ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas INTERNATIONALFriday, November 22, 2013 | Nº 184 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

In a move designed to combat corruption and price speculation in the South American nation, the Venezuelan congress voted last Thursday to grant President Nicolas Maduro decree powers in compliance with the country's constitution. By a vote of 99 to 60, the Na-tional Assembly approved the measure, which was enacted following a second round of heated discussions on Tuesday. Tuesday’s final vote approval in the National Assembly was accompanied by a mass rally of government supporters in the streets who subsequent-ly marched to the presidential palace to bring the new law to President Maduro. Page 2

Campaigns launched for December electionsWith dozens of rallies and demonstrations across the country, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) officially kicked off its campaign efforts last Saturday for the more than 300 mayoral races that will take place in the South American nation on December 8. The municipal contests will be the fourth round of elections to take place in Venezuela over the past 14 months. Pg. 3

Politics

Argentine President recovers

Cristina Fernandez returned to office after health issues forced her to rest for over a month. P.4

Social Justice

10 years of continuing educationVenezuela celebrates 10th Anniversary of Mission Ribas, a continuing high school program. P.5

Interview

Building communesAn interview with grassroots leader from the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front. P.6

Opinion

On the warpathin Venezuela page 8

Analysis

Social movements defendeconomic measures in Venezuela page 7

President Maduro granted special powersto fight corruption, economic sabotage

Enabling law marks construction of Venezuela’s future

T/ AVN

“Today, November 19, 2013, is a historic day be-cause it marks the begin-ning of a new offensive in the construction of an in-dependent nation, a nation for our children, the nation of the future”, said Nicolas Maduro, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Ven-ezuela, from Miraflores Pal-ace in Caracas.

On Tuesday, following a march in support of the Enabling Law from the Na-tional Assembly to Mira-flores Palace, supporters and legislators handed the law over to the President. It had earlier been approved by the legislature follow-ing a mandatory second debate.

The Enabling Law al-lows the President to issue decrees with the rank and force of law on matters relat-ing to the country’s needs. In this case, new laws will focus on fighting corruption and economic sabotage.

“Mission accomplished, Commander Hugo Chavez. In your name, as President of the Republic, I sign this Enabling Law. Chavez lives, the nation persists”, Maduro said on receiving the law.

After signing it, the Presi-dent indicated that the gov-ernment aims to launch a “staggering offensive to fight corruption in January 2014”. He also stressed that the Enabling Law will spur the development of a new so-cialist ethic and a new civic morality.

“Rest assured that no matter what the enemies of the nation do, we will have peace here. Peace and more peace for the family that is Venezuela. Tranquility, work, life and prosperity. They will never again dis-turb the country’s peace and livelihood”, Maduro sustained.

Venezuela’s Canaima “irreplaceable”

T/ CDO

There are countless places of natural wonder in the world, many of which are unique and irreplaceable. A recent scienti-fic study, published this week in Science magazine and National Geographic, highlighted some of the places which are critical for the survival of the most threate-ned mammals, birds amphibians on Earth.

For inclusion on the list of “irreplaceable” areas, a key factor was the potential for species loss as a consequence of a failure to take measures for environmental protection.

Among the most important sites listed by the study are:

Galapagos Islands in Ecuador, with 39 endemic species; Canai-ma National Park in Venezuela, known for its mesa-like moun-tains, called tepuis, with 13 uni-

que amphibian species; and the Atsinanana rainforest in Mada-gascar, which has between 80% and 90% of the country’s ende-mic animal species.

The artillery of ideas

Venezuelan President granted decreepowers to fight speculation, usury

2 Impact | Friday, November 22, 2013

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

In a move designed to com-bat corruption and price speculation in the South

American nation, the Ven-ezuelan congress voted last Thursday to grant President Nicolas Maduro decree pow-ers in compliance with the country’s constitution.

By a vote of 99 to 60, the Na-tional Assembly approved the measure, which was enacted following a second round of heated discussions on Tuesday.

“99 represents the Venezu-elan people and the revolution-aries who support the Enabling Law that has been requested by our President”, said socialist congressman Ricardo Sangui-no in a press conference after the vote.

Tuesday’s final vote approval in the National Assembly was accompanied by a mass rally of government supporters in the streets who subsequently marched to the presidential palace to bring the new law to President Maduro. The Ven-ezuelan head of state signed the law, formalizing its valid-ity, during a national television broadcast from the Miraflores palace.

Article 203 of the Venezu-elan constitution allows for the country’s unicameral legisla-ture to provide the executive with the power of decree under what is called the nation’s En-abling Law.

The legal mechanism has been used by various presidents throughout Venezuela’s his-tory and was employed on vari-ous occasions by the late Hugo Chavez in order to accelerate the implementation of benefit programs and avoid bureau-cratic delays in the application of social reforms.

To grant the special pow-ers, there must be a two-thirds majority in the Na-tional Assembly.

“We have abided by what is required by our constitution which stipulates that an En-abling Law must be approved by two-thirds of the represen-tatives of this parliament. It’s a victory for the people!” ex-claimed National Assembly President Diosdado Cabello on Tuesday.

quently sold their products at prices that in some cases have topped more than a thousand percent profit.

“Prices have been inflated with shameless and abusive profit margins. We’re going to establish fair prices. We’re already taking the steps but we need to complete the work. We’re showing how the prices are coming down. This seemed like something impossible [in Venezuela]. It was like a curse”, the head of state said of artifi-cially-induced inflation in the OPEC member state.

