www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Patrick J. O'Donoghue

Agriculture Supplies & Service Corporation (Casa) president, Gerardo Liscano says primary foodstuffs will be on sale at wholesale markets.

The products the public can buy are: black beans, lentils, dried peas, maize bread powder, sardines, tuna, pasta, rice and powdered milk.

Liscano has announced that local garrisons will oversee the whole process to avoid lack of supplies and possible loss of material through desabastecimiento. ”We are currently engaged in a deal to import a greater variety of foodstuffs within the next couple of weeks.”

Meanwhile, State consumer watchdog committee (Indecu) has been checking 1,000 complaints of speculation.

Liscano sums up saying 238 stores have been penalized but 116 re-opened after it was discovered that they had been misinformed about prices. “The offenders are small stores and supermarket in popular areas."

Indecu president, Samuel Ruh confirms that all the big supermarket changes are adhering to the government’s price listings.

The Production & Trade (MPC) Ministry has granted Indecu 3 billion bolivares to bolster Indecu in the upcoming exchange rate markets ... “Indecu will also be moving its offices to Parque Central.”

www.vheadline.com Posted: Thursday, March 06, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

According to IRS/Seniat superintendent Trino Alcides Diaz the government is considering implementing a Tobin Tax to cut down on currency speculation, as and when the current currency controls are lifted.

The IRS chief went on to say that he expected the current controls to be the shortest in Venezuelan history, and that the Tobin Tax would be imposed on any foreign currency purchases made for any other purpose than imports and production of goods.

Alcides Diaz also said that the government would consider suspending the foreign exchange controls currently in place if a potential war on Iraq caused significant increases in the international price of oil.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki

According to the Venezuelan Federation of Chambers of Commerce & Industry (Fedecamaras) vice president Albis Munoz, many Venezuelan businesses will be forced to close due to their inability to buy raw materials from abroad.

Fedecamaras claims that the problem is being caused by currency controls imposed by the government around six weeks ago ... and the subsequent delay in restoring companies' ability to purchase foreign currencies.

"About 25% of Venezuelan companies are at risk," Munoz says, accusing the government of using the currency controls to punish businesses that supported the 2-month opposition-led work stoppage that fizzled out early last month.

The Fedecamaras vice president also insists that now is the time to preserve the few jobs that remain and not to punish opposition businessmen.

www.vheadline.com Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 By: Robert Rudnicki  

The World Bank is calling on the Venezuelan government to bring an end to its foreign currency controls as quickly as possible.

The measures were imposed around six weeks ago to protect international reserves which were dropping by around $70 million per day as the Central Bank of Venezuela (BCV) fought to support a plummeting bolivar that was suffering as a result of the opposition's national work stoppage and fears of a upcoming devaluation. 

World Bank chief economist Guillermo Perry told Reuters that the measures the government have imposed are "transitory and can only work temporarily."

However, the government has said that it would keep the measures in place until six months after oil production had returned to normal.

www.tcpalm.com By Scott Samples staff writer March 5, 2003

FORT PIERCE -- They come from all over the globe, a virtual United Nations dressed in Speedos.

The handful of foreign athletes on the Indian River Community College swim team may come from different continents with different languages and cultures, but have this in common -- the pool and the desire to go fast in it.

So they leave places like Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela and as far away as South Africa to swim for the small junior-college in the United States with the big reputation for producing quality swimmers and national championships.

Today the Pioneers will begin defense of their National Junior College Athletic Association titles -- if the men win, it will be 29 consecutive championships and 20 for the women -- in what is truly a global effort.

"They have South Americans, Europeans, people from all around the world," said sophomore Camilo Becerra, a Colombian who swam for his country in the 2000 Olympic Games. "It gives foreign people a chance to come here and learn and train."

Which is why the Pioneers' roster lists swimmers from San Paulo, Brazil and Bloemfontein, South Africa, sandwiched between athletes from Vero Beach, Port St. Lucie and Stuart.

And with a small recruiting budget, IRCC relies on the swimmers themselves to replenish the supply of foreign aid.

"There's a lot of word of mouth," first-year coach Scott Kimmelman said. "You get lucky. You pick up a couple of these talented athletes. They call up their friends and say hey, we're swimming pretty well here at Indian River. Then they come up here after that."

Which is what Fernando Jacome did.

Now a freestyler at Florida State University, Jacome swam for Indian River from 2000-01. The Bucaramanga, Colombia, native swam with Becerra and knew current Pioneers freshman Carolina Sierra, and lured his countrymen to the school.

"We don't have as much support as the United States gives their athletes," said Becerra, who is already spreading the word back home about IRCC. "So you want to help (others) to compete."

But there's more to the move than simply swimming. There are different languages, foods, and ways of doing things, which can be harder for some to handle than for others.

"It wasn't much different than South Africa," Luke Wilkens said of his move. "I adapted pretty well, I didn't have any problems. I think for the (swimmers from South American countries) it would be more of a culture change."

Kimmelman, a long-time assistant at IRCC who is in his first-year as head coach, said he will often group one culture together to ease the transition. At the same time, the swimmers get immersed in American culture as part of the learning process.

"I thought it was going to be the same being here, but it's not," Sierra said. "People are totally different. At the beginning it's tough to get used to. I like it. It's just different."

One thing that doesn't change is the competition -- and not just from other teams, either. Kimmelman said he is only allowed three foreign scholarships for the men and three for the women. That frequently leaves some foreign swimmers without scholarship aid and forces them to compete with each other for it.

But the bottom line is winning, a fact that is hard to escape since each national championship team is commemorated on the walls surrounding the IRCC swimming complex.

The foreign swimmers know it, the same as the local ones. The word has been passed down to them, and they have already begun to pass it on to others back home.

"Someone helped me. I will help another," Sierra said. "We keep it going, like a chain."

-scott.samples@scripps.com

FOREIGN AID

Six swimmers who hail from outside the United States will try to help IRCC extend their dominance in National Junior College Athletic Association swimming.

Men's Team

• Teylor Arboleda, Venezuela, Fr., butterfly and individual medley
• Camilo Becerra, Colombia, So., freestyle and butterfly
• Alejandro Gomez, Venezuela, Fr., freestyle and backstroke
• Luke Wilkens, South Africa, So., freestyle and butterfly

Women's Team

• Joyce Fuhrman, Brazil, So., freestyle
• Carolina Sierra, Colombia, Fr., butterfly, backstroke and freestyle