Briefing

Maduro Burned Through Seven Tonnes of Gold Reserves

Chavismo decides that the ANC isn't long for this world; Venezuela's Central Bank is bleeding the value of our gold reserves; The Venezuelan crisis is still discussed by representatives of the Trump administration

Naky Soto

Photo: BBC

  • On Monday, Nicolás’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, tweeted that there were 1,047 cases yesterday, for a total of 34,802 cases they’ve admitted to. Rodríguez reported seven new deaths, for a total of 288. 
  • Infectologist Julio Castro explained that the deaths by coronavirus in official figures only correspond to those who had PCR tests and don’t include people who tested positive in rapid response tests. He added: “We had never seen weeks with sustained growth like this, last week it was 142% over the previous one (…) there’s a persisting substantial growth and it doesn’t look like this is going to stabilize.” 
  • Deputy in exile José Manuel Olivares reiterated that Nicolás’s regime tampers with the number of deaths in the country and said that Venezuela has had at least 280 other deaths. He insisted that the regime’s figures “are way below” the real number, because of the 60% under registration rate. He warned that emergency rooms in hospitals are at 65% capacity and about ICUs he said that “they’re collapsed, there’s no therapy. There are only 146 vents and 136 ICU beds in the largest hospitals of the country.” 
  • In Trujillo state, at the Venezuelan andes, nurse Víctor Manuel Prato died; in Ciudad Guayana, Bolivar state, Dr. Ángel Rubén Alzurut and deputy Manuel González died—González had taken over Américo de Grazia’s seat after he left the country when they violated his parliamentary immunity, but he decided to jump ship and join the CLAP faction. His mother and sister died too. 
  • Reuters reported that around 7 tonnes of gold are no longer property of the Venezuelan Central Bank—the value of our gold reserves dropped in June to 4,993 million dollars. For over 50 years, the BCV had around 350 tonnes of gold, but between 2015 and 2017 it processed loans using gold as guarantee. Nicolás’s regime has used our gold reserves to obtain financial liquidity, but hasn’t presented checks and balances or been accountable for those funds. According to the government’s figures, the BCV had 129 tonnes of gold in early 2019. Chavismo’s hunger has destroyed the country’s productivity and its reserves.
  • In another exhibition of funds mismanagement, PSUV authorities celebrated a meeting that, despite having low viewers online, was broadcast on VTV. Nicolás and Diosdado Cabello headed the chorus of elected (and imposed) authorities that once more talked about Darío Vivas, whose name is now being used to call the Polo Patriótico’s campaign headquarters, the only one participating in the “elections” in December. Nicolás repeated too many times that it isn’t time for division or betrayal, even though—he said it—they’ve already agreed on 95% of the candidates that will run in this election without the opposition and without guarantees. 
  • The worst part of the announcement was that the ANC will be dissolved in December. For whatever reason, they are interested in having the record show that they want to destabilize the National Assembly, violating deputies’ parliamentary immunity and passing a Law Against Hate, another useful tool for persecuting dissidents. 
  • Nicolás’s Communications minister,Jorge Rodríguez, assured that “this is the most democratic election Venezuelans have had in history. The electoral guarantees keep surpassing themselves.” There are at least three deputies in jail, others are in exile and in hiding. 
  • The highest denomination bill in Venezuela is 50,000 bolivars and right now, it’s the equivalent to 0.16 dollars. Our constant devaluation has made the bolivar a secondary currency, with more and more digital transactions every day, because the available cash is also scarce. 
  • No regime authorities have talked about the oil spill. Ecosocialism Minister Oswaldo Barbera, wrote yesterday that they installed “contention bars” and oleophilic coating in the vulnerable areas of the Morrocoy National Park in Falcón.
  • University Education Minister César Trompiz reiterated that administrative activities in universities will begin in September 16th, and said that “under the new scheme of free and inclusive education at home (…) taking class at home will be like a fight for human rights,” that’s what he said in the country with the worst connectivity in the world and with areas where CANTV stopped operating. 
  • The CNE started calling for Community Assemblies to elect the indigenous spokespeople who will vote to elect the deputies. Crónica Uno published a piece on the subject, including information about Community Assemblies having to elect their representatives using “ancestral practices or customs,” but they’ll only get 20 minutes to do so. If no one’s elected by then, they’ll vote by a public show of hands. It’s the death of our direct, universal and secret vote. What if there’s a tie? Not kidding about this: the rule establishes that they’ll flip a coin. The system is a second degree system and it violates what’s established in the Constitution, but imagine what it’s like being elected with a devalued coin.
  • The Venezuelan crisis was one of the topics that U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Dominican president Luis Abinader discussed. Pompeo and Abinader highlighted the “efforts towards the shared goal of a peaceful transition towards democracy in Venezuela” and reiterated that they’ll continue cooperating to strengthen the regional security areas and economic growth. 
  • The interim Under Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere Michael Kozak assured that Trump’s government will work with a coalition of countries that supports Juan Guaidó to “return democracy” to Venezuela. “They want to boycott, sabotage the elections in Venezuela,” said Nicolás about the recent actions by American diplomacy and added “they want to boycott the right to vote,” while the CNE continues to impose indigenous assemblies whose right to vote directly was taken away. 
  • The U.S. Coast Guard will do a search and rescue exercise in Cape Verde on Tuesday, August 18th, near the Praia Dona Maria Pia lighthouse. This exercise will be overseen by national and international representatives of Cape Verde and the U.S. The offers made by the CLAP Tsar haven’t worked, apparently.

 

Briefing

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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