ENGLISH EDITION/The artillery of ideas INTERNATIONAL Friday, July 11, 2014 | N 206 | Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.

ve
The Venezuelan government has invited environmental movements from around the
globe to attend two climate change conferences in the South American country. The
rst of these meetings will be held on the Caribbean island of Margarita from July 15-
18. The meetings are precursors to a global climate change summit to be held in Lima,
Peru, this December. The summit will aim to draw up a draft agreement on policies to
address climate change, which will succeed the Kyoto Protocols. Pg. 3
Promoting
Venezuelan
investment
in Cuba
T/ Paul Dobson
V
enezuelans were invited
to invest in Cuba this
week, as the Cuban Minis-
ter for Foreign Trade and
Investment, Rodrigo Mal-
merca Diaz, led a confer-
ence explaining the recent
changes in the protectionist
economic policy of the Carib-
bean Island.
For Venezuelan business-
men, (Cuba) represents the
opportunity to enter into a
growing Latin American
market, without the harass-
ment of multinationals who
have got used to making all
sorts of productive invest-
ment more difcult, and with-
out needing to compete with
them in what they consider
to be their market spaces,
explained Venezuelan econo-
mist Luis Alberto Matos.
The conference, held
in Caracas, exposed the
changes introduced by the
Law of Foreign Investment
No.118 in Cuba, which was
activated this past June 28
following its approval in the
Cuban Parliament in March.
The Law opens up certain
sectors to controlled foreign
investment in the produc-
tive capacity of the nation, as
well as creating a Free Trade
Zone in Mariel, less than one
hour from Havana.
The Law creates an al-
ternative to reinforce the
economy and guarantee
the modernization of the
economic model. It aims to
diversify exports, allow ac-
cess to advanced technolo-
gy, substitute imports, gen-
erate employment, increase
production, and strengthen
energy generation in Cuba.
Due to the close politi-
cal, cultural, social, and
economic ties between the
two nations, Venezuelan
businesses were given the
opportunity to learn about
the law and the opportuni-
ties it grants them to extend
ties between the socialist
countries.
China strengthens
Latin American ties
C
hinese President Xi Jinping will promote strategic
cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean
during a trip to Brazil, Venezuela, Argentina and Cuba
from July 17-23.
The Asian leader will begin the tour in Brazil, where
he will attend the sixth BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India,
China and South Africa) meeting, to be held on July
15-16 in Fortaleza.
Furthermore, Jinping will attend a meeting with rep-
resentatives of the Community of Latin American and
Caribbean States (CELAC), also to be held in Brazil, to
discuss issues related to the Economic Forum between
the two countries, scheduled for later this year in Bei-
jing, China.
Jinping will travel to Argentina, where he is scheduled
to meet with Cristina Fernandez, as part of strategic
partnerships initiated a decade ago. After this meeting,
the Chinese president will head to Venezuela, where he
will meet with President Nicolas Maduro.
The Venezuela-China relationship has developed
very rapidly in recent years, especially after the visit
to the Asian nation last September by President Nico-
las Maduro, in which energy, nancial and construction
agreements were made.
Opinion
Mission forever
unaccomplished:
Arab Spring,
Jihad Summer
Pag. 4
Prom
Vene
inve
in Cu
T/ Paul
Venezuela to host climate
change pre-summit
Measures advance
economic reforms
While planning
macroeconomic
reform in a bid to
stabilize the economy,
Venezuelan authorities
are attempting to
tackle problems in key
economic areas such
the supply of goods,
labor, and international
air travel. Since
early 2013 the South
American country has
faced product shortages,
high ination, and
pressures on the system
of xed currency
exchange controls. Pg. 2
Politics
Stolen Matisse
returned
The Odalisque in
Red Pants, a famous
Matisse, was returned
to Venezuela after its
theft a decade ago. Pg. 3
The artillery of ideas
2 Impact | Friday, July 11, 2014
T/ Ewan Robertson
www.venezuelanalysis.com
P/ AFP
W
hile planning macroeco-
nomic reform in a bid to
stabilize the economy,
Venezuelan authorities are at-
tempting to tackle problems in
key economic areas such the
supply of goods, labor, and in-
ternational air travel.
