Oil war against Russia and Venezuela

Maduro explained yesterday that the collapse of oil prices in the last months is not caused by market forces but it is instead part of an economic war waged by the Empire against Russia and Venezuela.

“We are in an economic war,” insisted Maduro, “nobody should fool himself about it. The bourgeoisie, together with its imperial allies, have decided to destroy the Bolivarian Revolution through and economic war.”

The Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN) reports that: “President Nicolás Maduro warned of the economic war lead by the North-American Empire against the oil market that seeks to end Russia, which has become a power of peace, and [this economic war] ‘also wants to destroy Venezuela.’”

“There is an oil war and it has one objective,” further explained Maduro,” to collapse Russia, destroy Russia, and it also will try to destroy Venezuela.”

“This is a planned war that wants to re-colonialize Venezuela, trough actions for the destruction of our independence and our revolution by fomenting the economic collapse. The Venezuelan oligarchic right is also conspiring with those plans,” said Maduro.

He also included as part of the plot the “undermining of the institutionally of the country, by blocking the designation of new authorities of Public Powers [in Congress].”

As evidence of his claims of an “oil war” conspiracy, Maduro reminded that “the attack against oil producing countries has been a recurrent strategy by the United States, as has been demonstrated during the economic sabotage of Venezuela in 2002, the military invasion of Iraq in 2003, and of Libya in 2011.”

(Image AVN)

Acuerdos Secretos

The final days of the year 2014 have seen the polemical selection of authorities to the Citizen’s Power, the Electoral Power, and 15 judges to Venezuela’s highest court (TSJ). The Constitution stablishes those selections to be made by a qualified two thirds majority vote in Congress, however the government has managed to reinterpret the Constitution and the authorities have been selected by the simple majority vote of the pro-government parties (The electoral authorities were named by the TSJ after the congress failed to reach an agreement in three attempts).

The most radical opponents have taken to twitter to denounce a “secret agreement” between the opposition coalition Mesa de la Unidad (MUD) and the government for the selection of the authorities (See retweets by @PacoDeMiranda).

What the MUD stand to win from the supposed agreement is not made clear, but the most radical wing to the opposition has often argued that the MUD is in cahoots with the government, calling the MUD the “official opposition” and “collaborationists”.

A recurrent theme of these radical opponents is their frustration with what they consider to be Capriles and the MUD’s lack of courage to defend a supposed victory over Maduro in the April 2013 presidential election, which they claim was fraudulently stolen by the Electoral Council, possibly conspiring with the MUD. Evidence of this conspiracy would be the “willingness” of the MUD leaders to sit with Maduro in the failed negotiation round tables last year.

They therefore distrust both government and MUD and actively call on the opposition followers to abstain from future elections and to “take to the streets” [calle y más calle] until the government falls.

For example listen to this audio presentation by Dr. Ludwig Moreno on the ongoing “electoral fraud”.

And here are some tweets from these past days:

DICTADURA! ot_port @ot_port · 

Yo si soy anti-MUD y X lo tanto ANTI-CASTRO-CHAVISTA-MADURISTA alla los guiseros

elson Albornoz @NelsonJAF 

Realmente la MUD cree que la salida de este desastre es a través de las eleciones parlamentarias? Seguiremos esperando el tiempo de Dios...

Alberto Barradas @Psicovivir · 

Me opongo al gobierno, me opongo a la MUD y me opongo a cualquier elemento político que continúe con el mismo sistema que tenemos

Francisco Acosta F @franacfra 

Debemos estar claros:Oposición esta mas unida q nunca en el objetivo d derrocar al regimen, aquellos q hablan de elecciones NO son oposición

Carolina @carola2hope 

No es que la MUD sea inútil, la MUD fue, es, y será útil al castrocomunismo en la exVzla.

GISELA MATAMOROS G. @GiselaMatamoros 

Votar por Capriles es votar por el PSUV

ElObservadorBinario‏@ObservadBinario

¿Cómo hago para hacer entender a un montón de gente que YO NO SOY DE LA MUD... Creo que son tan co-responsables de la crisis como la PSUV...

