CARACAS, Tuesday August 26, 2008 | Update
The Organic Law on Rearrangement of the Domestic Market of
Liquid Fuels, to be passed in a first session next Wednesday,
does not provide for seizure of the gas stations operating
in the country, reported Deputy Ángel Rodríguez,
the chairman of the Commission of Energy and Mines, National
Assembly (AN).
The congressman explained that the legal instrument reserves
for the state the role of middlemen for supply of liquid fuels,
particularly transportation, reported state-run news agency
ABN.
"The bill does not state compulsory transfer of these outlets
to community councils. The Bolivarian government expects these
partnerships to play a significant role in this activity.
It will be a gradual change, and one of the alternatives under
study is the assignment of the management of new gas stations
or any current stations property of the state," said Rodríguez.
01:11 PM.
Economy.
Domestic inflation rate in Venezuela was 1.7 percent in January, at the same rate as in December 2009, despite currency devaluation at the start of the year decreed by President Hugo Chávez, a senior government source told Reuters on Tuesday.