!

` ~galljdaj+;92934:
... . Unnamed critics say Chavez is lying about the reforms taking place in Venezuela!

Unnamed critics and weasle wording are used to attempt dicreditation of the Reforms RATHER THAN facts and data!

The weasle wording, “agressive action against the private sector”, is the distortion of the facts.

First came the Venezuelan Constitution Reform that Placed the People, all the People to be represented by the Government for everyones' benefits! Not just the benefit of the few over the rights of Other Venezuelans! The Win loose Policies were under reformation! The Private Sector was and Is being made to honor its license and responsibilities!

If they do not do so, the People have the right under the Venezuelan Constitution to appeal to their Government for the People to take over the operation of the corporation.

A far cry from Chavez confiscating for his own pleasures! And the 'agressive action' the lil poster would mislead readers with!

Weasel wording at it’s finest.
Explain the constant grabbing of more power!
You’re part of the goon squad.

Its already explained, your comphension is missing!

Poor boy you copied it and could not understand what you were coping!

You show no signs of reasoning abilitiy, only the same old messianic one or two word proofs is all you have shown!

Somebody says socialist and you turn it into communist killers of millions and and millions!

Go ask your mama to explain what you copied and posted at 5:56pm. Your answer is in what you copied.

After 200 yrs.....

you’d think they’d come up with better names to call each other, for that matter everyone, huh?

A thousand pardons, please, President Chavez.

They defied the U.S. and came under scrutiny over everything? Sun Tzu

Continuing the discrediting of the lil theif and liar...

... .

He tells us that foreign investment is leaving Venezuela! a WELL KNOW FACT!

Why is left to your immagination. Which is exactly what is desired, but he also wants you to misinterpret the Causes!

Is Foreign Investment a Plus or a Minus? What did all the Foreign Investment do in Venezuela for the past 50 years? Did it make the poor workers rich or poorer?

The answer of course is the investors became richer and the poor became poorer! That’s Stripminning!

So when Venezuela reformed its Constitution requiring investors to benefit all the Peoples they began to leave, because the stripminning was over!! Profits were yes! but everyone has to share!

The wealthy have an adversion to the word sharing the pie! The workers getting pie? we never heard of such a thing!

'Sidor' according to the lil theif, fact or fiction?

Below is the first of two articles containing the facts of the Sidor Corporation failure to Perform!

Article one:

Venezuelan Workers Demand Nationalization of SIDOR Steel Plant

Author:
Chris Carlson - Venezuelanalysis.com
Mérida, May 9, 2007 (venezuelanalysis.com [1])— Workers held protests outside the SIDOR steel plant in Puerto Ordaz yesterday, demanding that the government nationalize the company. Last Thursday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez had warned that he would nationalize the Argentinian-owned company if they didn’t meet the needs of domestic industry instead of exporting to foreign customers. It appears, however, that the government has reached an agreement with the company today, allowing the company to remain in private hands.

Workers belonging to the labor union of SIDOR workers gathered outside the plant yesterday, blocking traffic of a nearby road. According to an official of the labor union, workers did not allow entry to the plant starting in the early morning hours.

“As workers we are demanding a definitive answer to the situation," said Ulmaro Ramos, secretary of the union, on a local radio station. A spokesperson for the union stated that the workers are in favor of the president’s intention to nationalize the company.

“We are supporting the president’s announcement about the possibility to liberate the company which has been subjected to slavery of neo-liberal capitalism for the last 8 years," said José Meléndez, member of the union organization Alianza Sindical de Sidor. Meléndez said that when the plant was privatized there were 11,600 employees and that now there are only 5,700 workers who are “exploited and without any kind of benefits."

Another union, Unidad Matancer, of the political party Causa R demanded that the government take the nationalization even further and give the majority of the company shares to the workers of the plant.

“We are not divided and we completely agree that the president should acquire the control of this company so that it can eventually be passed on to the control of the workers," said Meléndez.