Miguel Ángel Román @Cafeynoticias 

¿Se acuerdan de los que defendían el diálogo? Ahí tienen su pacto pues con el Gobierno. Sigamos esperando el tiempo de Dios

Conspiracy Season’s Greetings

President Maduro celebrated Christmas Eve in Miraflores Palace with the “Committee of Victims of the Guarimbas and Ongoing Coup.” According to the Agencia Venezolana de Noticias (AVN) the Committee represents the families of the 43 dead and 800 injured during the opposition protests in 2014.

AVN insists in its report that all the deaths and injured are attributable to the “terrorist actions organized by right-wing political parties as part of a plan for a coup d’état.” No mention is made in the AVN note about the government’s repression during the protests, or about the documented responsibility of police and pro-government groups in at least some of the casualties.

Instead, Maduro stressed that “during this year our Fatherland was capable [of resisting] those who wanted to destroy it and, even if we are suffering from some wounds, our Fatherland continues to move forward.”

In his Christmas message Maduro again congratulated himself that the year 2014 had ended peacefully “in spite of the guarimbas, the terrorist actions organized by rightist sectors as part of the plans for a coup d’état that left 43 dead and 800 injured.”

(Image AVN)

Conspiracy theories are only for Venezuelans

A notable absence in Diosdado Cabello’s recent Op-Ed for the New York Times is conspiracy theories. In the article the opposition is indirectly blamed for the deaths caused by the protests that began in February, and Cabello sais that the Venezuelan government “responded with restrain, allowing those violent demonstrators to go on for several months.”

However no mention is made by Cabello of his claims repeated weekly in his TV show “Con el Mazo Dando”: the protests were caused by paid mercenaries, organized by NGOs financed by The Empire, opposition leaders, and CIA agents. There is no mention of magnicidio plans by opposition leaders to kill him or president Maduro, and no mention of an Economic War waged by the Empire. It seems conspiracy theories are only for internal Venezuelan consumption.

Compare Cabello’s article with this note published by the Agencia Venezolana de Noticias reporting on his claims made the day after the Op-Ed was published:

Caracas, 18 Dic. AVN.- Miembros de un conjunto de organizaciones no gubernamentales (ONG) en Venezuela, con financiamiento del imperialismo, sostuvieron una reunión en Nueva York, Estados Unidos, el pasado 1º de diciembre, donde evaluaron las acciones de desestabilización para 2015, entre ellas, retomar las guarimbas en los meses enero y febrero, advirtió este miércoles el primer vicepresidente del Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (Psuv), Diosdado Cabello.

Durante su programa semanal Con el Mazo Dando, transmitido por Venezolana de Televisión, Cabello precisó que la reunión se efectuó en la sede de la Human Right Watch (HRW), en Nueva York, y participaron Marcos Ponce, representante del Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social; Rocío San Miguel, de Control Ciudadano, y Carlos Nieto, de Una Ventana por la Libertad.

"Comenzaron la reunión con los temas de siempre: crisis económica, rol de los militares en la Fuerza Armada Nacional Bolivariana (Fanb), en la sociedad y el gobierno, cerco comunicacional y rol de los medios de comunicación", comentó Cabello.

Entre los escenarios que prevén propiciar en 2015, a fin de retomar las acciones violentas perpetradas durante el primer semestre de 2014 y que dejaron un saldo de 43 personas fallecidas, los representantes de las ONG mencionaron la promoción de la supuesta "represión y violación de los derechos humanos, rol de los partidos políticos, persecución de Nicolás Maduro a defensores de los derechos humanos, elecciones parlamentarias 2015".

Los participantes en la reunión también acordaron que Marcos Ponce se encargará en 2015 de organizar a los sindicalistas de la Corporación Venezolana de Guayana (CVG), "para que protesten, sean factores del aumento del conflicto y paralicen el resto de las industrias básicas". Asimismo, Carlos Nieto, a la par de las protestas, "comenzará y promoverá el conflicto en los penales del país".

