LUISA AMELIA MARACARA EL UNIVERSAL

Venezuelan Planning Minister Jorge Giordani has never been more accurate than when branding the Gross Domestic Product as a submarine, since it behaves as such.

As a matter of fact, Venezuela's GDP sunk so many meters last year that the contraction reached 8.9 percent. In 2001, it had an insignificant growth, 2.8 percent; in 2000, the figure was 3.2 percent. Those two years did not compensate the 6.1 percent fall registered in 1999.

The submarine that Giordani referred to seems to be involved in a campaign that maintains it in the deepest waters, where pressure is so intense that is shattering it. This is reflected in the initial estimates by the Venezuelan Central Bank, which point to a 35 percent fall in the first quarter.

Actions adopted by the government so far this year do not seem to be intended to refrain the submarine from sinking. In fact, it has been showing many similarities to Titanic, which broke into two pieces, sank and never surfaced again. As the economy takes in water, the government's announcements to reactivate general production have not yielded any good results.

Each month, at least one minister announce a plan to reactivate his/her sector. But positive results do not come. In fact, President Hugo Chávez himself has admitted in the latest editions of his weekly radio and TV show ¡Aló, Presidente! the failure of many of their plans; he even complains about the State's functioning.

Meanwhile, the captain of the submarine, since his recent designation as Planning Minister, has chosen to remain in silence. He may be thinking on a new name to describe the behavior of the economy.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Organization of American States (OAS) general secretary, Cesar Gaviria has made a stopover in Venezuela to try and put wind in the sails of government-opposition negotiations, which once again have stalled. 

Gaviria has been meeting representatives of both sides separately to find out if there is enough political will to continue sessions and seek an electoral, pacific and constitutional solution. 

The crunch point is whether the opposition will reply to the government's counter-proposal to a pre-agreement document, which the opposition expected the government to sign and which the government agreed to discuss among its allies before returning to the table. 

The opposition has encountered difficulties in its own camp from critics who say opposition negotiators should have dealt with the counter-proposal then and there to  get the recall referendum rolling instead of wasting time. 

OAS representative in Caracas, Fernando Jaramillo has prepared a new document which could be the starting-point for further negotiations and is limited to electoral aspects.

Opposition negotiators, Alejandro Armas and Rafael Alfonso say they are ready to continue negotiations and Executive Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel has made it clear on several occasions that the government is open, declaring that the ball is in the opposition's court. 

Gaviria is expected to leave Venezuela for Argentina and Peru and could return next Monday to continue his job as facilitator.

After wrapping up exploratory meetings with the opposition and Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel,  Carter Center representatives, Jennifer McCoy and Francisco Diez confirm that they are confident there will be an agreement.

The two representatives contend that Rangel has ratified the government's disposition to reach an agreement and support for the Carter Center's continuing role as facilitator and observer in Venezuela. 

<a href=www.vheadline.com>venezuela's Electronic News Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Christian Socialist (COPEI) National Assemblyman Cesar Perez Vivas  has hit out at a proposal from Movimiento Quinta Republica (MVR) deputy Tarek William Saab to condemn US Ambassador Charles Shapiro for his silly World Press Freedom Day show.

Perez Vivas says the proposal, which was approved in a Tuesday sitting, does not represent the totality of Parliament. 

"Saab should have presented the motion as a MVR proposal and not as the proposal of a plural Assembly, in which there are different perspectives on the matter." 

Most of the opposition preferred not to support Saab's proposal, alleging that the government was using the incident as a smokescreen  for the real problems facing Venezuela. 

Other critics complain that Saab's motion was rejected because it was not worded as a reaction to an insult to all Venezuelans but as a defense of the Chavez Frias administration.

Going back down memory lane, if the Chavists in opposition had opposed such a motion, they would have been stigmatized "anti-patriotic." Deputy Perez Vivas is not reported as explaining his take on the US Embassy incident.

<a href=www.vheadline.com>Venezuela's Electronic news Posted: Wednesday, May 21, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez Frias says 2002 could have been the first year of a civil war and that violence was avoided because the government decided to open a dialog process, despite opposition pressure. 

"After the coup attempt we did not fall into provocations and instead convoked a dialog ... it would have been a mistake to initiate a drive against the coupsters and to have adopted a tough stance ... it would have led to further violence." 

Speaking during the inauguration of extension work on Caracas Metro Line 3 , the President states that the government is learning to co-exist in democracy,  insisting that he does not want to see another year like 2002 and the way forward is to change attitudes and seek conciliation in the interest of all sectors of society.

