The artillery of ideasENGLISH EDITIONFRIDAY | October 22nd, 2010 | No. 34 | Bs. 1 | CARACAS

New relationswith UkrainePresident Hugo Chavezmade a historic visitto the Ukraine this week, marking the fi rst visit ever made by a Venezuelan head of state to the former Soviet republic. Chavez met with his counterpart, Victor Yanukovic, during several hours on Monday to solidify relations. The two presidents agreed to establish their respective embassies in each other’s nation. Meetings were scheduled for Novemberto continue advancing the new relationship and tentative deals were madefor the purchase of several Antonov airplanes.

Pg. 7 | Social Justice Pg. 8 | Opinion

ImpactVenezuelan and Iran against aggressionPresident Chavez madehis 9th visit to Iran this week,further strengthening tieswith the Persian nation.

Social JusticeFAO hails Venezuelan advances in FoodsovereigntyThe United Nations lauded Venezuela’s progress towards guaranteeing the basichuman right of nutritionto all citizens.

Social JusticeHousing solutionsThe Venezuelan governmentis resolving the nation’s housing crisis through innovative means.

Creating a pluripolar worldDuring a whirlwind, worldwide tour, President Chavez visited sevencountries on three continents, consolidating relations and advancing

efforts to change the balance of global power.While on an offi cial visit to Russia and Belarus, Venezuelan President Chavez secured new vehicles, agricultural

technology, energy supply, commerce and scientifi c know-how that will aid in the South American nation’sprogress and development. An agreement with Russia to build a nuclear energy plant in Venezuela sparked

international controversy, provoking a reaction from US President Barack Obama, who urged Venezuelato “obey” international regulations. President Chavez made clear from the onstart that his nation’s intentions

are soley for the peaceful development and use of nuclear energy.

Chavez in Syria

Venezuela: $580 million for public universitiesThe Venezuelan government

approved the funding of al-most 2.5 billion bolivars (US$580 million) for University-level public education, responding to demands from workers and students that the government meet fi scal needs for the 2010-2011 academic period and can-cel salary-related debts accrued since 2008.

Exiting the Council of Ministers meeting in which the resources were approved, Venezuelan Vice President Elías Jaua called for a return to normality at universities nationwide, following recent pro-

tests led by opposition university offi cials and student groups.

“We call on the entire univer-sity community to stay calm and establish mechanisms for normal-ized communication with the Ministry of Higher Education. The Bolivarian Government has guaranteed that the universities and all of their workers, profes-sors and students can count on the services and salaries that they need to successfully complete this [academic] year”, stated Jaua.

According to Vice President Jaua, 450.9 million bolivars (US$105 million) were approved

“to cover the costs of hospitaliza-tions, surgeries and maternity-related issues of professors, ad-ministrative employees and other workers at universities, techno-logical institutes and colleges”, and 729 million bolivars (US$170 million) were designated to pay debts to roughly 115,000 univer-sity employees.

National Federation of Univer-sity Employees President, Edu-ardo Sanchez declared the deci-sion to approve the multimillion dollar resources, “A positive re-sult of the struggle of workers in the streets”.

ggggg || ppJohn Pilger on the Chilean mining disasterand the resulting media spectacle

PPgggggg. 7 | SSoociaall JJJJJJusticeVenezuela’s world renowned orchestra systemfor children is now being used as a modelfor similar programs in the United States

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez arrived to Syria

late Wednesday evening for a visit to Damascus to strength-en commercial and political relations with the Middle Eastern nation. According to the Syrian Ambassador to Venezuela Ghassan Abbas, the visit of the President Chavez to Syria represents progress in the strategic alliance between the two countries, pursuing common objectives.

Abbas underscored that both Syria and Venezuela fight for the sovereignty of their peoples, and for integra-tion, unity and a pluripolar world. “Indeed, the struggle for the unity of Arab coun-tries is very important to us, as is President Chavez’s fight to become sovereign and in-dependent”. Furthermore, the diplomat pointed out that the strong position adopted by Venezuela in the face of aggressions from the United States and Israel against the Arab countries has been a key factor that led to the re-inforcement of Venezuela-Syria relations.

There is a clear political will to speed up the agree-ments reached between the two countries to bring the benefits from this alliance to the people of Venezuela and Syria, commented the am-bassador. President Chavez met with his counterpart, Bashar Al-Assad, in Damas-cus on Thursday.

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IMPACT|2| No 34 • Friday, October 22nd, 2010 The artillery of ideas

Venezuela and Iran stand togetheragainst aggression

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expressed solidarity and signed agreements with his Iranian counterpart Mahmud Ahmadinejad in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday and Wednesday, marking his ninth visit to Iran since winning offi ce in 1998

Chavez expressed his full sup-port for Tehran immediately

on his arrival to Iran late Monday evening, rejecting the aggres-sive actions of the United States government and its attempt to destabilize the Middle East and undermine the sovereignty of Ahmadinejad’s government.

