As part of the measures announced on Friday, President Chavez established a dual exchange rate system which provides a rate of 2.60 bolivars for essential imports and 4.30s bolivars for the rest of its external purchases. The latter is referred to as oil dollars, because starting today PDVSA will sell dollars to the Central Bank of Venezuela at that rate. This will increase by 100 percent the payment of royalties and income tax. To finance the budget this year, the oil contribution is expected to be 39.4 billion bolivars, assuming an oil price of $40 a barrel and output of 3.1 million barrels a day. In the estimation, the bolivar exchange rate was 2.15, but now the industry will be using the exchange rate of 4.30 bolivars. Therefore, the adjustment would allow the total contribution will be close to that provided at the beginning of 2009, which is more than Bs 70 billion.
Public officials in Venezuela will work only five hours a day, from 8:00 to 1:00 pm, starting next Monday, to help save electricity required by a serious power generation shortage. President Chavez announced the move last night and initially went unnoticed because they government simultaneously announced a drastic devaluation and denounced a new violation of national airspace by U.S. warplanes. "In just Caracas will we save about 187 megawatts; this is one of several measures we have adopted" to address the crisis, including creating "an incentive" to families who reduce their electricity consumption, which in some cases would reduce a good part of the monthly bill, he said.
After the unauthorised transferral of Franklin Brito, his wife Elena de Brito said in a telephone contact that up to now she has no information on the whereabouts of her husband, and thus considers the incident as a "forced disappearance." On Saturday night, Franklin Brito's lawyer, Alfredo Romero, reported that a group of doctors from the Military Hospital accompanied by armed forces officials, forcibly sedated Mr. Brito and transferred him to the intensive care unit of the hospital. Yesterday morning, Brito's wife, who is still on hunger strike, recounted in detail the facts, explaining that the hospital's director entered the room where Brito was and informed him that he be transferred to the psychiatric treatment room on orders from the vice-president of the country.
Relatives of prison inmates from Guatire and Los Teques decided on Sunday to "self-plagiarise" in support of the protest begun on Sunday at Yare prison in Valles del Tuy. Some 442 families remain in El Rodeo II and 258 at the Los Teques checkpoint. This Sunday it was learned that the inmates of El Rodeo II were supporting actions at Yare I, so they decided to take action to support as well. They said that they are all going through the same situation and live in the same conditions, such as the unhealthiness of living conditions, criminal trial delays and alleged mistreatment, both for prisoners as well as their families.
The government will invest 140 million in the promotion of the "cult" of Chavez. The bicentennial of Venezuela's independence is the latest campaign launched by the Government. In the last days of 2009, highway posts were adorned with posters alluding to the commemoration. In 2010 the central government has 382 millions bolivars dedicated to information services, printing and public relations, including publicity and advertising, plus printing and reproduction, social relations and notices. The investment for this purpose will overtake what the state will have available this year for the second activation phase of the National Police (372,802,026 bolivar fuerte) and is 15 times more than is allocated by the Ministry of Interior and Justice for crime prevention (26,752,082 bolivar fuerte).
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