SIDOR is the largest steel plant in the Andean region with a capacity of 4.2 million tons annually. The company was state property since its formation in 1962 until 1998 when it was privatized. 60 percent of the shares were acquired by a consortium named Amazonia, made up by the Argentinean firm Techint as a majority partner, as well as the Mexican Hylsamex, the Brazilian Uniminas, and the Venezuelan company Sivensa as minority partners. The Venezuelan government retained 20 percent of the shares and the remaining 20 percent were given to the workers of the plant.

SIDOR produces wire and pipes, including the kind of pipe that the Venezuelan national industry needs, and according to company reports, 63 percent of the production is directed to the Venezuelan market and 37 percent to exports.

The government, however, maintains that they have to import the piping that they need for the oil industry from as far off as China. Chávez warned SIDOR last week that if they did not supply the domestic market with the needed products, that he would put in place a law to require them to supply all Venezuelan demand before exporting any production.

“I have made the order to call Mr. Paolo Rocca (president of Techint) and I’m going to tell him: We are going to make a law, because you have to guarantee to me first, before exporting a single ton of steel, that all the Venezuelan processing companies are supplied," said Chávez in his televised address last Thursday.

Chávez went on to say that if the president of the private company did not agree then he would nationalize the company and the state would take control of it.

It appears, however, that the Venezuelan government and the Argentinean company Techint may have come to an agreement today. According to initial reports, the company has agreed to the conditions demanded by the Venezuelan government. Those conditions include:

Lowering the prices for the domestic market between 15 and 20 percent
Switching production more toward the domestic market in order to substitute imports
Paying a higher price for the iron used in the steel plant than it receives from the state-owned company Ferrominera.
The private steel plant receives the raw material it uses in steel production from a state-owned iron mining company that has, over the last 8 years, sold iron to the private company at a subsidized rate.

The agreement with the private company should be finalized by next week when the president of the company, Paolo Rocca, is expected to travel to Caracas to sign the final document.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Source URL (retrieved on Jul 23 2008 - 19:19): http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news/2376
Links:
[1] http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/

Sidor, the Decision:

The second article deals with the Governments Decisions regarding the Confiscation of Sidor for its failure to perform as it was licensed and agreed to.

The Article:

Venezuelan Steel Nationalisation Marks “New Revolution Within Revolution”

Author:
Green Left Weekly
Source (Text):
Green Left Weekly
Source (URL):
http://www.greenleft.org.au/2008/747/38636
Denouncing the “coloniser attitude” and “barbarous exploitation” of workers by the management of the Sidor steel company, Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez announced at 1.30am on April 9 that President Hugo Chavez had decided to nationalise the company.

“This is a government that protects workers and will never take the side of a transnational company”, said Carrizalez.

The decision of the Chavez government to nationalise Sidor has begun the process of returning to state hands one of the most important steel factories of Latin America, located in the heartland of Venezuela’s industrial belt in Guayana.

Sidor was privatised in 1997, one year before Chavez was elected. The major share-holder has been an Argentinean-controlled conglomerate Techint. Since privatisation, the workforce has been slashed from around 15,000 to just over 5000 and the company has used contract labour in violation of a government decree banning the practice.

The move to re-nationalise Sidor came after more than a year of intense struggle by the Sidor workers, together with the people of Guayana, against not just Sidor management but also the policies of the local “Chavista” governor, Fransisco Rangel Gomez, and the labour minister Jose Ramon Rivero — both of whom have been accused of anti-worker actions.

Sidor workers have been in conflict with the management over the signing of a new contract, with the management refusing to meet the workers’ demands. The workers suffered repression at the hands of the National Guard and local police, including a brutal attack involving tear gas and rubber bullets on March 14 that led to three workers being hospitalised.

The move comes as part of a “second wave” of nationalisations being carried out by the Chavez government, following the recent nationalisation of Venezuela’s cement industry (nearly 40 factories), several milk producing plants and the subsequent takeover of 32 large farms. These moves are part of government efforts to recuperate control over food production and the construction industry — both of which play a crucial role in national development.

The first wave, carried out at the start of 2007, focused on the electricity, telecommunications and petroleum sectors. After his reelection in December 2006, Chavez pledged to “re-nationalise” all sectors of the economy that had been privatised by previous governments, as part of the struggle to construct socialism.

