<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, June 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue.

President Hugo Chavez FriasPresident Hugo Chavez Frias has appointed Captain (ret.) Eliezer Otaiza to run the national alphabetization drive announced two weeks ago. Speaking in Portuguesa state, the President confirms that the plan is big and integral involving getting 1 million Venezuelans to read and write. 

Otaiza will head a presidential committee and priority will be to set up an incentive system for people who complete the course satisfactorily. The President is interested in getting people on the course to set up cooperatives and he thinks that Otaiza is the man to get the program up and running.

Another incentives is to offer credits and further training at the National Job Training Institute, which Otaiza heads.

Referring to the negotiations agreement, Chavez Frias says he will not lose the recall referendum ... "let us prepare to continue the struggle and the battle for Venezuela on all grounds."

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, June 01, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue.

According to local human rights group, a  second police murder squad is operating in Portuguesa State, which has seen a startling 146 homicides this year so far. In January, the State Attorney General's Office reported 21 summary executions, 31 in February, and 33 in March ... homicides dropped in April to 28 only to rise in May to 33. 

• The Attorney General's Office reports that the squad calling itself, "Exterminio II" has been sending out flyers and graffiti about its activities. 

Last year,  the first murder squad was discovered meriting a raid and investigation in Portuguesa State police barracks ... the surprising thing is that Portuguesa State has 800,000 inhabitants. In that investigation, 17 police officers were arrested and dismissed but what state prosecutors didn't know was that another murder squad was operating. 

Investigators say they believe the second squad has contacts with criminal elements and some suggest that both squads are basically one and the same group with many members working on different levels. The second murder squad has been more discreet than the first ... executions take place at night using shotguns to murder the victims in solitary places and in the absence of witnesses. 

Human rights groups suggest that the squads have been enjoying impunity, partly because the Attorney General's Office cannot protect witnesses ... 15 witnesses have been eliminated ... and partly, because judges have been threatened.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Sunday, June 01, 2003 By: Gustavo Coronel

VHeadline.com commentarist Gustavo Coronel writes: Forgetting for one moment the Venezuelan situation let me share with you information on a superb writer you might want to try...When my son gave me Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" as presents, back in the 80s, I developed an interest for science fiction/fantasy literature and started mining what turned out to be a gigantic reservoir of human imagination.

For a while my favorite science fiction writer became Arthur Clarke, on the strength of "Chilhood's End" and "Rendevouz with Rama". One day, however, I chose at random a book by Jack Vance and I was hooked for life. The book was "The Anome" and was the first volume of the Durdane trilogy. This was serendipitous, as science fiction readers are familiar with the enormous offering of this type of literature in the shelves of bookstores, not all of acceptable quality, I must say. In this lottery type of random choice I won first prize.

The Durdane trilogy proved to be totally enjoyable in three levels: the description of the world and regions where the stories took place. The stories themselves and, best of all, the wonderful language employed by Vance. For those who love words and phrases, Vance's work is a source of endless delight. A very apt comment by "Locus" says that Vance's characters "dwell whitin elaborate structures of social and linguistic artifice, in societies as intricately elegant as Faberge eggs...". Vance's prose is pure music, both rythmic and melodic. His prose is to, say, Asimov's what Tchaikovsky's music is to, say, Elgar's...

While Elgar based his second symphony practically on a single, beautiful theme intensely utilized, Tchaikovsky keeps bombarding us with wonderful melodies, one after the other, without expanding much on any one, like telling us: "there are many others where this one came from..."

In "The Anome," the action takes place in Shant, described by Vance as "made up of cantons only alike in their mutual distrust. Each regarded as Universal Principle its own customs, costumes, jargons and mannerisms and considered all else eccentricity". The ruler of Shant was The Anome, the faceless man. His authority derived from the torc which everybody carried around the neck. It contained an explosive which could detonate by remote control. Whoever broke the law of The Anome would lose his, her head...

The story of the trilogy has to do with the transformation of this reign of terror into a society of free men, a transformation led by a young musician called Etzwane, assisted by an envoy from Old Earth. The story is reminiscent of "The Lord of the Rings" in the sense of showing how a small and inexperienced, but determined company can change the course of history.

I became addicted to Vance. I read the Durdane trilogy, "The Gray Prince," "Big Planet," "To Live Forever," "The Dying Earth" and his relatively recent trilogy "The Cadwal Chronicles," besides other lesser work. Here is the starting paragraph in "Throy," book three of "The Cadwal Chronicles":

"Halfway along the Perseid Arm, near the edge of the Gaean Reach, a capricious swirl of galactic gravitation has caught up ten thousand stars and sent them streaming off at a veer, with a curl and a flourish at the tip. This strand of stars is Mircea´s wisp". How is this for melody and rhythm?. Pure Tchaikovsky, I would say., complete with drums and trumpets and background violins.

