{"id":1347,"date":"2017-07-09T09:56:35","date_gmt":"2017-07-09T09:56:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armando.info\/?p=1347"},"modified":"2017-07-09T09:56:35","modified_gmt":"2017-07-09T09:56:35","slug":"the-revolving-door-of-the-military-is-made-of-cement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armando.info\/en\/the-revolving-door-of-the-military-is-made-of-cement\/","title":{"rendered":"The revolving door of the military is made of cement"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If \r\nsomething has characterized the so-called Bolivarian Revolution, initiated by \r\nPresident Hugo Ch\u00e1vez and continued by his successor, Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, is the \r\nactive participation of military personnel in political responsibilities and \r\ntechno-productive areas. It is no secret that officers of the four components of \r\nthe armed forces represent one-third of the cabinet, and that in the last few \r\nyears they have had a free rein for contracts of food purchase and sale, \r\npreferential dollar imports and even social security management. Wherever you \r\nlook, in the current government, there is someone wearing an olive-green \r\nmilitary uniform. <\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

However, \r\nit is surprising to corroborate that in the last ten years, at least 785 \r\nofficers have been State contractors. It is the figure that comes up by crossing \r\nthe list of companies of the National Registry of Contractors - a database that \r\nhas been downloaded and processed for this series of reports that starts today - \r\nand the list of military promotions within the public administration provided by \r\nVendata, \r\n<\/A>derived \r\nfrom 2,763 editions of the Official Gazette published during that \r\nperiod.<\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

Although \r\nthere is no rule prohibiting an active military officer from having a private \r\ncompany or being part of a board of directors, it is also true that the article \r\n34 of the Civil Service Statute Law, as well as the numeral 4 of the provision \r\n91 of the Organic Law of the General Comptroller of the Republic and the \r\nNational Fiscal Control System, establish an administrative penalty for the \r\nmilitary who contract with the State. So it could be argued that at least 785 \r\nofficers have contravened the law. <\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

\"According \r\nto the article 145 of the 1999 Constitution in force, an active military officer \r\nby virtue of his status as a public official must refrain from entering into any \r\ncontract with the Government (National, State and Municipal), either by himself \r\nor on behalf of a third party\", explains the expert lawyer in public \r\nprocurement, C\u00e9sar Esteves.<\/p>\n\n\n

There are 70 companies, for example, which have been responsible for selling to institutions of the State everything related to computers, stationery and office supplies<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n

Trading \r\nbusiness in general, transportation, food and computing services are some of the \r\nareas in which these companies have been acting, under management of military \r\nofficers in the role of businessmen. There are 70 companies, for example, owned \r\nby commanders of the Armed Forces who have been in charge of selling to state \r\ninstitutions everything related to computing, electronic maintenance, stationery \r\nand office supplies. <\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

But \r\nit is the construction sector where the largest number of companies owned by \r\nmilitary officers is concentrated: 259 or, in other words, almost one in three \r\nof the 785 that did business with the State during the last \r\ndecade.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

It \r\nseems an almost obvious choice. Although nowadays remains paralyzed, up until \r\n2012, at the heat of the extraordinary income from the oil boom and the \r\ngovernment's housing plans, the construction sector was where everybody wanted \r\nto take part. Hugo Ch\u00e1vez dismissed traditional building companies and preferred \r\nto look for foreign suppliers, to put in charge of megaprojects, or new local \r\nentrepreneurs. It was the latter category where the military fit in. \r\n<\/p>\n\n