Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez signed 26 new laws regulating the armed forces, public administration, social security system, banks, agricultural production, and the tourism industry on July 31—the final day of the 18-month period during which the National Assembly granted Chávez the power to pass laws by decree. The government says the laws seek to increase state management of "strategic" sectors and public institutions considered vital for progress toward "21st Century Socialism."

A meeting between presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela and Cristina Fernández of Argentina was called off because of violent opposition protests in the southern Bolivian city of Tarija. The leaders had planned to sign energy integration agreements and launch a project for construction of a natural gas plant in Tarija. The ceremony was also to include the delivery of housing to poor families, built with financial support from the Venezuelan government. Tension is running high in the last week before Bolivia's Aug. 10 recall referendum that will decide the fate of Morales, his vice president and eight of the country's nine regional governors. (IPS, Aug. 7 via Upside Down World)

Bolivian national authorities are investigating a clash between miners and police that left two dead and 30 wounded in the region of Huanun Aug. 4, Government Minister Alfredo Rada confirmed. Rada said the incident was sparked when the police moved to break up a roadblock by workers demanding a new pension law. Rada told reporters that the workers' demands are being debated in the National Congress, and accused the opposition of trying to disrupt the Aug. 10 recall vote. Rada refuted media accounts alleging use of firearms by the police. He said police intervened when they learned the miners planned to blow up a bridge in the town of Caihuasi, in the central department of Oruro.

Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez was in Spain on July 25, where he proposed discussions about Europe's new policies towards immigrants from Latin America—and also used the visit to mend fences with President José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos I. During the 17th Iberian-American Summit in Santiago, Chile, in November 2007, Chávez had repeatedly interrupted Zapatero, and Juan Carlos finally told Chávez: "Why don't you shut up?" This time Chávez held the king in a long embrace. Juan Carlos gave him a t-shirt reading: "Why don't you shut up?" and Chávez joked about the king's royalties from the expression. (La Jornada, Mexico, July 26 from correspondent)

On July 22, Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez Frias met with Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow as the two countries signed agreements for joint work on energy projects in Venezuela. Chávez said the accords would promote "a strategic alliance in the energy sector." Venezuela and Russia have "a perfect identity in their foreign policy lines," he said. "If the Russian armed forces want to be in Venezuela, they'll be welcomed warmly."

by Nikolas Kozloff, NACLA News

When you consider John McCain's ties to Big Oil, the GOP candidate's claim to be a political maverick taking on special interests is nothing short of absurd. According to Progressive Media USA, a Washington, DC-based non-profit, the Arizona Senator has benefited handily from the oil sector. Indeed, McCain has netted at least $700,000 from the oil and gas industry since 1989.

by Bill Weinberg, The Nation

Retired Colombian army colonel Guillermo Armando Gordillo confessed to the Fiscalía (attorney general) his participation in the slaying of eight people, including three children, at the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó on Feb. 21, 2005. The Fiscalía said Col. Gordillo was in command of the Bolívar Company, Vélez Battalion, 17th Brigade, which was carrying out a counterinsurgency operation code-named "Fénix" in the area. The massacre was carried out by a "joint command" of Col. Gordillo's troops and paramilitaries, the Fiscalía found. (Radio Caracol, Aug. 2; El Tiempo, Bogotá, Aug. 1)