Fighting what he has called “an economic war” perpetrated by the nation’s right-wing, Ma-duro has created a presidential commission to investigate cases

A WEAPONFOR THE ECONOMIC WAR

President Maduro solicited the decree power to fight cor-ruption and advance the gov-ernment’s offensive against usury and price speculation in the country.

This includes, the head of state has informed, decreeing a law that will combat exces-sive price hikes on imported goods by limiting the profits of large firms to between 15 and 30 percent.

“The perverse, thieving ves-tiges of the parasitic bourgeoi-sie must come to an end. Our model is not that of capitalism but it includes different types of activities. The control of prof-its represents a key element [in our strategy]”, the Venezuelan president said last Friday.

Maduro’s comments follow more than a week of intense government activity that has seen the Venezuelan state in-tervene in retail outlets across the country to put an end to price gouging.

The exorbitant charges have resulted from the manipula-tion of the government’s for-eign exchange commission, Cadivi, which provides retail-ers with US dollars at a prefer-ential rate.

Importers who receive the foreign currency have subse-

of usury and enforce the lower-ing of prices wherever specula-tion is found.

“Now is not the time to ease up. It’s the time to tighten the offensive and we’re going to get to the bottom of this. We have to get to the heart of this eco-nomic war for all of Venezuela”, the former union leader said.

INSPECTIONS CONTINUEOn Sunday, Vice President

Jorge Arreaza informed that a number of government in-terventions in Venezuelan big box outlets continued over the weekend.

Various hardware and de-partment stores were the sub-ject of investigations that re-vealed exaggerated pricing on

a range of common household items.

In a branch outlet of the home improve chain EPA in Caracas, a team of government inspec-tors were able to guarantee a reduction in costs of between 30 and 70 percent.

“A hammer was priced at 229 bolivars ($36). Today, the fair price is 114 bolivars ($18). A set of screwdrivers was changed from 339 bolivars ($53) to 169 bolivars ($26). A power saw was reduced from 9,795 bolivars ($1,554) to 2,938 bolivars ($466) and sets of Christmas lights is now at 37 bolivars ($5) when it was 159 bolivars ($30) before”, explained Herbert Garcias, Di-rector of the presidential com-mission charged with price ad-justing.

Not all outlets, however, have needed government inspectors to comply with regulations.

Hector Rodriguez, Vice Presi-dent for Social Affairs, reported that a branch outlet of the EPA retailer had voluntarily coop-erated with the Venezuelan government’s policy of main-taining prices accessible for the nation’s population.

“We selected 66 products randomly and with each one of them, we’ve been able to verify that the company has followed the regulations put in place by the government. This business is an example for the rest”, Ro-driguez said.

PROTECTING SMALL BUSINESSESThe Maduro administration

has focused its efforts on identi-fying fraudulent suppliers and middlemen who control a lion’s share of the distribution chain of imported products.

At the same time, the social-ist government has stressed the importance of protecting small and medium-sized com-panies from predatory busi-ness practices.

For this reason, the Venezue-lan government is calling upon business owners to enroll in a new registry that will assist local firms in uncovering exag-gerated pricing while providing incentives to maintain products available for residents.

Vice President Arreaza ex-plained on Sunday that the data-base would be critical in ensur-ing that honest business owners are able to “continue with their commercial activity”.

The point, he affirmed, is to create a mechanism that will ensure “that retailers have access to financing” and that “the suppliers don’t cheat them when they give them products at prices already inflated from the beginning of the [distribu-tion] chain”.

The artillery of ideasFriday, November 22, 2013 | Politics 3

T/ COIP/ Agencies

With dozens of rallies and demonstrations across the country, the United Social-

ist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) of-ficially kicked off its campaign efforts last Saturday for the more than 300 mayoral races that will take place in the South Ameri-can nation on December 8.

“Today, the electoral cam-paign that will lead us to a deci-sive victory in order to continue building Bolivarian Socialism gets underway. It’s the final stretch for December’s elections and we can’t be complacent or careless”, said the governor of Barinas state Adan Chavez dur-ing a launching event.

The municipal contests will be the fourth round of elections

to take place in Venezuela over the past 14 months.

During the rallies, members of the PSUV expressed their confidence of victory in key urban battlegrounds includ-ing Maracaibo, the capital of the state of Zulia and the sec-ond most populated city in the country.

“We’re very close to a historic triumph in Maracaibo”, assert-

Venezuela’s socialists taketo the streets for campaign launch

T/ COIP/ Presidential Press

More than 5,000 community leaders and grassroots

activists participated in a na-tional gathering in Caracas last weekend to discuss the di-rection of Venezuela's commu-nal movement, make available products produced at the local level, and brainstorm strate-gies to deepen the country's so-cialist revolution.

The First National Encoun-ter of Commune Members took place in different parts of the Venezuelan capital and featured an economic fair on Saturday that showcased the different productive enterprises that have been spearheaded by com-munities around the country.

On sale were more than 250 tons of agricultural goods as well as textiles and handicrafts.

"Here we are without any middlemen. From the women who do the sewing directly to the consumer who will buy this sweater that has been made by the community", said Jose Lugo,

Venezuela’s communal movement gathersin Caracas to advance local socialism

a communal spokesperson and vender from the Caracas neigh-borhood of 23 de Enero.

The products were offered with prices far below normal commercial venues where multi-layered distribution net-works have meant higher pric-es for residents.

"I've got squash for 5 bolivars ($.80) a kilogram. 3 kilos of cas-sava for 20 bolivars ($3.17) and whipped cream for 30 bolivars ($4.76) so you can't tell me that I'm not giving you a deal. All of this comes from my own parcel of land", remarked Juan Dominguez from the Andean state of Merida.

"This is the real price that things could be sold at if there were no middlemen", the farm-er added.

