International Trade
Venezuela is working with China on a development plan for 2025 by strengthening productive chains, claims
Planning and Knowledge Minister Ricardo Menéndez. Reported representatives from
11 Chinese companies are seeking for business opportunities in Venezuela, as
part of said plan to reactivate domestic production and are holding meetings
with public officials this week. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44919&idc=3; El
Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150804/venezuelan-govt-strikes-up-alliances-with-11-chinese-companies)
Oil &
Energy
PDVSA has received at least six offers from
foreign oil firms
Royal Dutch SHELL, STATOIL, CHEVRON, Reliance
Industries, ESSAR Oil and PETROCHINA are interested in supplying light crude
oils to dilute its extra-heavy crude oil, sources from the companies involved
told Reuters. Last month, PDVSA asked oil suppliers to present offers to sell
it some 70,000 bpd of light crude oil, via up to five year long contracts.
(Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44927&idc=4)
Economy &
Finance
Conindustria suggests
securitizing Venezuela's debt to foreign providers
The Venezuelan Confederation of Industries (CONINDUSTRIA)
proposed on Tuesday "five actions"
that could help substituting imports, apropos the government's initiative to set
up a High Level Committee for the Substitution of Imports. Juan Pablo
Olalquiaga, President of CONINDUSTRIA, pointed out that that initiative should
have concrete results. In that regard, he suggested some changes in public
policies aimed at "increasing
domestic production" in the short term, including securitizing debt
incurred with international providers, which roughly amounts to some US$ 9.92
billion. (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150805/conindustria-suggests-securitizing-venezuelas-debt-to-foreign-provider;
http://www.eluniversal.com/economia/150804/conindustria-proposes-five-actions-to-substitute-imports-in-venezuela)
Empresas Polar’s workers will be meeting with
government authorities in Caracas to determine on a new location for the distribution center
that was expropriated in La Yaguara. They will also go over the situation at
the brewery plants and their conditions in view of the shut-down and loss of
benefits due to production drops. (Veneconomy, http://www.veneconomy.com/site/index.asp?ids=44&idt=44922&idc=3)
Headhunters woo
low-cost Venezuela talent amid crisis
Headhunters across Latin America are tapping
Venezuela for low-cost professionals as a deepening economic crisis has left
many skilled workers earning less money than taxi drivers and waiters. Highly-trained
Venezuelans are seeking to escape a decaying socialist economy in which they
often have to work second jobs and spend hours in line to buy basic goods such
as milk or diapers. (Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/05/us-venezuela-headhunters-idUSKCN0QA1X720150805)
Politics and
International Affairs
STRATFOR: Russia,
Venezuela hold anarchy at bay
Two countries stand out as high-risk targets
for significant social unrest in the coming months. Not surprisingly, both are
oil producers terrified at the sight of Brent crude falling below US$50 per
barrel. The first is Venezuela, where even the most optimistic of
government-manufactured statistics should give observers a feeling of deep
foreboding. Venezuela burns through its oil reserves at a dizzying rate of
roughly US$ 1 billion per month. Not only that, but the country is actually
down to about US$ 16.9 billion in total reserves, with only a fraction of that
amount — estimated at less than US$ 1 billion — held in liquid reserves. Given
the country's heavy dependence on oil revenue, it hardly takes an expert
statistician to see that Venezuela is in an untenable financial situation. The
lack of foreign exchange to finance imports has led to severe food shortages.