The labour movement has been electrified by the Sidor victory. In another victory, which reflects the struggle within the pro-Chavez camp between more right-wing sections and those seeking to deepen the revolution, Rivero has been replaced as labour minister, presumably due to his bad role in the Sidor dispute, as well as his public support for splitting the pro-Chavez National Union of Workers (UNT) and creating a new federation.

Below is an article on the significance of the victory by Stalin Perez Borges, who is a UNT national coordinator and a leader of the Marea Socialista (Socialist Tide, <http://mareasocialista.com> [1]) current within the UNT.

* * *

The news regarding events at Sidor continue to reverberate across the world, and will do so for some time. An extraordinary event has occurred — the re-nationalisation of the principal steel factory of Latin America. This is a new revolution within the Bolivarian revolution, which we need to deepen.

This decision by the Chavez government, justly interpreting the demand raised by the workers and people of Guyana (and won by the colossal struggle of the Sidor workers and the revolutionary people of Guyana with the support of people from across the country) changes the political conjuncture following the defeat of Chavez’s proposed constitutional reforms in the December 2 referendum.

Given that it involves the four principal countries in Latin America, it modifies the situation in the region in favour of the peoples of our America. The majority of Sidor shares were owned by a corporation comprised of capital from a range of countries including Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela. The Argentinean and Brazilian interests were closely tied to the governments of those two countries, and the Venezuelan interests were tied to key families of the Venezuelan oligarchy.

It is an event of great importance because it demonstrates, without a doubt, that the revolutionary people of Venezuela want to deepen the process. It could cause a substantial change in the revolutionary process, within which the workers have not been political protagonists of the first order. Nor has Chavez and the rest of the government, so far, wanted to give us this role.

‘The dictatorship has fallen, we are free!’

The months of determined struggle could be seen on the joyful faces of the Sidor comrades and the revolutionary workers and people of Guyana. The day after the re-nationalisation was announced, the workers shouted: “We are in democracy, the dictatorship has fallen!” and “We are free!”

The comrades did everything to secure victory, and they achieved it. They confronted brutal repression. They stayed firm and ended up going further than many expected.

The majority of Sidor workers have an immense desire to demonstrate greater efficiency in production and social service than any transnational, national or state capitalist company can provide. In the midst of their jubilation, the workers have proven capable of doubling production levels.

Waiting for the state to take over the administration of the company since April 10, workers in some of the sections started to organise into security and control committees — well before the sabotage of the old owners against the information system began. The mission of these committees is to impede the dismantlement or sabotage of equipment, control production and impede aggression by the supervisors and other bosses.

The will of the Sidor workers is to manage production and the administration of the company. They will present a written proposal for how the new Sidor should function.

Implementing the policies supported by the majority of Sidor workers would be, beyond speeches, a clear demonstration by Chavez and the government that they do want to embark on the path of socialism.

This triumph will also be reflected in the experience accumulated by the workers in an enormous fight, which will be difficult to get rid of.

What is fundamental is that the Sidor struggle has raised enthusiasm, and not only to go out and demand economic gains. It has also put the idea in the heads of workers that there are much more strategic and important political objectives to fight for — ones that can produce structural changes.

Workers have seen that it is possible to take away control of a company from a powerful transnational and that this company can be administered by its workers with good results. They have seen it is possible to change the course of the government — and even of Chavez himself — regarding some of its mistaken policies.

Role of the working class

The Sidor re-nationalisation has totally changed the situation in the workers’ movement. It has once again proven that the path to deepening the process is struggle and workers’ democracy.

Within this framework, Chavez’s speech on April 13 (to more than 300,000 supporters commemorating the sixth anniversary of the 2002 coup that briefly removed his government) has an enormous importance. We need to take up the call made by Chavez for the working class to assume its protagonist role in the Bolivarian revolution.

But a problem remained to be solved — the labour minister and all of his team could not continue to remain in the government. The minister already had to be withdrawn by Chavez from the negotiations in the Sidor conflict because it was so evident that the workers did not even want to hear Rivero speak.

