International Trade
12 food ships anchored in Bolipuertos
A total
of 12 food ships are anchored at Puerto Cabello, Carabobo state. This was
announced by Food Minister General Rodolfo Marco Torres, who says part this
includes boats bearing yellow corn, two with soybeans, and another vessel is
currently offloading 30,000 tons of white corn. More in Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/Hay-12-buques-de-alimentos-anclados-en-Bolipuertos/Economia/2016/07/02/1007351/)
Táchira state governor calls for reopening border
Táchira
border state governor, Lieutenant José Vielma Mora, has called for reopening
the border with Colombia to increase trade. He also speaks of building a
refinery along the border to supply Colombia with fuel, as he conducted an
inspection of a border pass jointly with the governor of Colombia’s bordering
state of Norte de Santander, William Villamizar. Both governors agreed on the
need to restore the important trade, social, political and cultural exchanges
between both nations. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2016/julio/2/161414=gobernador-vielma-mora-evalua-construir-una-refineria-en-la-frontera)
Logistics & Transport
Aeronautic services are now officially priced in US
dollars
The
Transport and Public Works Ministry has published official dollar tariffs for
aeronautic services in Venezuela, at the Maiquetía International Airport and
all other airports under the state control. Service to Latin America and the
Caribbean will cost US$ 3,000; to the US AND Canada, US$ 3,300 and to Europe,
US$ 5,000. More in
Spanish: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/Fijan-tarifas-del-servicio-aeronautico-en-dolares/Economia/2016/06/30/1007156/; El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Fijan-tarifas-dolares-servicio-aeronautico_0_875912582.html; El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/economia/nuevas-tarifas-para-servicio-aeronautica-son-fijadas-dolares_317306)
Oil & Energy
Venezuela oil price falls below us$ 40
The
price Venezuela receives for its mix of medium and heavy oil fell back below US$
40 as markets and oil prices around the world collapsed on a surprise decision
to leave the European Union by the U.K. 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 July 1 was US$
39.75, down 41 cents from the previous week's US$ 40.16. According to Venezuelan government figures,
the average price in 2016 for Venezuela's mix of heavy and medium crude is now US$
31.15 for the year to date. Venezuela's average oil price for 2015 was US$
44.65, down from 2014's US$ 88.42, below 2013's US$ 98.08, 2012's US$ 103.42
and 2011's US$ 101.06, 2010's US$ 72.43, and even 2009’s average price of US$ 57.01.
(Latin American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2415590&CategoryId=10717)
PDVSA says 2015 revenue tumbled on oil price fall
State
oil company PDVSA's 2015 revenue tumbled 41% from the previous year, the
company announced, as a result of a steep drop in oil prices that has pushed this
nation into economic crisis. Revenue dropped to US$ 72.2 billion from US$ 121.9
billion the year before, while net profit fell to US$ 7.3 billion compared with
US$ 9.1 billion the previous year, the company said. Economists tend to focus
on PDVSA's revenue because of its multibillion-dollar contributions to government
campaigns make profit figures less relevant in assessing performance than they
are for private firms. PDVSA's transfers to social programs in 2015 were US$ 9.2
billion, and state development fund Fonden received US$ 974 million. According
to the financial results of fiscal year 2015, Pdvsa’s oil output averaged 2.7
million barrels per day (bpd). However, the company’s head Eulogio del Pino claims
the “industry produced an equivalent of 3.8
million barrels of oil.” (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-pdvsa-idUSKCN0ZJ02T;
Bloomberg, http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-03/venezuela-s-pdvsa-revenue-plunges-amid-commodity-price-collapse;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/venezuelas-oil-revenues-plummet-407-2015_317708)
Maduro ends power rationing as drought eases
Venezuela
is ending an electricity rationing program launched in April in response to a
severe drought that crimped the operations of the nation's hydroelectric
generators, President Nicolas Maduro on Friday. "As of Monday we can say that the power administration plan will stop
and electrical service will function normally throughout the country,"
Maduro said in a televised broadcast. "Today
we can say that Guri has recovered and we have the conditions under which power
service can function normally." Heavily subsidized electricity has
spurred one of the region's highest rates of power consumption and left the