Venezuelan Vice President Jorge Arreaza was in attendance for the fair and drew attention to the importance of community-driven economic endeavors as a way to fight price speculation and hoarding in the country.

"While some are busy specu-lating and robbing, we're giving

power to the people", Arreaza affirmed.

"We're going to work with the people to build a new socialist model of production", the Vice President added.

COMMUNES AT THE VANGUARDOriginally devised by the

late Hugo Chavez, Venezuela's communes have been a key part of the national govern-ment's policy of empowering local neighborhoods and jump-starting productive economic endeavors.

Conceived as umbrella struc-tures for the nation's grassroots community councils, the com-munes are meant to provide direct financing from the Exec-utive while acting as the orga-nizational base for progressive reforms at the regional level.

"Without the communes, ev-erything would come to an end. They are the epicenters of hu-man life and for life in social-ism. That's why we need to rec-ognize the depth of the concepts that Chavez left to us", said President Nicolas Maduro dur-

ing a meeting with community spokespeople on Saturday.

During his address, the head of state spoke of the sig-nificance that the communes hold in the construction of a new society and he encour-aged grassroots activists to submit ideas to the national government for the funding of productive initiatives.

"I want to receive every proj-ect and develop our productive economy. You all know how we can make our economy more dynamic. I am proposing ur-ban agriculture, textile and shoe manufacturing. We either build a powerful economy with

a productive base or there will be no socialism", Maduro said.

The Venezuelan President delegated three tasks for the communal movement to com-plete in order to advance the ef-fectiveness of the organizations at the local level.

These include taking up the fight to improve security and combat violence in the country's neighborhoods, participating in the work of the government's urban renewal measures, and boosting economic activity.

"You are the vanguard. Without the communes, there wouldn't be a new Venezuela", Maduro said.

ed candidate Miguel Perez Pire-la who, according to polls, leads his conservative opponent by a margin of at least 5 points in the opposition controlled city.

“We’re going to win. There is a safe, clean and just Maracai-bo coming. It is the Maracaibo for which residents have been waiting for a long time”, Perez Pirela said.

The upcoming mayoral and municipal councilmember elections represent an impor-tant test for the socialist camp, which, after losing the charis-matic Hugo Chavez to cancer in March, have been working to maintain the political domi-nance that they have exercised over the opposition for the past 14 years.

Policies enacted by current President Nicolas Maduro, who has embarked on a series of new initiatives aimed at halt-ing the economic challenges that have beset the Caribbean country, figure to be important campaign issues.

By combating price specula-tion and hoarding, the social-ist government has been able to guarantee access to basic commodities for residents and ensure the availability of con-sumer goods during the holiday season.

The measures have reso-nated with a population that

has been subjected to irratio-nal price hikes and usurious business practices in recent months.

Other urban renewal proj-ects being set in motion by the Maduro administration, such as the social program Barrio Nuevo, Barrio Tricolor, will also be important organizing platforms for the PSUV.

On Sunday, Caracas Mayor Jorge Rodriguez spoke of the need to reach out all residents of the capital in order to con-tinue fostering a government directed by the people.

“We’re visiting every neigh-borhood, all of the working class areas, and all the sectors of Caracas street by street in order to govern with the peo-ple”, Rodriguez explained dur-ing a door-to-door canvass on Sunday.

The mayor made reference to the progress that the capital has seen as a result of the poli-cies initiated by the late Hugo Chavez, but stressed the need to deepen Venezuela’s social-ist revolution with a victory on December 8.

“It’s about the rebirth of hope in the people of Caracas and the construction of the future... Chavez did a lot for the people of Caracas and President Maduro is doing a lot, but more needs to be done”, Rodriguez said.

The artillery of ideas4 Politics | Friday, November 22, 2013

T/ Ewan RobertsonP/ Agencies

Argentine President Cristi-na Fernandez de Kirchner retook the reins of power

on Monday after a health-pro-voked absence of over a month. Fernandez underwent brain surgery to remove a blood clot on October 8th.

Her medical team will con-tinue to monitor her health, and she will undergo new tests in December.

In a video recorded by her daughter Florencia Kirchner, the Argentine head of state spoke to the public for the first time since her operation and thanked all those who had sup-ported her and wished her well during her illness. She also said she had passed through a “dif-ficult moment” with her health in recent weeks.

Cristina Fernandez, 60, has governed Argentina since 2007. She is considered part of the continent’s wave of progres-sive leaders, whose policies aim to benefit the poor and middle class.

Under her administration the state has played a greater role in the economy, nationalizing energy company YPF, the main airline, and the private pension

Argentine President CristinaFernandez returns after operation

system. Meanwhile her media democratization law seeks to break up large corporate media monopolies.

SOLIDARITY GIFTDuring both the terms of Cris-

tina Fernandez and late presi-dent Nestor Kirchner, who was Fernandez’s husband, Argen-tina has experienced good rela-tions with Venezuela’s Bolivari-an revolution, with both leaders also holding a warm personal

relationship with late Venezu-elan president Hugo Chavez.

In her video on Monday Pres-ident Fernandez personally thanked solidarity from Vene-zuela during her recovery. She said that Hugo Chavez’s brother Adan, who is a state governor in Venezuela, had travelled to Ar-gentina to give her a Mucuchies dog as a present.

Showing the puppy to the camera, she said, “This is the dog Hugo Chavez had promised

T/ Paul Dobson

As part of the recent intensi-fication of the fight against

sectors responsible for illegal speculation, hoarding, con-spiring, and the economic war in the country, public atten-tion was drawn to four promi-nent cases this week, with two right wing figures accused of fleeing the Venezuelan justice system, another of sending a hit squad to “silence” a coun-cilmember, and an arrest war-rant submitted to Interpol for a fourth.

