What's The Best Foundation Brush From Mac?

Hugo Chavez is trying to "curb the flood of imports"

Venezuela are still ongoing "dream" of becoming a
not dependent. ( Photo: Seb )

To reduce oil dependency, Caracas devalues its currency. If the outbreak is countered speculative, inflation would still increase.

January 8 last Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez announced a devaluation of the currency. The bolivar, which previously traded at a rate of 2.15 per dollar, is now subject to a dual exchange rate. Priority sectors receive a report of 2.60 Bolivars / dollar, this is the case mainly products related to health, nutrition, public sector imports, equipment, etc.. For areas deemed "non-essential", the dollar is trading 4.30 bolivars cons now. This rate applies to the rest of the economy (automotive, trade, telecommunications, construction, textiles, drinks, etc..).

Rather than devaluing, the Bolivarian government prefers officially speak of "revaluation" or "adjustment" of the bolivar. Moreover, according to President Hugo Chávez, this measure was not taken to "face a fiscal crisis, or to pay domestic debt or external," but to "curb the flood of imports ". In fact, Venezuela depends for example 70% from abroad for its food. "With the dollar 'cheap', businesses have focused on imports and domestic production dropped," says Hugo Chávez.

A dollar subsidized

In the words of Economist Victor Alvarez, former Minister of Basic Industry and Mines, the overvaluation of the bolivar, kept up to date by the exchange control was necessitated devaluation. "This adaptation of the exchange rate has also been long delayed, it should be applied only detected the first signs of overvaluation," said he.

By overvaluation means that the purchasing power of the bolivar is more important in international markets on the local market. "And this is due to higher inflation in Venezuela that found in other countries including our major trading partners, "says Alvarez.

The fixed exchange rate, controlled by the state since 2003 and maintained since 2005 to 2.15 , argued, in fact, the bolivar at a rate unreal in practice and was a subsidy to imports. "While Venezuela has consistently criticized the international institutions like the WTO, the subsidies granted by the United States and EU exports (especially in agriculture), the overvaluation of the bolivar was in fact a terrible contradiction of the government, " says the former chairman of the Foreign Trade Bank.

A paradoxical situation has greatly affected the productive capacity that the government of Hugo Chavez claims not develop to counter the historic dependence on oil.

Given the willingness of the executive, however, many wonder about the ability of industry to export Venezuelan while often barely cover the national market. "Companies in difficulty as exchange controls and currency overvaluation do bloom again from one day to another, they do not suddenly transform into efficient enterprises. Venezuelan companies are structurally inefficient, they have a very low technological level and are no economies of scale. I s will be very difficult to be competitive in the global market "analysis for its part, the economist Manuel Sutherland, the Latin American Association of Marxist political economy (ALEM).

Spectre of inflation

For now, the main apprehension of the population and analysts is that devaluation helps to increase inflation which is already around 25% per year. Following the announcement of the measure, several appliance stores were stormed by consumers worried about a possible surge in prices of imported products. But the situation remained under control, the facts were not extended.

"The government talks about 'curb imports not necessary." But these imports will not decrease, they will simply become more expensive, "warned however Sutherland. The economist also believes "totally arbitrary" the established difference between the property known as "necessary" and others. "Shoes, clothes, a phone are the property necessary for the population but it will all become more expensive and this will impoverish workers," he argues.

Expropriations

Raise the productive effectively take some time. In the immediate future, the government launched a major awareness campaign to combat and control speculation and cons against what he considers excessive price increases, even calling consumers to report abuse and threatening expropriation of businesses suspected of speculating. January 20, Hugo Chávez has also joined the call to action by signing the decree of expropriation of Exito hypermarkets, majority owned by French group Casino and accused of illegal .

To minimize possible effects of the devaluation, the government announced two major complementary measures. The first is to increase the minimum wage by 25% between March and September. The second consists of notes issued by the Central Bank (for $ 140 million to present) to provide foreign exchange rate-regulated firms and individuals and thus discourage them from resorting to black market higher and considered one of the factors favoring the i nflation.

Investing the surplus tax

From Victor Alvarez, these measures are necessary but not sufficient. The economist thinks that we should strengthen and complete the adjustment of the exchange rate by a set of macro and microeconomic measures, such as ensuring that the increase in tax revenue to the state (due to the sale dollars at a higher price) be reinvested in improving infrastructure and productive not only in current expenditure, "These additional funds should be invested in the revival of agriculture, industry, creating jobs productive and able to finally realize this dream to transform Venezuela into a rentier economy productive economy exporter.