Upon arrival to the Middle East-ern nation, Chavez declared, “We are going to evaluate the world geopolitical situation and, above all, the tensions that imperialism continues to generate in the region and the sanctions that have been applied to the Iranian people [by the United Nations Security Coun-cil]. Our solidarity is with the Is-lamic Revolution. It is necessary to respect Iranian sovereignty”.

The latest UN sanctions Iran has been subject to were passed in June this year and are the fourth such sanctions related to the country’s nuclear program and its co-oper-ation with the UN International Atomic Energy Association.

Ahmadinejad has rejected the resolutions as counterproductive.

Chavez said that the purpose of his tour, which has already includ-ed visits to Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine, from October 13 to Oc-tober 18, was to highlight the im-portance of a multipolar world to counteract the power of US impe-rialism and to create new relations between countries based on inte-gration, cooperation and solidarity.

Chavez complained that already one newspaper in Colombia, El Colombiano, had “started some-thing spectacular about the signing in Moscow of a deal to build the fi rst nuclear-energy plant in Ven-ezuela. It’s the same tale, the same story of imperialism’s attempt to

prevent the independence of our people, and our development and industrialization”.

Iran argues that the pressure from the United Nations Secu-rity Council is more political than grounded in any real concerns about nuclear materials.

Tehran under Ahmadinejad has supported the rights of Palestin-ians to a state against Israeli ag-gression. He has also publicly sup-ported Hezbollah against Israel.

As part of the visit, Caracas and Tehran also signed more commer-cial accords. The two nations are building a maritime company in order to improve the effi ciency of petroleum transportation.

Venezuelan embassador to Iran, David Velasquez, explained to press that “in this ninth visit of President Chavez to Iran we are going to deepen our industrial co-operation, a topic which has strengthened the transfer of technology”.

Tecnological transfer of scien-tifi c, commercial, agricultural and energy know-how is critical to ensure Venezuela’s long-term development and prosperity.

“We are also advancing in agri-culture and trade along with ex-change of knowledge to continue along the road map approved by the presidents last April and May”, stated Ambassador Velasquez.

Regarding the visit, President Chavez also remarked, “We are building new spaces to consolidate political, cultural, scientifi c, techni-cal and economic independence”.

STRENGTHENING TIESIn the eight earlier meetings

between Chavez and Ahmadine-jad, more than 300 economic partnerships to develop trade, technology, agriculture, tourism, science and the environment have been established.

During this latest visit to Teh-ran, Venezuelan Commerce Min-ister Richard Canan explained that Venezuela has “diversifi ed its economy with the establishment of new strategic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, a nation to which we export steel, iron, alu-minium and gold products, made by small factories in Guayana”.

Just last year, agreements on rice, seed, corn, milk and prawn production in the food industry

were signed between both na-tions and private industries.

Factories were constructed to produce cars, bicycles and trac-tors along side heavy machinery and plastic injection facilities in Venezuelan territory with Iranian know-how. Also, a deal was signed to build 10,000 homes in Venezuela for those most in need. Previously, Venezuela agreed to export 20,000 barrels of oil to Iran each year.

On Wednesday morning, Presi-dent Chavez visited a housing complex outside Tehran with nine different models of homes and apartment buildings. The Venezuelan President explained that Iran would aid Venezuela in resolving its housing crisis by helping to build similar models in the South American nation.

During a private dinner on Tuesday evening offered by Pres-ident Ahmadinejad in honor of President Chavez, the two heads of states conversed amply and shared typical Iranian food. At the end of the meal, President Chavez declared Venezuela’s “unwavering allegiance to Iran”.

“I know for a fact that Iran is not building a nuclear bomb”, pro-claimed the Venezuelan President before the other dinner guests. “And I also know that if Iran were building a nuclear bomb, Presi-dent Ahmadinejad would have the courage and dignity to say so to the world. But there is no bomb or plans for a bomb here. The US Empire just seeks an excuse to attack Iran because it won’t bow down to its power. We will stand by Iran no matter what”, declared

President Chavez.For his part,

President Ah-madinejad spoke briefl y. “I agree with everything President Chavez said…We are to-gether with Ven-ezuela forever. We will defend each other before the at-tacks of aggressors and our adversar-

ies will fall, they always do eventually. Viva Venezuela!” ex-

claimed the Iranian President at the end of the dinner ceremony.

After Iran, Chavez visited Syr-ia, Libya and Portugal on his 12-day tour.

The US government has ex-pressed its “concern” over Venezu-ela’s growing relations with Iran. On Monday, the State Department said it worried over any country “intervening” in the affairs of an-other in the Middle East. On Tues-day, President Obama also spoke directly to Venezuela’s intentions to build a nuclear power plant with Russia’s aid, stating, “There are international laws and we hope Venezuela will abide by them. Ven-ezuela must act responsibly in de-veloping nuclear energy”.

Venezuelan President Chavez has been clear from the beginning that Venezuela’s intentions with nuclear energy are peaceful. Ira-nian President Ahmadinejad has said the same of his nation’s nu-clear development. Nonetheless, Washington has pushed for tough-er sanctions against Iran and in-creased its military plans to attack the Persian nation if necessary.