For months he had pressured them to not continue raising their demands against their super-exploitation.

For a while now. he has acted in favour of the bosses and the bureaucrats, favouring the plans of the right wing within and outside the Bolivarian process. His last move was to decree a new union confederation to split the UNT.

This problem was resolved when Chavez, interpreting the sentiment of workers against Rivero, removed him from his position.

It is true that there exists a large dispersion in the union movement, but we are working to turn this around. We believe that it is possible, because we are faced with a historic opportunity for the working class, together with the Bolivarian people, to be the motor of this revolutionary process.

It is urgently needed to convoke a meeting of all the currents within the UNT and the revolution in order to begin to take firm steps towards a necessary regroupment and unification of a working class leadership — one that is democratic, pluralist, and independent of the state. Let the workers, the grassroots unions and their natural leaders be the ones who define the steps towards the reorganisation of the UNT — without excluding any current that supports the revolution.

As a first step towards this unity so yearned for by the workers and so necessary for the revolution, let’s convoke a huge united contingent to participate in the mobilisations for May Day — raising all the demands of the workers, beginning with a general wage increase so that everyone can recuperate the wages lost due to increasing inflation.

Also needed is the immediate implementation of a plan of housing construction on a mass scale, democratically worked out with the participation of the workers from the steel, cement and construction industries, together with the communities.

The mobilisation of the working class — involving the UNT, the social movements and the battalions of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) — is the only guarantee to successfully confronting the right-wing opposition, as well as the betrayal of the “endogenous right” within Chavismo.

This is the path that we all have to strive for and push towards. The struggle of the Sidor workers proves this path — and that is why they triumphed. This is one of the principal lessons of this grand struggle.


From: International News, Green Left Weekly issue #747 [2] 23 April 2008.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Source URL (retrieved on Jul 23 2008 - 19:25): http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/3371
Links:
[1] http://mareasocialista.com/
[2] http://www.greenleft.org.au/back/2008/747

Anyone trained in Logic, already knows...

... , that the lil lying name theif posted a propaganda and dysfunctional piece crap in his 2:46pm Posting.

If someone has particular item and a logical post requesting more information, I will attempt to answer it. Otherwise The lil liar theif and his anonie postings are more than sufficiently buried!

me

I am the real galljdaj, I lied,a thief,a con.
and sure love to see you steal my name and you all give my name a bloody name. Use well go ahead I rubb it and you all writing. Let the real galljdaj stand up. I am liar, a thief, a coward, a double crosser. Go ahead put me down to the dirty. By the way kick Hugo out of Venezuela, he is another Castro.

who cares??

who cares about chavez? the runt runs his mouth becuase thats all he can do. and russia?? who trusts them anyway?? the only incident in american military history that might be worse than invading iraq was helping them in WWII. we should have let Hitler crush their asses because we could have crushed him easily without them. russia wouldnt even exist today if we had let the nazis kick their asses. anytime runto chavez wants some then let him come get some of these american boots right in his big fat mouth.

Hitler

Otro megalómano (ya es suficiente antes de decir demente!!). No quiero ofeneder pero en estas latitudes hay un dicho: NO SE SABE QUE ES MAS PELIGROSO, SI UN NEGRO CON PLATA O UN INDIO CON PODER. aHÍ TENEMOS LA TERRIBLE MEZCLA.
Oil power fades away, so does his false power, then what will the future be for his hand lickers?
Run away as dirty rats.
Let SUR AMERICA govern its future and decide its ways of life and economy. We do not want a crazy negro to go artound the world dictating to others its ways to deal with we. WE DO NOT HAVE OIL BUT WE HAVE BRAINS.
TKS.

Chavez is very afraid it will be very soon the people of Venenzuela will stand up and put him away for good.He can buy all the weapons from Russia and surround him with lot of guns and radical countries like Russia and somebody will kill him for good. It is not time and time is coming soon.I am hoping it will not be a bloody one.Glory today and glory is always has ending,just like any story.United States of America is not his enemy,his enemy is himself.Chavez is his best enemy and he will step on his own bobby trap.Greed for power is not a good leader but a dangerous leader to himself and the country he is trying to lead.Never spread your own sickness to your friends and nieghbor they will kill you one day.

