International
Trade
Cargo that has arrived
at Puerto Cabello:
- 6,390 tons of chicken from Brazil
for state agency CASA
- 2,000 tons of milk powder from
Brazil for state agency CASA
- 1,548 tons of pork from Brazil
for state agency CASA
Cargo that has arrived
at Maracaibo:
- 6,000 tons of steel beams and
plate from Dominican Republic, consigned to ODEBRECHT, for works on a
second bridge over Lake Maracaibo
Cargo that has arrived
at La Guaira:
- 100,000 tons of wheat and white
corn from Mexico and Canada for government agencies
- 300 containers with medication
and basic products, such as black beans, milk and coffee, for state
agencies CASA and the "Barrio
Adentro Mission" Foundation.
- Machinery, auto parts,
galvanized wire and paper for state agencies CAVIM, INVEPAL and AGROPATRIA
Uruguay sold Venezuela 8,000 tons of powdered
milk in September,
compared to the 2,000 tons shipped in the first eight months of this year, according
to official sources. This is part of a 40,000 ton bilateral agreement.
(Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=45782&idc=3)
Oil & Energy
Venezuela says eight non-OPEC nations invited to
Vienna meeting
Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino announced that eight
non-OPEC countries have been invited to an Oct. 21 oil meeting: Azerbaijan,
Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Norway, Mexico, Oman and Russia. The technical
meeting of oil experts from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
and non-OPEC countries will be held in Vienna, he said. Venezuela will unveil a
bold new oil strategy this month. The country's long-time oil minister and
current United Nations ambassador, Rafael Ramirez, says the proposal would
reapply the old mechanism of progressive production cuts to control prices,
with a "first floor" of US$ 70 per barrel and a later target of US$ 100
per barrel. (Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/14/opec-venezuela-idUSL1N12D1SV20151014;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=45787&idc=4; El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/151013/pdvsa-president-eight-non-opec-countries-invited-to-meeting)
Economy & Finance
Maduro claims international banks are carrying out an
economic blockade against Venezuela
President Nicolás Maduro is
saying that an indirect world economic blockade is being applied against
Venezuela by international banks that "impose
unattainable conditions" in order to grant credits to this nation. More
in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/mundo-corporativo/sociales/maduro--bancos-internacionales-ejecutan-bloqueo-ec.aspx#ixzz3oXOj1l24)
2016 budget law sent to National Assembly without
statistics on growth or inflation
For the first time in history, the Finance Ministry has
sent the National Assembly its draft National Budget Law and the Indebtedness
Law for 2016 with no macroeconomic indicators, such as inflation and growth. On
orders from President Maduro, the Central Bank cannot publish data on the
National Consumer Price Index, GDP, among others. This complicates calculating
items such as salary increases or allocations to state and local government.
Data has not been published since the last quarter of 2014. More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/; Agencia Venezolana de Noticias; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/proyecto-ley-presupuesto-2016-fue-consignado-asamblea-nacional;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/151014/proxima-semana-ejecutivo-ofreceria-en-detalle-proyecto-de-presupuesto-)
Food inflation: It’s getting hard for Venezuela to
feed itself
Rampant inflation is nothing new to the Venezuelan
economy, but in a sign of how severe the situation has grown for some people
there, food prices spiked by 22.2% in August from the previous month, according
to new research. This inflation figure represents the highest August rate in 20
years, according to data from the Caracas-based workers' advocacy group CENDA.
More and more, Venezuelans are turning to the black market to get their hands
on critical goods, as the price of food in supermarkets is controlled by the
government. "A worker on minimum
wage can only afford to do grocery shopping for one week [of each month],"
said CENDA. "During the oil price boom, the Venezuelan government intervened
throughout the economy, undermining many sectors, including agriculture.