And the Dec. 6 legislative election only complicates matters, as an already
hamstrung government is going to be all the more resistant to imposing
structural economic reforms that are as unpopular among voters as they are
necessary to the country's financial viability. Exacerbating Venezuela's
economic difficulties is widespread corruption. Government-affiliated mafias
with powerful military links rely on Venezuela's overvalued exchange rates and
capital controls to profit from arbitrage. So far, Venezuelan President Nicolas
Maduro has shown neither the inclination nor the ability to crack down on these
corrosive elements. Nor is Maduro willing to take the politically precarious
step of cutting fuel subsidies in the lead-up to an election where his party is
already at risk of losing significant support. The threat of spontaneous unrest
is still very much alive. On July 31, hundreds of people in San Felix, Bolivar
state, angered by high food prices, shortages and a recent fivefold increase in
local bus fares, started looting supermarkets. One of the rioters was killed in
the melee. We can expect the Venezuelan
government to rely largely on the National Guard and the national police to put
down such riots, followed by less disciplined colectivos should the situation
warrant reinforcements. And should economic difficulties breed divisions within
the government, a weaker government will be even less able to cleanly and
effectively contain widespread social unrest. (STRATFOR, https://www.stratfor.com/geopolitical-diary/russia-venezuela-hold-anarchy-bay)
Venezuela is close to
a humanitarian crisis
It has become usual in Venezuela for pregnant
women to go to up to 5 hospitals before finding one able to take them in, amid
a general collapse of the economy and public institutions nationwide. And the
situation threatens to become much worse, according to NGO Crisis Group, which
warns the nation is headed for a humanitarian crisis due to the implosion of
the "chavista" economic
model. One of the most alarming consequences is the sharp decay of medical care
here. FOREX restrictions are directly
hitting health conditions since most medicines sold in Venezuela are either
imported or have imported components. Human Rights Watch says "we seldom have seen as rapid a deterioration
in access to medicine as we have in Venezuela, except for war zones".
For thousands of Venezuelans suffering from cancer, AIDS or chronic disease
such as diabetes or high blood pressure, lack of medication translates into a
death sentence. Hunger also looms as a possibility after agriculture and
agribusiness have been destroyed and the regime now lacks funds to continue
importing food. More in Spanish: (El Nuevo Herald, http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article29988456.html#storylink=cpy)
Pulling Venezuela back
from the brink
In just the past few weeks, President Obama has
opened official ties with Cuba and clinched a nuclear deal with Iran. Now
Venezuela, another longtime US adversary, might be next in line for a bit of
reconciliation with Washington. Secretive negotiations between the two
countries have picked up in recent months, perhaps reversing years of
belligerency and estrangement. The talks have come none too soon. Venezuela’s
economy is faltering fast, even more so than Greece’s, with mobs looting
supermarkets, inflation reaching triple digits, and opposition figures like
Leopoldo López being thrown in jail by President Nicolás Maduro. The country
has experienced an average of 14 protests a day. A collapse of the Venezuelan
economy or its government is in no one’s interest, especially its neighbors. The
US has been rightly cautious in seeking rapprochement with the Maduro regime.
It should not undercut the efforts of the country’s political opposition. It
must welcome actions from others in Latin America. And it must first emphasize
universal concerns, such as human rights violations and a humanitarian concern
for the growing food crisis. But the most urgent step is for the regime to
allow the international community to monitor the elections without hindrance. A
credible vote would begin to restore confidence in the country while contested
elections might worsen it. (The Christian Science Monitor, http://news.yahoo.com/pulling-venezuela-back-brink-204403840--politics.html)
Paintings of Chavez
and Maduro burned as food seeking protesters attack Sinamaica municipality
Enraged inhabitants of Venezuela's Goajira
peninsula on the northern border with Colombia, mostly populated by Wayuu
tribes, attacked and burned the Sinamaica municipality during a protest over
scarcity and food rationing. The area has endured weeks without receiving
supplies, and the protest broke out when four lorries filled with food tried to
go through the Colombian frontier. It was reported that during the protest,
