International
Trade
Uruguay wants to pay Venezuela for oil with
agricultural products
Uruguayan Vice President Raul Sendic met with his
Venezuelan counterpart, Jorge Arreaza, to discuss an exchange of Venezuelan oil
for rice, dairy products and poultry. The officials met on Wednesday and agreed
to implement a trade and energy program, expanding bilateral business in those areas.
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2383869&CategoryId=10717;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150416/uruguay-seeks-to-pay-oil-to-venezuela-with-food-items)
Logistics & Transport
VENECONOMY: much more than a simple dollar quota
restriction to Venezuelan travelers
The ruling issued by the National Center for Foreign
Trade (CENCOEX) imposing new requirements, amounts and restrictions to
Venezuelan travelers segregates the private banking system in the management of
foreign currency for travelers, and subjects thousands of citizens who do not
have access to the public banking system to an apartheid. (Latin American
Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2383756&CategoryId=10717)
Oil &
Energy
Oil minister meets OPEC nation ambassadors
Venezuela
said ambassadors of various OPEC countries, including Saudi Arabia met the
country's oil minister Asdrubal Chavez in
Caracas on a "courtesy visit."
The Oil Ministry claimed the group was discussing Venezuela's oil-rich Orinoco
belt with state oil company PDVSA President Eulogio del Pino and Foreign
Minister Delcy Rodriguez. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/15/venezuela-opec-idUSL2N0XC2UL20150415; El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150416/venezuelan-oil-minister-meets-with-opec-member-countries)
VENECONOMY reports rumor that PDVSA’s Chief Eulogio del Pino could have resigned as a result of disagreements with the government which
refused to pay pending debts he had promised oil workers to pay out. It was
said the new chief would be former Internal Affairs and Justice Minister Major
General Miguel Rodríguez Torres. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43526&idc=4)
PDVSA offers to buy Harvest oil assets in Venezuela
JV-source
State oil company PDVSA is reported to have offered to
buy oil and gas producer Harvest Natural Resources Inc's stake in the PETRODELTA
joint venture. Houston-based Harvest has said the government. was blocking a
sale of its stake in Petrodelta and that it is facing a cash crunch in part due
to the dispute. "The offer by PDVSA
last week was in a fair range to settle the deal taking into consideration
today's oil prices," said a source close to PDVSA, who declined to
comment on the terms of the proposal. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/14/venezuela-harvest-idUSL2N0XB1X320150414)
STATOIL considering new Oil Belt investments
STATOIL International Vice President Pal Eirheim and a
group of company executives from Brazil toured operating areas of the Orinoco
oil belt, and later spoke of the outlook they have for developing operations
there. More in Spanish: (VTV, http://www.vtv.gob.ve/articulos/2015/04/15/petrolera-noruega-statoil-evalua-nuevas-inversiones-en-la-faja-del-orinoco-9060.html; PDVSA, http://www.pdvsa.com/)
Commodities
Beef industry subsidy
now under study, private sector asks price adjustment & debt
repayment
A press release by the
Ministry for Land and Agriculture says the possibility of a special subsidy to
the beef industry to compensate costs was raised during a meeting with private
sector representatives. The private sector Venezuelan Beef Council (CONVECAR)
disagrees with the idea and are seeking a price adjustment. CONVECAR President
Otto Gómez says "the government
should pay debts of many years it owes the private sector, they owe millions of
dollars"; but the pro-government organization CONFAGAN say they are
open to the idea. More in
Spanish: (Ultimas
Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/confagan-propone-asociacion-con-agropatria.aspx;
El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/agro/divididas-opiniones-entre-productores-de-carne-ant.aspx#ixzz3XSyAYziF;
http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/agro/gobierno-estudia-subsidio-especial-para-sector-car.aspx#ixzz3XN6L8wS0;
AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/gobierno-estudia-aplicación-subsidio-al-sector-cárnico;
http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/fegaven-destaca-compromiso-del-estado-para-optimizar-producción-del-sector-cárnico,
http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/discuten-acciones-para-garantizar-distribución-insumos-precios-justos-sector-cárnico;
http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/confagan-propone-asociación-agropatria-para-adquirir-insumos-del-sector-cárnico;
