www.forbes.com Reuters, 01.26.03, 8:01 PM ET

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Sunday said rich countries must do more to lower trade barriers and ease developing countries' debts or the simmering discontent over the wealth disparity could eventually boil over.

"If we do not manage to do it in peace... tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow, that explosive charge will explode." he told a news conference. "Without a doubt, the international trade system is terribly unfair."

The colorful leader, who is facing an 8-week-long strike at home as opponents try to force him to resign and make way for early elections, said Latin Americans could also build institutions of their own to help dig themselves out of debt.

"No, it is not the market that is going to solve the world's problems, it's politics...it requires political will," he told a news conference at the World Social Forum.

"We have proposed for example that a Latin American Monetary Fund be created, and each of us put in what he can," he said, adding such a fund might include the barter of goods.

While he spoke, hundreds of rowdy flag-waving supporters were gathered outside the building. Some were pushed back by police after they tried to barge their way in, but there were no injuries. The WSF, which is in its third year, grew out a desire to counter the meeting of the world financial and business elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Earlier, Brazil's recently-elected left-wing president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ,took the social message he delivered at the WSF to Davos and urged rich countries to declare "war on hunger" and create a global fund to fight poverty.

The Brazilian event has seen intellectuals, unionists, and grass-root social groups rail against trade barriers of richer nations like the United States, particularly on agricultural products, which they say do not let poorer countries develop.

"That is why we have to reform the world order... that is why this (world) social forum is important," Chavez said.

Chavez also echoed comments by many at the conference in this southern Brazilian city who argued that multilateral institutions like the International Monetary Fund and World Bank impose impossible conditions on their assistance.

Venezuela had paid some $20 billion of its debts in the last four years and still owed $26 billion, he said.

He also suggested Latin American state oil companies such as Brazil's Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) <PET4.SA> (nyse: PBR - news - people) and Venezuela's Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) band together and create a South American OPEC.

www.voanews.com VOA News 27 Jan 2003, 02:25 UTC

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez says he will impose currency controls as nervous Venezuelans scramble for U.S. dollars.

Over the last eight weeks, the value of the Venezuelan bolivar has plunged by 30 percent. The sharp drop has coincided with a long-running opposition general strike aimed at driving President Chavez from power.

Mr. Chavez did not say on Sunday when the currency controls would take effect. But a government suspension of currency trading ends Wednesday.

Also Sunday, President Chavez announced unspecified price controls he said will protect the poor from inflation. And Mr. Chavez said he is considering a tax on foreign currency trading. The opposition says government policies are ruining the Venezuelan economy.

The strike has disrupted oil production and caused a severe shortage of many goods. Economists say nearly two-billion dollars in capital has been sent out of the country since the strike started.

Mr. Chavez said at an economic conference in Brazil Sunday that despite the strike, Venezuelan oil production now exceeds one million barrels a day and is growing.

Mr. Chavez and strike leaders have given a positive response to plan by former U.S. president Jimmy Carter to end Venezuela's political crisis. The Carter plan would amend the Venezuelan constitution and shorten the president's term in office, leading to early elections.

-------- Mensaje Original -------- Asunto: Venezuela se declara libre. De: "Reynaldo V." vilacha@hotmail.com Fecha: Dom, 26 de Enero de 2003, 11:28 pm Para:

Me gustaría tener mas información, estoy dispuesto a colaborar pero la escasa información que me llegó no me aclara bien el fin de su propuesta, mientras tanto le envio un artículo hecho por mi persona que lo titulo Venezuela se declara libre.

Saludos Reynaldo Vilachá

Visita pronto: http:// www.karamba.com.ve Charla con tus amigos enlínea mediante MSN Messenger: Haz clic aquí

VENEZUELA SE DECLARA LIBRE

Venezuela se declara República Bolivariana, irrevocablemente libre e independiente. Así empieza nuestra constitución nacional en su Art. 1.

