In this issue:

Brazil Presidential Candidates Not Secure Behind IMF Deal

Venezuelan Supreme Court Defies Chavez, Says Accused Military Upheld Constitution

Tax 'Reform,' High Unemployment, Factors in Building Venezuelan Social Explosion

U.S. Hypocrisy on Human Rights in Colombia

Colombian President Declares 90-Day 'State of Internal Commotion'

Fox Cancels Meeting with Bush in Protest Over Execution

From the Vol.1,No.24 issue of Electronic Intelligence Weekly

IBERO-AMERICAN NEWS DIGEST

Brazil Presidential Candidates Not Secure Behind IMF Deal

With the creditors' euphoria already having dissipated over the IMF's $30-billion bailout of Brazil— less than one week after its announcement Aug. 7— the pressure is coming down from Wall Street and London on Brazil's Presidential candidates to put their signature of support onto the IMF deal. London's Financial Times went so far as to declare that either the candidates do so, or Brazil's country risk rating will remain at the unsustainable level of 2,200 basis points, which will force Brazil to default. President Fernando Henrique Cardoso has announced he will hold a personal meeting with the leading Presidential candidates on Aug. 20, to convince them to come on board.

Attention is focusing especially on Ciro Gomes, the candidate of the Popular Socialist Party, running on a slate called the Workers Front; he is running second in the polls. Gomes has stated that Brazil had no choice but to go to the IMF, but he is not happy about it. Various Brazilian newspapers reported Aug. 15 that Gomes's responses to questions from 35-40 businessmen and bankers, during a luncheon organized by Vicunha Textil executive Ricardo Steinbruch, left the bankers' crowd worried that Gomes' actions would not be predictable, when it came to the markets. "I haven't been domesticated," he answered to one, and at another point reportedly stated that he would "cut off my hand before I'd sign with the bankers"— despite his simultaneous repeated assurances that he would never declare unilateral bankruptcy, and had never broken a contract in his life. Gomes has said that a "voluntary" renegotiation of Brazil's debt will probably be necessary.

In a speech before 700 retired officers at the Air Force Club in Rio de Janiero on Aug. 8, Gomes declared that he was "shocked" at the IMF deal, and he considered it a "disaster for the country.... Do we have to celebrate the fact that Brazil increased its debt by $30 billion, and not to invest in popular houses or nuclear submarines?" The accord "was done to finance the bankruptcy of public and private credit... The same type of accord was done in 1998." Gomes said that he opposed an accord which he considers "the handing over of Brazil's fate to international capital... I will take the Presidency back from the bankers, in order to hand it over to the service of those who work, of those who produce."

Venezuelan Supreme Court Defies Chavez, Says Accused Military Upheld Constitution

A majority of the Venezuelan Supreme Court issued a 67-page decision on Aug. 12, overturning the charges of military rebellion that the Hugo Chavez government had levelled against four prominent military officers, and giving President Chavez a black eye in the process. The four officers had been accused of trying to illegally arrest Chavez, during last April's clashes between pro- and anti-government forces, and of trying to overthrow his government. The officers' defense was that Chavez had, in fact, resigned, according to the then-Defense Minister; that they were carrying out their Constitutional duty in occupying the Presidential building to facilitate an orderly transfer of power; and that there was no uprising of the military that could be defined as a coup, attempted or otherwise.

They also declared that their refusal to deploy troops against civilian opposition forces, as ordered by Chavez, was based on Constitutional grounds, which the Supreme Court magistrates apparently also agreed with. The Court vote, 11 to 8 against the indictments, was declared irreversible.

The decision was issued while the Supreme Court hall was surrounded by National Guardsmen. Chavez forces which had gathered in the thousands in anticipation of the vote, attempted to storm the building when they learned of the final decision, but were stopped by the tear gas and plastic bullets of the National Guard. This repulse of the Chavista mobs is a first, and has forced these Jacobins into at least a temporary retreat. Since his foolish televised rant Aug. 11, threatening to shut down the Court if it voted against him, Chavez has stayed restrained and quiet.