El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Gobierno-estudia-subsidio-especial-carnico_0_610139079.html)
Regime orders POLAR to redirect flour to government
distribution system
Authorities here ordered POLAR to redirect 201,600
kilos of precooked corn flour to the PDVAL state agency. The company said
private supermarkets and grocery stores in low income areas will not be able to
received planned orders due to this order. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Ordenan-redireccionar-harina-PAN-Pdval_0_610139171.html)
Economy
& Finance
IMF: Venezuelan economy will contract 7% in 2015,
worst in Latin America
The International Monetary Fund's World Economic
Outlook indicates Venezuela will suffer the greatest contraction - 7% - in
Latin America during 2015 due to the collapse of oil prices. More in Spanish:
(Últimas Noticias: http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/mundo/fmi-venezuela-sufrira-mayor-contraccion-en-2015.aspx#ixzz3XN5O5Pk5)
Private sector to receive 28% less FOREX, U$ 25
billion deficit projected
Asdrúbal Oliveros, director of the ECOANALÍTICA think
tank, estimates "the cutback in
FOREX allocations to the private sector will be 28% in 2015. 9.8% in food,
78.8% in the automotive sector; 61.4% in trade; 21.6% in chemicals; 68.3% in
machinery and equipment". He says the 2015 budget deficit this year is
around US$ 25 billion. "Real
expenses increase and income falls, this is why it creates debt and seeks
financing." More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Ecoanalitica-Recorte-divisas-sector-privado_0_610139160.html)
Maduro: "We
must insist on an economy that sustains welfare plans", but sees no
oil price recovery
"We should
continue on the way to a self-propelled productive economy that sustains the
development of welfare plans," says President Nicolás Maduro on his
Twitter account @Nicolasmaduro. He also said there was no recovery in oil
prices forecast this year, stressing the country's dwindling dollar income
should be "correctly"
administered. Maduro said his socialist government's social programs would
continue even if oil prices were to sink to US$ 20 per barrel. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150416/maduro-we-must-insist-on-an-economy-that-sustains-welfare-plans; (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/14/us-venezuela-oil-idUSKBN0N503B20150414)
Price of Venezuelan bonds rises
The price of Venezuelan bonds rebounded early this
week, as oil prices rose and investors regarded as positive the measure of
reducing expenditure in foreign currency adopted recently by the Venezuelan
government.
This, added to the likely increase in the price of
gasoline aimed at saving resources, strengthens government prospects to meet
debt repayments. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150416/price-of-venezuelan-bonds-rises)
Gold Reserve targets Venezuela assets as arbitration
spat heats up
Gold Reserve Inc, a small Canadian miner that lost its
crown jewel in a 2009 expropriation, is targeting Venezuelan assets as it seeks
to collect a US$ 750 million arbitration award that would put new strains on
the cash-strapped government's finances. With higher-profile cases including
Exxon and ConocoPhillips mired in delays, a technicality in Gold Reserve's case
filing has allowed it to aggressively seek out new jurisdictions to execute its
award. Its actions could affect bondholders. Gold Reserve said it has served
various Luxembourg banks with writs of garnishment relating to around US$ 700
million in interest payments on Venezuelan bonds and funds. The company
targeted banks seen as paying or transfer agents. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/16/venezuela-arbitration-idUSL2N0XB1G420150416;
Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2383877&CategoryId=10717)
Politics and
International Affairs
Opposition demands the Elections Council correct
pro-government manipulation
The opposition coalition Democratic Unity Conference
(MUD) is demanding that the National Elections Council (CNE) rectify its
attempt to manipulate population figures in order to lower legislative
representation in heavily populated pro opposition districts and reassign seats
to sparsely areas dominated by the government party machinery. It has also
demanded they correct a move by National Assembly President Captain Diosdado
Cabello to eliminate legally mandated direct election of representatives to the
Latin American Parliament (PARLATINO) and take the election to the National
Assembly. Since 1989 and according to law here, representatives are directly
elected in a nationwide vote for party slates. Cabello and the pro government
majority at the National Assembly have changed the rule in order to have the
National Assembly, currently dominated by the government, make the selection.