Miguel Cocchiola is the Mayoral candidate for the op-position alliance (MUD) in the Municipality of Valencia, Car-abobo State. He is currently a legislator in the National As-

Opposition representativesaccused of illegal activities

sembly, as well as owner of the largest private wood process-ing company in the country (Imeca).

On the very day that his com-pany was investigated by the public authorities for irregu-larities, Cocchiola suspiciously left the country by private jet to Curacao, later to arrive into Miami. The National Guard and District Attorneys’ Offices found evidence of 1000% price hikes, hoarding of goods, and are requesting answers regard-ing the paperwork seized which suggests currency scams.

“The proof is there- a firm which is stealing from the Ven-ezuelans”, stated President Ma-duro in reference to Imeca. “An investigation has been opened, he (Cocchiola) should go to the

Public Prosecutors Office, but he has fled the country…”

Absent at his own campaign launch, Cocchiola described his start of campaign as “excel-lent” and “incredible” from his location in Miami.

ARREST WARRANTFOR CAPRILES ADVISOR

Prominent self-exiled oppo-sition spin master, Juan Jose Rendon, is sought by Interpol following the opening of an in-vestigation by the Venezuelan Prosecutor’s Office into accusa-tions that he sexually violated a woman.

Rendon is frequently cited as the brains behind the oppo-sition’s communications and electoral campaigns, and he is considered an expert in media spin and psychological manipu-lation. He is a political advisor of opposition leader Henrique Capriles and of ex-Colombian President Uribe.

BANKER’S PROPERTY SEIZED Representatives of the peo-

ple, led by Legislative Council Deputy Jose Felix Valera and the Communal Council of the sector peacefully seized the va-cant property of Oscar Garcia Mendoza this week, a promi-nent banker and opposition financier, amid accusations of conspiracy, illegal monetary exchanges, and drug connec-tions.

“The banker isn’t in Venezue-la”, explained Valera, speaking from the property. “Apparently he is fleeing the Venezuelan justice system”.

The corresponding authori-ties, including the District At-torneys’ Office and the Bolivar-ian Intelligence Agency (Sebin), have opened an investigation.

COUNCILMEMBERATTACKED BY MAYOR

Councilmember Gloria Tor-cat accused opposition mayor

of Arismendi Municipal-ity, Nueva Esparta State, of ordering a hit squad to “si-lence” her this week after she was attacked and beaten by 2 men following a heated conversation in which she voiced her disapproval of the mayor’s policies.

“I felt the first hit which was aimed at my face”, she ex-plained to reporters. “When I turned over, they hit my mouth and face some more. While they beat me they said obscene things and told me that I had to learn to shut up”.

The opposition councilmem-ber, who is the widow of one of the founders of Capriles’ Pri-mera Justicia Party in the re-gion, the Party to which may-or Richard Fermin belongs, further announced that “I withdraw from the opposition alliance and I join the cam-paign of (pro-government) candidate Luis Diaz”.

me he was going to give me, it’s the national dog of Venezuela…Why? It’s a special breed raised in Venezuela that accompanied [19th century independence general] Simon Bolivar in all his battles”.

Fernandez explained to view-ers how Simon Bolivar, who lib-erated much of South America from Spanish rule in the early 19th century, was accompanied by a Mucuchies dog called Ne-vado in his battles.

“He fought alongside Bolivar and attacked the Spanish along with their horses, and they struck him [Nevado] down with a lance in the historic battle of Carabobo (1821), which was the battle that effectively liberated the continent”, she said.

As such, Fernandez said the dog was a “very special gift” due to the connection with Hugo and Adan Chavez.

BACK TO WORKThe Argentine President de-

clared that she would now get back to work “at once”, and was expected to formally return to the presidential seat on Wednes-day. On Monday, Cristina Fer-nandez had already announced a cabinet reshuffle, naming a new cabinet chief, central bank president, and new ministers of the economy and agriculture.

Her return to power coin-cides with an increase of her approval rating to 39.4% ac-cording to pollsters Gonzales & Valladeres, seven points higher than two months ago. She was reelected with 54% of the vote in 2011.

Her popularity had suffered a mid-term dip, in part due to a higher than hoped for inflation rate, at 10.5% in May.

Nevertheless her ruling co-alition led by her political par-ty, the Front for Victory (FPV), managed to retain majority control of the congress in leg-islative elections on 27 October. The FPV was also the party, which won the most overall votes, although opposition forc-es made gains in some districts such as Buenos Aires.

The artillery of ideasFriday, November 22, 2013 | Social Justice 5

T/ Ryan Mallett-OuttrimP/ Agencies

After providing remedial high school education to more than 800,000 Venezu-

elans in a decade, the tenth an-niversary of Mission Ribas was celebrated across Venezuela on Sunday.

“Mission Ribas, 10 years giving light and values to the people to achieve supreme hap-piness for everyone, in social-ism”, President Nicolas Maduro tweeted.

“With our [Hugo] Chavez, founder of the congratulated missions, together we will con-tinue to overcome on the path of revolution”, Maduro stated in a second tweet.

On Sunday, thousands of peo-ple attended a celebration of the mission’s 10th year of operation in barrio 23 de Enero in Cara-cas, led by energy and petro-leum minister Rafael Ramirez. According to the minister, the mission is one of the most orga-nized and militant government initiatives in the country.

“Mission Ribas serves the heart of the revolution, the hu-man being. It’s a land for soli-darity, brotherhood and the building of socialism”, Ramirez told the crowd.