En el encuentro se refirieron a sectores que usan su vinculación con el ambiente universitario para generar violencia como factores para esta nueva etapa; sin embargo, uno de los participantes en la reunión indicó que están divididos entre el grupo que apoya a Leopoldo López, preso por los hechos del 12 de febrero, y los que apoyan a Henrique Capriles.

Apuestan por la violencia

Cabello también indicó que no es casualidad que la rectora de la Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV), Cecilia García Arocha, programara las elecciones de la Federación de Centros Universitarios para el 30 de enero, "pues se esperan conflictos internos entre los grupos de estudiantes", escenario que atizaría la violencia.

Según lo planteado en Nueva York, una vez que se origine el conflicto, será el presidente de la Asociación de Profesores de la UCV, Víctor Márquez, quien paralice la actividad docente.

Cabello también denunció la utilización de la asociación civil Transparencia Venezuela como instancia para limpiar la imagen de instituciones gobernadas por la derecha, a través de la entrega de reconocimientos de premios como el mejor índice de transparencia de las gobernaciones y alcaldías.

Explicó que el principal criterio de evaluación de Transparencia Venezuela para otorgar tal reconocimiento es proporcional al que más recursos ofrece. En este sentido, precisó que el jurado evaluador está integrado por el consejo directivo de la asociación, que a su vez lo integran representantes de Fedecámaras, periodistas y empresarios, y los miembros corporativos de la asociación son la Cámara venezolana de la Construcción, Consecomercio, Venezuela Competitiva, Venancham, y ONG vinculadas a la derecha.

También detalló que la directora de la ONG es María Freitas Sánchez, a quien se le atribuyen 10 viajes a Estados Unidos durante este año. Ella es la responsable de la cuenta bancaria de Transparencia Venezuela, que posee un monto de 3 millones 437.420 bolívares, con transferencias de Estados Unidos por 2 millones 917.193 bolívares.

Freitas tiene vinculaciones con Henrique Capriles, David Smolansky, María Machado, Freddy Guevara, entre otros miembros de la derecha venezolana.

Cabello, además, informó que Gabriela Arellano, de Voluntad Popular, planea convocar a una movilización cursantes de la Universidad de los Andes (ULA) de Táchira, Mérida y sumarse a los de Caracas para acudir al Ministerio Público, donde planean propiciar un escenario de violencia.

Añadió que Vilca Fernández y su Movimiento de Liberación de Los Andes prepara una nueva fase de violencia, con una operación que se iniciaría en horas de la noche con quema de basura en las calles, "aunado a ataques en las redes sociales con las siguientes etiquetas: #NicolásHemosVuelto #DiosdadoHemosVuelto", entre otras.

MUD resquebrajada

El vicepresidente del PSUV señaló que los miembros de la llamada Mesa de la Unidad (MUD) continúan en disputa por aspiraciones y protagonismo.

Indicó que Henrique Capriles desestima las aspiraciones de Leopoldo López, María Machado, Antonio Ledezma y el pacto de partidos entre Un Nuevo Tiempo y Avanzada Progresista, pues se reunió con Pablo Pérez, "quien frecuentemente visita la sede de Primero justicia, ya quiere abandonar UNT y lo esperan con la camisa amarilla".

Apuntó que Capriles también considera que el gobernador de Lara, Henri Falcón, los ha traicionado y que el acuerdo de este con el partido UNT "fue una simple operación comercial, en la que las (elecciones) parlamentarias serán el preámbulo para la candidatura presidencial de Falcón".

Por su parte, se conoció que después de la imputación del Ministerio Público en contra de María Machado, por presuntas implicaciones en el plan de magnicidio contra el presidente Maduro, ella decidió reimpulsar su imagen. Para ello, se reunió con el profesor Rafael Gerardo Villegas y llamó a su asesor Carlos Blanco, quien viajó el pasado 12 de diciembre desde Estados Unidos.

