On 21 February, the First Academic Report on Climate Change was presented in Caracas with a conference by Dr. Antonina Ivanova, member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
The president of Venezuela’s National Electoral Council (CNE), Tibisay Lucena, dismissed the idea of holding legislative elections on the same day as the presidential election scheduled for April 22, as the ruling party has proposed.
The Organization of American States (OAS) was meeting in Washington on Tuesday from 10:00 AM local time on the subject of Venezuela and “the latest events” that have occurred in the Caribbean country. 19 of the 24 members voted in favor of a resolution calling on Venezuela to postpone the elections scheduled for April.
The Venezuelan democratic opposition, represented by the Democratic Unity, announced that it will not be presented to the elections convened by the government of Nicolás Maduro for next April 22 and calls for a national boycott as it is considered a fraudulent process and without guarantees.
The pre-sale of Petro began early on Tuesday, the cryptocurrency proposed by the Venezuelan government in recent weeks and backed by the country's natural resources. According to experts, it is “ridiculous”, arguing that the creation of a new currency would aggravate the economic crisis in the Caribbean country.
Venezuela’s “Petro” crypto-currency will attract investments from Turkey, Qatar, the U.S., and Europe, the country’s crypto-currency regulator, Carlos Vargas, told reporters. The Petro will be offered for sale this Tuesday, February 20th, and comes as Venezuela is suffering from quadruple-digit inflation and chronic shortages of food and medicine.
The government of Peru announced through its prime minister, Mercedes Aráoz, that it has withdrawn the invitation it sent to Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in November to attend the eighth Summit of the Americas, to be held in Lima on the 13th and 14th. of April; a week of the criticized presidential elections decreed by the Constituent Assembly in Venezuela.
Venezuela's president, Nicolas Maduro, announced that he will attend the Summit of the Americas “at all costs” to bring “the truth of the country” at a press conference at the presidential palace in Caracas despite the Peruvian government reported that his presence would not be welcome in the Andean country.
Brazil will not block Venezuelans from entering the country through the border in the northern state of Roraima, but has launched a task force to organize the flow and provide resources for cities and states dealing with the refugees.
Emerging markets trade group EMTA has recommended that bonds issued by Venezuela’s state-owned oil firm PDVSA should be traded flat or without accrued interest, the way bonds in default are typically traded.