Briefing

A CNE That Doesn’t Yet Exist

The Delegate Commission said that the only institution that can appoint a new National Electoral Council (CNE) is the legitimate National Assembly, so they won’t recognize the board of authorities that Maduro’s Assembly will appoint in the next few days.

Naky Soto
  • The Delegate Commission said that the only institution that can appoint a new National Electoral Council (CNE) is the legitimate National Assembly, so they won’t recognize the board of authorities that Maduro’s Assembly will appoint in the next few days. 
    • They reiterated their commitment to re-establishing guarantees so Venezuelans can participate in fair elections and their willingness to advance in a process that achieves a reliable electoral route and a solution to the political crisis.
  • Journalist Eugenio Martínez, nominated as a candidate for the CNE, said that the authorities that PSUV will appoint “must be seen as a transitional institution that can serve to slowly recover conditions. Meaning, those who participate in this process are betting on its potential role and its alleged transitional condition. 
  • “A ponerse las alpargatas que lo que viene es joropo,” said the speaker of Maduro’s Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, when they confirmed the list of candidates was delivered. He said the committee’s job had been impeccable and reminded everyone that they could elect the CNE “ten days”. 
  • Avanzada Progresista deputy Luis Romero warned that the new members of the Electoral Branch will be subject to domestic and international pressure, so he exhorted them to rise to the occasion and act according to the interests of the country. 
  • Jorge Rodríguez warned that there will be elections for governors and mayors this year. He thinks that contradicting the lines of the main opposition parties, many regional leaders will run in these elections. 
  • Aristóbulo Istúriz, The Minister of Education of Venezuela, died on Tuesday night at the age of 74, reported the executive vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, without specifying the cause of death, which various sources attribute to a heart problem.
  • NGO FundaRedes posted two videos of the moment two farmers from Apure took the bodies of the military officers that were murdered in the ambush of April, 23rd. 
    • According to former deputy Walter Márquez, the bodies were taken to Guasdualito in a farm truck. 
    • Two of the highest authorities in the Armed Forces, Vladimir Padrino López and Remigio Ceballos, have posted inspiring messages on social media, but no information about the wounded, dead, or their circumstances or identities. 
    • Deputy to the Assembly elected in 2015 Gaby Arellano reiterated her call to the United Nations, to appoint commissioners to check on the situation in Apure. 
  • Elías Jaua said on Tuesday that “two or three factions of the opposition have chosen the foreign intervention route (…) But the rest of the actors have kept an ongoing negotiation process to achieve a CNE we can rely on,” which he interprets as “the first step towards recovering a democratic game”. 
  • As if universities were working normally, University Education minister César Trompiz warned that young Venezuelans can register for universities starting March 15th, on the OPSU website. 
  • Journalist Javier Ignacio Mayorca reported that retired Army and Jorge Zedán Abudey, who are both 70 years old, were captured in an illegal passageway on the border. 
  • Jorge Rodríguez assured the regime wants to buy the Johnson & Johnson vaccine and said that Maduro is reaching out to other private markets to buy the vaccine, delaying COVAX again, which is cheaper. 
  • Fedecámaras president Ricardo Cusanno said that he’s in conversations with laboratories, commerce, and insurance sectors work together while they receive an answer from the regime on their plan for the vaccine. He said that next week he could be talking with the regime’s representatives to evaluate the economic recovery. 
  • The Center for Defenders and Justice published a report on human rights defenders for the first quarter of the year and warned about 183 attacks, a 253% increase compared to 2020. 
  • Ana Medina, the wife of PDVSA worker Guillermo Zárraga, demanded his release. He was accused of terrorism and treason. His son, Diego Zárraga, said that they’d be moving political prisoners from DGCIM to El Rodeo on Wednesday night. 
  • The Prosecutor’s Office ordered to investigate and detain members of a commission appointed by Juan Guaidó for “usurping functions” and taking over Telesur. All members of the commission live abroad: Roberto Marrero, Eduardo Sapene; Leopoldo Castillo, Larissa Patiño and Carlos Méndez.
  • The Press Workers Guild (SNTP) said that GNB officers detained, stripped and erased the footage taped by journalists Edwin Prieto and Lenin Danieri, who were covering a protest of Yukpas in front of Zulia governor Omar Prieto’s house. 
  • Venezuela produced 525,000 BPD in March, say secondary sources of the OPEC. OPEC also reported that 25 oil drills were active by the end of last month and on Tuesday, the organization reiterated its decision to gradually increase the supply of oil to 2.141 million barrels per day between May and June. 
  • FEDEAGRO warned that the fuel shortages will paralyze the sector. Celso Fantinel said that producers need 40 million lts. of fuel to satisfy the demand for the rest of the semester. He said that  12,000 ha. of beans have gone to waste and over 400,000 tons of sugar cane are awaiting to be distributed.

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.

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