T/ Steven Mather and Eva GolingerP/ Presidential Press

INTEGRATION No 34 • Friday, October 22nd, 2010 |3|The artillery of ideas

Ukraine marked the third stop on President Chavez’s latest international tour to strengthen relations with allied states and build strategic agreements to shift the balance of world power and aid Venezuela’s development

As part of his international visit to ally countries, Hugo

Chavez arrived in Ukraine last Monday where he discussed a deepening of bilateral relations and a series of future agreements with President Victor Yanukovic.

The visit is the fi rst that any Venezuelan president has made to the Eastern European country, and the fi rst for President Chavez since he took offi ce in 1999.

“We’ve arrived in Ukraine, thanks to the country’s invitation and we want to continue to work together”, Chavez told reporters upon arrival in Kiev.

The Venezuelan head of state met with his Ukrainian counterpart Victor Yanukovic early in the day on Monday where the two leaders discussed a strengthening of rela-tions between Kiev and Caracas.

Yanukovic referred to the meet-ing as positive, calling the initia-tives of president Chavez to col-laborate with Ukraine in science, technology, and energy as “very serious” and “inspiring”.

“It’s about the participation of Ukraine in the industrialization of Venezuela”, Yanukovic said of the topics discussed with his Venezu-elan counterpart. “It’s about the rapid development of various ar-eas such as electric energy, science, and… aeronautics”, he informed.

For his part, Chavez expressed his optimism that growing rela-tions with Ukraine will benefi t his country’s social and economic development.

“I am very grateful for the will that President Yanukovich has shown to collaborate in the industri-alization of Venezuela and cooper-ate in development projects that we have fi nally been able to create after so much time”, he commented.

As a result of the meeting, the two leaders agreed to establish diplomatic representation in their respective capitals.

Venezuela and Ukraine build relations

Further meetings, scheduled for November in Caracas and later the same month in Kiev, are planned to strengthen the legal basis for future agreements and create a strategic map for collabo-ration in areas of energy, educa-tion, and military technology.

“We’ve arrived at an agree-ment in which we’re going to quickly create a road map that’s going to defi ne the priorities and directions for our relations and the paths to follow for de-velopment”, Chavez said of the future meetings.

According to President Yanuk-ovic, the legal basis for collabo-ration between the two nations needs to be prioritized in order to develop future accords.

“We have to…work ardu-ously on the new agreements and pacts that will allow us to work fi rst on a bilat-eral basis and later, perhaps, with third party countries”, he affi rmed.

“For this reason we need to elevate our diplomatic re-lations to a level qualitatively higher in order to be able to take advantage of our future relations and for the well-being of both of our econo-

mies, which are complementary in many ways”, the Ukranian head of state explained.

One of the areas of collabora-tion, according to both Yanukovic and Chavez, will be Ukraine’s participation in the exploration of gas and oil reserves in Venezu-ela’s Orinoco belt.

AIRPLANESAfter his discussions with

Yanukovic, Chavez visited the Antonov aeronautic complex where he was shown a range of airplanes designed for both civil and defense purposes.

According to the director of the complex, Dmytro Kiva, manu-facture of any one of the planes could be possible in Venezuela.

Since 1946, Kiva explained, the state-run Antonov “has produced more than 22 thousand planes, more than 100 designs and plane modifi cations, and more than six thousand of its planes fl y in seven-ty-seven countries in the world”.

President Chavez held a brief exchange with journalists present at the Antonov factory after his tour of the airplanes. He implored the youth of Ukraine to “not fall victim to the lies of the media”.

“Be proud to be Ukrainian. Make Ukraine your’s, don’t let other infl uences sway your path as a dignifi ed and independent nation. Beware of the venom in-duced through mass media that tries to sell you the ‘American way of life’. It’s a lie, that way only leads to destruction. We must build our own paths”, ex-claimed the Venezuelan Presi-dent, referring to Ukraine’s “Or-ange Revolution” that installed

a pro-US government in 2004 after US agencies intervened

heavily in the former So-viet nation’s affairs.

Yanukovic’s return to power was seen by Presi-dent Chavez as a path in

the right direction towards “recovering Ukraine’s identity and dignity”, he said, before leav-ing the Antonov complex for the Kiev airport.

Venezuela’s growing relation-ship with Ukraine will compli-ment a strategic plan to engage relations from Russia down to the Middle East and Africa.

T/ Edward Ellis and Eva GolingerP/ Presidential Press

INTEGR|4| No 34• Friday, October 22nd, 2010 RATION No 34 • Friday, October 22nd, 2010 |5|

During the fi rst stops on an inter-national trip that includes visits

to seven countries on three conti-nents, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez further strengthened his government’s relations with Russia and Belarus last week by signing a series of accords in areas of com-merce, fi nance, agriculture, and en-ergy development.

RUSSIAChavez’s trip began in Moscow

where he signed 15 new agreements with his Russian counterpart, Dimi-tri Medvedev.

The Venezuelan President ex-plained during a local interview on Russia Today that his 9th visit to Russia is part of a new foreign policy movement in Latin America focused on creating a “pluripolar” world free from the free market mandates ema-nating from the United States and the Washington Consensus.