Ambos se reunieron a su vez con Luis Miquelena, acordando las estrategias para impulsar la imagen de Machado; en ese sentido, le recomendaron dejar a un lado las asambleas de ciudadano, porque no han tenido aceptación, y mantener lejanía con Voluntad Popular, para evitar vinculaciones.

 AVN 18/12/2014 00:57

Hausmann and Naim responsible for “financial blockade”

Nicolás Maduro announced that economist Ricardo Hausmann and political analyst Moisés Naim are lobbying credit rating agencies against Venezuela and thus preventing the country from having access to new credits.

“The aim of these traitors to the Fatherland, these technocrats that were expelled from the country by the revolutionary landslide led by Chávez, is to make [the rating agencies] qualify Venezuela as a high risk country, they go around the world trying to discredit the nation,” claimed Maduro.

He also announced the establishment of a new “Economic War High Command” under the direct control of the president.  

Magnicidio attempt against Maduro in Ecuador

“During the UNASUR meeting we received the information, [including] name and bank account, and how much they paid him, of a sicario who was sent from Central America in an operation against me in Ecuador,” declared Maduro today.

According to El Universal, Maduro said that he had immediately informed Ecuador´s president Rafael Correa of the threat, so that security could be “reinforced.”

According to Maduro, the sicario sent to assassinate him had arrived in Ecuador the day before, but added that “we are looking for him in Venezuela, and Ecuador´s authorities already have the information.”

A Brief History of Two Years of Conspiracy Theories

President Maduro yesterday made a detailed chronology of what he called the “six battles imposed by the oligarchy and heroically faced by the Venezuelan people I the last two years.”

Maduro’s narration is a complete revision of the events country’s recent history read as the result of a permanent plot by its enemies. No evidence has ever been provided by the Venezuelan government for any of these plots, but they are now part of the official discourse and accepted as facts by State media.

The first of the battles mentioned by Maduro was fought in the period between Chávez’s last public appearance on 8 December 2012, and his death on 5 March 2013.  This first offensive by the oligarchy was based, according to Maduro, on a “campaign of hatred and immorality” aimed at sowing divisions in the “revolutionary forces.”

The second test to the Venezuelan people includes the period between 5 March, and 14 April, when Maduro narrowly defeated opposition candidate Capriles Radonsky in the presidential elections.

The third battle came after the opposition refused to acknowledge defeat on that election: “The third test began in April 14 and went on until the middle of May, [the opposition] failed to recognize the results, [they started] a violent insurrection in the country, and we defeated them, it was an insurrectional attempt with guarimbas [street barricades], which unfortunately provoked 11 deaths and more than 80 people injured.” Then, continues Maduro, “came the war against the electric system, the economic war, and even a magnicidio [assassination of the head of state] attempt through hired para-militaries who were arrested by the intelligence agencies of the country.”

The fourth battle was the election of city majors and municipal councils held in December 8, 2013.

The fifth battle started with the opposition protests of February 2014 and continued until June. It was one of the most violent and harmful test to the country, said Maduro: “[it was] a violent insurrection, included in a continuous coup d’état plot, and a deepening of the economic war.” Maduro again blamed the opposition for the 44 deaths resulting from the protests. The Agencia Venezolana de Noticias adds in its report that the protests were part of a “terrorist plan” by the opposition. “We were all for dialogue, for work, for the union of Venezuela, but they had another card up their sleeve: ‘Made in USA’, because all this plot was brewed in the United States, against our fatherland, and they [the USA] put a lot of money into it,” further explained Maduro. The plot also had “spinoffs” in the assassinations of chavista leaders Eliécer Otaiza and Robert Serra.

The sixth and final battle is the current increased offensive of the “economic war,” which is based on an “induced” inflation manufactured by the national and international bourgeoisie. Also part of this plot is an attack by the opposition on the foods and services distribution systems. Fortunately, says AVN, “the state has reactivated many of these structures in its thriving struggle against the powerful business sectors that dominate the market, in order to supply the population (…), without regard to social class of political affiliation.”  

