Michelle Bachelet, United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, recognized Venezuela’s advances to improve the judicial system while criticizing an alleged lack of judicial independence.

For its part, Caracas welcomed Bachelet’s acknowledgment of the advances to improve its judicial and prison system but took exception to the report's “imbalanced” assessment of the overall human rights situation by downplaying the severity of the US sanctions program levied against the Caribbean nation.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15557

The Venezuelan National Assembly approved legislation establishing “Special Economic Zones” (SEZ) in the Caribbean country.

The 35-article bill is the latest effort by the Maduro administration to attract foreign investment to drive economic recovery as the country remains targeted by wide-reaching US sanctions.

PSUV deputy Oliver Rivas told Venezuelanalysis that the SEZs should not be seen as the “ultimate step” towards socialism but rather as a “resistance strategy” in the face of US-promoted economic aggression.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15558

Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez rejected Chilean Foreign Minister Antonia Urrejola’s questioning of the legitimacy of the Nicolás Maduro government, labeling her a stooge of Organization of American States (OAS) Secretary General Luis Almagro.

“Foreign Minister [Urrejola], as a good employee of [Almagro], attacks the Bolivarian Revolution instead of addressing the urgent issues of violence in Chile, its economy and a government that is rapidly failing!” said Rodríguez in response, referring to Boric’s declining approval ratings.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15559

On Sunday, July 3, the women and men of El Panal Commune in the working-class barrio of 23 de Enero in Caracas woke up to the music of Alí Primera, Ska-P, and Calle 13. The barrio was buzzing with activity as the communards prepared eight voting centers – one for each of the eight communal councils that make up this commune. Each communal council was due to elect 13 spokespeople in areas such as finances, communal economy, education, services, and security and defense.

On the eve of the elections, the people of El Panal – with support from the Alexis Vive Patriotic Force, which is one of the engines behind the commune – organized a festive procession to mobilize the community. Drums, whistles, and rattles sounded throughout the commune’s massive apartment blocks and self-constructed homes. These elections were a step towards consolidating self-government in the community, which in itself is cause for celebration.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/15560

Venezuelan Attorney General Tarek William Saab announced the arrest of 13 people for their alleged involvement in the kidnapping and murder of longtime revolutionary activist Carlos Lanz after a two-year investigation.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Saab recalled that an exhaustive probe was set in motion immediately after Lanz's disappearance on August 8, 2020, in Maracay, Aragua state. The attorney general explained that a multidisciplinary team was appointed to find Lanz and clarify the facts.

A guerilla fighter in the 1960s and 1970s, Carlos Lanz was a key figure in Venezuela’s decades-long struggle against US-backed neoliberal governments and became an important advisor to President Hugo Chávez following the 1998 electoral victory.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15561

VA columnist Jessica Dos Santos looks at the "unpredictable" 2024 Venezuelan presidential elections in this edition of "Tales of Resistance."

https://venezuelanalysis.com/tales-resistance/15562

#ChávezVive Brand new podcast episode just out of the oven, as we go over Venezuelan revolutionary leader Hugo Chávez, his legacy, and the transition towards socialism. 🇻🇪🎙

Subscribe and listen: https://patreon.com/posts/68881921

Troubled agrochemical company Monómeros, a subsidiary of Venezuela’s state-owned Pequiven, could return to Venezuelan control, Colombian President-elect Gustavo Petro told local radio Tuesday.

The Colombia-based agrochemical producer is considered Venezuela’s second most important foreign-held asset. It came under the control of Venezuela’s hardline opposition in May 2019 alongside a number of other foreign assets following the recognition of Juan Guaidó as “interim president” by Washington and its allies as part of efforts to oust the Nicolás Maduro government.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15563

According to inside sources cited by Argus Media and Bloomberg, Chevron is proposing to Caracas a reduction of the Venezuelan state’s stake in joint ventures. By owning a majority of shares, Chevron would possibly avoid the Treasury sanctions that ban dealings with entities where PDVSA or other state entities hold a 50 percent or larger stake.

However, Venezuela’s 2001 Hydrocarbon Law, created under the Hugo Chávez government, requires majority ownership for PDVSA and sets a 51 percent minimum state stake in all joint ventures with foreign partners.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15566

Venezuelan public sector trade unions rallied on Tuesday to demand higher salaries and respect for labor rights.