“Before, [Latin America] was just a chorus of neoliberalism, an area of free trade for the Americas and the kind of privatization that attempted to put an end to the state”, Chavez said of the region’s recent past. “But all of this has failed. Today, Latin America sings a different tune and dances to its own beat”, he added.

NUCLEAR POWERAffi rming his nation’s autonomy

and capacity to devise independent energy policies, Chavez declared the imminent construction of a nuclear power plant in Venezuela as a result of one of the new agreements signed in Moscow.

“Yes, we’re going to develop nu-clear energy in Venezuela with the help of Russia”, Chavez said un-equivocally last Friday.

“The whole world needs to know this and nothing is going to stop us. We’re free, sovereign, and indepen-dent”, he declared.

President Medvedev expressed his support for Venezuela’s aspira-tion to construct a nuclear station as a way to shield its economy from an over reliance on oil exports.

“We see this project as very posi-tive”, he commented. “We…believe that nuclear development is one of the principal paths to develop-ment… And why can’t Venezuela have this kind of plant”, he asked.

In terms of the project’s objectives, the Russian President admonished concerns that the technology would be used for military purposes.

“President [Chavez] assured that there would be states that react to this in different ways. But I want to re-spond to them specifi cally in that our intentions are absolutely clear and transparent”, Medvedev clarifi ed.

Venezuela: creating a pluripolar worldIn an effort to strengthen ties with ally nations, President Chavez made offi cial visits to Russia and Belarus last week, signing new cooperative agreements,

which will aid Venezuela’s national development and international goal of changing the balance of world power

Chavez, for his part, dismissed allegations that such a project would have anything but peaceful purposes.

“Venezuela is starting on the road to nuclear energy. It’s not necessary to say it but I will: with peaceful ends, of course”, he emphasized.

Venezuela has recently emerged from a prolonged energy crisis due to a drought, which left its primary source of hydroelectric power, the Guri dam, crippled for months.

The government has since been studying ways to diversify its energy production, analyzing thermoelec-tric generation and nuclear power.

Although details on the construc-tion of the nuclear plant are still in development, Venezuelan offi cials report that the facility will be able to supply the country with 500 Mega-watts of additional energy.

RUSSIAN-VENEZUELAN INVESTMENT BANK

The solidifi cation of a joint fi nan-cial institution comprised of both Venezuelan and Russian capital was also discussed during President Chavez’s visit.

The creation of the bank, fi rst made public during a visit made to Venezuela by President Medvedev in 2008, will result from the South American nation’s use of national development funds to purchase the Russian bank Evrofi nans.

According to Chavez, the new fi -nancial entity will be headquartered in Moscow with branches in Caracas as well as Beijing.

“We have to free ourselves from the world economic dictatorship”, Chavez exclaimed, with reference to neoliberal institutions like the In-ternational Monetary Fund and the World Bank that have dominated global fi nance for decades.

The new bank’s main purpose will be the independent fi nancing of energy, transport and infrastructure development projects in the coun-tries where it will be active.

OTHER ACCORDS WITH RUSSIAIn addition to nuclear energy and

a joint investment bank, further ac-cords were signed that include the extraction of natural gas in Venezu-ela and the construction of 10 thou-sand new homes for residents in Caracas.

The housing project represents part of the Venezuelan government’s plan to transform the underutilized military sector, Fuerte Tiuna, into a modern residential area for inhab-itants of the overcrowded shanty-towns that surround the capital city.

Venezuela also agreed to sell its stake in a German oil refi nery to Russia and signed pacts designed

annually to the ex-Soviet republic from 2011 to 2013. Both Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and Venezuelan head of state Hugo Chavez attended the signing cer-emony by the state-run Belarusian Oil Company and Petroleos de Ven-ezuela (PDVSA).

The two companies also signed a memorandum on the development of two oil fi elds in Venezuela by Petrol-era BeloVenezolana, a joint venture launched in 2007. The mixed company currently owns fi ve oil fi elds in Ven-ezuela that produce 820,000 tons of crude per year. Under the new memo-randum, two other oil fi elds will join them to increase annual production up to 1.3 million tons annually.

“Belarus will never have to worry again about oil supply”, affi rmed President Chavez during his meeting with President Lukashenko. “Venezu-ela will guarantee Belarus 200 years of oil resources”, he added, indicating the long-term relationship consolidat-ed between both countries.

The two nations have also agreed to create mixed public-private com-panies for the manufacture of shoes and heavy construction vehicles in the South American nation.

The planned construction vehicle factory will be the fi rst of its kind in Latin America.

“In Latin America, no one has a con-struction vehicle factory. Our brothers in Brazil don’t have one….We’re go-ing to have a factory of large construc-tion vehicles, the most modern in the world”, Chavez confi rmed.

President Chavez visited several vehicle factories, including the Belaz heavy duty truck plant, which soon will open a branch in Venezuela. While at the factory, the Venezuelan head of state tested one of the largest trucks in the world, the “Belaz 7517, with a cargo capacity of 160 tons”, informed Minister of Communica-tion and Information, Mauricio Ro-driguez, via Twitter while accompa-nying the President.