Libre si buscamos en el diccionario nos dice que es aquel que tiene facultad para obrar a su gusto y para escoger; no sujeto a un poder extraño o a una autoridad arbitraria, ni constreñido por una obligación, deber, disciplina, etc.

Ese concepto en el cual todos hemos vivido por mas de 10 o 20 años que va acompañado por lo que llamamos Democracia esta siendo manchado y es que no hemos conocido algo distinto. Pero por primera vez sentí ese miedo a perderla. Horrible es lo único que puedo expresarle ante tal sentimiento.

Sientan por un momento que no pueden expresarse, que nadie te crea, que nadie te escuche. No daría por nada del mundo chance a que me la quiten y sacrificaría todo mi ser por mi LIBERTAD.

Muchas personas de esta Sociedad están luchando por mantenerla, por mencionar algunos PDVSA, la marina mercante, etc. Están arriesgando no solo sus puestos de trabajos sino sus vidas y las vidas de sus familiares por el simple derecho de obrar a su gusto y para escoger (libre). Y hay algo que los mueve más fuerte que su propia libertad y es la libertad de sus Hijos.

Y la libertad te la da la Democracia, te da la garantía de construir un país mejor y como jóvenes no podemos estar alejados de la construcción de VENEZUELA y es por eso que ese ciclo de vida sigue, nuestros padres van construyendo un camino para que nosotros nos podamos desarrollar como seres humanos dignos donde tengamos una gama de posibilidades que nos ofrezca nuestro entorno, que es donde vivimos y es que esto no es solo trabajo de nuestros padres sino de todo un conjunto de personas con el cual nos relacionamos y entre ellos esta el Gobierno de turno.

Si leemos el artículo 79 de nuestra carta magna vemos que “Los jóvenes y las jóvenes tienen el derecho y el deber de ser sujetos activos del proceso de desarrollo. El Estado, con la participación solidaria de las familias y la sociedad, creará oportunidades para estimular su tránsito productivo hacia la vida adulta y en particular la capacitación y el acceso al primer empleo, de conformidad con la ley”.

¿Donde están esas oportunidades que el gobiernos nos da para que juntos estimulemos el transito productivo hacia la vida adulta? Mas bien nuestro inquilino de turno esta destrozando nuestro futuro, nos divide y además cuando salgamos como futuros profesionales, que país nos va a quedar con alguien que quiere quitarnos nuestros principales derechos.

Ya venezolanos están dando su cuota de sacrificios como indicamos anteriormente PDVSA y los Marinos Mercantes entre otros. ¿Cuál es nuestra cuota de sacrificio? Piensen que perdamos nuestra Democracia y nuestra Libertad por años porque no sacrificamos unos días, meses de clases para luchar por nuestro País.

No puedo evitar pensar y decir que si luchamos por un mejor país en libertad después podremos desarrollarnos en las aulas con más entusiasmo y con la certeza de que al salir de nuestra Universidad tendremos un país mejor. Tal cual como soñamos, lleno de un sin fin de oportunidades que como lo dice en la constitución nos facilite el tránsito productivo hacia la vida adulta y en particular la capacitación y el acceso al primer empleo.

Y si lo vemos bien es un pequeño sacrificio por este gran país VENEZUELA.

Ojala amigos aquí se terminara mi intervención, pero no puedo dejar de hablar de la inseguridad en la que vivimos. No se como expresarles el dolor que me embarga el ver a la hija de un venezolano que tiene el derecho a la educación, hoy esta en el cielo porque en la guardería no le pudieron garantizar su seguridad. La causa sin importar consecuencia fue que las autoridades locales tiraron una bomba lacrimógena y la Nena se asfixio. Solo tenía 7 meses.

Seguridad, es que acaso alguien hoy en día te la garantiza, será que ese venezolano podrá demandar al estado y obtener justicia, yo creo que no. Me vienen unas palabras que me dicen: sabes cuando sales pero no sabes si vas a regresar. Así estamos.