Are you people insane?

quote** In Sidor’s case, the company had asked for up to $4 billion in compensation; Chávez is giving it $800 million.

Everyone whines and complains that they don’t make enough money. And I know they do, everyone here in America does. Yet you people denounce these actions against these companies. I’m pretty damn sure none of you, maybe all of you combined, don’t make $800 million a year. $4 billion dollars who needs that much money? And nobody can deny the imperialist tendencies of our country. We can have a missile shield in Europe, but Russia can’t have refueling station for strategic bombers in Cuba. This would “cross the line” for the top brass.

poster 10:01pm is ...

... , and has all the traits he says he has, however why is he so cowardly to not place his name on his post? Instead he chooses to hide behind my name. hE IS OF COURSE THE LIL 'itt wasn’t me mama!' coward!

Sounds like I got your goat but good.

` ~galljdaj+;93038:
... , and has all the traits he says he has, however why is he so cowardly to not place his name on his post? Instead he chooses to hide behind my name. hE IS OF COURSE THE LIL 'itt wasn’t me mama!' coward!

Sounds like you really have no understanding of just how wtfpowned you have been.
I called you on every post and rammed your lies down your throat!

Even more classic I called you on every post and provided proof of why your wrong and all you have in return is the state run news agency controlled bought and run by Hugo Chavez!
Man your thick as a brick and as smart as one too.
Even sadder still Chavez has destroyed all news sources that had anything bad to say about him.
Classic example of why people with the thought process you provide are usually wrong.
He then uses Judicial tyrrany to amend the Constitution.
Look for another Castro in this man he will rule and run Venezuela into the ground for the next thirty years.


Chavez 'stifles Venezuelan media'

Mr Chavez denounced “manipulating media campaign”

Media attack Chavez
Private media companies from across the Americas have accused Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez of stifling press freedom in his country.

Delegates at a meeting of the Inter- American Press Association in Caracas said Mr Chavez was using intimidation to curb criticism of his government.

They cited his threats to close down one of Venezuela’s TV channels.

Meanwhile, the Venezuelan government is holding a series of events in Caracas to counter “media terrorism”.

Globovision issue

Executives at the Iapa meeting, which represents more than 1,000 publications, accused President Chavez of attacking and intimidating media outlets in Venezuela.

Nothing like a dictatorship pretending to be a Democracy.
Sorry man you support this big melon headed jackass and then denounce our own imbecile.
At least Bush has not had people jailed and murdered for speaking out against him.
Nor has he shutdown the press who have villified him from day one your big headed buddy can’t say the same thing.
The smell of sulpher proceeds Chavez everywhere he goes.

Because you lie so much, and make unsupported messianic conclusions...

... , You will need to post the Articles.

Otherwise your laying on your back peeing up in the air!

That's your credible source?

` ~galljdaj+;93113:
The following article is way above your comprehension level, however most other readers will have no trouble comparing this article to your posts, and finding your lies!

The Article:
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Miguel Angel Nuñez
“Agroecology in the Venezuelan Revolution”

October 16, 2007



Professor Miguel Angel Nuñez discusses his work on agroecology on October 16.

A Food Revolution: Agroecology in Venezuela
By Tanya Kerssen

The “Bolivarian Revolution” underway in Venezuela is “trying to build a new society without making the mistakes that the capitalist system and the socialist system made in the past. We are trying to build a participatory democracy.” So spoke Venezuelan professor of agroecology Miguel Angel Nuñez in his CLAS-sponsored talk. Indeed, Nuñez came equipped with an impressive arsenal of statistics showing a side of the Venezuelan revolutionary process that rarely makes headlines: its revolution in food and agriculture.

