The reform of the Supreme Court act, the administrative jurisdiction act, the justice system act and possibly the constitutional and electoral court acts, are several laws that come into effect this year, all related to the judiciary. One of the changes was renaming the plenary to be the Supreme Court Plenary, whose decisions could not be reviewed by the Constitutional Court as was the case of the generals who participated in the 2002 coup. The Supreme Court made several observations regarding that limitation of the court, which is now presided over by Luisa Estella Morales, and rejects the notion that analysis of plenary sentences is not permitted. MP Tulio Jiménez called incongruous the fact that decisions of a collegial body of 32 persons can be reviewed only by 7 judges. A draft of the reform published on the National Assembly's website considers the possibility that the Constitutional Court will review judgments of all courts making up the supreme court system and, furthermore, will resolve conflicts between them, as spelled out in paragraphs 11 and 12 of Article 26 of the text.
The announced closure of lines 1 and 2 of the Corporacion Venezolana de Guayana intensifies the crisis among state-owned firms in the mining sector. Yesterday, workers from these lines of the subsidiary Alcasa protested outside the gates against the uncertainty they face following government action to save power and maintain the same levels as those of Guri. Production furnaces were shut down, as were production areas. Henry Arias, an Alcasa Workers Union spokesman, said the energy conservation policy is leads to "irresponsibility of the government." He made the accusation after recalling that three years ago it was reported that "reserves fell by more than they have fallen today." Since 2001 the imbalance was present in the water reservoir. "It was announced to the President Chavez that there had to be a nationwide investment in order to not have the problems we have today Tacoa." The plants Centro, Uribante Caparo and Guri have been added to the list.
Juan Carlos Caldera (from Primero Justicia), lamented that it is the sole responsibility of the government of President Chávez that the nation has not met the annual goal of increasing power by 500 megawatts to satisfy normal electricity demand of a population that is increasing at a rate of about 620,000 people every year. He recalled that in 2008 and 2009, Chavez gave money to Bolivia, Nicaragua and Cuba for them to improve their electricity distribution, and because of that, electricity rationing cannot be justified in Venezuela. At a press conference from Millennium Mall in Los Dos Caminos, Caldera repudiated the government's measures that affect the routine development of Venezuelan families, following the restriction of opening hours for shopping malls until 9 p.m. "We are at the gates of this mall to express our disapproval and indignation at the way the government has been facing its own failings in its decree to close shopping malls and recreational areas. It wants to punish the Venezuelan people. We already live with water and light restrictions and now the government is trying to fool us by saying this is due to El Nino or climate problems," said Caldera.
A group of Fedepetrol workers protested Monday outside the Puerto La Cruz refinery to demand a resumption of collective agreement talks with PDVSA. Spokesman Luis Diaz said the oil workers had reached an agreement to radicalise the protest. "For tomorrow, we will perform more forceful actions to tell PDVSA President Rafael Ramirez that we have had enough of their teasing and playing around with the workers' wages," he said. Diaz said that PDVSA representatives came to the negotiating table in an arbitrary manner by proposing that workers renounce retroactive action in collective bargaining. "We have no problem going on strike as per what labor law permits," said.
Thousands of Canaima National Park visitors queued up for 2 kilometres to fill their vehicles with petrol while enjoying the natural beauty of the southern state of Bolivar. The smuggling of fuel complicates the tourism landscape of Santa Elena de Uairen, capital of Gran Sabana, which borders Brazil. Tourists complained about the situation and demanded solutions to the problem that every season causes them to lose vacation time.
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