Some local girls in "Araminta Station," book one of the chronicles are described in this manner:

"The Yip girls are known for their docility... and also for their absolute chastity unless they are paid an appropriate fee....".

A business visit goes like this in "Throy":

" Mr. Yoder will see you now. His category is 3b. No doubt you will recognize this and conduct yourselves with decorum....."

A tall, gaunt gentleman entered the room... spoke in a flat metallic voice: May I inquire your identities?

"I am Commander Glawen Clattuc and this is Commander Chilke of the Cadwal Constabulary... Our status is high."

"Cadwal? I have never heard of the place...

Sir, it is well known to educated persons...

From "The Eyes of the Overworld", a volume which deals with the adventures of the picaresque Cugel we read:

"Cugel pushed the heavy iron-bound door and entered the inn. He stood in a vestibule. To either side were diamond-pane casements, burnt lavender with age, where the setting sun scattered a thousand reflections. From the common room came the cheerful hum of voices, the clank of pottery and glass, the smell of ancient wood...

The landlord stood behind a counter.. his expression was as placid and calm as the flow of the river..

"I strongly desire a private chamber with a couch of good quality, a window overlooking the river, a heavy carpet to muffle the songs and slogans of the pot-room...

The landlord replied: "I fear you will be dissapointed... the single chamber of this description is already occupied by that man with the yellow beard sitting yonder... Lodermulch..

"Perhaps, on the plea of emergency, you might persuade him to vacate the chamber...

"I doubt he is capable of such abnegation... but, why not put the inquiry yourself?. I, frankly, do not wish to broach the subject...

Cugel, surveying Lodermulch's strongly marked features, his muscular arms and his disdainful manner ... was inclined to join the innkeeper in his assessment of Lodermulch's character. "It seems," he said, "that I must occupy the pallet."

In "Big Planet" Vance describes a group of travelers arriving at a city called Kirstendale, "where everybody is a millionaire..." The inhabitants walk around dressed in garments of remarkable complexity and elegance... The city had been settled by a group of some 30 families with their servants. Even the servants behaved with great dignity and sophistication. The city was "clean as new paper, bright with polished stone and glass, gay with flowers."

The travelers are invited to stay at the villa of Sir Walden Munchion, where they are treated and fed like kings. The day of their departure Sir Walden excuses himself from seeing them off since he will be occupied... They are taken to the Monoline station where the porter who brings their suitcases to the cabin is ... Sir Walden. The secret of the city is revealed. "For every hour of swanking around as an aristocrat, everybody puts in two working in the shops and homes and other tasks". Instead of one life they live two...

I hope that you will try Vance some time. You would encounter wonderful worlds, heroes of every description, truants, noble deeds, sorcerers, quirky characters, crisp dialogue like the best champagne brut.

Vance is already in his middle 80s. He likes to play jazz, is an amateur carpenter and a mining engineer. He lives in Oakland. Jerry Pourcelle says that "Jack Vance has perfected the trick of creating new worlds so deceptively real that after a while your own home seems imaginary...."

In Venezuela this is a very useful writer to have in your desk at all times ... and I do!

Gustavo Coronel is the founder and president of Agrupacion Pro Calidad de Vida (The Pro-Quality of Life Alliance), a Caracas-based organization devoted to fighting corruption and the promotion of civic education in Latin America, primarily Venezuela. A member of the first board of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), following nationalization of Venezuela's oil industry, Coronel has worked in the oil industry for 28 years in the United States, Holland, Indonesia, Algiers and in Venezuela. He is a Distinguished alumnus of the University of Tulsa (USA) where he was a Trustee from 1987 to 1999. Coronel led the Hydrocarbons Division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) in Washington DC for 5 years. The author of three books and many articles on Venezuela ("Curbing Corruption in Venezuela." Journal of Democracy, Vol. 7, No. 3, July, 1996, pp. 157-163), he is a fellow of Harvard University and a member of the Harvard faculty from 1981 to 1983.  In 1998, he was presidential election campaign manager for Henrique Salas Romer and now lives in retirement on the Caribbean island of Margarita where he runs a leading Hotel-Resort.  You may contact Gustavo Coronel at email gustavo@vheadline.com

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Elecronic News Posted: Sunday, June 01, 2003 By: Oliver L. Campbell

VHeadline.com commentarist Oliver L. Campbell writes: It was good news to hear doctor Ali Rodriguez agreed to take back some 900 ex-PDVSA employees on the payroll.