state-run utilities with limited revenue. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-energy-idUSKCN0ZI01B)
Amuay refinery ups output, restarts distillation unit
Venezuela's
645,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) Amuay refinery has restarted a distillation unit
and is now processing 350,000 bpd compared with 160,000 bpd before, according
to a union leader and a refinery worker who asked not to be identified and said
Amuay's 180,000 bpd distillation unit No. 5 was producing at 140,000 bpd. The
refinery's cat cracker is operating at around 70,000 bpd, said union leader and
government critic Ivan Freites. The refinery's flexicoker unit remains
shuttered but is expected to be operational again within 20 days, he said. (Reuters,
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-refinery-operations-pdvsa-amuay-idUSKCN0ZH62B)
Harvest Natural Resources dumps Venezuela operations
Harvest
Natural Resources, Inc. (HNR) has announced that it and its wholly-owned
subsidiary, HNR Energia B.V. (HNR Energia), have entered into a share purchase
agreement with CT Energy Holding SRL, a private investment firm (CT Energy), to
sell all of the company’s interest in Venezuela. Under the terms of the Share
Purchase Agreement, CT Energy will acquire HNR Energia’s 51% interest in
Harvest-Vinccler Dutch Holding B.V., a Netherlands company, through which all
of Harvest’s Venezuelan interests are owned, and CT Energy or an affiliate will
deliver to Harvest US$ 80 million in cash, subject to certain adjustments, and
a $12 million six-month 11% note payable by CT Energy or such affiliate. (Latin
American Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2415544&CategoryId=10717)
PDVSA to export gas to Colombia
Petroleum
and Mining Minister Eulogio del Pino announced that state-run oil company
Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) would soon begin to export gas to Colombia, as
part of the Mariscal Sucre oil project. Del Pino, who is also Pdvsa’s head, stressed
the importance of gas export, which will be conducted from Cardón gas field in
north-western Falcón state. This is one of the world’s largest gas fields,
whose operations began last year with private investment. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/pdvsa-export-gas-colombia_317684)
Maduro meets with US energy company representatives
President
Nicolás Maduro on Friday met with Joseph Kennedy, the founder of US
non-lucrative Citizens Energy Corporation, at the Miraflores Presidential
Palace downtown Caracas, for a meeting that was also attended by Foreign
Minister Delcy Rodríguez and corporation’s representatives. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/venezuelas-maduro-meets-with-energy-company-representatives_317716)
Economy & Finance
Central Bank reportedly provides full statistics to
the IMF for the first time in 12 years
A
source within Venezuela’s Central Bank (BCV) says the institution has provided
the International Monetary Fund with full statistics for the first time in 12
years. The same source says the government ordered the BCV to provide
statistics for the first time since 2004, when the late Hugo Chavez ordered IMF
offices in Venezuela closed. Analysts believe the government may be seeking
some type of loan or financial aid from the IMF, or that it could be getting
ready to draw upon a larger portion of drawing rights from the institution,
since Venezuela has used up all those it could freely cash in. Both options
would require providing economic data for the IMF to evaluate. More in Spanish:
(El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Banco-Central-Venezuela-estadisticas-FMI_0_877712316.html)
Bernal admits expropriations have failed
Freddy
Bernal, who heads the Control and Command Center for the government’s Local
Supply and Production Local Committee (CLAPs), has admitted that past
expropriations have failed. He says “in
the past we took some steps, such as expropriating some companies and,
unfortunately, we did not make them productive, or they failed in our hands”.
He says they are now “sitting down with
business to establish joint ventures, 60% government, and 40% private, in
several areas: fishing, industry, manufacture”. More in Spanish:
(Noticieron Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/economia/2016/julio/3/161460=freddy-bernal-reconocio-que-las-expropiaciones-fracasaron;
El Mundo, http://www.elmundo.com.ve/noticias/economia/politicas-publicas/bernal-admitio-que-las-expropiaciones-fracasaron.aspx#ixzz4DR1hOrkR)
Only 10% of all companies have received FOREX through
the DICOM system, according to a poll taken at CONINDUSTRIA’s 2016
meeting; and only 2% received FOREX through the officially controlled