Que le podemos enseñar amigos a un Comunicador Social, que al salir a realizar su trabajo posiblemente le peguen un tiro, Que le podemos enseñar a un abogado, que en su país no hay ley y que uno solo es el que la rige, o tal vez a un Arquitecto que no va a tener nada que diseñar en un país en ruinas y así con cada una de las carreras que albergan a miles de estudiantes pendientes de salir adelante, pendientes de un mejor futuro.

El futuro estudiantes es ahora y nos toco salir a la calle a luchar por el país, por la Democracia por la Libertad y una vez que ganemos esta batalla empezaremos todos a construir un mejor porvenir. Y nos prepararemos mejor en las aulas pensando que cuando salgamos de nuestra Universidad encontraremos una VENEZUELA llena de oportunidades, llena de Paz, llena de Democracia, llena de LIBERTAD.

REYNALDO VILACHA

rutlandherald.nybor.com January 26, 2003 (from the Business section)
By DANIEL SHOER-ROTH Knight Ridder Newspapers

Can the churro displace the doughnut and the cinnamon roll in the United States?

What began five years ago as a family business in an eastern coastal town in Venezuela has become a transnational franchise with more than 50 outlets. Now, its owners are betting that they will be able to turn a modern version of the traditional Spanish pastry into the most innovative dessert sold in Florida malls.

“We have rescued the churro; we have reinvented it to compete with any other kind of fast food,” said Ariel Acosta Rubio, president of Churromania, the Venezuelan franchise with international headquarters in Miami.

Just as Burger King, McDonald’s and Pizza Hut have exported the U.S. fast-food culture to Latin America, Latin American fast-food franchises are slowly bringing the flavors of their countries to U.S. taste buds.

As the United States’ Hispanic population and its purchasing power grow, the major metropolitan areas are ready to absorb the new Latin American fast-food offerings, said Marcel Portman, vice president for global development with the International Association of Franchises, a commercial group in Washington, D.C.

Eighteen months after opening at Miami’s Dolphin Mall, Churromania has added a store at the International Mall and is planning to open stores at Bayside and at Westland Mall, all in Miami.

And the chain, which has two stores in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and one in Orlando, Fla., plans to open outlets in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Brandon and Bradenton (all in Florida) and a second one in Orlando, Acosta said.

Plus, it’s on the waiting list at the Dadeland and Aventura malls in Florida and is negotiating franchises in Atlanta and Texas.

This year, the franchise has generated $12 million in sales by selling its sticks of extruded dough, deep fried and sugared, in five countries.

And Churromania has expanded upon the basic churro, offering various sizes and textures as well as a glazed version and some stuffed with dulce de leche, caramel, chocolate, guava and other fillings.

Churromania owns five establishments. The rest are franchises, with a start-up fee of $20,000. Investors must pay between $80,000 and $300,000 to build the shops — depending on the shop’s size — and pay Churromania an 8 percent monthly royalty on gross sales, Acosta said.

Churromania is one of more than 1,000 domestic and foreign-owned franchises created in the last decade in Latin America. Last year, those businesses generated $30 billion in the region, according to America Economia magazine.

“Some franchises in the region are consolidating locally and have decided to go abroad and conquer markets like the U.S., which is very desirable,” Portman said. “Depending on the product, they can compete here.”

South Florida is a favorite target of these companies. Don Pan, the Venezuelan baked-goods franchise, for example, has grown to more than 25 outlets. Other businesses ready to penetrate the South Florida market, according to restaurant consultants, include Bon Ice Cream of the Dominican Republic and the Juan Valdez coffee shops of Colombia.

And Miami is not alone. El Pollo Campero, a Guatemalan chain, has settled successfully in California and Texas, and La Fabula Pizza of Mexico began operations in Denver.

Meanwhile, Churromania, which also operates in Brazil and Spain, believes it can fill a vacuum in malls with heavy walk-in traffic by offering the churro as an alternative to doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, cookies and ice cream.

Eaten with hot chocolate or cafe con leche, the churro is a tradition inherited from Spain. In Miami, they are sold in Cuban coffee shops, from food carts and at outlets that specialize in pastries.

