MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Another top official from the Chavez administration resigns

Central Bank Chairman, Eugenio Vasquez Orellana

Venezuela’s Central Bank Chairman, Eugenio Vasquez Orellana, resigned Tuesday citing health problems, but the real motive seems to have been differences with some cabinet ministers from the government of Hugo Chavez.

The new Minister of Economy, Finance and Planning Jorge Giordani has had major conflicts with the president of the Central Bank, which would be the main reason for his resignation. Caracas daily El Nacional cited unofficial sources saying his resignation was due to differences with Minister Giordani.

According to the paper, Vasquez Orellana had close ties to Ramón Carrizález, who resigned as Venezuela's Vice President and Defence minister on Monday, along with his wife Yubirí Ortega who was Environment Minister.

Giordani apparently already has Vasquez Orellana’s successor in mind: former Minister Jose Rojas, Venezuela’s delegate before the World Bank.

Venezuelan government sources claim that former Central Bank president was against the creation of the Banco del Bicentenario because it had little private support. The bank is a new government-run financial entity that will bring together several private banks intervened by the government, Central Banco Universal, Banco Real, Confederadoand state-run Banfoandes.

On Monday Information minister Blanca Eekhout said Carrizalez stepped down for “strictly personal reasons”.

The exit of the long-time Chavez ally “is not resulting from any disagreement on government decisions” and “any contrary account is false and tendentious,” Eekhout said in a communiqué.

Citing sources in the military, news accounts said that Gen. Carlos Mata Figueroa, the current head of the armed forces’ Strategic Operational Command, would take over the defence portfolio.

Carrizalez, a 58-year-old retired general, became vice president in 2008 and defence minister in March 2009. He is considered to be one of the men closest to Chavez and throughout the leftist president’s decade in office he has served as the head of the Infrastructure Ministry and the Housing and Habitat Ministry, as well as vice president and defence chairs.