Caracas Chronicles

Photo: 100% Noticias, retrieved.

• Obstetric violence is a crime according to Venezuelan law, in this case committed by the state: we have a collapsed health system, shortages in hospitals and pregnant women who have to do the impossible to deliver their babies, because most of them aren’t even admitted. Katherine Pennacchio and Alexa Vielma collected the data for a piece about giving birth in Venezuela, published in En Salud con Lupa. They also mention the infant and maternal mortality rates and the alarming rate of teenage pregnancy in the country. Nicolás, however, used part of his show to childbirth exercises. He joked, said women were made to give birth and after he heard a woman tell her story about having six children, he ordered: “Give birth, then! Give birth! All women must have six children, all of them! Let the country grow. Music!” Chavismo wants mothers not citizens, they want troops, not people with rights. 
• On Tuesday, March 3rd, teachers, backed by eight signatory federations of the Education Ministry’s collective contract, marched to the Vice-President’s Office to demand the salaries established by contract. They’re owed 280% of the increase, their health insurance only covers 200,000 bolivars and life insurance covers 100,000 bolivars. They might as well be uninsured.
• NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Prisiones reported that at least 200 prisoners held at CICPC Lara started a hunger strike for overcrowding. The maximum occupancy is 30 people a cell. 
• Mexican lawyer Joel Hernández García was elected president of the IACHR for 2020-2021. Chilean Antonia Urrejola and Brazilian Flávia Piovesan will be vice-presidents.
• The AN’s Interior Policy Commission installed a commission to investigate the events in Barquisimeto, during the opposition march on Saturday. Deputies Guillermo Palacios, Olivia Suárez, Ana Salas and Ángel Torres will be in charge. Once they collect all the information, they’ll formally introduce an accusation in international organizations. 
• Deputy Ángel Alvarado, from the AN’s Finance Commission, said that the CAF board approved the sale of Venezuela’s class B stock to alleviate part of the debt with CAF, which is $3,600 million. The operation will be completed in the next six months. Colombia, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador and Argentina approved the decision. Alvarado said it sets a bad precedent. 
• Chavismo’s deputies said that the disagreements within the opposition will force them to declare legislative omission and the responsibility of appointing new CNE authorities will fall on the TSJ. It’s been a constant threat.
• Fedenaga vice-president Luis Prado reported that production has dropped significantly. Between 8% and 10% of all cattle in the country are taken by criminals, producers lack personal and judicial safety, they lack financing to recover production and there are serious sanitary limitations hurting the sector. Current availability of beef in the country is 8 kgs a person; last year it was between 22 and 24 kgs.
• Uruguayan Foreign Minister Ernesto Talvi said one of Luis Lacalle Pou’s government goals is working for a solution to the Venezuelan crisis through dialogue and free elections. 
• U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held Nicolás responsible for Juan Guaidó’s wellbeing and mentioned how the UN demanded the dissolving of colectivos.
• Venezuelans will need visas to enter Aruba starting April 1st, reported the Dutch Foreign Minister. Curaçao, Bonaire, Saint Martin, Saint Eustatius and Saba will also comply with the new measure. Aruba has demanded visas since October 2019.
• The Spanish government approved the delivery of Hugo (el Pollo) Carvajal to the U.S., who’s been escaping justice since November, 2019.
• Spanish Foreign Minister Arancha González Laya said that Spain offered to headquarter a future Contact Group meeting to restart negotiations and find a solution for Venezuela.
• New threats against the internet in Venezuela. Conatel called for a meeting with all internet providers to discuss the “neutral point” or IXP, a device that would allow them to centralize the flux of information and block connectivity in the country. This unprecedented type of control puts all users at risk and could be financed by a multilateral company. Companies can’t say no after so many threats of shut down.
• The IMF and the World Bank announced that their meetings will be held remotely because of the coronavirus epidemic. Chile and Argentina confirmed their first cases on Tuesday; six countries are affected in Latin America so far: Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico and the Dominican Republic, and the islands of Saint Bartholome and Saint Martin. Nine people have died in the U.S., all of them in Washington State and 21 cases have been confirmed in the country, most of them in a seniors residence. The WHO asked to prepare aggressive strategies to control the virus in Latin America. China announced 38 deaths and a daily drop in cases for the third day in a row. There’s been 2,981 deaths in China, and over 80,200 cases there.