In a moment of self-criticism, Chavez Frias admits that his government has been poor in its efforts to communicate what it has been doing ... "very bad ... people are unaware of the public works that are being built, including the underground railroad extensions in Caracas, Los Teques, Maracaibo and Valencia." 

According to the President, some impartial foreign media experts undertook a study and told him that the opposition has a 500% media surplus compared to what is normal in other countries that have a critical opposition ... "opposition is normal in democracy ... they also said the government's media deficit stands at 85%." 

Chavez Frias has promised to continue seeking a solution but says it's like a counter-culture or a force holding the government back. 

The Cabinet comes under fire for not letting the country know about the government's social works in view of the fact that there is no country in Latin America that is building the number of works as Venezuela.

Human Rights Watch, (Caracas, May 21, 2003) — The Venezuelan government is not doing enough to protect journalists from violence, Human Rights Watch said in a new report released today. Human Rights Watch also urged the government to protect freedom of expression by ending its ongoing investigation of the country’s private television networks, and dramatically revising its proposed law to regulate the contents of radio and television broadcasts.

Related Material

Venezuela: Caught In The Crossfire Freedom of Expression in Venezuela, Report, May 2003

Venezuela: Media Freedom Threatened HRW Press Release, February 19, 2003

The draft law is a recipe for state control of the broadcast media. Its onerous, vaguely-worded restrictions and heavy penalties threaten Venezuela’s broadcast media.

José Miguel Vivanco, Executive Director Americas Division Human Rights Watch

 The launch of Human Rights Watch’s report coincides with renewed public debate in Venezuela over draft legislation that the government of President Hugo Chávez has introduced on the “social responsibility of radio and television.” 

“The draft law is a recipe for state control of the broadcast media,” said José Miguel Vivanco, executive director of the Americas Division of Human Rights Watch. “Its onerous, vaguely-worded restrictions and heavy penalties threaten Venezuela’s broadcast media.”

The draft legislation would impose stringent and detailed controls over radio and television broadcasts, greatly limiting what could be aired during normal viewing hours. Under the guise of protecting children from crude language, sexual situations and violence, it would subject adults to restrictive and puritanical viewing standards.

The 26-page report, Caught in the Crossfire: Freedom of Expression in Venezuela, describes how journalists face physical violence and threats, often by fervent civilian supporters of President Hugo Chávez. Noting the justice system’s failure to identify and punish those responsible for the attacks, the report recommends that the attorney general set up a special panel to investigate the problem.

The polarized political situation in Venezuela has negatively affected the right to free expression. During a 62-day general strike that lasted from December 2002 until February 2003, by which the political opposition hoped to force President Chávez to resign, private television networks broadcast hours of pro-strike propaganda free of charge. News and debate programs were extremely hostile to the Chávez government.

President Chávez, in return, accused the media of fomenting a coup and of waging psychological warfare. In early February, the Venezuelan Ministry of Infrastructure launched an investigation into the country’s four largest private television networks—RCTV, Globovisión, Televen, and Venevisión—for alleged violations of broadcasting regulations during their coverage of the strike.

The report analyzes the regulations in detail, concluding that they violate international standards protecting free expression. They contain loosely worded rules on incitement to violence and threats to public order that could penalize the stations’ legitimate expression of political views.

If found responsible for the infractions, the stations could be fined, ordered to suspend transmissions, or even have their broadcasting licenses revoked. The deadline for the completion of the government investigation of the four stations is set to expire soon.

Last week, in an equally imminent threat to free expression, the Venezuelan government introduced into Congress a revised version of a proposed bill to regulate the content of radio and television broadcasts. The draft legislation includes certain improvements over an earlier version drafted by the government, notably, the elimination of a provision that would have penalized “disrespect” to government authorities.

“We welcome the elimination of the ‘disrespect’ provision, an element of the law that we had strongly criticized in our report,” said Vivanco. “Yet we are extremely concerned that the remaining provisions of the draft legislation could force television and radio stations to present a sanitized version of the news during normal viewing hours.”

The report also noted the government’s positive steps in the area of free expression, such as an April 27 broadcast in which President Chávez called on his supporters to respect journalists and their work. But the report concluded that these efforts were insufficient.

“President Chávez’s conciliatory remarks are welcome, but it is crucial that his government take steps to end impunity for crimes against journalists and cease its efforts to muzzle private television stations,” said Vivanco.