“The missions are the people, not the oligarchy- they are un-beatable, they are the revolution, they are Chavez”, he stated.

“Thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution, millions of Venezu-elans have the opportunity to continue their studies”, head of the Mission Ribas Foundation

Orlando Ortegano said last Fri-day during an interview with state broadcaster VTV.

“In these first 10 years, the Mis-sion Ribas has not only granted...degrees but these Venezuelan [students have] been able to seek a better life. That is the most sub-stantial change observed today, after graduating from the Mis-sion Ribas”, he said.

“Once you have graduated from high school with a formal education, not only do you have a technical degree and capacity to work, but now also play an important role and are a pro-tagonist in your own commu-nity”, Ortegano said.

TEN YEARS OF RIBASNamed after the Venezuelan

19th Century independence leader Jose Felix Ribas, the mission was launched on 17 No-vember 2003 as the third level of remedial education for Venezu-elan youths and adults.

The first stage, Mission Rob-inson, was launched in July that year, with a mandate lim-ited to providing basic literacy classes. It has now provided classes to over 1,700,000 Ven-ezuelans, according to govern-ment figures.

Robinson II followed, offering free remedial primary school education. Around 790,000 stu-dents have now graduated from Robinson II; 94801 of which have gone on to undertake high school education through Ribas.

In June 2005, the first co-hort of 20,686 Ribas graduates were congratulated by then

President Hugo Chavez, who described the changes taking place in Venezuela’s education system as “unprecedented”.

He also labeled the conven-tional capitalist education mod-el as “venom”.

In 1998, 5 million Venezu-elans had been deprived of a high school education, accord-ing to the government.

“The capitalist system that reigned here for many years converted almost all the uni-versities into schools for the strengthening of this model”, he said.

“They formed generations of mentally deranged people...without a sense of social con-sciousness and the university system became more elite and was taken over”, Chavez stated.

Since then, 167793 of the roughly 800,000 Ribas gradu-ates have gone on to study with Mission Sucre, which offers free tertiary education courses.

As of 2011, 560,000 Venezu-elans had undertaken courses with Sucre, and 140,000 had al-ready graduated.

Chavez pledged to deepen government investment in edu-cation; something with his suc-cessor, Maduro has likewise af-firmed he will continue.

Between 1998 and 2012, the percentage of Venezuela’s GDP devoted to education al-most doubled; increasing from around 3.9% to 7%.

In recent years Venezuela has boasted one of the highest rates of literacy and enrollment in higher education in Latin America.

Venezuela celebrates 10thanniversary of Mission Ribas

T/ Paul Dobson

The Venezuelan Ministry for University Education

made various announce-ments this week, including the unveiling of more than 200,000 new books to be used to modernize 400 uni-versity libraries around the country.

The books, which have been imported by the gov-ernment, form part of a project by the Ministry to update the libraries to in-clude digital books, sub-scriptions to journals, and a central database.

Minister Calzadilla ex-plained that by centrally co-ordinating such programs, private, public, and autono-mous universities can all benefit. “By doing this cen-trally”, he stated, “we can get better prices and evade the issue of price specula-tion in books”.

The Minister, who spoke at the launch of the yearly University Book Fair in Ca-racas, underlined the im-portance of literature to the technological, educational, and intellectual develop-ment of the nation.

“Universities are one of the best spaces for the ex-pression of knowledge, and a good part of this knowl-edge goes through books. These study houses are po-tential editing houses too, and often their productions aren’t well known”, he pro-claimed.

The Minister also com-mented on the progress be-ing made in the ‘University Canaima’ program, which was initiated by President Maduro in recent months.

The program looks to wid-en the massively success-ful Canaima program that manufactures specialized laptops that are given for free to school age children in the public educational system as part of the efforts to eradicate technological illiteracy.

The University Canaima program will “develop a plan of production and dis-tribution of tablet comput-ers to university students”, explained Calzadilla. From

University students to receive Canaima tablets and benefitfrom free WIFI zones

2014, the government will start to produce and distrib-ute more than 2.5 million tablet computers to univer-sity students.

Similarly, he explained that advances are being made in the project to create free WIFI zones in all of the university campuses in the country by the end of the year. Currently, there are 3 set up, including the Boli-varian University in Cara-cas, but soon the program will be widened to other universities. “We are in the phase of technological fea-sibility and the elaboration of the itinerary”, affirmed Calzadilla.

The Minister for Science, Technology and Innova-tion, Manuel Fernandez, who is working alongside the Ministry for University Education and the Min-istry for Industry in this project, explained that it will not just be of benefit to the students, but to all involved in the university sector: the objective “is that each student, worker, or professor can access the internet from their cell phone, tablet, laptop, or whatever technological tool they use”.

Finally, Minister Calza-dilla declared that he has called a meeting of the Uni-versity Education Minis-ters of Mercosur countries this week, which will be held in Caracas. “We offer our welcome to our broth-ers and sisters who have come from Bolivia, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and also to the representatives from Colombia and Chile who will assist as invited members”.

The Maduro administra-tion has held various such topic-specific meetings in recent weeks with Merco-sur countries, including the respective ministries for Equality of Gender and the respective police forces. They form part of a policy of integration by the Venezuelan President that looks to predominantly strengthen the potential of Latin American trade and exchange.

