International Trade
Cargo that has arrived at Puerto Cabello:
- 5,418 tons of chicken from Brazil for state agency Corporación de Alimentos y Servicios Agrícolas (CASA)
- 3,049 tons of pork from Brazil
for CASA
- 2,700 tons of powdered milk
from Brazil for CASA
- 103 tractors from Brazil for state agency Fondo para el Desarrollo Agrario Socialista (FONDAS)
- 6,252 packages of steel
structures (rollers and steel pipes) from China for state agency Corporación
Socialista de Cemento (CSC)
Cargo that has arrived at Maracaibo:
- 30,000 tons of wheat from
México for CASA
Imports from Argentina rose 1310.4% in 10 years, from US$
141.8 million to around US$ 2 billion, according to the National Statistics
Institute. The time period coincides with the Kirchner era in Argentina.
Venezuela is now that among that nations' 5 key markets. More in Spanish: (El Nacional; http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Importaciones-Argentina-aumentaron-anos_0_743925808.html)
310 of domestic products have been exported from La
Guaira port, including wood, plastics, cocoa, coal and recycled oil, according
to a press release from the Aquatic and Air Transport Ministry. The release
also says 109 containers of food, medicine and basic products were brought in
from Colombia and Panama, including cooking oil, corn, wheat, rice, beans,
toilet paper, soap and other basic needs. More in Spanish: (El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/mercados/exportan-310-contenedores-de-mercancia-nacional.aspx#ixzz3sOxsAn9a; Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/economia/venezuela-exporto-contenedores-con-mercancia-nacio.aspx)
Oil &
Energy
Venezuela sees crude
in mid-US$ 20s if OPEC doesn't act
Oil prices may drop to as low as the mid-US$20s
a barrel unless OPEC takes action to stabilize the market, SAYS Venezuelan
Oil Minister Eulogio Del Pino. Venezuela is urging the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries to adopt an “equilibrium
price” that covers the cost of new investment in production capacity, Del
Pino told reporters Sunday in Tehran. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are
considering his country’s proposal for an equilibrium price at US$ 88 a barrel,
he said. OPEC ministers plan to meet on Dec. 4 to assess the producer group’s
output policy amid a global supply glut that has pushed down crude prices by 45%
in the last 12 months. OPEC supplies about 40% of the world’s production and
has exceeded its official output ceiling of 30 million barrels a day for 17
months as it defends its share of the market. “We cannot allow that the market continue controlling the price,”
Del Pino said. “The principles of OPEC
were to act on the price of the crude oil, and we need to go back to the
principles of OPEC.” (Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-11-22/venezuela-sees-crude-in-mid-20s-if-opec-doesn-t-take-action;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=46286&idc=4)
Venezuela oil price
crashes to lowest level since 2009
Venezuela's weekly oil basket crashed to a new
low for 2015 as oil prices around the world declined on vastly oversupplied
markets. According to figures released by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum,
the average price of Venezuelan crude sold by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.
(PDVSA) during the week ending November 20 was US$ 34.46, down US$ 2.87 from
the previous week's US$ 37.23. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2400491&CategoryId=10717)
Maduro calls on GECF
to set “fair prices, stable markets”
President Nicolas Maduro has called on the Gas
Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) meeting in Tehran to work to set “fair prices and stable markets” for gas.
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2400541&CategoryId=10717;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/151123/venezuelas-maduro-stresses-govt-work-on-gas-recovery;
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/151123/meetings-with-iran-russia-before-gas-summit;
Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=46297&idc=4)
Fifteen to 20 tankers transporting millions of
barrels of crude oil and
by-products ordered by PDVSA have been anchored off the coasts of Aruba,
Curacao and Paraguaná due to lack of payments of the state oil company. Some of
those tankers have been anchored off shore for up to 45 days waiting for
pending debt payments before docking in Venezuelan oil facilities. (Veneconomy,
http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=46296&idc=4)
PETROCARIBE is currently discussing its second
commercial stage in
which it will deepen integration via new financing mechanisms, as well as the
incorporation of natural gas within the agreement, says PDVSA Chief Eulogio del
Pino. Among other projects, he announced the implementation of a Caribbean
Civic Protection System for those areas vulnerable to hurricanes. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=46276&idc=4)
Commodities
Food production is down 65%
Venezuela’s private food industry will close
2015 as one of its worst performances ever, says economist Tomás Socías, who
points out that on average 40% of the sector’s plants are idle because of the
lack of dollars and supplies which has brought about a drop in production of
around 60-65%. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=46293&idc=3)
Over 12,000 hectares taken from SMURFIT lie
fallow
Over 12,000 hectares
taken by the regime from SMURFIT in Portuguesa state "are not producing anything", according to Luis Serpa, president of the Forest
Workers Union. Nationalization has done away with more than 1,000 jobs, and
farmers still await the land titles they were promised. More in Spanish: (Ultima
Hora Digital; http://ultimahoradigital.com/las-12-mil-hectareas-expropiadas-a-smurfit-no-estan-produciendo-nada/)
Economy
& Finance
Poverty rose to 73% this year in Venezuela due
to income reduction
Sociologist Luis Pedro Egaña has presented the
results of the 2015 Living Stardards poll conducted by the Catholic
University's Economic and Social Studies Institute, and says "we have broken all records on income
poverty, today 73% of homes here, and 76% of Venezuelans are income poor".
