We all know that 2006 will be an action packed year – and not necessarily in a good sense. With presidential elections in December, the Venezuelan lackeys of the Empire will be pulling every trick in the book to destabilize Venezuela and create problems for the government. Any candidate put up by the opposition will be a no-hoper, so the work that needs to be done (as far as the opposition is concerned) is to undermine Chavez in the eyes of the poor so as to give any other candidate at least a wild card chance.

This plan has already been set in motion. This started with the hoarding of the traditional leg of pork (pernil) for Christmas celebrations and then the absence of coffee on Mercal and supermarket shelves at the end of December. Supposedly the problem was the retail price of Bs.74000/kilo which the coffee roasters and distribution network wanted increased substantially. Chávez said on at least two occasions and in strong terms that the coffee price would not be increased and ordered the INDECU (Consumer Education and Price Protection Institute) to work together with the National Guard to decommission all hoarded coffee and sell it from the back of army trucks on the street at the regulated price.

All in all 1,200 tons were seized and sold but then ten days later, in a surprise turn up, the Minister for Light Industry and Commerce, Edmee Betancourt announced that the price of a kilo of coffee would be increased to Bs.11850/kilo. To all intents and purposes it still looks to many that Chavez has caved in to blackmail by big business interests by authorizing the increase. But……now ten days later there is still no coffee in retail outlets and not in Mercal either. Why?

Simple. The problem was not the price and Chávez had to authorize the increase to prove this point. This is the second step in a well laid, well financed plan to discredit Chávez, Mercal and the government by hitting the “pueblo” in the stomach by denying them the staple foodstuffs they need to survive.

In the Sunday edition of Ultimas Noticias there was a two page spread on the “disappearing products of the basic shopping basket”. These items are coffee, corn flour for arepas, tinned sardines, powdered milk, black beans (caraotas) and sugar – all important products for a basic diet for millions and millions of Venezuelans. In a way, it is similar to the December 2002 to February 2003 “strike” when basic foodstuffs were in short supply as the fascist opposition, backed by Washington attempted to overthrow Venezuela’s legitimate and democratically elected President. The difference this time is that it will be a creeping coup, without histrionics so as to cause maximum discomfort for the poor stratae of Venezuelan society and turn them against Chávez when it comes to voting in December.

Yesterday, at certain Mercals, there were no tinned sardines to be found. This looks like the second product to disappear on the opposition’s hit list. To carry out this strategy, the businesses involved in these specific sectors must be receiving financing from somewhere and as a good friend of mine said this morning – this has all the hallmarks of a CIA inspired plan dreamed up in Washington similar to how the coup against Salvador Allende was spawned, by causing artificial food shortages backed up by a transport strike. All financed by the CIA. For further information on this see http://rwor.org/a/1214/awtw-chile.htm

The next move will be to sow dissent amongst certain transport groups with the aim of causing disruption both to passenger and food distribution, perhaps citing how the threat of the rail network will affect to their livelihoods. Isn’t it strange that the opposition has been very quiet about the coffee shortage and does not appear to be blaming the government as it normally does on the TV and airwaves?

At the same time, very little has been said about the non-appearance of coffee in retail outlets by the Minister of Food, General Oropeza, or by the INDECU. There must be quiet efforts going on to solve this situation, since it is impossible to have a real coffee shortage as the crop is being gathered as I write. I can smell the aroma of nationalized coffee roasters coming soon.

The solution to this strategy is for the people to perform “social audits” together with the armed forces to weed out the blackmailers and saboteurs. The National Assembly should also amend the Venezuelan Criminal Code to ensure that anyone found guilty of hoarding or creating artificial food shortages receives heavy jail sentences and crippling fines. Fines by themselves will not stop this activity since the funds most probably come from Washington. However, a jail sentence will stop this since when the first five or six people are serving time, it will make others think twice before selling out to the coup mongers.

We are certain that Venezuelan trade unionists will begin to participate with the government to stop this heinous plan of making the weakest in society suffer.

Andy Goodall
VSC
andy.goodall@venezuelasolidarity.org.uk