International Trade
Maduro
to contact Panamanian counterpart over demand against fishing boats
President
Nicolas Maduro says he will get in touch with his Panamanian counterpart, Juan
Carlos Valera, to compromise and settle some claims against on Venezuelan fishing
boats reported by the Venezuelan Association of Tuna Shipbuilders (AVATUN). Maduro’s
remarks came after Lilo Mariscalchi, the AVATUN CEO, complained about “the legal insecurity of ships in Panama city.”
Maniscalchi said: “a sort of mafia has
been set up, which, in addition to a number of lawyers and the Maritime Court,
prepare complaints against our vessels, and with a simple collateral of US$
3,000 they file a complaint for one or two million dollars. They impose bails
and, in the event of not honoring them, the vessel is attached and the fishing
works are lost, work and money are lost,” (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/maduro-contact-panamanian-counterpart-over-demand-against-fishing-boats_247635)
Export
red tape is down 60% this year, according to
Foreign Trade and Investment Minister Jesús Farías, who says that in the next
few days a new phase of the Single Foreign Trade Window will be launched. More
in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Tramites-exportaciones-disminuyeron-ano_0_823117781.html)
Oil & Energy
Venezuela oil price falls back below US$ 30
The
price Venezuela receives for its mix of medium and heavy oil fell 6.7% this
week -- back below US$ 30 a barrel after 2 weeks above -- as prices around the
world slipped on oversupplied markets and Saudi Arabian comments that it would
not join a production freeze if Iran did not also freeze production. According
to figures released by the Ministry of Petroleum and Mining, the average price
of Venezuelan crude sold by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA) during the week
ending April 1 was US$ 29.75, down US$ 2.12 from the previous week's US$ 31.87.
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2409130&CategoryId=10717;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/venezuelan-oil-price-down-usd-212_247684)
Venezuela to cut energy output if key dam falls to
critical low
Venezuela
will reduce power generation if the key Guri dam, which supplies around half of
the blackout-hit country's electricity, falls below a minimum level that is
fast approaching, an official said on Friday. A severe drought, coupled with
what critics say is a lack of investment and maintenance in energy
infrastructure, has hit the nation which depends on hydropower for 60% of its
electricity generation. The massive Guri dam in Venezuela's central jungle is
now at just 244 meters - its lowest level ever and just 4 meters from a
critical point where water cannot feed its turbines. "Without a doubt if the level reaches 240 meters we will have to apply
certain operative measures, which authorities will announce in due time,"
Miguel Angel Romero, the head of generation at state-run energy firm CORPOELEC,
told Reuters in an interview. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-energy-idUSKCN0WY5TK)
PDVSA
says supports Venezuela soccer team, denies lack of funding
State-run
oil company PDVSA says its support for the national soccer team had never
waned, rebuffing comment from the country's soccer federation (FVF) that it
hadn't paid any of the agreed sponsoring money last year. "PDVSA has never stopped honoring its
obligations with the Venezuela Football Federation," said the company
in a statement, without offering specifics. The federation has said that the
lack of funding from PDVSA, its chief sponsor, has hurt its ability to train
and travel and made it impossible to attract a world-class international coach.
(Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/venezuela-oil-soccer-idUSL2N1750DP)
Commodities
Poll
shows 87% of all Venezuelans are on a “survival”
diet
A
poll by the nation’s three major universities shows 87% of all Venezuelans do
not have income enough to purchase necessary food, and most of their “survival”
diet is based on carbohydrates. The poll shows that the items most consume are
corn flour, rice, pasta, bread, margarine and mayonnaise, while at lower income
levels most say they eat mortadella rather than beef. The study shows that 40%
of basic foods consumed here are flours, rice and grease, and 12.1% eat only
twice a day. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Encuesta-indico-venezolanos-dieta-supervivencia_0_821917960.html)
POLAR bottle cap plant halts due to lack of tin foil
Johnny Magdaleno, secretary general of the
METALGRAFICA plant union, reports that POLAR’s production of bottle caps has
once more halted due to lack of tin plate, which causes a deficit of 30 million
daily units at the plant. The supply is imported and depends on FOREX
allocations by the government. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Paralizada-produccion-chapas-Empresas-Polar_0_823717747.html)
Economy & Finance
Venezuela’s
Supreme Tribunal has declared Central Bank Reform Law unconstitutional
The
Constitutional Chamber within Venezuela’s Supreme Justice Tribunal has declared
that a Partial Reform of the Central Bank Law passed by the National Assembly
on March 3rd is unconstitutional. The Chamber alleged that a
comparative study of central bank legislation in other countries shows that in
most cases the power to name authorities rests with the Executive. More in Spanish:
(Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/tsj-declara-inconstitucional-reforma-de-la-ley-del.aspx#ixzz44ZE1ULDm; Agencia Venezolana de
Noticias; http://www.avn.info.ve/contenido/tsj-declara-inconstitucionalidad-reforma-ley-del-banco-central; El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/politica/sala-constitucional-declaro-reforma-ley-del-bcv-como-inconstitucional_247530)
Venezuela’s
2015 Budget: Gaps as gold dwindles
It
may be futile to apply generally accepted accounting principles in Venezuela,
but Russ Dallen reports that the Venezuelan government released its 2015 budget
data on Friday. Dallen, an investment banker and publisher, writes: “The most shocking number is the “Diverse
FOREX Assets” on the assets side of the ledger, which went up US$ 137 billion
dollars to $185.2 billion in 2015 (without a corresponding offset on the same
debit side, of course)! While the make-up of that $185 billion is hidden in a
footnote which we do not have access to yet (we are working on it)”. That footnote
in early 2015 revealed billions in gold sales, Dallen notes, adding: “the Central Bank’s official 2015 closing
figure for Venezuela’s gold reserves is US$ 10.01 billion (“Monetary Gold”
under “Reserve Assets”). Venezuela started 2015 with US$ 14.5 billion in gold,
so the country sold and/or mortgaged US$ 4.5 billion in gold from its reserves
in 2015. … we believe that Venezuela’s gold holdings have now fallen to under
US$ 8 billion....With the state of Venezuela’s finances and economy in tatters
and knowing that Venezuela has now drawn down their Financial Reserves to US$
13.237 billion (as of March 31) from the US$ 24.122 billion they were last year
on March 1, 2015, you have to wonder under what standard of accounting the BCV
can claim that their assets went up US$ 186 billion dollars at the same time?”
(Barron’s:
http://blogs.barrons.com/emergingmarketsdaily/2016/04/04/venezuelas-2015-budget-gaps-as-gold-dwindles/)
Venezuela
today looks like Zimbabwe 15 years ago
Might Venezuela go the way of Zimbabwe? They are
culturally very different, but the political parallels are ominous. Both
countries have suffered under charismatic revolutionary leaders. Robert Mugabe
seized big commercial farms without compensation, wrecking Zimbabwe’s largest
industry. Chávez expropriated businesses on a whim, sometimes on live
television. Mugabe lost a referendum in 2000 but rigged the subsequent election
to keep the (more popular) opposition out of power. The chavistas lost a
parliamentary election in December but have used their control of the
presidency and supreme court to neuter the (more popular) opposition. Mugabe
recruited a ragtag militia of “war
veterans” to intimidate his opponents. Chávez recruited gangs from the
slums, known as colectivos, to terrorize his. Yet the key similarity between
the two regimes is not their huggishness but their economic ineptitude. Both
believe that market forces can be bossed around like soldiers on parade. In
both cases, the results are similar: shortages, inflation and tumbling living
standards. Mugabe has long blamed his country’s economic woes on speculators,
traitors, imperialists and homosexuals. Maduro, to his credit, doesn’t blame
gay people. But he insists that local capitalists and their American allies are
waging an “economic war” on
Venezuela. This is absurd: in both economies the assaults have come from their