The march in central Caracas took aim at a directive issued by the country’s National Budget Office (ONAPRE), a body belonging to the finance ministry that establishes budgets for state institutions.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15567

Venezuela entered a profound economic crisis beginning in 2014. There are many heated debates about its origins and causes. Among the most recent contributions to these debates is Malfred Gerig, a young researcher who has written extensively about economic and political issues. His soon-to-be-published book La Larga Depresión Venezolana [The Long Venezuelan Depression], pinpoints the origins of the crisis in a closing cycle of capital accumulation that was based on oil exports.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/interviews/15565

The Venezuelan National Assembly unanimously condemned recent comments by former US National Security Advisor John Bolton where he boasted about his involvement in coup plots against the government of Nicolás Maduro.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Bolton claimed he “helped plan coups d’etat” and when pressed for an example, pointed to his chapter on Venezuela in his book The Room Where It Happened.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15568

Venezuelan athlete Yulimar Rojas was unstoppable once again as she became the first woman to win three successive triple jump gold medals at the World Championships (WCH).

On Monday, the 26-year-old took the gold medal in the women’s triple jump final at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Rojas opened the contest with a modest 14.60m mark and immediately sealed the victory in her second attempt with an impressive 15.47m jump, the sixth-best mark in her career.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15570

"The meeting between the Pobladoras Movement and President Nicolás Maduro made crystal clear the urgent need for street mobilization, for unifying the organized pueblo, and the extraordinary importance of popular critique."

A recent Pobladoras rally left several achievements and lessons. Reinaldo Iturriza breaks it down.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/politics-commons/15571

President Nicolás Maduro visited the Villa Zamora 2021 community in Miranda state in order to deliver restitution to families whose houses and crops were destroyed during an eviction attempt in April.

The April 12 raid, allegedly ordered by opposition mayor Raziel Rodríguez to favor a local corporation, saw law enforcement agents burst into the Villa Zamora 2021 plot, destroying houses and razing crops.

During the visit Friday where Maduro delivered newly built housing and deeds to six affected families, he declared that “justice” had been done in the case. The homes were built as part of the government’s Great Housing Mission project, which has delivered over four million homes to low-income families.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15572

Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro warned about "last minute terrorist threats" from the outgoing Iván Duque government in Colombia.

During a ceremony to designate new military commands on Tuesday, Maduro called the Bolivarian National Armed Forces (FANB) to remain vigilant in the face of new violent plots allegedly being prepared in the neighboring country.

"Alert, always be alert, to protect the peace of the republic, last minute terrorist threats are coming from Bogotá against our beloved Homeland,” denounced the mandatary in a live broadcast from the Fuerte Tiuna military base in Caracas.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15573

Hugo Chávez was born in the small town of Sabaneta on July 28, 1954. Often remembered as a man of action and long speeches, Chávez was in fact a great strategist, a tremendous pedagogue and a creative thinker.

In this infographic, we highlight five of his guiding ideas: participative and protagonistic democracy, Bolivarianism and the “Patria Grande,” anti-imperialism, socialism, and the communal future.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/images/15574

Revolutionary leader Hugo Chávez was an extraordinary communicator and a committed socialist. His knowledge and sense of humor made every speech memorable.

Today, Chávez would have turned 68. He will be forever missed but never forgotten as his legacy stays alive in every revolutionary project and antiimperialist struggle.

Venezuelans celebrated Chávez's 68th birthday yesterday. We had the (bold!) idea of trying to boil down the main aspects of his political vision and legacy in a neat infographic. Download and share it widely!

Venezuelan authorities have blasted the latest court ruling in the struggle for control over 31 tonnes of gold stored in the Bank of England (BoE).

On Friday, the High Court of England and Wales decided in favor of opposition politician Juan Guaidó and dismissed a new effort by the Venezuelan Central Bank (BCV) to regain control over the reserves worth an estimated US $1.7 billion.

Caracas had brought to court the Venezuelan Supreme Court decrees stating that the parallel BCV board appointed by the US-backed opposition was illegal. However, judge Sara Cockerill decreed that the British Court could not recognize the rulings made by Venezuela’s highest judicial instance.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15575

Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Minister Carlos Faría signed a joint declaration Thursday with his future Colombian counterpart Álvaro Leyva as part of efforts by the two countries to normalize binational relations following the victory of Gustavo Petro in June presidential elections.

President Nicolás Maduro praised the “successful and virtuous” encounter that was carried out in the “spirit of Bolívar,” in reference to the 19th century independence leader who sought to create a united Latin America.

The declaration reaffirms the commitment of Venezuela and Colombia to appoint ambassadors and other diplomatic and consular staff once the incoming Petro government takes office on August 7.

https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/15576