Politics
Leonardo Carvajal, the leader of the non-governmental organization Asamblea de Educación, and Ercilia Vásquez, the director of the School of Education, Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB), reported that the educational regions in the states of Miranda and Táchira are circulating among schools teachers and principals a "strategic school calendar," which is allegedly "promoting the government's political ideology blatantly."

Among the "arbitrary" changes that the government has made to the school calendar, Carvajal highlighted the inclusion of celebrations related to communist and socialist leaders, as well as wars or violent events.

The calendar also features "biased interpretations" of the Venezuelan history. "There are several anniversaries that all Venezuelans share related to the life of Simón Bolívar, Andrés Bello, Francisco de Miranda and Simón Rodríguez. However, we categorically reject the ideological attempts at including (in the school calendar)Ezequiel Zamora, Karl Marx, Fabricio Ojeda and Ernesto "Che" Guevara, because they exalted violence and war," said Carvajal.

He warned that these changes "were made at the eleventh hour and are self-defeating," for Article 14, Venezuela's education law, clearly sets forth "that the only doctrine that inspires the Venezuelan education system is strictly related to Simón Bolívar and Simón Rodríguez."

Carvajal said that according to the new school calendar, students will commemorate, among others, February 4, 2002 (the day when now President Hugo Chávez headed a coup d'état against the government of Carlos Andrés Pérez), which is now called the Day of the National Dignity, and October 8, both the day of the heroic guerrilla leader Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the day of the new man.