| Daily
International News Review, Venezuela
February 17, 2003
Alexandra Beech
New York, February 17, 2003
"So that they know that before the rooster crows I
will order the intervention of corn processing plants"
Hugo Chavez, threatening the militarization of food
processing plants this weekend.
Good day,
Today is Presidents Day in the United States, and
many businesses are closed, including the New York
Stock Exchange.
Chavez didn't disappoint international news reporters
yesterday during his televised address. He threatened
to militarize plants that process agricultural products,
such as producers of pasta , corn meal, margarine,
coffee, chocolate, and oil, if these shut production.
Many plants said they would be forced to stop production
due to price controls, since they would be unable
to even meet production costs with the new prices.
In addition, according to the Washington Post, "President
Hugo Chavez said Sunday interest rates should be fixed"
to reverse Venezuela's deteriorating economic crisis.
He suggested to the Central Bank "a maximum rate of
30 percent for commercial banks' lending rates, compared
with well over 40 percent at present. This would give
small companies and farmers better access to credit"
The central bank's current lending rate is 37 percent,
which he qualified as "too high" without speculating
why banks would feel hesitant to extend credit. The
Washington Post reports that " Venezuela's Central
Bank is, by law, an autonomous institution but has
worked closely with Chavez's government in drawing
up the recent price and exchange controls."
In addition, local news report that the government
published four new lists in the newspapers, bringing
the total number of PDVSA workers fired to 12.828,
including scientists, engineers, CIED professors,
and managers. The government used article 102 of the
Bolivarian Constitution to justify the latest firings,
which took place at PDVSA's corporate college. Article
102 states: Education is a human right and a fundamental
social obligation; is democratic, free, and obligatory.
The State will assume this as an undeniable function
and with maximum interest in all its levels and modalities,
and as an instrument of scientific, humanistic, and
technological knowledge for the service of society.
Reuters reports that "Venezuela signed deals with
international energy firms on Friday to develop two
offshore natural gas fields in a bid to diversify
its strike-hit oil reliant economy. U.S. oil major
ChevronTexaco CVX.N and Norway's Statoil STL.OL signed
agreements to explore and produce Blocks 2 and 4 in
waters in the northeastern Deltana region, bordering
fields in gas rich Trinidad and Tobago."
This weekend, international news focused on comments
by Planning Minister Perez Marti, who said, "Venezuela's
economy, overall, fell 16.7% in the fourth quarter
and 8.9% for the entire year." The severe contraction
was due to "reduced oil production, a combination
of Venezuela's adherence to lower production quotas
established by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting
Countries, followed by the general strike on December
2." Furthermore, central bank officials said "Venezuelan
current account ended the fourth quarter with $2.07
billion surplus, while the capital account showed
a deficit of $1.62 billion," according to the Wall
Street Journal. Central Bank governor Domingo Maza
said that "the government would lift a ban on dollar
sales at the end of the month," due to "continued
delays in establishing regulations for a new currency
control system." The New York Times and Reuters echo
fears in the private sector: "Chavez has said businesses
that participated in the work stoppage will be denied
dollars under the new policy."
In addition, the Post reports that "Chavez said Sunday
production had exceeded 2 million barrels a day; fired
oil executives say the figure is around 1.3 million
barrels." Production is definitely at the 1.3 million
bpd level, as heavy crude production requires experienced
workers and light-flowing wells are currently being
over-produced or lack servicing. Moreover, only three
PDV Marina tankers are currently functioning - Pil�n
Le�n, Maritza Sayalero y B�rbara Palacios - clearly
indicating that the industry is not up and running,
as the government claims.
The Times and Reuters report: "Tens of thousands of
opposition Catholics marched in Caracas against the
populist president, praying for peace and an end to
his rule as firemen soaked them." The central theme
of the event was unity, indicating a shift in the
opposition's strategy, from the division that Chavez
uses as his game plan, to an attempt to be inclusive
of all sectors of society. Using the religious theme
was a good plan, as Catholicism runs deep in every
social sector and class. As the weeks pass, let's
hope that the opposition continues to play the unity
card, as it may sway the fears among Chavista supporters
that they would be excluded from a new transition
program. The event also deeply contrasted Chavez's
latest moves, when he traveled to the states of Monagas
and Zulia - governed by opposition leaders - to claim
that these governors should be removed as soon as
possible. The Zulia governor quipped back that he
would resign - immediately after Chavez.