A joint study by Venezuela's Central University and Simón Bolivar University
show an important increase in homes and individuals sunk in poverty since 2014,
when levels were 48.4% in homes and 52.6% in individuals, which is a 24.6%
increase in homes, and 23.4% for individuals. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Pobreza-hogares-subio-contraccion-ingreso_0_742125966.html)
Politics and
International Affairs
Opposition rejects UNASUR sponsored agreement
on election results
Jesús Torrealba,
campaign chief for the United Venezuela coalition, has announced that the opposition
here will not sign a document proposed by the UNASUR mission for accepting
elections results: "We will not sign
this document because it is not a new position, it is the same as the document
the government the government ordered its PSUV party and the National Elections
Council to sign. As we said at that time, we will give no one a blank check, we
made a serious proposal when the regime's document was proposed and were
ignored. UNASUR has made a proposal that is conveniently similar to that of the
United Socialist party." More in Spanish. (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/MUD-documento-aceptacion-resultados-Unasur_0_743925803.html)
Argentina's Macri again
pledges to invoke "democratic clause"
on Venezuela, Uruguay to await elections
Venezuela's opposition has hailed conservative
politician Mauricio Macri's presidential win in Argentina as a blow for
leftists in Latin America as a good omen for their own duel with
"Chavismo" in next month's parliamentary vote. Macri, 56, narrowly
defeated ruling party candidate Daniel Scioli as voters punished outgoing
President Cristina Fernandez over the economy and her leadership style. Macri
is urging Venezuela's suspension from South American trade bloc MERCOSUR for
alleged rights abuses by President Nicolas Maduro's government: "It is clear that the bloc's (democratic)
clause should be invoked because the accusations are clear and without doubt,
they are not made up," Macri says. Yet Uruguay's Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin Novoa said that "conditions are still possible" in
Venezuela to avoid the democratic clause and says the country is "far from an alteration of democratic order"
and added "let us see how the
December 6th election is resolved". The MERCOSUR summit is scheduled
for December 21st. Celebrating
the Argentine elections, some Venezuelan opposition leaders noted
pointedly how Scioli had graciously accepted defeat. "I hope Ms Lucena can see how elections are done!" wrote
Henrique Capriles, who unsuccessfully claimed fraud after losing a 2013
presidential vote to Maduro, referring to Venezuela's election board head
Tibisay Lucena. Venezuela's on-the-day electronic voting system is endorsed by
international experts. But critics accuse the government of skewing the vote in
advance by shuffling districts, naming voting centers after Chavez, and using
state resources for publicity and transport. Jorge Rodriguez, head of the
government's parliamentary election campaign, lauded Fernandez as Argentina's
best-ever president and noted Macri's win was a tight one. "I didn't see Scioli call for violence or for
the killing of Argentines. I think the Venezuelan right-wing should learn from
that example," he added. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/23/argentina-election-venezuela-idUSL1N13I1G820151123#37m1Xq6grBbbWmtL.99; http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/23/argentina-election-venezuela-idUSE6N0V20B220151123#EGbsLEIb3c83msiB.99;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151123/macri-to-request-mercosur-to-enforce-democratic-clause-against-venezue.