More on the Financial Blockade

Yesterday president Maduro again insisted that Venezuela is suffering a “financial blockade” by world markets.

“We have a financial blockade against Venezuela to block our access to the funds we need to overcome the decrease of oil revenues,” the president told supporters at the closing of the First Congress of Social Movements of the Great Patriotic Pole.

According to the Agencia Venezolana de Noticias,  Maduro explained that “the mechanism of the blockade consists in the increase of the risk assessments of Venezuela by world market qualifying agencies, with the aim of obstructing the country’s access to foreign currency.”

Maduro complained that Venezuela is being asked to pay higher interest rates than countries “that are at war or suffering from the scourge of Ebola. (…) They want us to pay 35% when other countries pay 6%.”

The president also denied the existence of a black market dollar, instead he claimed that it is part of an “economic war” waged against Venezuela by “the right”: “the parallel dollar doesn’t exist in Venezuela’s economic reality, they want to impose it on us an instrument of the financial, monetary, psychological, and political war,” declared Maduro.

International Financial World Blockade against Venezuela

In an interview in Telesur yesterday, president Maduro warned of “an international plan to finish off Venezuela.” 

According to Maduro, the economic crisis the country is facing is not due to the government’s policies, but to “an imperialist plan to destroy the Bolivarian Revolution.”

These “difficulties [faced] by Venezuela come not from natural causes, they are [designed] to generate social irritation (…) the collapse of an independent Venezuela in the twenty first century. (…) They respond to imperialist sectors that think they can do to us what they did to Allende,” explained Maduro.

The imperialist plot against Venezuela would include, according to the president, an “international financial blockade” of the country.

Maduro sees evidence of this plan in the fact that “international risk evaluation agencies are putting Venezuela as one of the riskiest countries in the world.” This, said Maduro, “does not respond to economic financial logic, instead it responds to a strategy.”  As a result of the strategy “Venezuela today is facing impossible conditions to access credit lines.”

Maduro also informed that his government is in the process of revising relations with the United States because, he explained, interventionism by the US embassy in Caracas is “becoming intolerable.”

“I am evaluating our relations with the United States. (…) At the right time, I will justly explain to our Fatherland the actions I am being forced to take to defend the dignity, the peace, and the Constitution. (…) I have plenty of information of the interventionism by the United States embassy. (…) They [the US] are trapped by their failed policy of trying to destabilize Venezuela and of keeping operators in the political and financial areas, moving around and doing things against the Venezuelan Government, this is all regrettable,” lamented Maduro.

(Image Telesur)

Economic War will be defeated in 2015 with conucos

President Maduro explained yesterday that the economic war he claims is being waged against Venezuela by the opposition will continue in 2015. But he also claimed that next year his government will launch a “demolishing offensive” that will “defeat the economic war promoted by the Venezuelan right.”

“We have so far managed to neutralize some elements of the economic war, but in 2015 we have to put all our bets [jugar completicas] in getting rid of these apátridas (without fatherland, the opposition) and in making our country an articulated and productive country and a new economy,” declared Maduro.

To achieve this victory in the Economic War, Maduro proposed that the new productive economy should be based in the proliferations and industrialization of the conuco (traditional subsistence farms): “One, conuco, two conucos, three… until we reach the agro-industrial and exporting [levels].”

(Image AVN)

Maria Corina Machado charged with conspiracy

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has formally heard charges of “conspiracy to destroy the republican way of politics” from the Prosecutor’s office today. Her lawyer, Tomás Arias says that the charges do not mention magnicidio (attempt to kill the head of state), but that Machado could face a prison sentence of 8 to 16 years for conspiracy.

El Nacional has a good summary of the case up to today.

Caracas Chronicles has a live blog of today’s events. 

US sanctions?

Why are US sanctions on Venezuela, even targeted sanctions, a bad idea? David Smilde answers: it has to do a lot with conspiracy theories.