Newspapers this weekend featured articles with soft,
frivolous news, signaling that events in Venezuela
may be moving at a very slow pace. The New York Times
magazine featured a picture of three Chavistas asking
the National Assembly "to back the creation of a support
group for victims of the general strike that the opposition
launched against President Hugo Chavez." The Miami
Herald reports that : "Venezuelan President Hugo Ch�vez
told a TV audience last week what everybody already
suspected: He's having the time of his life running
the nation, despite the frequent mass demonstrations
by protesters demanding his resignation." Juan Forero
of the New York Times writes on "the world of Venezuelan
soap operas � the sappy, drippy daily dramas that
captivate millions by sticking to a proven formula."
He claims that "several leading scriptwriters are
convinced that soaps need to reflect the reality of
Venezuela, and that reality is a country roiled by
protests and the daily rants of a pugnacious left-leaning
president, Hugo Ch�vez, and his determined opponents."
The Washington Post reports on the "scary winter"
that famous Venezuelan baseball players are spending
in Venezuela. "Afraid for himself and his family amid
the political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, postseason
phenom Francisco Rodriguez stayed holed up in his
house in Caracas over the winter," while "Houston
Astros outfielder Richard Hidalgo was wounded in his
left arm during an attempted carjacking in Venezuela
in November. Former major leaguer Chico Carrasquel,
74, was beaten during a carjacking there last month.
Both Hidalgo and Carrasquel have recovered."
Review
First, I'd like to point out a sentence that appeared
in Reuters: "The economic turmoil and rising unemployment
is underscored by violent street clashes between Chavez
allies and enemies that have left seven dead and scores
injured since December. " The sentence is misleading
because it implies that the violence that takes place
in Venezuela is between two aggressive sides. This
could not be further from the truth. The violence
that takes place is caused by Chavistas who hide and
hurl rocks and bottles at opposition marches and protests.
I'd challenge anyone to bring me ONE story or incident
of the opposition initiating a street brawl or event.
As Chavez has repeated more than once, his is an "armed
revolution." He consistently calls his followers to
"defend the revolution," and they do so, attacking
media property and opposition events. I have an e-mail
at alexbeech@hotmail.com.
Again, if you have one story of an opposition-led
attack against Chavistas, I will print it here tomorrow.
In the meantime, we ask reporters to consider the
weight of your words and sentences, as they could
discredit you and your organization, as well as a
national effort to find a peaceful and democratic
solution to an agonizing crisis. The deaths will come,
not from violence necessarily, but from the hunger
and thirst that Chavez's failed economic policies
and unwillingness to negotiate will likely cause.
While I've grown accustomed to slanted reported from
the New York Times, (hence the magazine insert), I
was still dismayed by the picture and paragraph in
the weekend's magazine. It does little to explain
the reasons for the strike, but features three Chavistas
in full splendor, sitting at the National Assembly.
I spoke with Patricia Poleo, a very distinguished
Venezuelan journalist, yesterday. She told me that
one of the elements of reporting that misses most
is going to the National Assembly, as she was accustomed
to in the past. She says that as she nears it, a a
Chavista group who permanently guards the legislature
attacks her with rocks. Note: the National Assembly
is the legislative branch of the government. Yet a
prominent journalist is not allowed near its premises.
However, three Chavistas can sit in the hallway and
ask for funds.
The article that begs for review today is "Whatever
his foes do, Ch�vez grows stronger", by the Miami
Herald's Frances Robles (frobles@herald.com), who
reports that "Ch�vez may have reason to boast. Even
as opposition cries have grown louder over the past
few months, Ch�vez has managed to amass greater power
over Venezuela's political system and the economy."
Yet, I'd like to point out to Mr. Robles that Chavez
has little reason to boast. The economy is in freefall,
(contracting at least 25% in the first quarter), he
has to padlock the currency system to prevent every
single dollar from leaving the country, he had to
place controls on the prices of 220 items to maintain
what little support he has in the country, he's not
even producing a third of the oil that the country
produced before December 2, he's being forced to import
gasoline that is more toxic than Drano, he has lost
the respect of the six countries who went to Venezuela
to help him negotiate a dignified way out of the crisis,
and his grand plan for restoring economic progress
is providing pepper gardens and vertical chicken coops.
The fact is that Chavez has not grown stronger. In
fact, his recent behavior is that of a "town macho"
who's been humiliated and wants to show a strong front,
when in fact inside he's seething and waiting for
the right moment to strike back. While he's boasting,
he's also threatening the financial sector with fixed
interest rates; the private sector with the militarization
of private food processing plants and a lack of dollars
for the purchases of imported goods; and the media,
with a half-baked censure law and administrative proceedings.