The artillery of ideas6 Interview | Friday, November 22, 2013

T/ COIP/ Agencies

Last week, as hundreds of community activists gath-ered in downtown Caracas

to demonstrate their steadfast support for the socialist policies of Venezuelan President Nico-las Maduro, he reiterated once again that, “Venezuela’s com-munes must be consolidated if we are to truly carry out the pro-gram elaborated by our leader, Hugo Chavez”. Duilliam Virigay agrees. National Spokesman of the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB), he was in Caracas last week to par-ticipate in the national assem-bly of the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Current (CRBZ), a social movement dedicated to pushing the Bolivarian Revolu-tion forward. In this interview, he describes the interesting yet difficult challenges faced by Venezuela’s radical experiment with participatory democracy.

–How did the FNCSB first come together?

–Before the FNCSB came to be, our people were actively in-volved in building the Ezequiel Zamora National Campesino Front (FNCEZ). In 1998 and 1999, the FNCEZ was working with rural people in the struggle for agrarian reform. This struggle for land was extremely violent, with the Venezuelan oligarchy, the landed elite, murdering over 300 rural leaders. As the FNCEZ consolidated itself and became strong, we identified the need to build other organizations that could attend to the needs of oth-er sectors of society.

In 2005, we brought together some 350 communal councils in the first constituent assembly of the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB). Thanks to the grassroots orga-nizing we had been doing for years, we were able to mobilize active leaders of these commu-nal councils and form what is today the FNSCB.

–Why did you, as a social movement, decide to prioritize the formation of communes?

–All we did was to follow through with the vision outlined by President Chavez, a vision that proposed we re-found the Republic, re-found it from below,

Duilliam Virigay, spokesman of the FNCSB

“Building communes isn’t just about defendingthe Revolution, it’s about moving forward”

from the neighborhoods, from the countryside. Chavez under-stood the need to build a new and revolutionary institutional-ism from deep within the roots of Venezuelan society. To do this, Chavez proposed the consolida-tion of neighborhood-based com-munal councils, the joining of these councils into communes, joining these into communal cit-ies, and so on. That is Chavez’s proposal for dismantling the bourgeois and oligarchical state that exists in Venezuela today, and that is why we’ve prioritized the communes.

We began our communal work in the state of Apure, a very difficult area to do grassroots organizing because of thefts, contraband, irregular forces that exist along the border (with Colombia), paramilitaries, and assassinations carried out by lo-cal elites. There in Apure we got started. The first thing we did was to bring together 39 commu-nal councils and form eight com-munes. Once that was accom-plished, we formed the country’s first communal city, now known as the Simon Bolivar Social-ist Campesino Communal City (CCCS-SB). It wasn’t easy, but we’ve made real progress since then. We’ve built communes and communal cities using nothing more than hard work, dedication, and our philosophy

of organizing, educating, and mobilizing. We’ve helped build the consciousness necessary to bring people together. Today, and I say it with all humility, the CCCS-SB is the best example of social organization that exists in Venezuela. Of the 420 communes that are formally registered with the Ministry of Communes and Social Movements, 269 are communes that the FNCSB or-ganized. That’s 60%.

Building communes isn’t just about defending the Revolution, it’s also about moving forward, being on the offensive. What we propose, as the CRBZ, is a nationwide strategic counter-offensive against the right. We want government policies to be implemented all across the na-tion. Policies that aren’t put into practice everywhere are policies that remain incomplete. That’s also why Chavez proposed the communes – so that policies turn into concrete actions in ev-ery corner of the country.

–Private media in Venezue-la and abroad tend to demon-ize the communes. Why do you think that is?

–The communes pose a real threat to the Venezuelan opposi-tion. Not only to the Venezuelan opposition but also to the right-wing all over Latin America and to US imperialism, to capitalism on the whole. The fear they have

is that we Venezuelans, we in the Bolivarian Revolution, have up until now been playing the game of bourgeois democracy. To build communes is to force the Venezuelan right, the con-tinental right, and imperialism, into a terrain that they don’t control. That’s the real danger the communes pose and that’s where their fear comes from – if our Revolution advances in the construction of the communes, in building our new institution-alism, we will have broken with the limitations imposed on us by bourgeois society.

–Any thoughts for readers living outside of Venezuela?

–For all those who look to Ven-ezuela from a distance, through a computer or television screen, or perhaps through the opinion of a journalist in their country, all I can tell them is that this Revolution is being made by, for, and of the people. President Chavez sowed a deep patriotic spirit in people that didn’t ex-ist here before. He taught us to value ourselves, to care for one another. He taught us to under-stand that the problem of the other is our problem, that the problems of others are the prob-lem of the republic.

In Venezuela we had extreme poverty. We were a nation rich in mineral resources, in oil, water and biodiversity, but we

were also a nation in which those riches were exported off to the so-called “developed” world. Now we understand that these riches belong to the entire nation, that we have the respon-sibility to manage them well so that they reach the greatest number of people, the poorest people first, to the most humble in Venezuela as well as in other nations where people have real needs.

The majority of Venezuelans, those who vote for the Chavez platform, for socialism, those who keep the Revolution going, believe strongly in this struggle. Sure, we have difficulties. We have delinquency, we have cor-ruption, and we have many other problems that we inherited from the capitalism that came before us. Those who want to come and see Venezuela should do so. They should come to Venezuela, visit a neighborhood, visit the countryside, visit a commune. They’ll see how we’re solving our social problems.

We invite all people to come and see our country, but we also invite people to make an effort in their home countries to build concrete alternatives to capi-talism. Their alternatives need not be the Venezuelan alterna-tive. Instead, they should be the alternatives allowed for by the conditions in each country.