Domestic food production plummeted, requiring the country to import most of its
food," said Shannon O'Neil, senior fellow for Latin America Studies at
the Council on Foreign Relations. "Now,
with oil prices down, the government is running out of dollars, forcing it to
severely limit imports, including food and other basic necessities...With
little on the shelves, people are desperate, driving up prices of the goods
they can find," said O'Neil. "Shortages
will only get worse, as oil prices are likely to remain low and the country's
debt grows." (CNBC: http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/13/food-inflation-its-getting-hard-for-venezuela-to-feed-itself.html)
Venezuela has granted Nicaragua over US$ 4.2 billion
since 2008
Nicaragua's Central Bank reports that nation has
received US$ 4.251 billion from Venezuela since 2008 through the first semester
of 2015: US$ 3.396 billion in loans from PDVSA; US$ 775 million in investment
projects, mainly in energy, and the remainder are donations. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/151014/venezuela-dio-mas-de-4200-millones-a-nicaragua-desde-2008)
Politics and International Affairs
Opposition will not adhere to agreement on elections
proposed by regime and Elections Council
The opposition Democratic
Unity Conference (MUD) says the government's insistence on an agreement to
abide by election results is just one more campaign ploy designed to distract
attention from poll results. Vicente Bello, the MUD representative to the
Elections Council (CNE) said the problem is not the delivery of results but the
lack of equal conditions for the campaign. He responded to CNE chair Tibisay
Lucena's charges of a campaign to discredit the institution, saying: "What discredits the CNE is that it violates
the law by refusing to call for direct elections to the Latin American
Parliament (PARLATINO), that it violates the constitution by allowing
candidates to campaign with government funds". (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
CNE director clarifies that signing the elections
agreement is not mandatory
The sole member of the five member National Elections
Council who is not pro regime, Luis Emilio Rondón, says signing an agreement on
election results is a "voluntary
action" and not mandatory. He added that what is mandatory is to not
carry out actions which imply an unfair advantage, such as "the use of public resources to benefit any
political organization or candidacy" (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
UNASUR's Samper supports agreement on election results
Ernesto Samper, Secretary General of the Union of
South American Nations (UNASUR), has come out in support of the proposal by the
ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) for all political parties
participating in the parliament vote to be held next December 6 to sign a pact to
commit to respect the election results. The directorate of the National
Electoral Council (CNE) approved the implementation of the pact proposed by the
PSUV. (El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/unasur-advocates-pact-to-respect-election-results-in-venezuela)
Communist Party demands that MUD must abide by results
Venezuela's pro-government Communist Party has
challenged the opposition to accept a call by the National Elections Council to sign an agreement on accepting
election results on December 6th. At the same time government party leader and
legislator Darío Vivas says "they
will not sign because they are working toward sabotage, violence and conflict
within the country". More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Maduro says he will not accept violence during
December 6th elections
President Nicolás Maduro says peace will prevail
during the upcoming December 6th parliamentary elections and that he will not
tolerate any type of violence in the aftermath. "I will not accept a single sign of disregard or violence against the
elections arbiter or against the people", he says. More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/maduro-asegura-que-no-aceptara-violencia-el-6d.aspx#ixzz3oXHtwYPa)
Capriles denounces grenade attacks against Miranda state
police
Opposition leader and Miranda state governor Henrique
Capriles says three Miranda state police members were victims of grenades (that
are legally under military controls) thrown by criminals. "Venezuelans demand that the Defense Minister
be held accountable to explain why this type of material, which is exclusively
controlled by the Armed Forces, is in the hands of criminals", he
said. He charged that grenades are sold on the black market for about US$ 100
at the unofficial exchange rate. "Who
is behind this racket? Major General Vladimir Padrino, you must face the nation
and say what you will do to stop this from happening", he added. More
in Spanish: (Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2015/10/14/capriles-denuncia-ataque-con-granadas-contra-policias-a-su-mando/)
Leopoldo López to appeal sentence, family meets with
the Pope
Counsel for imprisoned opposition leader Leopoldo
López says he will appeal the sentence that condemned him to almost 14 years in
jail "for exercising the art of the
word" and will ask that the case be reviewed "without political influences".
"The sentence must be revoked and Leopoldo must be set free", says
lawyer Juan Carlos Gutiérrez. The appeal needs to be accepted by a Caracas
court. At the same time, his wife and parents held a brief meeting with Pope
Francis in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, and delivered to him a letter
written by López from his prison cell. His wife, Lilian Tintori, said that in
this second meeting she has had with the Pope she spoke for 78 political
prisoners, and of the need for transparency in upcoming parliamentary
elections. "I'm watching for this issue and I pray for him," said Pope
Francis, according to Tintori. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/relatives-deliver-leopoldo-lopezs-letter-to-the-pope;
and more in Spanish: Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2015/10/14/lopez-apelara-sentencia-que-le-condena-por-el-arte-de-la-palabra/;
(El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/familia-de-leopoldo-lopez-entrego-al-papa-carta-del-dirigente)
Ledezma' wife calls on Supreme Tribunal to respect UN
decision and free the mayor
The wife of jailed Caracas Metropolitan Mayor Antonio
Ledezma, Mitzi Capriles, is asking Venezuela's Supreme Tribunal to comply with
a resolution by the UN's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, which has termed
his arrest "arbitrary". She added that the resolution establishes
that international standards on the right to an impartial trial have been
violated. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/piden-al-tsj-acatar-mandato-de-la-onu-y-liberar-a-ledezma; El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/)
Maduro says 1966 Geneva Agreement will be reactivated
in Guyana border dispute
President Nicolás Maduro met with the UN Commission on
the Guyana Essequibo border dispute and said "the time has come to solve this matter...through peaceful diplomacy".
More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/reactivaran-acuerdo-de-ginebra-en-disputa-territor.aspx#ixzz3od1xVqm3;
Agencia Venezolana de Noticias; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/diplomacia-paz-y-acuerdo-ginebra-se-avanzar%C3%A1-soluci%C3%B3n-hist%C3%B3rica-diferendo-guyana;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/maduro-hemos-logrado-que-acuerdo-de-ginebra-sea-reactivado)
Maduro and Bolivia's Morales call for ALBA to support
Brazil's Rousseff
President Nicolás Maduro says nations within the ALBA
alliance will reject recent attacks on Brazilian President Dilma
Rousseff. "Both Evo Morales and
I have expressed our concern and will begin consultations because it appears
that a coup d'etat is being announced in Brazil against President Dilma
Rousseff...we will not remain silent...we will speak out loud and clear in
support of the popular forces and the people of Brazil", he said. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151014/maduro-y-morales-impulsan-consulta-en-apoyo-a-rousseff)
The following brief is a synthesis of the news
as reported by a variety of media sources. As such, the views and opinions
expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Duarte Vivas & Asociados and
The Selinger Group.
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