Decisiones

Your daily briefing for Friday, November 11th, 2016. Translated by Javier Liendo.

For Friday, November 11th, 2016. Translated by Javier Liendo.

“We have to put the opposition in their corner and leave them there, and we’ll take the rest of the country,” said Nicolás. Later, he’d speak again about his opposers to tell his audience that, if they stumbled upon any of them, they should sing them a song by Eddie Palmieri, though he couldn’t sing its simple chorus: “Sujétate, la lengua, sujétate.” Maybe it’s a warning to himself.

Sube el volumen de la radio

Aware of how difficult it is to regroup their lost supporters with a bankrupt country and their spokespeople dedicated to villainy, the PSUV resorts to rhythm and overexposure in the media to show the joy they don’t inspire. That’s why “Suena Caracas” has a two million dollar budget and on top of Nicolás’s salsa show, now Cilia Flores also has one of her own in Radio Miraflores. Sadly, due to the time of the show (from 8:00 to 9:00 am,) she couldn’t comment on the videos presented by the District Attorney’s office in her nephews’ trial, or verify the statement made by Efraín Campo Flores in one of them: “I’m 30 years old, right? Well, I’ve been working on this since I’m 18,” disproving -thanks to his 12-year experience- the argument about the inexperienced newbie. The one about his stupidity stands, don’t worry.

El tipo se cree un James Bond

After presenting the Productive Councils of Workers, another piece of coercion that won’t correct the important issues: recession, scarcity, inflation, price and exchange controls; Nicolás announced this Thursday that all construction industries will be under the Ministry of Housing’s supervision, another useless measure. Claiming that he’s not obsessed with reelection -obviously, as long as his stay in power doesn’t hang on elections-, Nicolás spoke about his true concerns: handing out houses (unverifiable,) emphasizing education (with no food in schools,) work (without investing to create new jobs,) life (as crime rates rise on par with the shortage of medicines) and solving the economic war, as fictional as it is efficient: the bolívar’s depreciation reaches 113.764% and the inflation rate between January and October was 526%.

Persígnate, man

Nicolás advised US Secretary of State John Kerry: “to create and establish a positive work agenda for the next administration, favoring bilateral relations and adequate convergence for our region,” also asking him to express his congratulations to newly elected president Donald Trump and his regards to Hillary Clinton. Nicolás also got a phone call from dictator Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, to support him “in view of violent attempts from opposition sectors who seek to subvert people’s will through anti-democratic actions.” Supposedly, Nicolás and Erdogan agreed “to consolidate the good path of extensive relations of cooperation and friendship” and a visit from the Turkish head of state to Caracas to sign bilateral agreements. Great partner.

Comienza la segunda del noveno

About the dialogue that’s yet to happen, we only know the demands made by the opposition and the government’s disruptive actions in these last eleven days. Today, as the truce scorned by so many dissidents runs out, they’ll sit down again with the Vatican’s mediation and the former presidents chosen by UNASUR. While the Democratic Unity Roundtable expects concrete actions as evidence of the PSUV’s political willingness to a negotiated transition, all of the PSUV’s spokespeople have stated that they’ll concede nothing.

“We’re going to fight here (…) we’re going to sit at the negotiation table to demand the restitution of people’s right to vote,” said Jesús Chúo Torrealba, head of the MUD, reiterating that elections are the key point of their demands, besides the release of political prisoners, the supply of food and medicines, the replacement of National Electoral Council authorities and Supreme Tribunal justices, as well as the restitution of the National Assembly’s powers. The challenge? Reactivating the streets after providing the government with this charade that diminished international pressure.

De la manera más vulgar y descarada

Ombudsman Tarek William Saab claimed that “it’s impossible to determine a result from four working tables in only two meetings,” advising both parties to take the opportunity to seek solutions to the conflict, but without setting deadlines or launching ultimatums, inviting them to keep negotiations open and let results come in due time.

A ver si la regla viene

Reinaldo Muñoz received and carried out an instruction from Nicolás: filing a protective measure before the TSJ against the National Assembly’s recent acts. Yesterday, he argued that they want the TSJ “to order them to stop approving agreements that have no judicial effect but generate sensationalism in society (…) all of these actions seemingly amount to a violation of the constitutional order,” giving the tribunal 48 hours to decide. Parliament responded to this action by arguing that Reinaldo Muñoz is usurping the Attorney General’s post, because he wasn’t appointed by the president (but by Cilia Flores, as Attorney in charge,) he wasn’t authorized by the National Assembly and he doesn’t meet that office’s criteria. And so, the AN agreed to request the Prosecutor’s Office to open a criminal investigation against Muñoz, who is illegally holding the Attorney General’s office.

Por eso hunde el pie en el acelerador

Our prolific and expedient Supreme Tribunal has already issued 38 decisions against the National Assembly and, in consequence, against popular sovereignty. They published another three decisions yesterday, which further cut negotiations short. Two of them dated November 4th, and strangely published a day before the truce ends and ruling that an Assembly in contempt only produces void and invalid acts, among other arguments that support each decision.

And so, the Constitutional Chamber nullified the reform to the Law on Telecommunications and the Law of the General Comptrollership of the Republic. Lastly, under the shadows of the night, the Electoral Chamber rejected the protective measure that attempted to reactivate the recall referendum, the 20% signature collection drive. The point is not for the opposition to leave negotiation table, but to never have them sit.

Salgan y hagan sus apuestas, ciudadanía

The National Assembly approved an agreement to hold scarcity and the high cost of food in Venezuela by creating a Special Committee to seek solutions, demanding Nicolás to allow humanitarian aid to enter the country, removing Food minister Rodolfo Marco Torres from office, publishing official figures about scarcity, inflation, malnutrition and shortages; applying policies to favor national production and ceasing their harassment against productive sectors.

And today? Ah, today!

Naky Soto

Naky gets called Naibet at home and at the bank. She coordinates training programs for an NGO. She collects moments and turns them into words. She has more stories than freckles.