The artillery of ideas Friday, November 22, 2013 | Analysis 7

T/ COIP/ Agencies

In a clear demonstration of popular support for Ven-ezuelan President Nicolas

Maduro’s recent economic measures, last week over 800 delegates of the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Cur-rent (CRBZ) converged on cen-tral Caracas. Traveling from 18 of the country’s 23 states, the community activists called for a “popular and revolutionary counteroffensive” in response to “the opposition’s economic war against the Venezuelan people”. Joined by top-ranking officials of the Maduro admin-istration as well as national spokesmen of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), the organizers called for “direct action” in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution.

ON THE OFFENSIVEIn the context of outrageous

price increases, an orchestrat-ed hoarding of basic goods, and an ongoing media campaign against the national govern-ment, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last week launched a nationwide offen-sive against usury and price gauging by what he called “un-scrupulous business owners” involved in an “economic war against working people”. Days later, with over 1,500 retail

outlets inspected, thousands of goods re-priced, and dozens of store owners arrested, Maduro affirmed that these actions are “just the tip of the iceberg of what we plan to do to protect the Venezuelan people”.

In response to these mea-sures, hundreds of activists from the Bolivar and Zamora Revolutionary Current (CRBZ) gathered in downtown Caracas to ratify their commitment to “act in steadfast defense of the Revolution”. The CRBZ, one of the country’s largest and best-organized grassroots social movements, is an umbrella organization that includes, among others, the Ezequiel Zamora National Campesino Front (FNCEZ) – a rural social movement and member of La Via Campesina International – and the Simon Bolivar National Communal Front (FNCSB) – re-sponsible for successfully orga-nizing over 250 communes.

“Our enemy’s objective is to put the brakes on Bolivarian Socialism”, said Orlando Zam-brano, PSUV lawmaker and na-tional spokesman of the CRBZ.

“The opposition is using eco-nomic warfare in an attempt to convince society that our so-cialism is incapable of meeting people’s needs”, he explained.

“Inefficiency, bureaucracy, and corruption are being pre-sented as somehow inherent to socialism, when what is in fact

taking place is a systematic at-tack on the Venezuelan people, with disastrous daily effects that hit the most popular sec-tors of society the hardest”.

“The opposition knows”, Zambrano said, “that they must rid themselves of the Maduro administration before it’s too late, before he has time to fulfill the commitments he made to Chavez and to the Venezuelan people”.

“For this reason”, he added, “they are using their control of the economy to influence the December 8th municipal elec-tions. They want people to vote against socialist candidates so that they can use the results as a plebiscite against Maduro”.

Early next month, Venezu-elans will elect 337 mayors and 2,455 city council members into local office for the 2013-2017 pe-riod. The election is the first to be held since President Maduro defeated opposition hopefully Henrique Capriles Radonski in the unexpected April 2013 pres-ident elections.

According to Zambrano, Venezuela’s social movements “must take to the streets, help get out the vote, and continue to strengthen the Revolution’s capacity to defeat the opposi-tion whenever and wherever we meet”.

The socialist lawmaker also explained that the CRBZ is currently working with allied

social movements to develop a plan of action that includes the formation of grassroots “com-mittees for the defense of the economy” – a proposal made by Maduro – as well as a nation-wide campaign of occupations targeting stores and warehous-es with known links to the “eco-nomic war against the people”.

WAR OF ATTRITIONIn the words of Jesus Farias,

one of the leading spokesmen of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) present at the CRBZ assembly, “the strat-egy of the US-backed opposition is simple – attrition”.

“They want to generate dis-comfort in the population, they want to provoke protests, disturbances, and looting”, he said, “all with the aim of bring-ing down the government”.

“What Maduro needs most”, Farias affirmed, “are the peo-ple, organized”.

“This grassroots national assembly, held in the heart of Caracas, is proof of the great advances being made by the Venezuelan people and their popular organizations. Social movements such as the CRBZ have a fundamental role to play in moving forward the socialist platform that Chavez proposed, the same platform Maduro is now looking to implement”.

Also present at the assembly was Venezuelan Minister for

Grassroots social movementsdefend new economic measures

Women and Gender Equality Andreina Tarazon.

Congratulating the orga-nizers “for creating a space in which action and analysis come together among grass-roots activists, between the people and their government”, Tarazon added that “Presi-dent Nicolas Maduro has ev-ery intention of moving the Revolution forward, and to do so he needs the help of people like you, community leaders united in defense of socialism at the local, regional, and na-tional levels”.

THE COUNTEROFFENSIVEAccording to CRBZ organiz-

ers, “the Bolivarian Revolution currently finds itself in what may possibly be its most dif-ficult, fateful, and dangerous days. It is living through a pe-riod in which it is permanently forced to be on the strategic de-fensive, a situation that must be reversed and transformed into concrete initiatives that radicalize the form and con-tent of the Revolution so as to carry out the program left behind by Commander Hugo Chavez Frias”.

Eduardo Saman, President of the Venezuelan Institute for the Defense of People’s Ac-cess to Goods and Services (INDEPABIS), declared, “the new economic measures an-nounced by President Maduro mark a milestone”.

Joining those gathered for the CRBZ assembly, Saman also affirmed, “the Venezuelan people, their socialist govern-ment, and the country’s armed forces are now working to-gether to regulate the national economy”.

“In order for this to work”, he explained, “people must be organized and, equally impor-tant, mobilized”.

“There is a war being carried out by private business inter-ests”, he said.

“The opposition, which still controls the majority of the national economy, is financ-ing its campaigns by overpric-ing goods and hitting people where it hurts, in the pocket-book. They exploit us at the workplace, and they exploit us in the marketplace, only to use their privilege against us on Election Day”.

“The Venezuelan people, our socialist majority, must be aware of what’s going on, must take to the streets whenever necessary”.

“Social movements play a fundamental role in this pro-cess”, he concluded, “without them the Revolution can not de-fend itself fully”.