Anyone who understands the mentality of a caudillo
would have interpreted Chavez's recent actions differently.
His squeals are like those of a pig that has been
cornered.
E-mails
Today's e-mail is a from a university professor, who
details the results from a university study on the
gasoline that Venezuela's government is currently
importing, to offset the losses from the oil strike,
in particular at refineries. The study, conducted
at the Universidad Simon Bolivar by several prestigious
professors, presents the noxious effects of the gasoline,
which may have adverse effects on health. It could
also be permanently damaging vehicles (see below)
Events
February 22 is The World Day of Prayer for Venezuela.
Venezuelans from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut
are invited to the Holy Family Church (315 E. 47 Street)
near the United Nations at 3:00 PM for the "Mass for
Peace and Reconciliation in Venezuela". Afterwards,
a meeting will be held in the rectory hall to discuss
concerns and future projects. Also, the Venezuelan
organization AVENY is planning a concert on February
19, at the Blessed Sacrament Church, with the following
performers: Aquiles B�ez, Sim�n D�az, Gonzalo Grau,
Marco Granados, Omar Ledezma, Jose Angel P�rez, Julio
Brice�o (Los Amigos Invisibles), Luisito Quintero,
Neil Ochoa, Marisabella M�ndez (For further information,
call 1(917) 5194393- 1(646)2446692-1(917)5194752).
On February 24 at 12:00 pm, Columbia University will
hold a panel discussion between IESA professor Michael
Penfold and UCV professor Samuel Moncada. The panel
is in room 802 of the SIPA building on 118th Street
off of Amsterdam Avenue.
I hope you are safe, content, and peaceful, wherever
this e-mail finds you.
E-mail from a university professor
Dada su importancia, les anexo el estudio realizado
sobre la gasolina importada por el gobierno nacional.
El mismo fu� realizado en un laboratorio certificado
de la Universidad Sim�n Bol�var, por profesores de
reconocido prestigio.
Circulen a sus familiares y amigos. Sin saberlo, pueden
estar destruyendo sus veh�culos y causando da�os a
su salud.
Estimados colegas, a continuaci�n los resultados de
la caracterizaci�n de las gasolinas realizada en el
Laboratorio de Desechos T�xicos de la USB.
Copia de este informe ser� enviado a la prensa y al
MARN.
Saludos
Caracterizaci�n de las gasolinas
Introducci�n:
El proceso de combusti�n en los motores a gasolina
requiere que �sta tenga una composici�n tal, que garantice
su inflamaci�n justo en el momento de m�xima compresi�n
de la mezcla gaseosa en el pist�n. Dicho proceso se
inicia mediante una chispa producida por la buj�a.
Si la inflamaci�n del combustible se manifiesta a
destiempo, ocurre lo que se conoce como "golpeteo"
o "pistoneo". Esto trae como consecuencia la p�rdida
de potencia del motor as� como una merma en la calidad
de la combusti�n de la gasolina, lo cual a su vez
incrementa la emisi�n de sustancias contaminantes
al medio ambiente. La propiedad de las gasolinas relacionada
con este fen�meno se conoce como "octanaje". Este
t�rmino deriva de una escala en la cual la capacidad
de combusti�n (relaci�n presi�n/inflamabilidad) de
los hidrocarburos, asigna el valor de 100 al iso-octano,
un componente de la gasolina. Para controlar el "pistoneo"
se utilizan modificadores de ignici�n denominados
antidetonantes. El antidetonante mas conocido es el
tetraetilo de plomo. La descomposici�n de este compuesto
durante la combusti�n de la gasolina produce gases
que contienen plomo, lo cual ha sido positivamente
relacionado con varias enfermedades cr�nicas. Debido
a esto, en USA a mediados de los a�os 70, se inicio
un programa para la eliminaci�n del uso de tetraetilo
de plomo en la gasolina. Sin embargo estas gasolinas
sin plomo, com�nmente conocidas como reformuladas,
a�n produc�an compuestos contaminantes. Esto condujo
al desarrollo de lo que conocemos como "convertidores
catal�ticos". Estos equipos tienen la funci�n de completar
el quemado de aquellos compuestos de dif�cil combusti�n
en el motor. El convertidor catal�tico es una pieza
colocada a la salida del m�ltiple de escape del motor.
Los gases, a�n calientes y con alto contenido de mon�xido
de carbono, �xidos de nitr�geno y productos de combusti�n
incompleta, reaccionan completando la combusti�n y
minimizando la emisi�n de productos contaminantes.
