Tag Archives: Venezuelan National Assembly

Jun
18
2013
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ICYMI: Breast-feeding is best, so ban bottles, Venezuelan lawmaker proposes

CNN
June 18, 2013
By Catherine E. Shoichet

population e1371580976192 ICYMI: Breast feeding is best, so ban bottles, Venezuelan lawmaker proposes

Courtesy of: Reuters

Venezuelan lawmakers are weighing whether to ban the use of baby bottles as part of a push to promote breast-feeding, state media reported.

The proposed measure will be up for debate in the South American country’s National Assembly on Tuesday, lawmaker Odalis Monzon said in an interview with state-run VTV.

“Every baby has the right to breast-feeding,” said Monzon, a lawmaker from the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela.

In addition to banning bottle-feeding, the proposed revisions to Venezuela’s Law of Promotion and Protection of Breastfeeding also include plans to penalize those who advertise baby formula, she said.

Transnational companies that market formula, she said, have interfered with a crucial bond between mother and child.

“The most important is the love, the connection between mother and child, that sometimes is lost because they do not give them the warmth that nursing a baby provides,” Monzon told VTV.

The proposal includes exceptions for mothers who cannot breast-feed due to illness, Monzon said. It would also provide for the creation of more breast-milk banks and require companies to set aside space for mothers to nurse.

She did not provide details about how authorities would enforce the measure if it passes, or what sorts of punishments violators would face.

The measure has drawn sharp criticism from some lawmakers, who argue that the government can promote breast-feeding without prohibiting anything, CNN affiliate Globovision reported.

“This is unacceptable and alarming,” said Eduardo Marin, a lawmaker for the opposition Justice First party.

The 2007 law that Monzon is pushing to amend was aimed at promoting breast-feeding, Marin said, not “questioning, stigmatizing and practically criminalizing those who have opted for (other methods) of feeding.”

Earlier this month, Venezuela’s Health Ministry said that 27.1% of mothers in the country who are able to breast-feed actually do so and that officials aimed to increase that number to 70% by 2019,VTV reported.

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Oct
19
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 10/19/12

Venezuela Chavez Maduro In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 10/19/12

Courtesy of: AP

Less than a week after winning reelection, Chávez swore in his new Vice President, former Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro and six other cabinet ministers. On Monday Chávez will submit his fiscal year 2013 budget to the National Assembly, largely based on his socialist model. According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Venezuela’s inflation rate will reach almost 20 percent by the end of the year. The country’s international reserves are also far below an optimal level. Recent political polarization is threatening freedom of speech in Venezuela, as a new report reveals “mistreatment, detentions, insults, confiscation of equipment, and fundamental rights violations” against journalists, camerapersons, and others in the press. Meanwhile, Chávez has begun to develop Venezuela’s defense industry with plans to build drones with the help of China, Russia and Iran. Chávez breaks diplomatic ties to Paraguay with his decision to expel their diplomats following the ouster of his ally, former President Fernando Lugo. Simultaneously, Chávez’s ties to former Brazilian President Lula are strained after Lula said in a recent interview that Chávez should prepare for his succession. In most recent news, the Venezuelan National Assembly stirs up controversy as they take steps to regulate cable TV.

Venezuela’s Chavez swears in vice president, 6 other ministers in post-election shake up, The Washington Post

CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez swore in his new vice president and six other Cabinet ministers on Saturday, less than a week after winning a new mandate to extend his self-styled Bolivarian revolution.

Venezuela’s 2013 budget bases on socialist model, El Universal

The Venezuelan Government on Monday will summit to the National Assembly a FY2013 draft budget that will be based on the socialist model.

Venezuela Official Inflation Just Under 20%, Latin American Herald Tribune

CARACAS — According to the government’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), Venezuela’s September inflation came in at 1.6%, above the value in August of 1.1%. Factoring in September’s rate, inflation for the first nine months of the year has been 11.5%. One-year inflation stands at 19.98%.

Venezuela’s international reserves far from optimal level, El Universal

Venezuelan international reserves remain below the optimal level (USD 26.8 billion) established by national authorities.

Polarization threatens freedom of speech in Venezuela, El Universal

The Venezuelan Press Block (BPV) presented a report on Sunday at the 68th Inter-American Press Association (IAPA) General Assembly, held at the city of Sao Paulo, Brazil, denouncing increased aggressions against journalists, due to political polarization in Venezuela.

Venezuela serious about producing drones, UPI.com

CARACAS, Venezuela, Oct. 16 (UPI) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is pursuing plans to develop a home-grown defense industry topped by a drone built reportedly with Chinese, Iranian and Russian help.

Venezuela’s government expelling the last of Paraguay’s diplomats in Caracas, envoy says, Fox News

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuela’s government has decided to expel Paraguay’s remaining diplomats from the country, the top envoy at the Paraguayan Embassy said Wednesday. Charge d’affaires Victor Casartelli said that he and three other Paraguayan diplomats in Caracas were told by Venezuela’s Foreign Ministry to leave within three days.

Venezuela’s oil exports to Asia to jump to 2.8 million bdp, El Universal

State-run oil holding Petróleos de Venezuela (Pdvsa) is in negotiations with India’s Reliance Industries and Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) for investments in the Ayacucho and Boyacá oil fields, informed on Wednesday Pdvsa’s Corporate Planning Executive Director, Fadi Kabboul, at a press conference in India.

Venezuela’s Chavez should prepare for succession: Lula, Chicago Tribune

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – Venezuela’s newly re-elected president, Hugo Chavez, should start preparing to hand over power, former two-time Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a newspaper interview published on Thursday.

Venezuela’s National Assembly to regulate cable TV, El Universal

The Venezuelan National Assembly (AN) is to make a law for the regulation of subscription television services, informed the President of the People’s Power and Media Committee of the AN, Darío Vivas, deputy for the ruling party United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).

 
Sep
30
2010
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Former adviser says that Chávez can be defeated in 2012

Heinz Dieterich 223x300 Former adviser says that Chávez can be defeated in 2012This article was originally posted by El Universal

Although the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) did not reach the 110 seats it needed to have a supermajority at the Venezuelan National Assembly and only won 100,000 votes more than the opposition, government leaders said that they won the legislative elections held last Sunday.

However, some people do not have a positive perception of the results. On the contrary, they warn that President Hugo Chávez can be defeated in 2012, when he is expected to seek a third consecutive presidential term.

One of the analysts who have warned against a bleak outlook for Venezuela’s ruling party is Heinz, a German sociologist and a political analyst residing in Mexico. Dieterich said in an article entitled “Venezuela must change the model or it will collapse like the Cuban model,” that President Chávez has eight months to change the course.

In his article, Dieterich claimed that the Venezuelan Head of State has been unable to “dismantle the opposition electoral group, despite having conditions to do so, such as skyrocketing oil prices, an absolute Executive and legislative power, no opponents at the National Assembly and a fragmented opposition lacking a national project and prominent leaders.”

Dieterich advised Chávez to follow the steps of Cuban President Raúl Castro who is abandoning the 20th century socialism. “Otherwise, the system will collapse,” he warned.