President Chavez also tested the even larger Belaz 75601 truck, “used in mining and with a cargo capacity of 360 tons”.

The Venezuelan President also toured the MAZ bus and truck fac-tory, deciding on the spot to pur-chase several vehicles, but more importantly, to open joint ventures in Venezuela which will ensure tech-nological transfer so the buses can eventually be produced in the South American nation. “A grand horizon is opening for us”, declared Chavez before a group of workers gathered to greet him at the MAZ plant.

“Soon Ven-Maz or Maz-Ven will be born”, exclaimed the Venezuelan head of state to the workers, refer-

ring to the joint venture that will produce cargo trucks and buses for public transportation in Venezuela.

In terms of housing, Belarus has committed to a project involving the construction of some 4 thou-sand apartments in the central Ven-ezuelan city of Maracay. President Chavez visited a model communal housing complex in the outskirts of Minsk, touring the newly con-structed buildings and structure that soon will rise in Venezuela. “These are dignifi ed homes”, declared the Venezuelan leader, “simple, but suf-fi cient”, he added, referring to two modest apartments he viewed while at the complex.

ECO-AGRICULTUREChavez later visited the Agragoro-

dok Dziarzhynski Farm, a state-owned agro-ecology production center in Minsk that represents the capacity, creativity and effi ciency to guarantee food sovereignty in Belarus. The Venezuelan President, together with a group of cabinet members and guests accompanying him on his tri-continent tour, viewed the agro-ecological installations and savored the various food items produced on site. According to the farm’s representatives, “40% of their production is sold through their own chain of markets, 30% is exported to Russia and another 30% is commer-cialized through other companies”.

The initiative combines free range, organic farming of cows and chick-ens, along with the production of organic grains and milk products. The area houses over 30,000 cows and vast fi elds for seed production and other cultivations, such as corn, wheat and cereals.

At the end of the visit, a lunch was offered in President Chavez’s honor, with products grown and prouduced on the farm. Venezuelan Minister for Agriculture and Lands, Juan Carlos Loyo, entered into discussions after-ward with the farm’s representatives to aid the South American nation in building a similar multi-disciplinary organic agro-ecological complex in the fertile regions of Venezuela.

Speaking of the importance of Chavez’s presence in Minsk, Presi-dent Lukashenko highlighted the fact that the South American leader’s visit “opens a very important stage” in re-lations between the two countries.

“We will always be friends of your state”, Lukashenko said speaking to his Venezuelan counterpart. “We are willing to give all that we have to support the friendly people of Venezuela”, he added.

T/ Edward Ellis and Eva GolingerP/ Presidential Press

to increase coffee sales to the Slavic country as well as raise exports of cassava for use in the creation of bio-plastic products.

BELARUSFollowing his visit to Russia, Pres-

ident Chavez arrived in the Eastern European country of Belarus on Saturday where he was greeted by president Alexander Lukashenko at his offi cial residence in the capital city, Minsk.

The visit was Chavez’s fi fth to Be-larus, a country with whom Venezu-ela has enjoyed strong relations over the past fi ve years.

“We’ve come from Moscow with a lot of enthusiasm to continue mov-ing forward our energy alliances with Belarus”, the Venezuelan head of state declared upon arrival.

During his time in Minsk, Chavez toured cultural sites and signed key agreements in areas of housing, agri-culture, industry, as well as energy.

As part of the accords, Venezuela has agreed to increase its supply of oil to Belarus, currently calculated at four million barrels a year. The contract signed states that supply will increase to 10 million tons of oil

SOCIAL JUSTICE|6| No 34• Friday, October 22nd, 2010 The artillery of ideas

Venezuela: providing housing for displacedThe Venezuelan government delivered 372 new homes on Sunday to victims of the torrential rains which have affected thousands of residents in the capital city Caracas, leaving many homeless

Vice President Elias Jaua pre-sided over the delivery of

the new homes, highlighting the celerity in which the Venezuelan government has acted in order to provide for those left displaced by the natural disaster.

“Only 15 days were needed for the Bolivarian Revolution, led by the President of the Republic, Hugo Chavez, to provide hous-ing solutions to the families left homeless”, he said during an act held in the state of Miranda.

According to Jaua, the govern-ment has invested 284 million bolivars ($66 million USD) in the purchase of the new homes, the recipients of which will pay for their housing based on their eco-nomic ability.

“We know that there are peo-ple who can pay more, others who can pay less, and others who can’t pay anything… The necessity for housing is large… I assure you that [President] Chavez has ordered the housing projects to be accelerated”, he affi rmed.

The 312 apartments delivered to victims on Sunday represent the fi rst part of more than 1,000 homes to be provided for the families affected by the rains.

The new homes form part of a residential area bought by the government that includes 60 four-story buildings in the Valle de Tuy in the state of Miranda, close to Caracas.