paintings of the late President Chavez and President Maduro were taken out and burned
by the population. Pro government authorities promptly blamed Colombian
smugglers for the event. More in Spanish: (El Nacional, http://www.el-nacional.com/regiones/Zulianos-quemaron-Chavez-Maduro-Sinamaica_0_677932300.html)
Regime uses military
to control desperate food queues
Thousands of people who line up for many hours
to receive food at subsidized prices - an average family needs 8 minimum
salaries to pay for one food basket - are now being controlled by armed
military officials, amid charged of brutality against those who protest and
corruption by officers who privilege their friends and neighbors. More in
Spanish: (Correo del Caroní, http://www.correodelcaroni.com/index.php/cdad/item/35436-gobierno-recurre-a-militarizacion-de-las-colas-para-contener-el-desespero-por-la-grave-escasez)
Venezuela’s electoral
"remix"
The electoral subject is back on the table as
December 6 nears, a date belatedly set by the National Electoral Council (CNE)
on purpose for an election in which Venezuela’s two only political rivals will
square off for a majority of seats in the Parliament. The Government and its
public powers find themselves fine-tuning every little detail so they can tilt
the balance in their favor when the time comes, knowing that popular support
has never been weaker. Sixteen years of outdated policies that have proved a
failure are felt in every corner of the country, while its populist speech
doesn’t convince the staunchest supporters of chavismo anymore. (Latin American
Herald Tribune, http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=2393789&CategoryId=10717)
Foreign Ministry here
rejects U.S. call to Venezuela to scrap ban on opposition political candidates
The United States has called on Venezuela to
reverse a ban on opposition members from holding office and participating in
the Dec. 6 parliamentary elections. Washington made the request after
opposition leader Maria Machado said she had tried to register as a candidate
but her application was rejected. The State Department said in a statement that
the decisions by Venezuelan electoral officials "clearly have the intention of complicating the ability of the
opposition" to contest the poll and to limit the field of candidates. Venezuela's
Foreign Ministry immediately issued a statement rejecting the call and asked
the US to respect international law "in
order to continue friendly talks that lead to normalizing bilateral relations".
(Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/08/04/us-usa-venezuela-idUSKCN0Q92CJ20150804;
El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150805/venezuelan-foreign-office-rejects-us-statement-on-disqualifications; and more in Spanish: El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150805/cancilleria-rechazo-declaraciones-de-eeuu-sobre-inhabilitaciones)
Brazilian corruption
boss had business dealings with Chávez, Maduro
José Dirceu, who is at the center of the
PETROBRAS corruption scandal that is shaking the base of Brazil's governing
Workers Party, spoke on behalf of former President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva
in a number of mystery projects that involved the Brazilian leader, the late
Hugo Chavez and Cuba's Castro brothers, according to documents published by
Miami's El Nuevo Herald include reports by Maximilian Arbeláez, then Venezuelan
ambassador to Brazil, detailing meetings by Lula and Dirceu meeting with
Venezuelan officials on behalf of Brazilian businessmen. In one of them, written
by Arbeláez himself, Lula himself asked the ambassador directly to meet with
his own lawyer and with "a
businessman of his entire trust" who wanted to import iron rods and
petroleum coke from Venezuela. Dirceu travelled to Venezuela several times and
met with Chavez and then Foreign Minister Maduro, as a Lula representative.
Dirceu, Lula's chief cabinet chief from 2003 to 2005, was recently arrested at
his home in Brasilia where he was under house arrest on an 11 year sentence for
taking part in a mass vote buyout in the Brazilian Congress. He is being
accused of being the mastermind of the PETROBRAS corruption network. More in
Spanish: (El Nuevo Herald, http://www.elnuevoherald.com/noticias/mundo/america-latina/venezuela-es/article30180861.html#storylink=cpy)
The Carter Center is
pulling out of Venezuela
The Carter Center has decided to pull out of
Venezuela in order to "focus limited resources on other countries that
have sought it's support". It will continue monitoring current elections
from its Atlanta offices after 13 years of working within the country. Center
Director Jennifer McCoy left the organization earlier this year to become
director of the Global Studies Institute at the University of Georgia. More in
Spanish: (El Universal, http://www.eluniversal.com/nacional-y-politica/150805/centro-carter-se-retira-de-venezuela)