The pro- and anti-Chavez forces in the country remain on a collision course, but the immediate threat of a military uprising of some sort if the Supreme Court to knuckled under to Chavez's threats, is averted. At this point, a Supreme Court investigation of Chavez for "crimes against humanity," sought by the families of victims who were killed last April by Chavez's crazed mobs, is now on the opposition's agenda.

Tax 'Reform,' High Unemployment, Factors in Building Venezuelan Social Explosion

The Chavez-dominated Venezuelan National Assembly approved the government's tax-reform package in the first round of discussion on Aug. 1. If, as expected, the bill jumps through all the requisite legislative hoops, the value-added tax (VAT) would rise from 14.5% to 16%, with all but a few of the current exemptions eliminated. As an example, the tax on electricity and agricultural products, will rise to an intolerable 16%! The banking debit tax is also to be raised from 0.75% to 1%. The latter is not minor: Every time someone writes a check, or makes a bank withdrawal, he or she must pay a tax of 1% on the amount of the transaction.

The head of the Fedecameras business federation opposed the reform's passage, warning that it could provoke a gigantic social explosion, because it hits most harshly on neediest. The poor have already seen their economic situation deteriorate due to the inflation resulting from the 70% devaluation of the currency, so far this year. The Venezuelan Central Bank says inflation rose by 16.9% between January and July, or an annualized rate of 22%.

According to the government's statistics, over half (50.6%) of the Venezuelan population work in the "informal sector," i.e., selling gadgets on the street, or working off-the-books wherever they can scramble a job. More than 15% of the population was officially unemployed in May.

U.S. Hypocrisy on Human Rights in Colombia

In a striking policy reversal, and one that reeks of hypocrisy, the U.S. State Department is asking the Colombian government to provide immunity against extradition for U.S. military personnel in Colombia, who might be caught violating human rights. After years of subjecting the Colombian Armed Forces to vicious human-rights slanders, which prevented them from receiving funds to fight counterinsurgency— which would have put the narcoterrorist FARC out of business long ago— the State Department is now demanding that its own people be protected from human-rights charges— by Colombia, no less!

In a press conference in Bogota Aug. 14, following a meeting with the new Colombian government, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman asked newly inaugurated Colombian President Alvaro Uribe to sign an agreement that would grant U.S. nationals in Colombia immunity from prosecution by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on human-rights grounds. Under Bush's anti-terrorism legislation, and because Bush has refused to sign the ICC Treaty, the U.S. government is obliged to cut off military aid to countries that have ratified the treaty, unless they grant the immunity pledge Grossman is demanding. Colombia has little choice but to agree, but is planning to hold Congressional hearings before issuing a formal decision.

Hypocrite of the Day: Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the prime mover behind imposing human rights conditionalities on U.S. aid to Colombia, announced his support for the immunity waiver demanded by Grossman, in order "to protect Americans against political prosecution" by the ICC.

Colombian President Declares 90-Day 'State of Internal Commotion'

Responding to the dramatic escalation of violence in Colombia since his inauguration a mere four days earlier, which has already claimed 115 lives, newly inaugurated President Alvaro Uribe Vélez Aug. 12 declared a temporary, but renewable, "state of internal commotion"— stronger than a "state of emergency" (which usually addresses a natural or economic disaster). The declaration, which states it is being made in response to the FARC's "regime of terror," gives Uribe certain powers, without suspending Constitutional guarantees, one of which is to levy a 1.2% war tax on the wealthiest class in the country (above a certain income level). This would be expected to yield $780 million for immediate deployment into an expanded military and police capability. Other powers would include restricting citizen movements, detaining suspects without judicial warrants, and limits on the media.

Fox Cancels Meeting with Bush in Protest Over Execution

President Vicente Fox of Mexico has cancelled a planned week-long visit to Texas later this month, which was to include a several-day visit with President George W. Bush at the Crawford ranch. Fox cancelled the trip to protest the execution a few days ago in Texas of Javier Suarez Medina, who may have been a Mexican citizen. The execution has caused a tremendous ruckus in Mexico, and Fox is responding to this turmoil.

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