Caracas Chronicles

• Voluntad Popular called “rebellion through the vote” for the regional elections in November. Jhoender Jiménez explained that they’re participating while aware that they’re facing a dictatorial regime that will do anything it can to stay in power. He thinks the election is an opportunity for citizens to rebel using the vote and confront the State to find the focus of the fight. The secretary-general of Movimiento al Socialismo (MAS), Felipe Mujica, called on Venezuelans to vote and turn this election into a “recall referendum against the worst government” that the country has had. 
• National Electoral Council (CNE) board member Roberto Picón reiterated that changes in candidacies can be made until November 11th. 
• CNE board member Enrique Márquez announced that they received a complaint from Juan Carlos Caldera (Primero Justicia), of an alleged violation of electoral rules perpetrated by alleged members of Fuerza Vecinal, who destroyed Carlos Ocariz’s campaign posters. 
• Súmate denounced that the CNE had a 12-day delay in starting the process for giving their electoral credentials to witnesses of political parties. They also said the CNE is late in training members of the polls. 
• Isabel Santos, head of the EU electoral observation mission announced that they’ll release the preliminary report on November 23rd, and the final report will be available in February. She said they’ve had “freedom of movement and observation.” 
• Delcy Rodríguez said that they’ve started vaccinating children between two and eleven years old. “We’ve authorized Soberana 2 (…) In the next few hours, Cuban vaccine Abdala will also be authorized, said Rodríguez. The Sociedad Venezolana de Infectología issued a communiqué where they say that Soberana 2 and Abdala are only vaccine candidates and they haven’t been approved, because there isn’t enough scientific evidence to back their use. 
• There was a clash in San Juan de Las Galdonas, Sucre, between SEBIN officers and members of the gang Los Malony. At least ten people died and four were injured. 
• The Venezuelan Observatory of Finance said that the food basket was 343.75 dollars in October, the highest ever, a 12% increase compared to September. They also said that the inflation rate in October was 8.1% and the annual inflation rate was 1,285%.
• The heavy cargo transportation sector is going through a crisis that affects the commercial sector: the increase in the price of diesel didn’t bring an increase in the offer or quality of diesel. 
• Five days after Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan’s visit, a Barinas court decided to annul the request for dropping the charges of 50 policemen accused of human rights violations in the 2017 protests. Judge Humberto Zambrano said that the investigations and the cases will proceed. 
• The Venezuelan Press and Society Institute (IPYS) published “Periodistas Perseguidos” where three journalists tell the story of their displacement, harassment, censorship and being threatened for doing their job. 

Workers of Salva Foods, a company owned by Álex Saab, protested and demanded to be paid what they’re owed. 

• The U.S. prosecutor explained that the case against Saab is of political interest, and therefore, the press and the public should have access to the case. They argue that public exposition doesn’t compromise the investigation, his safety or the possibility of having a fair trial. 
• One of Saab’s companies owes the government of Ecuador around $558,000. Saab exported $296 million to Venezuela between 2012 and 2013 and didn’t pay any taxes. 
• The office of the Milan prosecutor in Italy requested the Spanish Audiencia Nacional to interrogate Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal for chavismo’s alleged irregular financing of the Five Star Movement political party. OK Diario published a confidential report that Carvajal gave to judge Manuel García Castellón. 
• A federal court in Miami transferred the fugitive status of former Táchira governor José Gregorio Vielma Mora and five other people tied to Saab, reported journalist Joshua Goodman. On October 21st, a Florida court charged Vielma Mora for money laundering the profits of contracts obtained through bribes. 
• After meeting his Russian counterpart Serguei Lavrov Nicolás’s foreign minister Félix Plasencia announced that even though Saab’s “kidnapping” affects the dialogue with the opposition in Mexico, it doesn’t mean it’s over.   
• Lavrov announced that Russia will be sending observers to the elections in November. 
• The United Nations Development Programme launched a campaign to highlight the contributions of Venezuelan migrants to the socio-economic development of receiving countries. El Nuevo Herald reported that one out of three Venezuelans who are refugees in the U.S. has severe psychological sequels.