I trust they are well qualified, with sound experience and include two or three capable accountants who can finish the preparation of the company’s 2002 accounts. These should have been ready for consideration and approval by the PDVSA Board by 31 March.

The strike delayed the work but ... five months after the year-end ... the accounts should really be ready.

I understand they're unlikely to be finished before July, and this does not reflect well on a company of the size and prestige of PDVSA. If the latter were a private company, the shareholders would have made a great fuss and the Finance Director would have probably resigned.

However, PDVSA’s shareholders ... ultimately all Venezuelan citizens as represented by the Minister for Energy and Mines ... are less demanding and unlikely to make any commotion. This is a pity because we should all take an active interest in knowing how well the company did financially in 2002 or, indeed, in any year.

• After all, PDVSA’s financial results impinge on the whole economy and so affect the individual citizen.

I have said before, that the principles for consolidating the accounts with subsidiaries are simple enough in theory but, when it comes to the practice, PDVSA’S accounts are complicated and require the service of some good accountants.

What is more, the latter must rely on their own expertise since it's unlikely their new bosses will know the first thing about USA accounting standards as set out in the numerous statements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Although the books are kept in bolivares, the accounts are presented in US dollars, which creates a further complication. My plea to doctor Ali Rodriguez is to take back those competent accountants who know about consolidated accounts and are familiar with FASB standards.

PDVSA has successfully restored oil production; now is the time to restore financial credibility.

My second point follows on from the above. May I make a plug for the Annual Report (Informe Anual) which PDVSA produces both in Spanish and English versions. This document starts with the President’s Message and is followed by an excellent commentary on the company’s operations during the previous year. The company’s consolidated accounts appear at the end of the report. The sad fact is few Venezuelans read it, but I believe it should be read by all those who have the interest of their premier company at heart.

People who criticize PDVSA may not always have the full facts.

Certainly by reading the Annual Report they will be better informed about the company’s operations, and also become aware of its many achievements.

In my time at the company, the Report used to appear at the end of May, but in recent years it has not been published till October. By that time, people have forgotten all about the previous year and are only interested in events of the current year.

That is why it is important for the “shareholders,” the Venezuelan people, that the Report comes out again no later than the end of May.

Three years ago I prepared, and sent to PDVSA, a detailed timetable which would achieve this ... they thanked me, but I suspect it was shelved (engavetado) or binned.

Administratively, it is not difficult to meet the target, if you use the carrot and stick approach ... you make one person responsible for the Report and tell him he'll get a bonus if he makes the deadline, but will receive no salary increase if he does not.

The latter will concentrate the mind wonderfully!

A few years ago, PDVSA decided to publish the Report with a black cover, front and back, with just its name and “Annual Report” on the front. Somebody obviously thought this projected PDVSA as a serious company. It entirely missed the point that the Report is a PR document par excellence, intended to attract and inform readers while allowing the company occasionally to pat itself on the back.

Thankfully, they have gone back to placing an impressive photograph on the front cover ... the version in English has readers abroad among those interested in oil matters or the Venezuelan economy.

To summarize my pitch, I strongly feel PDVSA should make much more of its Annual Report and ensure it reaches many more “shareholders” in Venezuela.

The document should aim to foster a closer rapport between Venezuela’s premier company and its citizens.

• At present, few people know the Report exists let alone read it.

So, please get the Report out earlier, distribute it more widely, give it better press coverage, and let us all know how well the company is doing.

The “shareholders” deserve no less.

Oliver L Campbell, MBA, DipM, FCCA, ACMA, MCIM  was born in El Callao in 1931 where his father worked in the gold mining industry.  He spent the WWII years in England, returning to Venezuela in 1953 to work with Shell de Venezuela (CSV), later as Finance Coordinator at Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA).  In 1982 he returned to the UK with his family and retired early in 2002.  Campbell returns frequently to Venezuela and maintains an active interest in political affairs: "I am most passionate about changing the education system so that those who are not academically inclined can have the chance to learn a useful skill ... the main goal, of course, is to allow many of the poor to get well paid jobs as artisans and technicians."  You may contact Oliver L Campbell at email: oliver@lbcampbell.com

Reuters, 06.01.03, 11:16 AM ET  

CARACAS, Venezuela, June 1 (Reuters) - Venezuela's annualized inflation climbed to 35 percent in May compared with 18.3 percent a year earlier as the oil-rich nation battled a sharp recession, the Central Bank reported on Sunday.

Monthly inflation registered at 2.3 percent in May compared with 1.1 percent in the same month a year earlier and 1.7 percent in April. Accumulated inflation to May was 13.8 percent compared with 10.5 percent during the same period a year ago.