Former Finance Minister Nelson Merentes is slated to be named president of Venezuela's Central Bank after the National Assembly ratified his nomination by President Hugo Chavez.
Merentes, a member of the ruling party, is mainly remembered for his idea of investing in and selling structured notes made up of sovereign debt from other South American countries when he was finance minister between 2004 to 2007.
Merentes, a mathematician, will replace Gaston Parra Luzardo, who died on December 15. Similar to Parra Luzardo, the new head of the central bank is seen as strong supporter of Chavez's economic policies.
His appointment, which was backed by the National Assembly during a vote Tuesday night, still has to be published in the government's Official Gazette to become effective.
During his decade in power, Chavez has encroached the autonomy of the central bank by handpicking the members of its directorate. He has appointed strong supporters of his socialist-inspired policies even though, as the Wall Street Journal reports, some of them don't have formal training as economists.
"The monetary authority does not have enough political clout and institutional strength the resist the pervasive interference and pressure of the executive branch in its affairs," Ramos said.
Most recently the central bank has lowered the interest rates it pays on short-term deposits from banks to free up liquidity, turning a blind eye to Venezuela's inflation rate, which stands at 28.5% in the last 12 months.
Iran's defense minister has recently held talks with officials in Venezuela seeking to strengthen military ties.
Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday that Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammed Najjar met with Venezuelan Vice President Ramon Carrizalez, who is also the acting defense minister.
Najjar was quoted as saying defense ties are being developed as part of "a long-term plan" and that cooperation with Venezuela "has experienced a leap that we're seeking to accelerate in this visit."
President Hugo Chavez's government did not immediately comment on the talks.
The bolivar strengthened yesterday against the dollar, leaving behind historic lows in Venezuela's parallel market, on news that Petroleos de Venezuela SA (PdVSA) plans a debt issue that could suppose an infusion of U.S. currency.
A dollar fetched 6.95 bolivars, down from a historic high of VEB7.1 last week. PdVSA plans to issue up to $3 billion in dollar-denominated debt, possibly in late May, to pay for its mounting bills owed to oil service contractors, a high-level government official told Dow Jones Newswires.
PdVSA has become an essential cog in the parallel market for U.S. currency in Venezuela, where an increasing number of importers are turning to buy greenbacks as the government curbs the sale of dollars at the official VEB2.15 exchange rate.
In recent months traders had stated that PdVSA had become a key source of dollars in the market, selling part of its income at the parallel rate to obtain more bolivars from every dollar of oil revenue.
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