own governments. Real incomes in Zimbabwe fell by two-thirds between 1980, when
Mugabe took over, and 2008. They have partially recovered, thanks to
dollarization and the scrapping of some of the old man’s daftest policies. For
Venezuela, the lesson is plain. (The Economist: http://www.economist.com/news/americas/21695934-venezuela-today-looks-zimbabwe-15-years-ago-spot-difference)
Politics and International Affairs
Capriles:
We have about half the votes needed to recall Maduro
The
opposition presidential candidate in the last two Venezuelan general elections,
Henrique Capriles, said on Sunday that they have “almost” half of the four million votes needed to try and end
Nicolas Maduro’s presidency via a recall referendum. “The will for change is being felt in all corners of the country. Almost
two million people have provided their information because they are ready to
sign for the recall,” wrote Capriles in his Sunday press column. Next week,
he added, “we will be reporting on what
is happening with the recall and what the next activities that we will announce
will be to exercise our constitutional right to change the government” of
Maduro, who was elected in 2013 for a six-year term. (Latin American Herald
Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2409205&CategoryId=10717)
Venezuela
opposition sees “long road” ahead to
sack Maduro
The
Venezuelan government is seen as dragging its feet against a call for a recall
vote against President Nicolas Maduro, with opposition lawmakers saying they
see “a long road” ahead of them
before the poll is taken. Already, a first draft of a special law for recall
votes has been approved by the opposition held National Assembly and passage in
a second vote seems assured but opposition lawmakers don’t kid themselves: the
government will put up a fight. “The
referendum is waiting for CNE (the government controlled electoral authority)
response. We are waiting for it over the next few days. But it will be a long
road”, opposition lawmaker and Assembly Vice President Enrique Marquez
wrote to LAHT. (Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2409131&CategoryId=10717)
The National Assembly unanimously approved Pope
Francis I call for peace here, in which the
Pontiff asks for peace talks in Venezuela. More in Spanish: (Ultimas Noticias, http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/noticias/actualidad/politica/an-aprobo-por-unanimidad-acuerdo-por-exhorto-de-pa.aspx#ixzz44ZEFfMMN)
Capriles says Maduro cannot veto National Assembly
laws
Opposition
leader Henrique Capriles Radonski has recently said that “Maduro cannot veto laws passed by the National Assembly because there
is no veto power in Venezuela.” More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/politica/capriles-maduro-tiene-poder-para-vetar-leyes-que-aprueba-asamblea_247465)
UNASUR calls for talks here due to clash over Amnesty
Law
Ernesto
Samper, Secretary General of the South American Nations Union (UNASUR) called
for talks here and warned that the new Amnesty Law is leading to an “imminent
train crash” in this country. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/politica/unasur-pide-dialogo-venezuela-ante-choque-por-ley-amnistia_247527
CELAC,
UNASUR reject Obama's decree
The
Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and the Union of South
American Nations (UNASUR) have said the extension for one year of a decree
issued by US President Barack Obama, calling Venezuela an extraordinary threat
for the United States, is meddling. “We
cannot imagine that one of our member countries can be a threat for the most
powerful country in the world,” stated a communiqué read out at the Tenth
Meeting of CELAC Foreign Ministers held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. A
communiqué issued by UNASUR maintained that “the extension of the US executive order avoids the UNASUR request for
its abrogation with no consideration.” (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/celac-unasur-refuse-obamas-decree_247985)
Human Rights Watch reports policy brutality and 20
extrajudicial executions in Venezuela
Human
Rights Watch and PROVEA, a local NGO, have jointly reported random mass
detentions, abuse of those detained, evictions by force and at least 20
extrajudicial executions in police and military raids in immigrant and popular
neighborhoods in Venezuela. The report says “dozens of residents in Caracas and five states (Carabobo, Miranda,
Nueva Esparta, Vargas and Zulia) say they have been victims of abuse during
raids or have witnessed abuse on others”. More in Spanish: (Venevision:
http://www.noticierovenevision.net/internacionales/2016/abril/4/153468=hrw-denuncia-abusos-policiales-y-20-ejecuciones-extrajudiciales-en-venezuela)
The
National Assembly will investigate “Panama Papers” links to Venezuela, according to Freddy Guevara, Chairman of the Comptroller Committee of
the legislature here. More in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/politica/investigara-supuesta-relacion-los-papeles-panama-venezuela_248002)
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