Since early 2013 the South
American country has faced
product shortages, high ina-
tion, and pressures on the sys-
tem of xed currency exchange
controls.
Opposition critics have blamed
excessive state intervention
and government mismanage-
ment for the situation, while
ofcials have accused business
groups of trying to undermine
the economic model as part of
an economic war.
As part of the effort to com-
bat shortages and ination,
authorities have been monitor-
ing and inspecting companies
to prevent them from outing
price controls, hoarding goods,
or sending products as contra-
band to Colombia where they
fetch a higher price.
The inspections are to ensure
observance of the Fair Prices
Law, which outlaws usury and
obligates companies to limit
prot margins to a maximum
of 30%. Around four in ve
companies have been found to
keep to price controls in recent
inspections.
According to trade minister
Dante Rivas, since April this
year 1,046 companies have been
charged with price speculation
offences and 150 people have
been jailed for economic crimes
such as speculation and usury.
However, it is estimated that
almost half (40%) of food pro-
duced or imported to Venezu-
ela is smuggled to Colombia as
contraband.
Minister Rivas argued that
more inspections and other ef-
forts are needed to tackle this.
He said that the measures be-
ing taken, including increas-
ing national production of
foodstuffs, were resolving
shortages in key areas. The
last statistics on scarcity to
be published were in Janu-
ary, when some level of scar-
city was experienced in 28% of
products in the economy.
Venezuelan government takes
measures in key economic areas
Were going to factories to
stimulate [production] and
move toward maximum pro-
ductive capacity, in order to
substitute imports, diversity
production, and stop depending
on oil income, said the trade
minister on Sunday.
LABOR
Last Friday the government
announced an average salary
increase of 43% for public ad-
ministration workers and civil
servants. The increase was
pledged by President Nico-
las Maduro in May, when the
minimum wage was increased
by 30%.
Further wage increases later
this year have not been ruled
out in the light of the high in-
ation rate, which is currently
running at just over 60% annu-
ally. A new collective contract
for public sector workers is also
under discussion.
The electric energy minis-
ter, Jesse Chacon, has also an-
nounced the payment of the
nal instalment of bonuses due
to electricity sector workers.
The money was due for Christ-
mas bonuses in 2011 and 2012,
and its payment was one of the
requests that workers in the
electricity sector, which is state
managed, had been demanding
recently.
Meanwhile auto-assembly
workers are set to march to the
Presidential Palace in Caracas
next Wednesday in order to
draw attention to the critical
situation in the sector and en-
gage authorities in dialogue to
reach solutions.
In a press release, the Auto
Assembly Workers Federation
(FUTAAC) said that companies
such as Chrysler, General Mo-
tors and Ford were seeking to
re workers by arguing that
production had to be reduced
due to difculties importing
parts through state currency
controls. The workers also ac-
cused some auto assembly com-
panies of refusing to negotiate
new collective contracts and of
worsening the conditions of ex-
isting contracts.
According to the Venezuelan
Chamber of Auto Industry, the
number of cars assembled in
Venezuela plummeted by 83%
in the rst half of this year
compared with the same period
last year.
The FUTAAC also criticised
the government for allegedly
prioritising meetings with
companies management over
the unions. We dont think
its right that Vice President
[Jorge] Arreaza has had meet-
ings with the companies, in-
stead of us, the workers, the
statement read.
In other labor news, workers
of the countrys biggest steel
plant, Sidor, have criticised
slow progress in the discus-
sion of a new collective con-
tract. They complain that in-
ation has reduced the value
of wages agreed in previous
contracts, which are now out
of date. This week a protest
was held in the eastern city of
Puerto Ordaz, near where the
nationalized plant is located,
over the issue.
A commission has been
formed to discuss the new con-
tract, and President Maduro
has reportedly given orders
that the negotiation process be
sped up so that an agreement
can be reached.