“This housing complex has 1,138 homes and in the next 8 days, we hope to be able to de-liver 500”, the Vice President

remarked. “Before the month of December, we hope to have pro-vided housing for all the families that were affected by this trag-edy”, he explained.

All of the apartments being de-livered are fully equipped with furniture and domestic applianc-es including refrigerators, stoves, and washing machines.

The neighborhood also has 4 sports parks and 4 children’s parks for recreation as well as transportation for residents to the nearest Caracas metro station.

Minister for Education, Jenifer Gil, informed on Saturday that the children of the displaced will be enrolled in new schools in the Valle de Tuy and that all levels of government are cooperating to make sure that the families’ needs are met.

Gil informed that the govern-ment “is united in this task which will serve as an opportunity to improve the quality of life for the residents of Caracas”.

Nathali Bravo, a benefi ciary of a new apartment, expressed her

optimism for the new beginning that is being offered to her and those who have lost everything due to the catastrophe.

“We’re grateful to all the gov-ernment bodies that have made this possible”, she exclaimed. “It’s something that God sent to us in order to open the door to a new future of hope”.

HOUSING A TOP ISSUESince the heavy rains that

have drenched the nation’s capi-tal, housing has become a major priority of the government of Hugo Chavez.

In a recent visit to the military sector, Fuerte Tiuna, in Caracas, the Venezuelan head of state ex-pressed his vision to convert the zone into a vast residential area where current occupants of the capital’s shantytowns can enjoy dignifi ed housing and a higher quality of life.

The President has also men-tioned a similar project in the cit-ies of Maracay and Barinas.

As such, many of the agree-ments currently being signed by Chavez during his international trip to seven ally countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa have housing as a priority.

Collaboration on housing with Russian and Belarusian fi rms has already been solidifi ed and further agreements are being planned with Iran.

T/ Edward EllisP/ Héctor Lozano

FAO: Venezuela advances in food sovereigntyAlfredo Missair, Representa-

tive of the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion (FAO) recognized Venezu-ela for its advances in nutrition and food sovereignty last Mon-day during an interview broad-cast on the state television sta-tion, VTV.

“More than 14 million people in Venezuela receive high quality food at fair prices, with every-thing that the basic food basket requires and with easy access for citizens”, Missair said during his appearance on the program Des-perto Venezuela.

The FAO representative high-lighted the fact that malnutrition in Venezuela has been reduced

signifi cantly and that the country is well ahead of other nations in terms of meeting the UN’s mille-nium goal in this area.

According to Missair, Venezue-la has reduced malnutrition from 7.7% in the 1990s to a current lev-el of 3.7%.

“Today this level has been re-duced by a little more than half”, the UN representative said. “This needs to be highlighted becuase not only has the government guaranteed food security but also because it has elevated the hu-man rights of citizens since food is a basic and fundamental right of all people”, he explained.

Missair also reported that chronic infant malnutrition has

been reduced to 3.25%, a num-ber that indicates it is no longer a national problem of public health and that the government “only needs to attend to spe-cific cases”.

On Saturday, the FAO represen-tative attended an activity held in Caracas to celebrate World Food Day and was impressed by the enthusiasm that many citizens display with respect to the gov-ernment’s initiatives.

“This kind of help isn’t just re-fl ected in the numbers, you can see it in the people. I was able to speak with some Caracas resi-dents and they expressed their satisfaction with the food pro-grams that the national govern-

ment has been developing as well as the quality of the products be-ing supplied”.

Achieving food security for the Venezuelan people has been a major priority of the Chavez ad-ministration.

Over the years, the govern-ment has created numerous social programs ranging from school lunch programs to sub-sidized markets designed to ensure a steady supply of food products at reduced costs.

The government also initiated a far ranging land reform program in 2001 in order to strengthen ag-ricultural production and reduce the country’s heavy reliance on food imports.

Although the country’s depen-dence on imports is still high, the Lands and Agriculture Ministry has reported important advances in the production of staple crops such as corn and rice over the past ten years.

Recently, the government has also been working to consolidate the commercialization of prod-ucts through a state-run supply chain, which includes small scale bodegas and large supermarket-sized stores.

All of the prices in the state-op-erated food outlets are consider-ably less than those found in the private sector.

T/ EE

SOCIAL JUSTICE No 34 • Friday, October 22nd, 2010 |7|The artillery of ideas

Venezuela’s Orchestra System to be Implemented in USVenezuelan conductor Gusta-

vo Dudamel has made an impression in the United States with the system of youth orches-tras that has achieved so much success in Venezuela in promot-ing music education amongst children and youth.

Last Saturday in Los Angeles, Dudamel gave away musical in-struments during a brief ceremo-ny, in which dozens of children sang for the young director, par-ents and guests.

The evening began when the children used violins they made with cardboard three weeks ago, when the Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles (YOLA) was launched. Sitting on the fl oor with a shirt similar to those worn by the children, the conductor listened to the songs that described how to hold the violin and how to sit while playing it.

