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Venezuela, The Starving Socialist Dystopia (Part 1)

Arkain2K

Arkain2K

Si vis pacem, para bellum
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Venezuela president Nicolás Maduro declares State of Emergency
Emma Graham-Harrison
May 14, 2016

2953.jpg

Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has declared a state of emergency, hours after US intelligence officials warned that the South American country could be on the brink of disintegration.

The powers Maduro obtains after Friday night’s declaration allow him “to stabilise our country, and confront all the international and national threats against our fatherland in this moment”, the president said, but he did not detail how he intends to use them.

The country is grappling with soaring inflation, a shrinking economy, chronic food shortages, and power cuts so bad that public servants have been put on a two-day week and the president personally urged women to stop blow-drying their hair to save electricity.

In December the opposition won parliamentary elections by a landslide, and is now pushing for a referendum on recalling Maduro from office, allowed under Venezuela’s constitution.

The president has vowed to see out his term, due to end in 2019, but the two US intelligence officials told journalists in Washington that it looks increasingly unlikely Maduro can hold on to power, even if he staves off a recall vote.

A leftwinger close to former President Hugo Chávez, the 53-year-old Maduro came to power after the founder of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian revolution” died of cancer. But he lacks Chávez’s charisma or the oil bonzanza that funded his reforms. The former bus driver could be vulnerable to a “palace coup”, from colleagues frustrated by his handling of Chávez’s legacy, or an outright military grab for power, news agencies reported the unnamed officials as saying.

Maduro’s Friday night declaration of a 60-day state of emergency comes after a week that saw demonstrations for a recall vote escalate into violence, with protesters hurling stones and police firing teargas.

His biggest problem is the economy, which contracted last year and is forecast to shrink by a further 8% this year. Inflation is already in triple digits and expected to soar over 700% this year, which could leave the government too cash-strapped to even pay for printing new money.

As shortages of basic goods deepen, hours-long queues have become part of daily life for most Venezuelans, and looting is increasingly common, with mobs stealing flour, chicken and even underwear last week. Lengthy drought has created severe power shortages in a country heavily dependent on hydropower. Critics say mismanagement and lack of investment have exacerbated the problems.

The government’s efforts to manage the shortages have included moving clocks forward half an hour, closing schools on Fridays, sending civil servants home three days a week, and even drafting in Maduro himself to dispense energy-saving tips. “Cut the use of hair-dryers, or only use them half the time,” he said on a recent TV appearance. “Do you think you could do this, ladies?”

3000.jpg


Caracas has become one of the most violent cities in the world, with people waiting to buy groceries leaving their cash at home while they queue, and summoning relatives to bring it to them at the last minute to avoid theft.

“You can hear the ice cracking. You know there’s a crisis coming,” one US official said. “Our pressure on this isn’t going to resolve this issue.” The US government fears a return to the convulsions of 1989, when an earlier collapse in oil prices contributed to riots and looting in which more than 300 people died, the officials said.

Maduro denounced the press briefing as part of a conspiracy against his country. “Washington is activating measures at the request of Venezuela’s fascist right,” he said in a TV broadcast.

Any US intervention is sensitive in Venezuela because Washington has a history of both covert and open intervention across Latin America, from Chile to Nicaragua. In Venezuela there is lingering resentment at support for a shortlived 2002 coup against Chávez.

A surge in oil revenue, or fresh cash in the form of Chinese loans, might reinvigorate Maduro’s government, but there is little sign he can hope for either.

Work has all-but stopped on the Chinese bullet train that was intended as South America’s first and a symbol of socialist solidarity. It is now four years overdue, Chinese workers have pulled out, key sites have been looted and a government delegation to Beijing earlier this year came home empty-handed. And the retreat of two big oil services companies, Schlumberger and Halliburton, after the state firm failed to pay outstanding bills means crude production could fall below 2 million barrels per day for the first time in 20 years.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/14/venezuela-maduro-emergency-powers
 
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You know you've done goofed when China doesn't want to loan you money. Maduro thinks he can just seize the factories and start producing shit. Somebody please teach him some basic economics.
 
Naah. It is just that dynamo of socialist labor productivity has vastly outpaced the supply of electricity, food and toilet paper.
 
Ever since Chavez is dead this country went down the drain hard.
 
Arkain2K said:
2953.jpg


Venezuela’s president, Nicolás Maduro, has declared a state of emergency, hours after US intelligence officials warned that the South American country could be on the brink of disintegration.

The powers Maduro obtains after Friday night’s declaration allow him “to stabilise our country, and confront all the international and national threats against our fatherland in this moment”, the president said, but he did not detail how he intends to use them.

The country is grappling with soaring inflation, a shrinking economy, chronic food shortages, and power cuts so bad that public servants have been put on a two-day week and the president personally urged women to stop blow-drying their hair to save electricity.

In December the opposition won parliamentary elections by a landslide, and is now pushing for a referendum on recalling Maduro from office, allowed under Venezuela’s constitution.

The president has vowed to see out his term, due to end in 2019, but the two US intelligence officials told journalists in Washington that it looks increasingly unlikely Maduro can hold on to power, even if he staves off a recall vote.

A leftwinger close to former President Hugo Chávez, the 53-year-old Maduro came to power after the founder of Venezuela’s “Bolivarian revolution” died of cancer. But he lacks Chávez’s charisma or the oil bonzanza that funded his reforms. The former bus driver could be vulnerable to a “palace coup”, from colleagues frustrated by his handling of Chávez’s legacy, or an outright military grab for power, news agencies reported the unnamed officials as saying.

