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Venezuela Completes Cabinet Revamp
By Vittorio Hernandez
AHN News
January 8, 2008

Caracas, Venezuela (AHN) - The New Year cabinet revamp announced by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is complete. The president swore into office 13 new appointees, while he retained 15 ministers.

Among the new faces are Rafael Isea, promoted from Junior Minister of the Indigenous Development Program to Finance Minister, Haiman El Troudi as Planning and Development Minister and Felix Osorio Guzman as Food Minister.

Cabinet members who retained their posts were Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro, Energy and Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez, Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel Briceno, Agriculture and Land Minister Elias Jaua and Health Minister Jesus Mantilla.

Jorge Rodriguez, former vice president, was downgraded to head a new office called PSUV.

Chavez initiated the cabinet change as a result of his defeat at a constitutional referendum held over a month ago. Although the Venezuelan president is still pursuing socialism by setting forth a four-point agenda, his new cabinet is seen as an attempt to place greater focus on social issues such as skyrocketing food prices, uncollected trash and rising crime rates.

The new appointees are perceived to be quiet types, but problem solvers, unlike those who were replaced, known for being firebrand ideologues.

Jesse Chacon, the new state spokesman, said at the Friday press conference, "We have decided to open ourselves up to attend to street-level problems, like garbage and shortages, because we believe that you can't theorize about socialism if the people don't see government in action," according to the Wall Street Journal.

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