For Nuñez, agroecology has a key role to play in laying the groundwork for a more sustainable food system in Venezuela . The founder of the Institute for Production and Research in Tropical Agriculture (IPIAT), Nuñez has also served as an advisor on agricultural policy to the government of Hugo Chávez since 2004.

Food Sovereignty and Agroecology

Nuñez identified “food sovereignty” as the cornerstone of Venezuela ’s new sustainable development agenda. Coined by the international peasant network Via Campesina at the 1996 World Food Summit, the phrase “food sovereignty” serves as a rallying cry for family farmers, landless people and indigenous people worldwide. Via Campesina defines “food sovereignty” as the right of a people or state to define its own agriculture and food policy. The food sovereignty agenda calls for production for local consumption; a halt to the “dumping” of cheap food imports which threaten farmer livelihoods; peasant access to land, seeds, credit and water; and the rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Nuñez was careful to differentiate the concept of “food sovereignty” from mere “food security.” Food security is about having access to food, a concept which doesn’t necessarily question where food comes from, who produces it or how it is produced. In contrast, food sovereignty implies a commitment to fostering self-sufficiency through land reform, community participation, ecologically-sound methods and socially accountable research and policy agendas.

Food sovereignty also requires a “new science”, said Nuñez, an alternative to the Green Revolution that is seen as having failed in Venezuela . This new science is to be found in agroecology, which he defined as a synthesis of modern scientific knowledge and the traditional and indigenous knowledge of small farmers for the creation of sustainable food systems that meet the needs of local communities.

In contrast to the one-size-fits-all industrial model of the Green Revolution, agroecology emphasizes the social and cultural dimensions of agriculture. Instead of using purchased chemical inputs, for instance, agroecological farming employs locally-adapted techniques that maximize yields while maintaining soil fertility. Farmers in this model are seen as key partners in conserving the environment and managing biodiversity.

Nuñez’s new book La AgroecologÃ*a en la SoberanÃ*a Agroalimentaria Venezolana (Agroecology in Venezuela ’s Food and Agricultural Sovereignty), contains data compiled by IPIAT which details the transition from conventional to agroecological farming in seven Venezuelan states. In these states, all in the Northwest region, the study followed 2,267 farmers producing 169 different crops on 3,731 hectares of land (approx. 9,220 acres) using agroecological methods.

With the help of students from the Bolivarian University in Barinas, IPIAT is tracking the success of agroecology with the use of “sustainability indicators.” For example, the level of diversity in an agro-ecosystem and the nutritional content of each crop are measured; a diverse farm with crops of high nutritional value would be scored high in terms of sustainability.

Venezuela’s Path to Food Sovereignty

The transition to food sovereignty is a slow process in a country that just 10 years ago imported approximately 86 percent of its food, the result of Venezuela ’s dependence on oil revenues and a historically weak agricultural sector. But Nuñez is hopeful. In the last 10 years, he notes, that number has been reduced to about 63 percent.

He is also ambitious. By 2013, Nuñez envisions 70 percent of the country to be in a process of transition from conventional agriculture to agroecology. Of course, this will depend not only on the work of organizations like IPIAT but also upon the political will and ability of the Chávez government to implement policies that favor food sovereignty. These policies will have to include access to credit, land and extension services for small farmers; incentives for urban residents to move to the countryside; and education to create the human capital needed to carry out this agroecological revolution.

The Bolivarian constitution, adopted in December 1999 and approved by popular referendum, already contains language — in 33 separate articles — that compels the state to promote sustainable agriculture as the basis for development. Rural social movements, said Nuñez, are putting pressure on the government to enforce these constitutional pronouncements.

Nuñez is also vying for the explicit inclusion of agroecology and food sovereignty in the constitution, through the modification of Article 305 which most specifically relates to agriculture and food security. The new Article 305 would require the state to promote agroecology as the scientific and strategic basis of rural development; privilege domestically-oriented production in agriculture, livestock and fishing; and advance the necessary infrastructure, market conditions and human resources needed to guarantee food sovereignty.

Of course, there is also the pressing issue of hunger which requires immediate action. To this end, the government created Mercal, a national network of subsidized food markets, in 2002, one of a number of “missions” created to address the needs of Venezuela ’s poor, such as healthcare and education.