AIRLINES
The government has an-
nounced that domestic airlines
will be able to buy $186.9 mil-
lion through currency controls
for necessary importations and
other transactions. This is the
amount requested by local air-
lines, and will allow them to
prepare for the summer holi-
day season.
Ofcials have also conrmed
that ticket prices with interna-
tional airlines will be calcu-
lated at the SICAD I rate ($1 =
11 Bs) instead of the proposed
SICAD II rate ($1 = 50 Bs) for the
rest of 2014. This should ensure
that international ights are
cheaper for Venezuelans than
would have been the case under
SICAD II.
International airlines are
currently submitting their
proposed price tariffs for the
coming period. If these are
agreed by regulators, then the
turbulence the sector has expe-
rienced over the previous year
could begin to settle.
The difculties in the sector
have been due to on-going ne-
gotiations between the govern-
ment and various international
airlines over the repatriation of
airlines prots from bolivars
to dollars.
Airlines say the government
is not allowing them to repa-
triate their prots at the previ-
ously agreed exchange rate of
$1 = 6.3 Bs. A sticking point is
that airlines have been charg-
ing far higher prices in boli-
vars than their value in dol-
lars at this rate, meaning that
they stand to reap unusually
large prots if the government
agrees to allow them to repa-
triate the prots at this rate.
Airlines defend their prices,
saying they have had to hedge
against the risks posed by an
unstable local currency.
In order to reduce their ex-
posure in bolivars due to what
airlines claim are uncertain
currency exchange conditions,
airlines have reduced the sale
of ight tickets in bolivars, in-
creased the bolivar price tar-
iffs, and have reduced the fre-
quency of international ights
to Caracas per week.
The latest airline to reduce
ights is Delta Airlines, which
from August will only run
weekly rather than daily ights
from Atlanta to Caracas. A to-
tal of 11 international airlines
have reduced the frequency of
their ights to Venezuela over
the previous year, while Air
Canada and Alitalia have sus-
pended ights altogether.
As a result, international
ight prices for Venezuelans
have rocketed over the previ-
ous six months, while demand
for ights far outstrips supply.
Authorities are meeting reg-
ularly with international air-
lines. The air transport min-
ister, Luis Graterol, said that
there exists a positive expec-
tation that agreement on the
repatriation of prots will be
reached soon.
A closed door agreement on
the repatriation of airline prof-
its was reached with six inter-
national airlines in late May.
A total of 11
international airlines
have reduced the
frequency of their ights
to Venezuela over the
previous year, while
Air Canada and Alitalia
have suspended ights
altogether
The artillery of ideas
Friday, July 11, 2014 | Politics 3
Venezuela invites environmentalist
movements to climate change gathering
T/ Ewan Robertson
P/ Agencies
T
he Venezuelan government
has invited environmental
movements from around
the globe to attend two climate
change conferences in the
South American country.
The meetings are precur-
sors to a global climate change
summit to be held in Lima,
Peru, this December. The sum-
mit, whose full name is the
20th Session of the Conference
of the Parties to the UN Frame-
work Convention on Climate
Change, will aim to draw up a
draft agreement on policies to
address climate change, which
will succeed the Kyoto Proto-
cols. It is hoped that the agree-
ment will be signed by the
worlds countries in Paris in
2015 and implemented in 2020.
In this context, Venezuela has
organized the two pre-summit
gatherings to design proposals
for incorporation to the nego-
tiation process in Lima. The
rst of these meetings will be
held on the Caribbean island of
Margarita from July 15-18.
According to Venezuelas
chief climate change negotia-
tor, Claudia Salerno, 180 del-
egates from environmental
movements around the world
are expected to attend, as well
as 150 delegates from various
national NGOs. The gathering
is for movements and some lo-
cal government gures only,
with no national governments
in attendance.
In the meeting [environmen-
tal] organizations will be given
a space without the presence of
governments and without limi-
tations to the agenda, so that
they can undertake a free debate
about climate change and pro-
duce a document that will con-
stitute the Declaration of Marga-
rita, Salerno explained to AVN
news agency on Monday.
During the gathering, top-
ics such as local government,
youth and womens participa-
tion, sustainable living, indig-
enous management of natural
resources, and the issues of so-
cial justice, education, health,
and ethics of climate change
will be discussed.