More in Spanish: El Universal,
http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151124/argentina-y-uruguay-discrepan-sobre-venezuela)
...and Venezuela's
opposition reports shots were fired at election campaign caravan
On Sunday the Venezuelan opposition reported
shot were fired at one of its candidates' campaign caravan in a poor
neighborhood of Caracas. Parliamentarian Miguel Pizarro, who is seeking
re-election, said he and supporters were confronted by heavily-armed men who
opened fire during a walkabout in Caracas' huge Petare slum. Opposition leader
Henrique Capriles published photos, allegedly from the incident, showing men
dressed in red with the logo of the ruling Socialist Party apparently carrying
pistols and even what looked like a machine gun. (Yahoo: http://news.yahoo.com/venezuela-opposition-says-shots-fired-election-campaign-caravan-230058801--business.html)
Maduro vows to "radicalize the revolution" after
legislative elections
President Nicolás Maduro has called on his
followers to "defend" the
fatherland in the elections "battle",
and said the nation will decide if it continues "on the road to the 21st century" or if "everything ends". He said the
regime would win the elections and that after winning he will "radicalize
the revolution". More in Spanish: (Infolatam, http://www.infolatam.com/2015/11/22/maduro-promete-radicalizar-la-revolucion-tras-las-elecciones-parlamentarias)
Venezuela's opposition
smells a victory
By almost any objective measure, President
Nicolas Maduro is heading for a fall. The country’s economy is a shambles. Some
89% of Venezuelans say the country is faring badly or horribly. And with the
Dec. 6 legislative elections approaching, candidates for the ruling United
Socialist Party are trailing by 25 to 30 percentage points, according to a
batch of opinion polls. What that means for Venezuela as a whole is less clear.
The country's opposition is a 27-party pastiche. That's one reason 30% of
voters say they like neither the ruling party nor the Democratic Unity
Roundtable, the main opposition bloc. But while there's little love lost for
Maduro, 58% of Venezuelans still have a soft spot for his predecessor, Hugo
Chavez. This paradox poses some special challenges for Venezuela's aspiring
democrats. First, they must win a contest in which the rules are stacked
against them: In 2010, opposition candidates captured more than half the popular
vote but -- thanks to gerrymandering, rules-rigging and overrepresentation of
pro-government rural regions -- ended up with around 40% of the seats in the
National Assembly. This time may be different, however. Despite the lopsided
playing field, challengers to Venezuela’s 16-year experiment in "21st-century socialism" have never
been so close to gaining real power. Political analysts say their magic number
is 18% -- the margin they need in order to win two-thirds of the seats in the
National Assembly and have enough to change Venezuela's constitution. But even
a simple majority of 84 seats would give opposition lawmakers plenty of clout
to push for a recall referendum next year, which could mark the beginning of
the end of Maduro's hapless regime and, possibly, of Chavismo as well.
(Bloomberg, http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-11-22/venezuela-s-opposition-smells-a-victory)
Venezuela’s dirty
election approaches
Venezuela is spiraling through a historic
crash. Foreign governments watching this implosion, and many Venezuelans, have
been hoping that a Dec. 6 National Assembly election could provide the
beginning of a way out. The question is not whether the election will be free
and fair; it already has been established that it won’t be. What’s unclear is
whether Maduro will resort to outright fraud or violence to prevent an
opposition victory — and whether the United States and Venezuela’s neighbors,
after years of silently tolerating the destruction of its democracy, will use
their leverage to prevent that. Maduro is hinting at extraordinary measures;
he’s said the regime will win “however”
and talked of “governing with the people”
if it does not. But given the public mood — the percentage of Venezuelans who
assess the country’s situation positively has dropped into the single digits —
such tactics could trigger mass unrest. More pressure should be applied to
Maduro in the next two weeks, including by the Obama administration. If the
vote is disrupted, the United States and other governments should be ready to
respond with censure and sanctions. (The Washington Post, https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/venezuelas-dirty-election-approaches/2015/11/22/5cd4bc7a-8d5f-11e5-acff-673ae92ddd2b_story.html)
Maduro has met with Vladimir Putin in Tehran
President Nicolás Maduro has met with his
Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin within the 3rd Meeting of Gas Exporting
Nations in Tehran. Maduro has claimed the meeting was to coordinate the defense
of oil prices due to a "maneuver by the US empire to depress oil
prices". More in Spanish: (AVN; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/presidente-maduro-y-vladimir-putin-sostienen-encuentro-alto-nivel-teher%C3%A1n)
Maduro strengthens ties with Iran
Iran's supreme leader
Alí Jameneí and
Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro have met in Tehran to reaffirm their
alliance in fighting US "arrogance" and "imperialism",
saying that "resistance" is the only road "to progress". More
in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151124/reafirmaron-alianza-politica-entre-caracas-y-teheran)
Venezuela, UN hold
second round of meetings on the Essequibo
President Nicolás Maduro held a second round of
meetings in Caracas with a taskforce appointed by the United Nations
Organization (UN) to raise the question of the border dispute between Venezuela
and Guyana over the Essequibo region, official news agency AVN reported. During
the meeting, Maduro repeated "the
necessity of activating the ‘good officer' as means to obtain political,
economic and international channels that result in an acceptable and fair
solution for both nations". (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/151123/venezuela-un-hold-second-round-of-meetings-on-the-essequibo)
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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