At the end of the presentation, Dudamel, one of the most suc-cessful graduates of Venezuela’s National System of Youth and Children Orchestras, surprised the students, mostly of limited means, by telling them to review

what they had under their seats. Under these seats, they found real violins donated by YOLA, which is trying to implement the same

programs that exist in Venezu-ela, and includes free instruments and classical music instruction for children and youth.

“Giving an opportunity to these children is the dream of every one of us, with the help of parents, who are very important.

Children are the reason I con-duct”, said the world renowned Venezuelan musician in front of several guests, including US Senator Barbara Boxer.

Venezuela’s National System of Children’s and Youth Orches-tras is a foundation created by the Venezuelan maestro Jose Antonio Abreu and funded by the Venezu-elan government. The main pur-pose is music education and the promotion of the collective prac-tice of music through symphony orchestras and choirs as a form of social organization and commu-nity development. “The System”, as it is called, has received a ma-jor boost in funding and support from the government of President Hugo Chavez.

The system has also inspired musical initiatives in other countries such as Italy, where on October 14 the Cultural Asso-ciation in Gioco, Bari, initiated a project with 32 low-income chil-dren in order to prevent school dropouts and encourage social-ization and cooperation.

T/ YVKE

Cuba’s Doctors in VenezuelaTo travel around Venezuela and

not run into a group of Cuban medical doctors is like going to Africa and not fi nding a lion, or at least not seeing the savanna.

For more than fi ve years, or perhaps seven, to be more exact, many rumors have been circu-lated about the Cuban doctors in Venezuela. Some of these might have been worthy for the Guin-ness Book of World Records had there been a category for the most senseless lies.

What’s true is that these people are just people who do their jobs; they are neither heroes nor assas-sins gunning for Fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez.

But it would be a little selfi sh of me if I thought the work of these people in Venezuela didn’t seem very useful. Here I’ve found few hospitals and I’ve noted that it’s common for fi re trucks or ambu-lances to be sent to pick up ac-cident victims, but later they’re charged the cost of the service.

Recently I spoke with some people who were saved by doc-tors from the Cuban provinces

of Pinar del Rio, Santiago de Cuba and Matanzas. Several of those patients do not support the movement toward socialism that the current Venezuelan President proposes; and before going under the knife of Cubans, they would have preferred anything or any-one else.

Several of them were dis-charged from private clinics, where they had been brought for

urgent attention, but their medical insurance didn’t cover enough of the bill. They didn’t have enough money and were therefore kicked out of the clinics at the risk their lives. What they all agreed on was the kindness shown by the Cuban physicians.

The truth is that I had no inten-tion of writing about the kindness of the Cubans doctors, but this is what people talked about to me.

The Cubans themselves have lots of anecdotes; some that make you laugh and others that shock.

In the community of Wayü, in Mara, Venezuelan doctors now refuse to treat the indigenous people; they say they’re vindic-tive natives. When one of those patients was dying, there was fear that his relatives would later kill the doctor who treated him. The Cubans, on the other hand, have been there for several years and up to now, there have been no confl icts between them and the locals.

Similarly, I got together with a Cuban friend who now lives on a hillside neighborhood of Cara-

cas. For her it’s normal that every once in a while one of the area’s “head thugs” will knock on her door to warn her to not to go out into the street that day; they ad-vise her to “be careful” of some shootout that’s expected in the vicinity. But no one has to warn her. The gunshots are enough to force her under the bed or make her lock herself in the least inse-cure room in the house.

People had told me about a doc-tor who has already returned to Cuba. She was the one who had to get psychological treatment after being here 15 days because of these situations of extreme vio-lence. To my surprise, however, the woman decided to stay here, and what’s most surprising is that she married a Venezuelan, and today they live somewhat more peacefully in Cuba.

Recently rain caused a lot of mudslides here. The fl ooding also resulted in deaths in the poorest areas, especially in Cara-cas. There I met another group of Cubans dressed in white. One of them had been a clown before

graduating and had come to Ven-ezuela to prove that he could heal and make people laugh at the same time. Did he do it?

Most Cuban doctors in Vene-zuela spend more than two years working here, some more than fi ve, though they go back once or twice on vacations to see to their families. To me it would be sheer agony to be separated from my loved ones for so long. There are mothers who have barely had a chance see their children grow up, and others who left their lit-tle girls just after their fi rst men-struations and in their last trips back have found them already married.

As for me, I didn’t want to go through such situations; that’s why I didn’t study medicine.

Meanwhile, those who have been treated by the island doc-tors, and were willing to give their opinion, agreed that they don’t want them to ever leave. But what about them?

T/ Yordanka Caridad - Havana Times

Chile’s ghosts are not being rescued

The artillery of ideasENGLISH EDITIONFRIDAY | October 22nd, 2010 | No. 34| Bs. 1 | CARACAS

A publication of the Fundacion Correo del OrinocoEditor-in-Chief | Eva Golinger • Graphic Design | Arturo Cazal, Pablo Valduciel L., Alexander Uzcátegui, Jameson Jiménez • Press | Fundación Imprenta de la Cultura

OPINION

The rescue of 33 miners in Chile is an extraordinary drama fi lled with pathos

and heroism. It is also a media windfall for the Chilean government, whose every be-nefi cence is recorded by a forest of cameras. One cannot fail to be impressed. However, like all great media events, it is a façade.