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Electricity rationed

This power shortage may affect the economy: core firms have also had to drastically reduce their production . ( Photo: Seb )

"If we do nothing, we risk seeing the collapse of the national electricity system." This statement President of the Federation of Workers in the electricity sector, Angel Navas, dated October 2009. At the time, workers complained of poor planning and mismanagement of the National Electrical Corporation (Corpoelec). Today, the public company is obliged to initiate a plan for rationing throughout the country and the system might actually collapse in mid-April if drastic measures are not taken to reduce demand of 1,600 megawatts (MW).

For breaches reported by workers was supplemented by a particularly dry year 2009. In a country which depends to 70% of hydropower generation, the combination of two factors becomes explosive. Under the direction of the Guri Dam, which depends on the bulk of hydro generation, reach the critical level would involve the shutdown of eight turbines. This would mean the loss of 5000 MW, that is to say the equivalent of two and a half Caracas without electricity.

The "drastic measures" have already begun. The government has reduced the hours of administration officials who work longer than 8 am to 13 pm, for an expected period of 150 days. Moreover, the shortage of electricity may affect the economy: companies base (steel, metallurgy, brick, etc..) Also had greatly reduced their production. To overcome this, President Hugo Chávez has announced an investment of 200 million dollars to buy the Russian company Gazprom four power stations.

Finally, a plan for rationing in Caracas was suspended within 24 hours for being "poorly executed". This poor maneuvering has cost his post recently appointed Minister of Power generation, Angel Rodríguez.

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Articles published in the Swiss daily Le Courrier January 26, 2010

Freem Taa Lease Contract

The UNT is trying to position itself as an independent trade union

More than 800 workers met in Caracas to attend the Congress of the UNT
( Photo: Fernando Esteban )

On 5 December, more than 800 workers from different sectors and regions of Venezuela met in Caracas to attend the first extraordinary congress of the National Union Workers (UNT). The goal: to build a powerhouse independent trade union capable of influencing the orientation of the Bolivarian process, which many now believe that through its most critical time.

was sort of the Congress's last chance. More than six years after its creation, UNT is a plant that so far exists mostly in people's minds, but is very vague in reality. Claiming nearly one million members, it is however little presence on the national scene and its divisions had hitherto prevented from carrying out any process of internal elections. "It was somehow a miraculous Congress," commented one of its members a few days after the Caracas meeting.

The mind and speech were in any case the unity and work together, as if the gravity of the situation called for and respond quickly. "This conference occurs at a critical time for our country and for the whole continent, "said one of the documents discussed by the assembly. But the workers know their weaknesses:" The working class has weakened against the situation, she is not united as a class to face the battles ahead. She failed to optimize its class consciousness and the dominant ideology maintains control over the workers' consciousness and popular, spreading his speech 'perpetual validity' of the established order. "

In practice, Congress has set a new appointment February 20, 2010. The meeting Among other things, elected a working draft that will be active until 15 June at the latest. This team is currently responsible for the internal restructuring of the plant and preparing the second national meeting which will address two fundamental points: to build the internal electoral process and reform the statutes. Indeed, an electoral commission was also appointed by the Assembly to prepare the elections will be held in the coming months, with June 15 as the deadline.

Not only friends

Obviously, such an independent initiative, class and openly anti-bureaucratic, will not only friends within the Bolivarian government. The official media have also very little information relayed within days. But workers were aware well before the meeting: "Of course we receive criticism, we expose our traditional enemies such as imperialism and the oligarchy, but also internal enemies attack us, bureaucracy and technocracy that benefit their positions in government and which cause so much harm to the revolutionary process. On the other hand, we expected nothing but contempt and shots down. "

But critics should also be done internally, UNT lost valuable time in recent years between divisions and carelessness. A work of profound ideological training is urgent, both in private companies in the public sector. In the latter, the battle of the production is far from won. Often, the factories "nationalized" (bought by the state at prices more than satisfactory for the capitalists) have a significant drop in production, sometimes due to inefficient management, sometimes the lack of political clarity workers . In some cases, "the workers take it easy, they take fake sick, they think the state will solve everything," recently commented a source involved in the union sector.

Finally, the assembly of the UNT was in favor of a central class struggle, which broke with usual practice union patronage, and totally independent of both state that the majority party, the PSUV (United Socialist Party of Venezuela). Anyway, 2010 will be more than ever a key year for the Bolivarian process and activists of the UNT could not be more clear on this point: "The situation today is in our hands is the Bolivarian Revolution becomes a historical reference, or it will succumb and become a caricature revolution ".

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Article published on the website of The Left January 10, 2010

Can I Shower Going Go For Aleg Wax

The discrete return of U.S. in Panama

Redeployment U.S. in Latin America does not go by the British. Eleven new bases are planned in Panama, a small country accustomed to the operations of Washington.