They do well among those Hispanics who are familiar with them, but the challenge facing Churromania in its expansion plans will be to convince Hispanics not familiar with the churro and non-Hispanics of its attractiveness, analysts say.

“The company will have to invest a lot of resources to develop the brand and change the eating habits of buyers,” said William Lesante, a restaurant consultant in Miami. “And that process is neither immediate nor guaranteed.”

Acosta is conscious of the challenge.

“The road is not easy,” he said. “But we have broken the rules: We have been bold.”

www.ctv.ca Associated Press

CARACAS — Venezuelans awaited details of probable strict new currency controls Sunday and President Hugo Chavez warned of price controls to ease their effects.

"So that these (currency) controls do not hurt the poor, we will also institute price controls," Chavez told an assembly in Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he was attending the World Social Forum.

Chavez gave no specifics about what products could face price controls or when they might be put into place. Exchange controls, which Chavez suggested could be part of a long-term plan, are expected to be announced this week.

Oil production, meanwhile, continued to creep up.

Production and Commerce Minister Ramon Rosales told El Nacional newspaper importers and exporters who don't back a crippling strike that began Dec. 2 will have priority for access to U.S. dollars.

"The party's over," Rosales told "coup-mongering businessmen" who oppose Chavez.

That would drive many businessmen to a new but flourishing black market for the U.S. currency, sending already-rising prices even higher.

Rosales said dollars will be guaranteed for food, health, education and raw materials for agriculture.

Chavez suspended foreign-currency dealings for five business days last Wednesday and said he will announce new currency controls to halt the rush of nervous Venezuelans trading in their currency, the bolivar, for dollars. But exactly what the new controls will involve or when they will be announced is the subject of speculation.

On Sunday, Chavez he said he will soon propose a tax on all financial transactions in Venezuela, saying it would be "a kind of Tobin tax." Tobin taxes, named after Yale University economist and Nobel-laureate James Tobin, are designed to tame currency market volatility.

Chavez did not provide more details but said Venezuela's dollar-based reserves dropped by $3 billion US in December and January.

Economists estimate capital flight -- money sent out of Venezuela for safekeeping -- at $1.8 billion US since the strike began. The rush to dump bolivars is blamed for at least part of the currency's loss of 30 per cent of its value this month alone.

The 56-day-old strike has hobbled oil production in Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest exporter and a major supplier to the United States.

Chavez said Sunday production has risen to 1.32 million barrels a day. But dissident oil executives put the figure at about 957,000 barrels, up from 855,000 barrels Friday. Pre-strike production was about 3.2 million barrels, and fell as low as 150,000 barrels early in the strike.

Ali Rodriguez, president of the state oil monopoly, was quoted Sunday saying production is "well over" one million barrels.

Venezuela admits to having lost some $4 billion US in oil revenue since the strike began.

Oil accounts for 80 per cent of the country's foreign exchange and one-third of its gross domestic product.

Dollars are needed to buy food -- about one-half of which is imported -- medicine and other essentials, some of which already are in short supply.

Venezuela is having to import gasoline.

Opponents of Chavez blame him for hurting business and scaring off foreign investment. They tried to schedule a non-binding referendum on his presidency Feb. 2, hoping the results would embarrass him so much he would step down.

But last week, the Supreme Court cancelled the February vote on a technicality.

The constitution allows a binding referendum only midway through Chavez's six-year term, which will be in August.

Members of the opposition circulated petitions at an anti-Chavez rally Sunday seeking to cut the presidential term from six years to four.

A defiant Chavez arrived at Porto Alegre, Brazil, on Sunday for a two-day visit to the World Social Forum, called to protest against global capitalism. He repeated he has no intention of stepping down.

"Our struggle against the terrorists and fascists has further strengthened the will of the Venezuelan people," Chavez said.

"It is one thing is try to get rid of me and another thing to succeed. I have the popularity to remain in power."

Although he had not formally been invited to the forum, which generally excludes heads of state, he received a warm welcome from many of the 100,000 people attending.