The more long-term solutions, however, hinge primarily on the success of one key initiative: land reform. So far, says Nuñez, three million hectares have been recovered and redistributed under Venezuela ’s land reform program, enacted in November 2001. What distinguishes Venezuela ’s land reform, and offers hope for food sovereignty, is the principle of “social productivity” in which the use of land takes precedence over formal ownership. Under such a law, idle or unproductive lands may be taxed or reallocated to a socially productive use (food production and employment) with compensation to the owner by the government at the current market price.


Professor Nuñez argued that Venezuela’s agroecology-based reforms will have a deeper impact than would pure land redistribution.

In addition to land redistribution, the government is promoting the creation of agricultural cooperatives and the provision of technical assistance, special credits, infrastructure for commercialization and education centers. In a February 19 article in the online In Motion Magazine, Nuñez noted that approximately 7,000 agricultural co-ops have been created in the last five years; 1,436,000 Venezuelan women have received credit and have organized themselves into 1,389 cooperatives and 16,421 small enterprises; and approximately 480,000 small industrial enterprises are functioning with the help of government credit.

At the grassroots level, Venezuelans are organizing and establishing community councils to pressure municipal governments and gain funding for community projects. So far, over 16,000 community councils have been established, approximately 14,500 projects are currently underway and 997 communal banks have been created to provide credit for local projects. These projects are developed by the communities themselves, with participatory oversight and budgeting. For Nuñez, this is what “participatory democracy” means.

Education plays a critical role in the advancement of food sovereignty. However, Nuñez noted, it is important to ask, what kind of education? A new university, created by the Bolivarian government in partnership with Via Campesina and the Landless Workers Movement of Brazil (MST), was established in 2005 to train students in agroecology. The Paulo Freire Latin American Institute for Agroecology, named after the Brazilian educator, promotes education, training and research that addresses the needs and technical problems faced by small farmers. In its first semester, 250 students from various Latin American countries enrolled at the university, over half of whom were women.

In the question-and-answer session, Prof. Nuñez was asked about the connection between agroecology and oil in Venezuela . He responded with one word: money. Unlike countries like Bolivia or Ecuador , Venezuela has the economic resources to make the switch to agroecology. Whether Chávez can overcome internal divisions in his government and implement the necessary policies remains to be seen. Nuñez appeared confident that social movements and local organizations will play an important role in both applying political pressure and working towards food sovereignty on the ground.

Miguel Angel Nuñez is a professor of agroecology and tropical agriculture and the founder and International Relations Coordinator of IPIAT, the Institute for Production and Research in Tropical Agriculture in Venezuela . He spoke at CLAS on October 16. Several of his articles on Agroecology and Food Sovereignty in Venezuela can be found at: www.inmotionmagazine.com.

Tanya Kerssen is a graduate student in the Latin American Studies program.


Miguel Angel Nuñez





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A leftist professor?
Get real he is bought and paid for by Chavez just like you appear to be.
Funny how all the bullshiite you post makes it through the moderators but anything I post must go through a vetting process unless I log in!
Would appear the site favors America hating leftist scumbags like you.
Hey John knock it off!

If you are so messianically sure ...

... It should be extremely easy for you to Document all or even 5 falsehoods the Article Presents!

So take the chalenge or slink back to your coward’s nest like you always have!

No more of your stupid claims! Back it up or mama won’t be happy with you.

I still see no proof!

` ~galljdaj+;93123:
... It should be extremely easy for you to Document all or even 5 falsehoods the Article Presents!

So take the chalenge or slink back to your coward’s nest like you always have!

No more of your stupid claims! Back it up or mama won’t be happy with you.

Other then your a leftist pig bought and paid for by Chavez.
Slink from what you?
Smacking you around on this board is a daily process much as I would smack you in real life.
I hope the articule is true that Venezuela is growing it’s own food that still does nothing for the FACT Hugo is a tyrrant and raping the country!
You still have no cogent point to the fact Hugo is not the next Messiah just another thug raping his country.