The Panama Canal, now under Panamanian administration ( Photo: Seb )

This Saturday January 9, Panama commemorated annually as "Day of the Martyrs" in memory of 9 January 1964 when some two hundred students tried to hoist the flag of Panama in the Canal Zone, then under U.S. administration. The repression that followed left a balance of twenty-one dead and over four hundred wounded. During the 9, 10 and 11 January, the U.S. army occupied several roads in the capital and in the city of Colon, which had spread demonstrations.

Done unprecedented in the history of this country that has always lived under the tutelage of his northern neighbor, the then government decided to sever diplomatic relations with Washington in protest address the disproportionate response of the U.S. military.

This incident is regarded as the detonator of a series of negotiations leading to the signing of the Torrijos-Carter in 1977, setting December 31, 1999 as the deadline for the return of all the facilities channel hands Panama, and the closure of U.S. military bases in the area.

The Return of the Fourth Fleet

Ten years after the departure of the Marines, the regional situation has changed. Bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States a few years away what they see, since the Monroe Doctrine, as their "backyard". And the emergence of progressive governments, non-aligned policies has forced Washington to revamp his game

It is George W. Bush had begun to turn the tide in July 2008, reactivating the Fourth Fleet to patrol for the waters of the continent and the Caribbean under the joint supervision of the Navy and the Army Southern Command. Based in Florida, the fleet had been created during the Second World War to protect traffic in the South Atlantic and dissolved in 1950. More recently, the U.S. president and Price Nobel Peace Prize, Barack Obama, the Colombian government has obtained permission to use seven military bases on its territory.

But the United States had not completely abandoned South America over the past decade. Since 2000, they brought more than $ 5.5 billion in Bogota through Plan Colombia, ostensibly to fight against drug trafficking and insurgent groups. The country became the largest recipient of U.S. military aid on the continent and the third world.

Last September, following a meeting in Washington between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Ricardo Martinelli, the Panamanian government announced the signing of a cooperation agreement with the United States for the installation of two naval bases on Panamanian territory. This is to strengthen the fight against drug trafficking through "intelligence operations and maritime patrols supported radar", as stated in the local newspaper La Prensa .

However, a few days later, the Panamanian authorities belied any involvement of U.S. bases in the operation, which had increased fourfold and then eleven. "This is clearly naval stations Panamanian. And there will not four but eleven in total, "said Minister of Government and Justice Jose Raul Mulino, at the inauguration of the first base last December 2, on the archipelago of Las Perlas in Pacific Ocean.

without an army ... Military bases

But in Panama, the official statements did not convince everyone. The social organizations, unions and some scholars complain that the bases necessarily work together with the United States, especially that Panama has no army and has not been staffed for most of its history.

"How will we maintain these bases in operation when we have not even navy? Our country is to go beyond defending its own sovereignty and anti -drugs, "said Julio Yao, professor of international relations at the University of Panama and ex-Assessor of General Omar Torrijos in the negation of the agreements of 1977.

According to Mr Yao, the new facilities are clearly related to the seven military bases that will be available in the U.S. and Colombia that will enable them to control all of South America. "People wonder whether these bases will be of U.S. bases and if they will be used for anything other than the fight against drug trafficking. But after the experience we have here in Panama with such facilities, one can easily deduce that they will be used for other purposes, "he adds.

Political Alignment

Since his election last May, the Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli has positioned itself as one of the most loyal allies in the region and Washington has strengthened his country's ties with heads of states and British Conservatives Mexico, Alvaro Uribe and Felipe Calderon.

"Mr. Martinelli sealed the fate of Panama to the interests of the foreign policy of the United States, he has brought the country more Plan Merida (U.S. initiative ostensibly to control drug trafficking and organized crime in Central America, ed) and we out of the Central American parliament without offering any concrete alternative to regional integration, "he adds.

After overthrowing the dictatorship of General Noriega December 20, 1989, the United States has tried repeatedly convince successive governments not to follow the literal timelines progressive agreements 1977. "From this point of view, they were forced to fail for some time," says Professor Yao. "Only with the government of Mireya Moscoso (1999-2004) and the signing of the Salas-Becker again they have gained access to our airspace, land and sea."

Twenty years after the U.S. military intervention in this small Central American country, the families of the victims (whose number is still not precisely known) continue to claim that light be shed on the events 1989. But the current president seems to have other political priorities short term. "Mr. Martinelli will allow the return of U.S. military in Panama," professes already Julio Yao.

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Article published in the Swiss daily Le Courrier January 9, 2010