The accident that trapped the miners is not unusual in Chile and the inevitable consequence of a ruthless economic system that has barely changed since the dictator-ship of General Augusto Pinochet. Copper is Chile’s gold, and the frequency of mining disasters keeps pace with prices and pro-fi ts. There are, on average, 39 fatal accidents every year in Chile’s privatised mines. The San Jose mine, where the men work, became so unsafe in 2007 it had to be closed – but not for long. On July 30 last, a labor department report warned again of “serious safety de-fi ciencies”, but the minister took no action. Six days later, the men were entombed.

For all the media circus at the rescue site, contemporary Chile is a country of the uns-poken. At the Villa Grimaldi, in the subur-bs of the capital Santiago, a sign says: “The forgotten past is full of memory”. This was the torture center where hundreds of people were murdered and disappeared for opposing the fascism that General Augusto Pinochet and his business allies brought to Chile. Its ghostly presence is overseen by the beauty of the Andes, and the man who unlocks the gate used to live nearby and remembers the screams.

I was taken there one wintry morning in 2006 by Sara De Witt, who was imprisoned as a student activist and now lives in Lon-don. She was electrocuted and beaten, yet survived. Later, we drove to the home of Salvador Allende, the great democrat and reformer who perished when Pinochet sei-zed power on September 11, 1973 – Latin America’s own 9/11. His house is a silent white building without a sign or a plaque.

Everywhere, it seems, Allende’s name has been eliminated. Only in the lone me-morial in the cemetery are the words en-graved “Presidente de la Republica” as part of a remembrance of the “ejecutados politicos”: those “executed for political reasons”. Allende died by his own hand as Pinochet bombed the presidential palace with British planes as the American am-bassador watched.

Today, Chile is a democracy, though many would dispute that, notably those in the ba-rrios forced to scavenge for food and steal

electricity. In 1990, Pinochet bequeathed a constitutionally compromised system as a condition of his retirement and the military’s withdrawal to the political shadows. This ensures that the broadly reformist parties, known as Concertacion, are permanently divided or drawn into legitimizing the eco-nomic designs of the heirs of the dictator. At the last election, the right-wing Coalition for Change, the creation of Pinochet’s ideologue Jaime Guzman, took power under president Sebastian Piñera. The bloody extinction of true democracy that began with the death of Allende was, by stealth, complete.

Piñera is a billionaire who controls a slice of the mining, energy and retail industries.

He made his fortune in the aftermath of Pinochet’s coup and during the free-mar-ket “experiments” of the zealots from the University of Chicago, known as the Chi-cago Boys. His brother and former busi-ness partner, Jose Piñera, a labor minister under Pinochet, privatized mining and sta-te pensions and all but destroyed the trade unions. This was applauded in Washing-ton as an “economic miracle”, a model of the new cult of neo-liberalism that would sweep the continent and ensure control from the north.

Today Chile is critical to President Ba-rack Obama’s rollback of the independent democracies in Ecuador, Bolivia and Vene-

zuela. Piñera’s closest ally is Washington’s main man, Juan Manuel Santos, the new president of Colombia, home to seven US bases and an infamous human rights re-cord familiar to Chileans who suffered un-der Pinochet’s terror.

Post-Pinochet Chile has kept its own enduring abuses in shadow. The fami-lies still attempting to recover from the torture or disappearance of a loved bear the prejudice of the state and employers. Those not silent are the Mapuche people, the only indigenous nation the Spanish conquistadors could not defeat. In the late 19th century, the European settlers of an independent Chile waged their racist War of Extermination against the Mapuche who were left as impoverished outsiders. During Allende’s thousand days in power this began to change. Some Mapuche lands were returned and a debt of justice was recognized.

Since then, a vicious, largely unreported war has been waged against the Mapuche. Forestry corporations have been allowed to take their land, and their resistance has been met with murders, disappearances and ar-bitrary prosecutions under “anti terrorism” laws enacted by the dictatorship. In their campaigns of civil disobedience, none of the Mapuche has harmed anyone. The mere accusation of a landowner or businessman that the Mapuche “might” trespass on their own ancestral lands is often enough for the police to charge them with offences that lead to Kafkaesque trials with faceless witnesses and prison sentences of up to 20 years. They are, in effect, political prisoners.

While the world rejoices at the spectacle of the miners’ rescue, 38 Mapuche hunger strikers have not been news. They are de-manding an end to the Pinochet laws used against them, such as “terrorist arson”, and the justice of a real democracy. On October 9, all but one of the hunger strikers ended their protest after 90 days without food. A young Mapuche, Luis Marileo, says he will go on. On October 18, President Piñera was set to give a lecture on “current events” at the London School of Economics. He should be reminded of their ordeal and why.

John PilgerJohn Pilger is a world-renowned journalist, author and documentary fi lmmaker from Australia and winner of the prestigous Sophie Prize for ‘30 years of exposing injustice and promoting human rights’.www.johnpilger.com