Patrick J. O'Donoghue's round up of news from Venezuela

Newspaper tycoon, Rupert Murdoch has signed up to support Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and his struggle against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). The media tycoon has called on US Democrat congressmen to approve the free trade agreement between Washington and Bogota, which has been put on hold. Murdoch made a statement during a speech in Atlanta and published in the Wall Street Journal, one of his newspapers. Murdoch, it would appear, has also made President Chavez a major target for attack in his newspaper chain. The UK tabloid, The Sun has started publishing articles against Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone seeking a third term in office by highlighting his relation with Chavez. Speaking about the Venezuelan President, Murdoch calls him a "thug," saying that the defeat in the US Congress of the free trade agreement with Colombia will be exploited by " thugs like Hugo Chavez." Murdoch has around 175 influential newspapers in his power throughout the world and he exercises the power of editorship. Among the news channels he owns is Fox News, already a top-flight Chavez critic and unconditional supporter of President Bush and the Republican Party.
The Organization of American States (OAS) and The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alba) both have reaffirmed full support to Bolivian President Evo Morales by rejecting separatist movements in that country. Breakaway political and economic authorities in Bolivia's Santa Cruz department propose to hold a referendum on May 4 on the separation issue. OAS political affairs secretary, Danielle Dante Caputo fears violence in the province and says it is important to take advantage of existing spaces of dialogue to avoid deaths and violent confrontation.

In Caracas, President Chavez has said that the extraordinary summit of Alba is a special occasion to ratify members' unconditional support for Morales and his government in the plans to defeat destabilizing plans. The separatist intent against Bolivia, Chavez proclaims, violates its constitution and laws. The Santa Cruz state governor and economic powers have rejected Bolivia's constitutional progressive constitutional reform that favors the poorer majorities and the danger is that apart from Santa Cruz the provinces of Beni, Pando and Tarija will also secede from Bolivia. The separatist movement, therefore, involves four of nine departments.

Opposition student leader, Yon Goicoechea has been awarded the Milton Friedman liberty award. Goicoechea says the money will be used to set up a foundation to train new leaders in Venezuela. The student was one of the main protagonists in protests to support Radio Caracas Television (RCTV) whose license was not renewed by the government. He will travel to New York where he will receive the award on May 15 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel. The $500,000, the student leader pledges, will create a school of leadership for freedom where the themes will be public services, overcoming poverty and seeking effective mechanisms to overcome public insecurity. The award is sponsored by the Cato Institute and its president, Edward Crane highlights the " extraordinary contribution of the 23-year-old student in promoting freedom in Venezuela."

Foreign Relations Minister, Nicolas Maduro has stated that relations between Venezuela and Iran are an alliance based on a pluripolar world of the future. Closing the fifth Venezuelan-Iran mixed commission meeting, Maduro says it sends out a good message because the commission is an alliance that builds peace, development, and industrial, food, energetic and scientific-technological independence. Six important legal instruments were agreed to during the sessions and both countries sides have announced the setting up of a technical commission to help the development of the Apure-Orinoco axis.

The main topic of the extraordinary summit of the Bolivarian Alternative to the Americas (Alba) was the world food crisis. The presidents of Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela and Cuban Vice President, Carlos Lage slam Capitalism as responsible for the crisis. President Chavez insists on the need to guarantee regional food sovereignty and security, pointing to the critical situation in Haiti. Chavez says Alba is ready to respond immediately to any plan or petition, referring to the latest summit of the Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Brazil. The Presidents at the Caracas meeting have set up an agreement to implement cooperation programs in food security and sovereignty within the Alba framework. The agreement will cover cereals, such as rice and maize, cooking oils, beans, beef and milk, as well as water and irrigation. Two other agreements were reached during the summit, namely to create an Alba marketing network and a fund to boost food priority in the Bank of Alba costing $100 million.

President Chavez reports that there are more than 1,500 Cuban agricultural experts in Venezuela helping to recover and put into production more than 2 million hectares of idle land. Nicaragua will be sending bullocks to Venezuela, which is preparing a quarantine station in Paraguana before sending the bullocks to Apure to cross with Venezuelan breeds. On April 26, agriculture ministers belonging to the Alba organisation will meet in Managua.


Patrick J. O'Donoghue
patrick.vheadline@gmail.com