preferential rate. The poll also shows that 47.5% of industries have raw
materials inventories lower than 3 months. 81% have lowered production, and
another 56% expect to lower production within the next 6 months. More in
Spanish: (Notitarde: (Notitarde; http://www.notitarde.com/Solo-10-de-las-empresas-han-recibido-dolares-Dicom/Economia/2016/06/30/1007155/)
“Venezuela’s
economic indicators at this time are, by far, the worst in history”,
says Luis Vicente León, of DATANALISIS. He says 65% of the population prefers
the black market to buy goods that are price-controlled, leading to a surcharge
of an average 300 percentage points about official prices. “The gap between
official and black market prices is some 80-100 times”. A 10% drop in overall
consumption is expected this year. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/economia/Indicadores-economicos-Venezuela-momento-historia_0_875912744.html)
Politics and International Affairs
Obama urges Venezuela to respect democratic process,
recall referendum
US
President Barack Obama has weighed in on Venezuela’s political turmoil, calling
on the government to release what he called “political prisoners” and to respect the country’s National
Assembly. The head of state made the
comments in a press conference from the North American Leaders Summit in
Ottawa, Canada, where he also urged both political factions in Venezuela to
participate in dialogue. He was accompanied by his Mexican and Canadian
counterparts, Enrique Peña Nieto and Justin Trudeau. "Given the very serious situation in Venezuela and the worsening plight
of the Venezuelan people, together we're calling on the government and
opposition to engage in meaningful dialogue and urge the Venezuelan government
to respect the rule of law and the authority of the national assembly,"
Obama said at a news conference with the leaders of Canada and Mexico. "Political prisoners should be released, the
democratic process should be respected and that includes legitimate efforts to
pursue a recall referendum consistent with Venezuelan law." (Reuters: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-usa-obama-idUSKCN0ZF2KV;
MSNBC: http://nsnbc.me/2016/07/02/obama-urges-dialogue-in-deadlocked-venezuela-sides-with-opposition/)
Argentina’s Macri accuses Venezuela of violating
“every human right”
Argentina’s
President Mauricio Macri has accused the Venezuelan regime of “violating every human right”, and hopes
for a recall referendum as soon as possible. He says the Maduro regime “has brought famine and neglect to the
Venezuelan people, which is why they need a referendum, they need to have
elections as soon as possible”. Asked whether this position clashes with
Argentina’s stance at the Organization of American States on whether to apply
the Democratic Charter, he said: “We have
done what we have been doing. We are seeking different routes to bring about
this result, elections as soon as possible and always upholding our commitment
to defend human rights in Venezuela”. More in Spanish: (Clarin: http://www.clarin.com/mundo/Macri-Venezuela-violar-derechos-humanos_0_1607239347.html
Paraguay seeks to exclude Venezuela from MERCOSUR
Paraguay
has formally asked for a special meeting of MERCOSUR foreign minister to
examine Venezuela’s domestic political situation in the light of the 1998
Ushuaia Protocol, which establishes a “democracy clause” calling for excluding
any country that violates democratic order from the regional bloc. Paraguay’s
ambassador to MERCOSUR, Hugo Saguier, who delivered the request to Uruguay’s
Foreign Minister Rodolfo Nin, says “we
are calling for using the Democratic Charter and the Urshuaia Protocol because
we believe Venezuela is doing through a democratic crisis”. He also said
Paraguay is upset because Uruguay and Argentina unilaterally called off a
meeting of heads of state to transfer the pro tem Presidency of MERCOSUR from Uruguay
to Venezuela, and instead called on the group’s foreign ministers to do so. Nin
has replied that transferring the pro tem presidency is a matter of rules and
does not bear upon political matters. More in Spanish: (El Observador: http://www.elobservador.com.uy/paraguay-pide-discutir-la-exclusion-venezuela-del-mercosur-n935501;
Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/internacionales/2016/julio/4/161618=uruguay-asegura-que-la-entrega-de-la-presidencia-pro-tempore-a-venezuela-esta-apegada-al-caracter-juridico)
OAS Legal Counsel says “the Democratic Charter is already being applied” to Venezuela
Jean
Michel Arrighi, Chief Legal Counsel to the Organization of American States,
says the Hemispheric Democratic Charter is being applied to Venezuela from the
very moment Secretary General Luis Almagro rendered his report on June 23rd.
