Monthly Archives: April 2011

Apr
29
2011
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 4/29/11

In case you missed it… here are some of the most relevant stories of the week. Venezuelans are skeptical of President Hugo Chavez’s minimum wage hike as inflation eats away the gains of their increased earnings. Government takeovers keep creeping up under the Chavez administration, while top Venezuelan analysts debate on the type of regime that Chavez presides over in Venezuela. And last, but not least, Syrian president Bashar al- Assad joins embattled Libyan leader Muammar Gadaffi in garnering vocal support from Chavez.

Why many Venezuelans scoff at Chávez’s minimum wage hike, Christian Science Monitor

You might think Venezuelans would be cheering this week over President Hugo Chávez’s announcement that he will raise the minimum wage by 26.5 percent beginning May 1, or International Worker’s Day. Instead, workers here know all too well that annual inflation will eat right through their raise. Inflation in 2011 is expected to hit between 28 percent and 30 percent, according to the local consultancy Ecoanalitica. Last year, inflation topped out near 27 percent and was among the highest rates worldwide, despite government price caps on most basic food items and energy costs.

Factbox: Venezuela’s state takeovers under Chavez, Reuters

Tough new Venezuelan taxes on windfall oil revenue are the latest offensive by socialist President Hugo Chavez to increase the state’s share of the OPEC member’s main export ahead of a re-election bid next year. Following are some key events during the former soldier’s 12-year push to increase the role of his government in the economy through takeovers, regulation and taxes:

 

Coronel: Is Venezuela a Dictatorship?, Latin American Herald Tribune

Some of the most sophisticated political analysts currently writing about Venezuela are defining Hugo Chavez’s regime, either as a “procedural democracy” (Luis Vicente Leon, chief analyst at Datanalisis, a Venezuelan polling firm) or as a “hybrid regime” (Javier Corrales and Michael Penfold: “Dragon in the Tropics”, Brookings Institution Press, 2011), but definitely not as a clear-cut dictatorship. As a Venezuelan who has been closely living and watching our nightmare for the last 13 years and who has done his fair share of reading on what constitutes a democracy or a dictatorship, I find this tendency appalling.

Chavez of Venezuela expresses support for Syria’s Assad, International Business Times

Bashar al-Assad might be deeply hated by the people of Syria and a pariah in much of the world, but he can count on at least one friend. According to a report from Middle Eastern news service Zawya, the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez has expressed his support for the Syrian leader and blasted efforts by western leaders to remove him from power.

 
Apr
27
2011
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Another “Accolade” for the Chávez Government… Dead Last on the 2011 International Property Rights Index

The results of the 2011 International Property Rights Index (IPRI) are in and they are not very complimentary of the Chávez government’s economic policies. The Index is an annual comparative study that aims to quantify the strength of property rights – both physical and intellectual. With a score of 3.4, Venezuela scored the lowest ranking among 129 economies.

The IPRI ranks each country based on 11 factors reflecting the state of its Legal and Political Environment (LP), Physical Property Rights (PPR) and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR). According to the study, countries hungry for foreign investment must demonstrate a healthy economy and a business-friendly environment.  The report points out that there is an important correlation between countries where private property is respected and economic prosperity.

“This reflects that excessive control, constant attacks against private property through expropriations and nationalizations, laws that limit investment freedoms and the highest inflation in Latin America make the Venezuelan economy one of the most repressed economies in the world,” said CEDICE President Rafael Alfonzo Hernández reacting to the report.

The report was published by the Property Rights Alliance (PRA) based in Washington, DC. The PRA has the support of 67 think tanks and policy organizations in 53 countries involved in research, policy development, education, and promotion of property rights in their countries.

 
Apr
22
2011
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Freedom House Documents Internet Restrictions in Venezuela and Beyond

A new study by Freedom House released this week, “Freedom on the Net 2011: A Global Assessment of Internet and Digital Media,” finds that many countries are experiencing a significant shift in their web freedoms due to government intervention and intimidation.

Out of 37 countries analyzed, 11 received a ranking of “Not Free,” including Iran and Cuba – two of Mr. Chavez’s closest allies. Coming in at 46%, Venezuela received a “Partly Free” ranking.

Some of the takeaways of the Venezuela country report include:

–In March 2010, President Hugo Chávez declared that the Internet could not be “a free thing where you do and say whatever you want.”

–Government-controlled CANTV, which was renationalized in 2007, monopolizes ADSL service and controls more than 90% of the Internet market.

–In December 2010, Venezuela approved laws increasing state control over telecommunications networks and laying the foundation for website managers and service providers to be required to censor users commenting on the platforms they host.

–Although the Venezuelan authorities do not engage in systematic Internet censorship, several measures have been taken to restrict the circulation of information deemed displeasing to the government, and officials have warned of their intention to control online content. According to free expression advocates, the objective of such measures is to gain the upper hand in a medium that is heavily used by the political opposition.

–The Chávez government has taken steps to intimidate news portals and hosting companies, encouraging them to engage in self-censorship. This effort has centered recently on Noticiero Digital, known for its aggregation of content from other media outlets and the anti-government viewpoints of its columnists and commentators.

–Venezuelan courts are subject to the influence of the Executive, particularly with regards to politically important cases. Since 2001, Venezuela’s Supreme Court of Justice has passed down at least 10 judgments that have placed curbs on freedom of expression.

–When it comes to Press Freedom Status, the report labeled Venezuela “Not Free.”