These topics are not talked
about in formal negotiations,
but they require a space for dis-
cussion, one which Venezuela
is creating. We hope that this
meeting acts as a positive expe-
rience for the United Nations,
as in one open and diverse
meeting all points of view about
the issue of climate change can
converge and be represented,
Salerno added.
Some of the ideas produced
in the July meeting will be
submitted by environmental
organizations and Venezuela to
the UN as part of the process of
designing a set of Sustainable
Development Goals in 2015,
which are intended as an ad-
vancement on the Millennium
Development Goals (MGDs).
Meanwhile, proposals di-
rectly related to climate
change will be brought for-
ward to a second meeting in
Margarita Island from Novem-
ber 4-7. This will be a Pre-COP
meeting, preceding the Lima
summit, where ministers and
delegates of social movements
will be brought together before
governments get together in
Peru to draw up a draft global
climate agreement.
For the rst two days of the
Pre-Cop meeting, delegates of
environmental movements will
review and debate the propos-
als agreed in July. Then, del-
egates will meet with ministers
from various governments to
discuss the proposals.
Salerno argued that this
meeting would allow environ-
mental movements to have a
greater inuence on govern-
ments in the negotiation pro-
cess in Lima.
Venezuela proposes that
government ministers listen
to social organisations, which
form part of the active life of the
United Nations, but whose par-
ticipation is limited, in general,
to three minute speeches at the
end of conferences, she said.
While Venezuela is a major
oil exporter, the South Ameri-
can countrys domestic con-
tribution to greenhouse gas
emissions is small in compari-
son with more industrialised
economies. It is also one of the
worlds seventeen mega-biodi-
verse countries.
A fth of the countrys nation-
al development plan for 2013-
2019, which was drawn up by
late President Hugo Chavez, is
devoted to environmental pro-
posals. These are based around
the goal of contributing to the
preservation of planetary life
and the salvation of the human
species.
T/ Paul Dobson
P/ Roberto Gil
V
enezuelas Attorney General
announced important ad-
vances in the recuperation of
stolen artefacts of signicant
cultural importance to the Ven-
ezuelan people this week. Legal
proceedings were opened to re-
patriate the Kueka Stone from
Germany and the Odalisque
in Red Pants painting by Henri
Matisse arrived back to Ven-
ezuelan soil from the US.
For us, this piece has an
incalculable value. We cant
determine in Bolivars nor dol-
lars the value that this piece
has for Venezuela, explained
Joel Espinoza, Director for In-
tervention from the Attorney
Generals ofce regarding the
famous Matisse painting.
The painting was stolen be-
tween 1999 and 2002 when it was
replaced by a fake in the Caracas
Modern Art Museum, where it
will now be placed on display. It
dates from 1925, and was bought
by the Venezuelan State from
the Marlborough Gallery in
New York in 1981 for $400,000. It
was conscated by the FBI in a
Miami hotel after it was offered
up for sale for $700,000. Marcuel-
lo Guzman and Maria Ornelas
Lazo have been convicted to 33
and 21 months in prison in the
US for trying to resell the stolen
painting.
The painting, valued today at
over $10 million, according to
sources, was received at the Ca-
racas airport by Culture Minis-
ter Fidel Barbarito. The paint-
ing must remain for 72 hours in
its packaging for its acclimati-
zation, then it will be submitted
to a treatment of restoration by
our best experts, explained
Barbarito. He emphasized that
thanks to the opening of the
public museums by the gov-
ernment of Hugo Chavez, such
valuable pieces are now avail-
able to the entire population,
regardless of their economic
status.
Previous to its theft, the Mat-
isse was stored in the vaults of
the museum as a piece of mer-
chandize and not on public
display for its artistic value.
The opportunity to view such
prolic artwork was previ-
ously only for the elite. Now
all museums are free to enter
and have experienced signi-
cant increases in visitors from
all social strata as a result.
The ght to recover this piece
shows the commitment of the
government to culture, stated
Barbarito.