Arrighi also says Article 20 of the Charter empowers the Secretary General to
act “when the constitutional order is
altered so as to seriously upset the democratic order”, and he would be
remiss in offering assistance if he didn’t. The Maduro regime argues that when
there is a legitimate government in a nation, the Secretary General has no
right to act, but Arrighi says that Article 20 is intended for the case in
which there is in fact a legitimate government and that is why it involves
diplomatic efforts. More in Spanish: (Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2016/06/30/responsable-juridico-de-la-oea-la-carta-democratica-ya-se-esta-aplicando/)
International Socialist organization advocates recall
referendum in Venezuela this year
Member
parties of the International Socialist organization have issued a communiqué voicing
their concern over Venezuela’s state of affairs and made an appeal for “a real and effective dialogue between the
Venezuelan government and opposition.” They also recommend holding the recall
referendum this very year, and express support for an OAS statement in support of
the initiative of former presidents José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain,
Leonel Fernández of the Dominican Republic, and Martín Torrijos of Panama. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/daily-news/socialist-international-advocates-recall-referendum-venezuela-this-year_317711)
Zapatero discusses dialogue efforts in Venezuela with
the European Union
Federica
Mogherini, the European Union’s High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs, met with
Spain’s former President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, to discuss the Union’s
support of efforts for a “dialogue in
Venezuela”. Zapatero says the dialogue he is trying to promote is “a long, hard and difficult process”, and
that their efforts are in an exploratory phase. More in Spanish: (Noticiero
Venevisión: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/internacionales/2016/junio/30/161232=zapatero-aborda-con-la-union-europea-apoyo-al-dialogo-en-venezuela)
Ramos cautions that Supreme Tribunal plots sentence
nullifying recall referendum
Henry
Ramos Allup, President of the National Assembly, is expecting a Supreme
Tribunal (TSJ) sentence which would nullify recall referendum proceedings to
date, and order a new collection of 1% signatures for a petition to begin the
process. He says the decision was planned by pro regime legislators and members
of the TSJ’s Constitutional Chamber, and would be in the hands of Justice Luis
Damiani Bustillos; he adds that the National Elections Council would then call
for regional elections, to vote for governors. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevisión: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2016/julio/1/161373=ramos-allup-advierte-sobre-sentencia-del-tsj-que-anule-el-proceso-de-rr; El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/politica/PSUV-asoma-TSJ-ordenara-revocatorio_0_875912729.html)
Borges says recall referendum is not negotiable
Julio
Borges, leader of the majority opposition bloc in the National Assembly says
the proposed recall referendum is a Constitutional right of the Venezuelan
people and not a subject for discussion in any possible talks with the
government. “That is non-negotiable, that
does not exist, that is a right that is moving forward and no one can stop it,
if the government wants to talk about how to reform the economy, about respect
toward the National Assembly, about how to free political prisoners, about how
to reenergize productivity, those matters are welcome because they are national
problems; but there are matters that are not subject to talks, and among them
the recall referendum is not been subject for talks or any sort of negotiation”,
he says. More in Spanish: (Noticiero Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2016/julio/4/161575=borges-aseguro-que-el-rr-no-es-un-tema-de-discuta-en-una-eventual-mesa-de-dialogo-con-el-gobierno)
Ramos says military high command backs President, not
Constitution.
President
Nicolas Maduro has demanded absolute loyalty from Venezuela’s military in order
to carry forth Bolivarian ideals and the Chavez legacy. At the same time,
National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup says “the high command of the Armed Forces has chosen to support
President Nicolás Maduro over supporting the Constitution”; and adds that
dialogue is impossible under such conditions: “Take note: It is impossible to dialogue with a military gun pointing at
your head”. More in Spanish: (Infolatam: http://www.infolatam.com/2016/07/03/nicolas-maduro-exige-la-maxima-lealtad-de-su-fuerza-armada/;
Noticieron Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/politica/2016/julio/3/161469=ramos-allup-destaco-que-la-fanb-apoya-a-maduro-antes-que-respaldar-la-constitucion)
US accuses Venezuela of complicity in human
trafficking
The
United States has again included Venezuela, along with Haiti and Belize, on the
list of countries that are not making enough efforts to combat people
trafficking. US President Barack Obama now has 90 days to decide if sanctions
will be imposed on the nations on the “black
list”. Those sanctions could include freezing non-humanitarian and
non-commercial aid or denying the countries loans from multilateral
institutions. Venezuela was included on the blacklist in 2014 and remains there
after appearing for several previous editions in “special observation,” the next-lowest category where Cuba is. “The Venezuelan government does not fully
comply with minimum standards for the elimination of (human) trafficking and is
not making significant efforts to do it so,” the report reads. (Today
Venezuela: http://todayvenezuela.com/2016/07/04/us-accuses-venezuela-of-complicity-in-human-trafficking/);
and more in Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/noticias/politica/eeuu-acusa-venezuela-complicidad-con-trafico-personas_317309)
Curfew imposed on Delta Amacuro state due to food
riots
Delta
Amacuro state governor Lizeta Hernández issued a 24-hour curfew after food
riots led to 146 arrests in the state’s capital, Tucupita, in far Eastern
Venezuela, bordering Guyana. (Noticieron
Venevision: http://www.noticierovenevision.net/nacionales/2016/julio/1/161308=decretan-toque-de-queda-en-delta-amacuro-debido-a-hechos-irregulares-en-tucupita)
