Central Bank figures show an overall increase of Gross Domestic Product
by 4.8 percent for the first quarter of 2008, however this is down from
8.8 percent in the same quarter last year.
President Chávez announced Saturday that the
country’s electricity generation capacity will be expanded by nearly
40% by way of 42 structural expansion projects over the next six years
as part of the “Socialist Plan of the Nation.”
Over the past week, the Venezuelan government signed agreements with Portugal, Ecuador, and China to jointly
produce, refine, and market petroleum from Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil
Belt. Planned projects will cost tens of billions of dollars and span
over the next decade.
Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro proposed that Latin American countries create a food bank to counter food supply problems and that oil profits of the region go towards a new food fund. Maduro made the proposal during the Food summit held in Nicaragua on Wednesday.
Venezuelan Planning and Development Minister Haiman El Troudi announced
on Tuesday that inflation closed at 1.7 percent for April, unchanged
from the previous month.
Waving red flags, more than 300,000 workers marched in Caracas
to celebrate May 1, the International Day of Workers
Struggle. The rally also celebrated a decree by Venezuelan President
Hugo Chavez increasing the minimum wage by 30%.
If a “just” price is not agreed upon this Tuesday for the
nationalization of the Sidor steel plant, Venezuelan President Hugo
Chávez will sign a presidential decree expropriating the company,
Chávez declared on his weekly Sunday talk show Aló Presidente.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez assured that Venezuela will not be
affected by the world food crisis on his weekly talk show Aló
Presidente on Sunday. Chavez discussed the current food crisis and
explained his government’s agricultural polices that have increased
Venezuelan food production.
The president of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, announced Thursday that the
regulated prices of corn and sorghum will be raised by 30% and that a
new Socialist Agricultural Development Fund (FONDAS) has been launched
to promote national food production.
The Venezuelan government will guarantee the job security of the 4,600
workers in nationalized cement factories, according to a statement
released over the weekend by the Venezuelan Energy and Petroleum
Minister, Rafael Ramírez.
The Venezuelan army occupied 32 farms in the western state of Lara last
Thursday, sparking protests from local sugarcane producers, after the
National Land Institute (INTI) expropriated the lands as part of the
government efforts to boost national food production amidst global
shortages.
Early Wednesday morning, the Vice President of Venezuela, Ramón
Carrizalez, announced the nationalization of Argentine-controlled
Ternium Sidor,
concluding a 14-month collective contract dispute between the company
and the United Steel Industry Workers Union (SUTISS).
Venezuela will arrange mixed enterprises with Venezuela’s main cement
producers, in which the state will control at least a 60% share,
similar to the setup with several transnational oil companies, the
Venezuelan Oil and Energy Minister Rafael Ramírez clarified Tuesday.
Venezuela's Central Bank announced that the country's inflation rate
had dropped from 2.1% in February to 1.7% in March, reflecting a modest
success of the government's effort to rein in inflation, said Venezuela's Planning Minister Haiman el Troudi.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez announced Thursday that the cement
industry in Venezuela will be nationalized, saying that foreign
companies export cement while the Venezuelan market suffers from high
prices and shortages.