KUEKASTONE
TOBE RETURNED
Attorney General Luisa Or-
tega Diaz announced this week
that international legal pro-
ceedings to repatriate the sa-
cred 30-ton Kueka Stone were
initiated following a fruitless
intensive diplomatic effort.
The Kueka Stone was sto-
len from Canaima National
Park with the help of a cor-
rupt government ofcial in
1997 by sculptor Wolfgang Von
Schwarzenfeld, disregarding
its local importance and cul-
tural resonance in Venezuela.
It currently forms part of his
sculpture display in Germany.
There was a German who
came to Venezuela, liked the
Stone, and regrettably a person
from the previous government
illegally gave it to this citizen as
a gift, stated Ortega Diaz.
The stone is sacred to the
numerous Pemon indigenous
communities in the region, who
have led the efforts to return it
to their community, including
sending a diplomatic team to
Germany.
Stolen Matisse
returned
to Venezuela
A p0b||cat|oo oI the F0odac|oo 0orreo de| 0r|ooco Editor-in-Chief va 6o||oger Graphic Design Pablo Valduciel L. - Aimara Aguilera - Audra Ramones
INTERNATIONAL
Friday, July 11, 2014 | N 206| Caracas | www.correodelorinoco.gob.ve
Opinion
T/ Pepe Escobar
W
elcome to IS. No typo; the
nal goal may be (indis-
criminate) regime change,
but for the moment name change
will do. With PR air, at the start
of Ramadan, the Islamic State of
Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS, or ISIL
the Islamic State of the Levant
to some) solemnly declared,
from now on, it will be known as
Islamic State (IS).
To be or not to be is so
metaphysically outdated. IS is
and here it is in full audio glory.
And were talking about the full
package Caliph included: the
slave of Allah, Ibrahim Ibn Aw-
wad Ibn Ibrahim Ibn Ali Ibn
Muhammad al-Badrial-Hashi-
mi al-Husayni al-Qurashi by
lineage, as-Samurrai by birth
and upbringing, al-Baghdadi by
residence and scholarship. Or,
to put it more simply, Abu Bakr
al-Baghdadi.
IS has virtually ordered his-
toric al-Qaeda yes, that 9/11-
related (or not) plaything of one
Osama bin Laden as well as
every other jihadi outt on the
planet, to pledge allegiance to the
new imam, in theological theory
the new lord over every Muslim.
Theres no evidence Osamas for-
mer sidekick, Ayman the doc-
tor al-Zawahiri will obey, not
to mention 1.5 billion Muslims
across the world. Most probably
al-Qaeda will say we are the
real deal and a major theologi-
cal catght will be on.
After all, in Syria, ISIL as well
as Jabhat al-Nusra were initial-
ly ghting under the banner of
al-Qaeda, until the brand in
spectacular fashion decided to
dump al-Baghdadi. He and ISIL
went too far with all those vid-
eos of decapitations and cruci-
xions and serial profanation of
Shiite, Su and Christian sanc-
tuaries.
Al-Baghdadi, born Ibrahim
al-Badri in Samarra, is an av-
erage Sunni Iraqi cleric with
a degree in pedagogy from the
University of Baghdad. His al-
ter ago was born after Shock
and Awe in 2003, and soon meta-
morphosed into a de facto serial
killer blowing up Shiite kids
at ice-cream shops or scores of
women at Shiite weddings.
ISILs track record in Syria in-
cludes banning every ag apart
from its own; the destruction
of any polytheist temple or
sanctuary (except if it is Sunni);
and strict imposition of Islami-
cally correct women wear. Most
of all, it is a track record of ter-
ror. This is not an army, rather
a well-trained militia of pro-
fessional mujahid, European
passport holders included, with
battleeld experience in Iraq,
Afghanistan and, to a lesser
degree, Chechnya. Heavy weap-
onizing is petrodollar-nanced
the usual, wealthy Gulf do-
nors, which does not exclude
ofcial connections.
