Caracas Chronicles

Carabobo governor Rafael Lacava sued human rights activists Marino Alvarado (Provea) and Father Alfredo Infante (Centro Gumilla) for defamation. They had been calling out the governor for alleged extrajudicial executions by the state’s regional police: “Carabobo State Police is one of the most lethal in Venezuela, with 221 victims of extrajudicial executions. Governor Rafael Lacava must be investigated,” said Marino Alvarado in March. A Carabobo court issued the summons after lawyers Eliezer Guacuto and Carlos Bonilla filed the suit on behalf of the chavista governor. Human rights activists were charged with “aggravated defamation.” 

After the meetings in Panama, the opposition’s Unitary Platform announced that they agreed on primary elections for 2023, that they created a set of rules, and appointed Omar Barboza (Un Nuevo Tiempo) as executive secretary. He said that he expects to add more parties. “I hope I can be useful for the opposition, beyond the members of the Plataforma Unitaria, in working towards the common goal which is free elections,” he said. He announced “the end of the G4” because the platform includes La Causa R, Copei, Convergencia, Proyecto Venezuela, Encuentro Ciudadano, and Movimiento por Venezuela.

The economy grew by 7.8% in the first quarter due to oil activity, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Finance (OVF). According to the OVF, the oil sector registered a 41.7% growth, while the financial sector dropped by 7.9% and the public sector by 37.5%. 

The gap between the black market dollar and the official dollar closed at 9.47% on Monday, one averaged Bs.5.28 and the other at Bs. 4.78, so the demand for dollars is moving towards the black market. This gap makes the plan to incentivize the use of the bolivar even harder, despite the tax on large financial transactions (IGTF) and affects all prices. 

Economist José Toro Hardy estimates that we’re going to need 25 billion dollars per year for the next eight years to recover what we produced 20 years ago. He added that in order for the country to receive this income, we must have judicial guarantees. 

Fedenaga warned about the diesel fuel shortage that dramatically affects Venezuelan farmers. The sector requested Maduro and the Energy Ministry to intervene to guarantee the diesel fuel quotas assigned to every unit. 

María Eugenia Landaeta, chief of Infectology at Caracas University Hospital, warned that a mass vaccination plan is necessary to avoid outbreaks of preventable diseases. She emphasized that there was a diphtheria outbreak in 2018. 

The National Academy of Medicine also demanded the regime increase the vaccination against all diseases, especially against polio. Anti-polio coverage in Venezuela is less than 80%. 

Pensioners announced a protest on May 29th because the State hasn’t met their demands. They promised to radicalize their actions on the streets until they were heard. 

CNE vice president Enrique Márquez conditioned Venezuelans’ right to vote abroad to a political agreement between the opposition and the regime. The National Electoral Council must guarantee voters’ rights under the Constitution, it can’t depend on an agreement. 

Táchira governor Freddy Bernal assured that Venezuela is ready to open the commercial border, but “Colombia refuses.” 

“High school is no longer creating the minimum skills in basic matters: reading comprehension, orality, writing, and logical thinking,” warned José Javier Salas, which impacts university education. He warned that the teacher deficit is enormous, and it won’t change with salaries of 120 bolivars per month. 

Spanish political party Partido Popular wants Congress to decide on the need to review the extradition policy and exhorted them to suspend the treaty with Venezuela, since it’s one of the countries that doesn’t guarantee branch independence and uses courts for repression. 

Vladímir Putin assured that the Kremlin “doesn’t have a problem with Finland or Sweden’s NATO membership,” because they’re not a threat but at the same time, they won’t tolerate Sweden or Finland increasing their military infrastructure.