Speaking from the Miraflores Palace in Caracas last night, Maduro shuffled his cabinet in an apparent attempt to breathe some new life into the PSUV.
Maduro replaced Jorge Arreaza as Vice-President of the country with Anzoategui state governor Aristobulo Isturiz, whom he praised for his “tremendous role in the popular and political battles” that the PSUV has fought over the years.
Below, a partial list of some notable changes in the Maduro cabinet:
- Minister of Nutrition: Roberto Marco Torres
- Minister of Industry and Commerce: Miguel Perez Abad
- Minister of Communication and Information: Luis Marcano
- Minister of Transportation and Public Works: Luis Sauce
Maduro also created five new ministries, which are listed below:
- Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture: Angel Belisario
- Minister of Agricultural Production and Land: Wilmar Carlos Soteldo
- Minister of Urban Agriculture: Emma Ortega
- Minister of Foreign Commerce and International Investment: Jesus Faria
- Minister of Productive Economy: Luis Salas
Salas’ Appointment Raises Concerns
Asdrubal Oliveros, the head of the Ecoanalitica firm, said through Twitter last night that “the most worrying appointment” of the night was Luis Salas as Minister of Productive Economy.
According to Oliveros, Salas has published several opinion pieces in the pro-government website Aporrea.org. In his pieces, Salas has said that he believe that the country’s economic problems are the result of an “economic war” being waged on Venezuela by its foreign and domestic enemies.
Maduro Threatens Media
Maduro also spoke out against the country’s private media outlets, namely Televen and Globovision, and threatened them apparently over their coverage of the new National Assembly sessions.
Below, a video of Maduro’s comments, along with my translation:
Maduro: — because now they’re out of control. You’ve seen how Televen is, right? Just to give you an easy example. Look at Globovision! Out of control. They think that — when you watch Televen, it’s like April 9 2002 [the day of the coup against Chavez] all over again.
You’re going to make a mistake, Mr. Owners of Globovision and Televen. There won’t be time to feel sorry later.
Allup: PSUV Showing “Lack of Imagination”
National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup responded to comments by Diosdado Cabello yesterday, who suggested that the national government could refuse to print laws passed by the legislature in its Gaceta Oficial, the government publication in which all laws are published. In such a case, Cabello argued, the laws would not technically exist.
Allup said:
Saying that laws that are passed won’t be published in the Gaceta shows a lack of imagination from the national government. The National Assembly has its own printer, and unless the manage to burn it down, [the laws] will be printed as required.
Allup also said that the swearing in of the three MUD deputies from Amazonas yesterday in spite of the Tribunal Supremo de Justicia injunction against them is not an example of contempt for the court. For Allup, the matter is simple: the deputies were elected in free and fair elections by the voters of Amazonas state, no matter what the TSJ says.
PSUV Asks TSJ To NA Executive Committee
Earlier today, a group of PSUV deputies asked the TSJ to order an injunction against the National Assembly executive committee over the swearing in of the three Amazonas MUD deputies yesterday.
PSUV deputy Pedro Carreño told reporters that the party had filed three documents with the TSJ’s Sala Politico Administrativa [Political Administration Chamber]. The documents ask the court to rule on a number of issues, the most important ones being:
- To nullify the swearing in of Nirma Guarulla, Julio Ygarza and Romel Guzamana.
- To nullify any legislation the National Assembly passes that includes votes from the three deputes in question.
- To order the National Assembly’s administrative wings to not assist the three deputies in question.
Pro-Gov’t Mob Blocks Deputies, Workers from Leaving NA
El Nacional reports that a pro-government mob congregated around the National Assembly doors late last afternoon just as deputies, members of the public and the building’s workers were preparing to leave the building for the day. The crowd chanted “Chavez vive! La lucha sigue!” [Chavez lives! The struggle continues!].
The newspaper reports that the crowd set off fireworks and hurled objects at people leaving the building, and that it wasn’t until 7:00 PM that the area was safe enough for the deputies to leave the building.
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