Sources of income diversied
mightily when ISIL captured
the oilelds surrounding Deir
Ezzor in Syria; and after the
recent offensive across Niniveh
province in Iraq, they were able
to lay their hands on vast arse-
nals of heavy artillery, lots of
cash and gold bullion and, why
not, US Humvees left behind.
Their trademark, of course, are
those columns of brand new
white Toyota Land cruisers
free off road advertising Toyota
HQ in Japan may not nd par-
ticularly welcome.
Loaded with oil and prot-
ing from tax revenue, IS is now
rmly on its way to provide
(minimal) services and sup-
port a (mighty) Jihadi Army
much like the Taliban from
1996 to 2001. One may be sure
IS will continue its massive so-
cial engagement strategy; talk
about a chatty Caliphate which
loves YouTube, Facebook and
Twitter. No wonder they are a
hit among Google generation
recruits as well as becoming
fund-raising aces via gruesome
videos. In thesis, indoctrination
progresses hand in hand with
charity work; residents of
Aleppo, for instance, can dwell
on how ISIL (gruesomely) looks
and feels on the ground.
MISSIONFOREVER
UNACCOMPLISHED
Its unclear how the new IS real-
ity will play on the ground. The
new Caliph has in fact declared
a jihad on all that basket of cor-
rupt and/or incompetent Middle
East leaders so some erce
battle for survival reaction
from the Houses of Saud and
Thani, for instance, is expected.
Its not far-fetched to picture al-
Baghdadi dreaming of lording
over Saudi oilelds after de-
capitating all Shiite workers, of
course.
And thats just a start; in one
of their Tweeter accounts IS
has published a map of all the
domains they intend to conquer
within the span of ve years;
Spain, Northern Africa, the
Balkans, the whole Middle East
and large swathes of Asia. Well,
they are certainly more ambi-
tious than NATO.
Being such a courageous
bunch, the House of Saud is now
tempted to accept that impos-
Mission Forever Unaccomplished
Arab Spring, Jihad Summer
ing regime change on Nouri
al-Maliki in Iraq is a bad idea.
That puts them in direct con-
ict with the Obama adminis-
tration, whose plan A, B and C
is regime change.
Turkey the former seat of the
Caliphate, by the way remains
mute. No wonder; Ankara cru-
cially is the top logistical base
of IS. Caliph Erdogans got to be
musing about his own future,
now that hes facing competition.
In theory, Saudi Arabia, Turkey
and Jordan are all saying theyre
ready to ght what would be a
larger-scale war than that gift
that keeps on giving, the origi-
nal, Cheney junta-coined GWOT
(global war on terror).
And then theres the future
of the new $500 million Obama
fund to appropriately vetted
rebels in Syria, which in fact
means the expansion of covert
CIA training facilities in Jor-
dan and Turkey heavily inltrat-
ed/proted from by IS. Think of
hordes of new IS recruits posing
as moderate rebels getting
ready for a piece of the action.
Its easier for Brazil to win the
World Cup with a team of cryba-
bies with no tactical nous than
having US Secretary of State
John Kerry and his State De-
partment ciphers understand
that the Syrian opposition is
controlled by jihadis. But then
again, they do know and that
perfectly ts into the Empire
of Chaoss not so hidden Global
War on Terror (GWOT) agenda
of an ever-expanding proxy war
in both Syria and Iraq fueled by
terror nancing.
So 13 years ago Washington
crushed both al-Qaeda and the
Taliban in Afghanistan. Then
the Taliban were reborn. Then
came Shock and Awe. Then
came Mission Accomplished.
Then al-Qaeda was introduced
in Iraq. Then al-Qaeda was dead
because Osama bin Laden was
dead. Then came ISIL. And now
theres IS. And we start all over
again, not in the Hindu Kush,
but in the Levant. With a new
Osama.
Whats not to like? If anyone
thinks this whole racket is part
of a new live Monty Python
sketch ahead of their reunion
gig this month in London, thats
because it is.
Pepe Escobar is the author of
Globalistan: How the Globalized World
is Dissolving into Liquid War (Nimble
Books, 2007), Red Zone Blues:
a snapshot of Baghdad during
the surge and Obama does Globalistan
(Nimble Books, 2009).