Economic, psychological, and political wars explained yesterday by Maduro

No real new economic measures were announced yesterday by President Maduro, and it is unlikely any real measures will be taken by the government before the December 8 municipal elections.

Instead Maduro devoted his national cadena yesterday to lecture on his conspiracy interpretation the economic crisis: Venezuela is in the process of transition to socialism and if this transition is not working perfectly it is because it is being attacked by wreakers and saboteurs. The economic problems Venezuela is facing are not imputable to the government, but according to Maduro to “external factors that disturb the economy.”

In order to protect the Venezuelan People from “speculation by the parasitic bourgeoisie and the mechanisms they have created to loot the People,” Maduro will initiate an economic offensive which he characterized as “a great military civic operation that will extend all over the Fatherland, because we are going to reach the deepest levels of the productive, distributive, and commercial chains of the country.” He added that the government needed to more closely monitor the “system of price fixing that is being fed by disturbing and conspiratorial speculative mechanisms.” The fixed exchange rate for the Bolivar will also continue, but Maduro announced yet another bureaucratic agency, the National Center of Foreign Commerce, to better control the other agencies in charge of currency exchange controls (CADIVI, SICAD, BANCOEX).

Maduro also gave specific as to who are the agents that are sabotaging the transition to socialism. Roughly, the conspirators can be grouped according to the role they play in the total war that is being waged against the Fatherland:

The Economic War: Those responsible for this aspect of the war have been mentioned before by the government, they are the business owner's unions FEDECAMARAS and VENANCHAM: “they act under cover, (the strategy) is not to show their faces, (…) so that the people, and this is how they have planned it, will blame the government and the State, so they can produce breakdowns, chaos, and insurrections,” explained the President. As important economic saboteurs Maduro also mentioned web pages that report the price of the parallel dollar, which he claims are controlled from Miami and “make up” a fictitious exchange rate, and web pages devoted to product sales in Venezuela, which he claims are fueling speculation.

The Political War: Maduro referred to what he calls “the trilogy of evil”, opposition leaders Maria Corina Machado, Leopoldo López, and Herique Capriles Radonski, as the main agents the war aimed at “generating crisis situation in the streets.” They are under the direct orders of the United States government, but receive their instructions via Colombia from ex-president Uribe Velez.

The Psychologic War: Basically the private media (both local and international) is behind this aspect of the war. Maduro specifically mentioned three local newspapers: 2001, El Nuevo País, and El Universal, and accused them of reporting false scarcity levels and shortages of goods.

As evidence of this wide ranging grand conspiracy against the Venezuelan transition to socialism, Maduro quoted from a document reportedly uncovered by pro-government analyst Eva Golinger (author of “The Chávez Code”) called the “The Venezuelan Strategic Plan”. The plan is said to have been signed by representatives of several groups linked to Álvaro Uribe Velez and to US agencies, such as USAID. Maduro read from the plan the following supposed tasks the conspirators had to accomplish in a period of 185 days:

To Stir up Venezuelans with a “fresh” confrontationist discourse.

To maintain and increase the sabotage actions that affect basic services, especially those related to electricity.

ToGenerate a crisis situation on the streets so as to facilitate North American intervention.

To extend and image of a crisis among international media.

To Increase the financial funds of the Venezuelan opposition so it can win at least 55% of the municipalities in the (December 8) elections.

To contact active and retired generals of the Armed Forces so as to affect the prestige of the government.

After reading the document Maduro ended his address with a rally call to the Venezuelan People: “Alert! compañeros, everyone on the maximum state of alert! Maximum moral and spiritual force! Maximum discipline, subordination and union of the People in the fundamental tasks of peace! Maximum Union!”