Editor-in-Chief Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera - Audra Ramones

INTERNATIONAL Friday, November 22, 2013 | Nº 184 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve

T/ W.T. Whitney Jr.W.T. Whitney Jr. is a retired pediatrician and political journalist living in Maine.

Nicolas Maduro won Venezu-ela’s presidential election in April by a slim margin,

a result still unrecognized by the US government. Opposi-tion demonstrations quickly spread, killing 13 people. Now his government faces municipal elections on December 8, and engineered social turmoil has returned. Although polls have been favorable, the confidence marking election campaigns un-der predecessor Hugo Chavez, now dead, is gone.

Opposition forces have used destabilization to cast both the Chavez and Maduro govern-ments as dysfunctional. Power-ful forces inside and outside Ven-ezuela targeted the Chavez – led Bolivarian movement because of its decisive role in promoting continent-wide unity and social justice. The US government is widely believed to have encour-aged the unsuccessful right wing coup of 2002 and subse-quent disruption of Venezuela’s oil industry.

Venezuelan – US lawyer Eva Golinger has discovered a script for what’s happening now. Golinger, well known for her re-porting on US payments to Ven-ezuelan opposition groups, re-cently arranged for publication of a document outlining opposi-tion preparations in advance of the municipal elections. Entitled “Venezuelan Strategic Plan”, it appeared in the Russian Times. The Plan’s 15 “action points” cover sabotage, “mas-sive mobilizations,” food short-ages, “insurrection inside the army”, and control of publicity. The authors anticipate “cri-sis in the streets that facili-tate the intervention of North America and the forces of NATO, with support of the govern-ment of Colombia”.

The resulting “violence should cause deaths and injuries”.

According to Golinger, the plan emerged from a meeting on June 13, 2013 attended by Mark Feierstein, regional head of the US Agency for International Development and by represen-tatives of three other organiza-tions: Florida – based FTI Con-sulting; Colombia’s “Center for Thought Foundation”, linked to former president Alvaro Uribe; and also the Democratic Inter-nationalism Foundation, pro-moted by Uribe.

US- funded opposition groups are currently demonstrat-ing in Venezuelan streets and forcing shortages of con-sumer goods. For Jose Vicente Rangel, vice president under Chavez, their attacks on electric power plants, city transporta-tion services, and oil refiner-ies are terrorist in nature. Stores are running short of milk, tex-tiles, sugar, shoes, electronic equipment, and more. The gov-ernment accuses importers and retail distributers of hoarding. Retail prices have skyrocketed.

The government sells dollars gained from oil sales at a fixed rate to importing companies. Importers sell goods they pur-chase with dollars to retailers who charge exorbitant prices payable in undervalued boli-vars, the national currency. In-flation is up 54 percent in 2013. Movement of dollars out of the

country and dollars sales on the black market contribute to inflation. Government spokes-persons condemn profiteering, speculation, and hoarding.

Venezuelan, European, and USmass media feature stories of popular frustration, even anger. Worried Maduro partisans re-call Chilean distress prior to the US supported coup that removed President Salvador Allende in 1973. The Nixon administration wanted then to “make Chile’s economy scream”. A statement from 45 high-level retired Ven-ezuelan military officers calling for military intervention testi-fies to high stakes in play now.

Maduro announced the cre-ation of a National Center of Exterior Commerce that would regulate foreign exchange and control acquisition and distribu-tion of foreign currency. His gov-ernment seeks passage of a tem-porary enabling law that would authorize limits placed on prof-it-taking and speculation. Be-cause the Daka electric appli-ance chain was selling goods at a 1200 percent mark-up over import costs, the government occupied its stores on November 8 to ensure a “fair price”. Ma-duro asks consumers to show

“consciousness, patience, and peacefulness in anticipation of prices being stabilized.” The government is expanding its popular Mercal grocery system that markets subsidized food products.

Venezuela’s Communist Party is not satisfied. Secretary Gen-eral Oscar Figuera called for “complete nationalization” of overseas commerce so “the state can centralize national pur-chases of essential items based on national development priori-ties and on the private sector us-ing bolivars to import goods.”

Economist Mark Weisbrot is optimistic. In 2012, oil rev-enues totaled $93.6 billion while $59.3 billion were spent on imports. Interest payments on foreign debt were relatively low. Currency reserves now ap-proach $37 billion. So, “This gov-ernment is not going to run out of dollars.” The fact that infla-tion fell in 2012 coincident with the economy expanding by 5.7 percent is a favorable sign, he suggests. And, “the poverty rate

On the Warpath in Venezueladropped by 20% in Venezuela last year.

NSA documents appearing recently in the New York Times courtesy of Edward Snowden identified Venezuela as one of six “enduring targets” for elec-tronic eavesdropping in 2007. (Others were China, North Ko-rea, Iran, Iraq, and Russia.) The strategic goal then – and proba-bly now – was to prevent Venezu-ela “from achieving its regional leadership objective and pursu-ing policies that negatively im-pact US global interests.”

Angel Guerra Cabrera is bet-ting on President Maduro. The Cuban journalist, a correspon-dent for La Jornada, claims Ma-duro has “ruined the dreams of imperialists and the right who were counting on his inability to maintain unity and the revolu-tionary direction of ‘Chavismo.’ We have seen a leader fortify himself with his own profile…With the cadres formed by com-mander [Chavez], he has consol-idated a cohesive and efficient movement”.

Maduro’s government recently expelled three US diplomats on charges they conspired with op-position groups with intent to destabilize. Neither country has posted an ambassador to its coun-terpart nation for three years.

Opinion