MUD Secretary General Jesús Torrealba says: "This shows fear. They know the beating the people will give them (in
upcoming parliamentary elections)", in view of their 80% rejection in
recent polls. Torrealba met with CNE President Tibisay Lucena and CNE officials
and denounced the "dastardly use of
State institutions" to create advantages for the government, and
denounced manipulation of population numbers by the National Statistics
Institute. He called this "an attack
against peace, not against the opposition". The move to suppress
direct election of PARLATINO representatives has drawn widespread criticism,
even from ruling party PARLATINO representative and former Chavez cabinet
member Ana Elisa Osorio. MUD representative Ramón Guillermo Aveledo will
denounce these moves internationally. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150415/oficialismo-aprobo-que-la-an-designe-a-diputados-del-parlatino; http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150414/mud-exigio-al-cne-que-pidan-al-ine-rectificar-cifras-de-poblacion;
El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/AN-elimino-derecho-Parlatino-popular_0_610139177.html; http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/Ana-Elisa-Osorio-Parlatino-AN_0_611338925.html)
MUD sends the OAS a report on human rights in
Venezuela
The opposition coalition MUD has sent OAS Secretary
General elect Luis Almagro a report pointing to specific cases of human rights
violations against political leaders and media here. It reports the regime
harasses media such as El Nacional, El Nuevo País and La Patilla news web page
in order to instill fear and promote self censorship. It also reports political
prisoners, exiles and students under duress abroad. There are 89 political prisoners in Venezuela and 2,006 people
under parole, according to NGO Foro Penal. Forty-three out of those imprisoned
for political reasons were arrested during the protests against Nicolás
Maduro’s government in 2014 and 21 of them are students and five Twitter users.
The MUD's letter denounces the National Elections Board (CNE) for failing to
set the date for parliamentary elections and seeks international observers for
the entire process. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43519&idc=1;
and more in Spanish: El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/MUD-informe-DD-HH-OEA_0_611338924.html)
Regime announces a “thorough” review of ties with Spain; Spain calls Maduro's language
"intolerable"
The Venezuelan government will conduct an “thorough” review of its relations with
Spain, says Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez after meeting with the Spanish
envoy in Caracas. She called in Spain’s envoy a day after Maduro vowed to enact
a package of responses to a resolution from the Spanish Parliament calling for
the immediate release of several Venezuelan opposition leaders jailed on
charges of instigating anti-government violence. Venezuelan Ambassador to Spain
Mario Isea called for "respect"
for his country amidst Madrid-Caracas diplomatic tensions, were sparked off by
President Nicolás Maduro's criticism of his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy. Maduro accused
Mariano Rajoy of "racism".
The Spanish Foreign Ministry his "statements,
insults and threats" against Spain are "intolerable" and "do
not contribute to minimum agreements between governments". Rebeca
Grynspan, Iberamerican Secretary General called for dialogue to lower tensions.
More in Spanish: (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2383779&CategoryId=10717;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43520&idc=1;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150416/venezuelan-ambassador-to-spain-we-demand-respect-for-venezuela;
and more in Spanish: Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2015/04/16/grynspan-aconseja-a-venezuela-y-espana-dialogo-para-rebajar-la-tension/)
The Senates of Chile and Colombia also asked for the
release of Venezuelan political prisoners in
resolutions passed on Wednesday. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=43521&idc=1; El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150416/colombian-senate-calls-for-release-of-venezuelan-political-prisoners)
Guyana continues to seek oil in disputed area
Guyanese President Donald Ramotar visited areas under
development by ExxonMobil in the Stabroek area. Around 120 miles inside the
territory disputed by Venezuela. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150417/guyana-sigue-explorando-en-aguas-en-reclamacion).
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