Una de las principales manifestaciones de la combusti�n
incompleta de hidrocarburos es la formaci�n de los
que se conoce como "smog" fotoqu�mico, el cual se
caracteriza por afectar v�as respiratorias y mucosas.
Los convertidores catal�ticos no pueden ser utilizados
con gasolina con plomo pues este metal inactiva el
componente activo o catalizador. En Venezuela a�n
utilizamos gasolina con plomo. Sin embargo PDVSA inicio
la producci�n nacional de gasolina reformulada sin
plomo como parte de un programa tendiente a la eliminaci�n
paulatina de la gasolina con plomo. De hecho, todos
los veh�culos fabricados o importados desde el a�o
2.000 en adelante , utilizan gasolina sin plomo y
tienen, por obligaci�n (Decreto 2.673: Normas sobre
Emisiones de Fuentes M�viles) que utilizar convertidores
catal�ticos. Las gasolinas sin plomo venezolanas,
al agual que muchas de las producidas internacionalmente,
contienen mejoradores de octanaje oxigenados. Los
mas comunes son alcoholes y �teres tales como el MTBE
(metil terbutil eter) y TAME (teramil metil eter).
Caracterizaci�n de las gasolinas
En vista de las numerosas denuncias p�blicas relacionadas
con la calidad de las gasolinas presuntamente importadas
por PDVSA recientemente, el Laboratorio de Desechos
T�xicos de la USB decidi� contribuir con el Estado
(lo cual ha venido haciendo desde hace varios a�os),
caracterizando muestras de gasolina sin plomo.
Fueron caracterizadas 2 muestras de gasolina sin plomo.
Una de ellas corresponde a gasolina sin plomo nacional,
la cual fue obtenida del tanque de un Corolla 2000
que se encuentra estacionado desde noviembre del 2002.
La segunda muestra corresponde a gasolina presuntamente
importada y fue obtenida directamente en la Estaci�n
de Servicio de Taz�n (primera estaci�n antes de la
subida) el domingo 2 de febrero.
Debido al equipamiento del LDT, solo se realiz� una
caracterizaci�n parcial de la gasolina. El an�lisis
consisti� en un barrido cromatogr�fico con detecci�n
de masas, mediante el cual se pueden identificar sin
lugar a dudas los componentes de las sustancias analizadas.
La cuantificaci�n exhaustiva de los componentes requiere
del uso de est�ndares de los cuales no se dispone.
Sin embargo es posible comparar cuantitativamente
el contenido de componentes comunes en ambas gasolinas.
Los resultados obtenidos se resumen a continuaci�n:
1. El contenido de benceno, regulado internacionalmente
en 1%, se encuentra por debajo de este valor en ambas
gasolinas.
2. La gasolina nacional contiene TAME como mejorador
de octanaje. La gasolina importada no contiene ning�n
oxigenado. El octanaje es regulado incrementando el
contenido de componentes arom�ticos (xilenos, etil-benceno).
3. La gasolina importada contiene ciclopentadieno
y derivados en concentraciones porcentuales de alrededor
de 2 d�gitos. Este compuesto es reconocido como responsable
de la formaci�n de gomas en carburadores e inyectores.
4. Adem�s, se conoce que su combusti�n es dif�cil,
por lo cual produce emisiones que contienen productos
de combusti�n incompleta.
Puede concluirse que la gasolina importada es de inferior
calidad a la producida nacionalmente. Adem�s es evidente
el da�o que a mediano plazo se producir� sobre inyectores
y carburadores debido a la formaci�n de pol�meros
o gomas.
Por �ltimo, la utilizaci�n de estas gasolinas en veh�culos
sin convertidor catal�tico produce mayores emisiones
y genera condiciones para que se incrementen las concentraciones
de ozono y otros gases contaminantes en la atm�sfera
urbana. Lo mismo ocurre en veh�culos a�n con convertidor
catalitico, si este ha sido inactivado por el uso
indiscriminado de gasolina con plomo.
Esta informaci�n es suficiente para que las autoridades
competentes (Ministerio del Ambiente y de los Recursos
Naturales) inicien una investigaci�n en el marco de
las regulaciones de calidad del aire y de las emisiones
de fuentes m�viles.
Autores:
Laboratorio de Desechos T�xicos
Universidad Sim�n Bol�var
Registro MARN: 01-034-01
Prof. Rafael L�pez
Prof. Oswaldo N��ez
Lic. Ram�n S�nchez
Prof. Fernando Morales
Daily International News Review, Venezuela
February 14, 2003
See "Daily International
News Review 2003 File"
Si deseas publicar un art�culo, env�alo a articulos@11abril.com
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