Maduro’s Friday night declaration of a 60-day state of emergency comes after a week that saw demonstrations for a recall vote escalate into violence, with protesters hurling stones and police firing teargas.

His biggest problem is the economy, which contracted last year and is forecast to shrink by a further 8% this year. Inflation is already in triple digits and expected to soar over 700% this year, which could leave the government too cash-strapped to even pay for printing new money.

As shortages of basic goods deepen, hours-long queues have become part of daily life for most Venezuelans, and looting is increasingly common, with mobs stealing flour, chicken and even underwear last week. Lengthy drought has created severe power shortages in a country heavily dependent on hydropower. Critics say mismanagement and lack of investment have exacerbated the problems.

The government’s efforts to manage the shortages have included moving clocks forward half an hour, closing schools on Fridays, sending civil servants home three days a week, and even drafting in Maduro himself to dispense energy-saving tips. “Cut the use of hair-dryers, or only use them half the time,” he said on a recent TV appearance. “Do you think you could do this, ladies?”

3000.jpg


Caracas has become one of the most violent cities in the world, with people waiting to buy groceries leaving their cash at home while they queue, and summoning relatives to bring it to them at the last minute to avoid theft.

“You can hear the ice cracking. You know there’s a crisis coming,” one US official said. “Our pressure on this isn’t going to resolve this issue.” The US government fears a return to the convulsions of 1989, when an earlier collapse in oil prices contributed to riots and looting in which more than 300 people died, the officials said.

Maduro denounced the press briefing as part of a conspiracy against his country. “Washington is activating measures at the request of Venezuela’s fascist right,” he said in a TV broadcast.

Any US intervention is sensitive in Venezuela because Washington has a history of both covert and open intervention across Latin America, from Chile to Nicaragua. In Venezuela there is lingering resentment at support for a shortlived 2002 coup against Chávez.

A surge in oil revenue, or fresh cash in the form of Chinese loans, might reinvigorate Maduro’s government, but there is little sign he can hope for either.

Work has all-but stopped on the Chinese bullet train that was intended as South America’s first and a symbol of socialist solidarity. It is now four years overdue, Chinese workers have pulled out, key sites have been looted and a government delegation to Beijing earlier this year came home empty-handed. And the retreat of two big oil services companies, Schlumberger and Halliburton, after the state firm failed to pay outstanding bills means crude production could fall below 2 million barrels per day for the first time in 20 years.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/may/14/venezuela-maduro-emergency-powers
Click to expand...
Boo hoo

Uvr1lbf.gif
 
JDragon said:
Ever since Chavez is dead this country went down the drain hard.
Click to expand...

It went down the drain the day he was elected.

Chavez was a terrible president, the Bus Driver Maduro is worse.
 
whougonnacall said:
Or basing ur whole economy on oil and watching as it becomes as cheap as water
Lets not pretend the right woulda done much better
Click to expand...

The world's economies are dependent on fossil fuels. That a fact. Good luck finding an economy that'll run on solar or wind energy.

This is more of an example of a totalitarian regime fleecing it's private economy, leaving the overwhelming majority of it's citizens in poverty.

I'm sure you dispute this, but in your reply please explain how Hugo Chavez had a 9-figure net worth before he died.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...amassed-huge-fortune-countrys-oil-wealth.html
 
GearSolidMetal said:
The world's economies are dependent on fossil fuels. That a fact. Good luck finding an economy that'll run on solar or wind energy.

This is more of an example of a totalitarian regime fleecing it's private economy, leaving the overwhelming majority of it's citizens in poverty.

I'm sure you dispute this, but in your reply please explain how Hugo Chavez had a 9-figure net worth before he died.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...amassed-huge-fortune-countrys-oil-wealth.html
Click to expand...
And again most of the economy was based on oil...oil prices fall and voila

Also fleecing? Didnt he also make massive jumps in dealing with poverty ?
And correct me if wrong isnt the 9 figure stuff a from a group of rich u.s based ex pats so anything they say is prob to be taken with massive amounts of salt
 
Well, who would have thought that a bus driver wasn't gonna be a good president??? populist fat ass son of a bitch...
 
whougonnacall said:
And again most of the economy was based on oil...oil prices fall and voila
Click to expand...
Yeah, exactly why every economy should be diverse, instead of relying on one main source of tax revenue to supply an entire nation.

Also fleecing? Didnt he also make massive jumps in dealing with poverty ?
Click to expand...
He increased government spending for the poor, at the expense of the econony. That nosedive didn't end with Chavez and they're now close to economic collapse.

Classic example of what happens amidst high taxation and regulation with corrupt government officials.

And correct me if wrong isnt the 9 figure stuff a from a group of rich u.s based ex pats so anything they say is prob to be taken with massive amounts of salt
Click to expand...

You think Venezuela would admit to their loved President being a crook?

Read the article.
 
GearSolidMetal said:
Yeah, exactly why every economy should be diverse, instead of relying on one main source of tax revenue to supply an entire nation.


He increased government spending for the poor, at the expense of the econony. That nosedive didn't end with Chavez and they're now close to economic collapse.
Classic example of what happens amidst high taxation and regulation with corrupt government officials.



You think Venezuela would admit to their loved President being a crook?

Read the article.
Click to expand...
Agree it should be ..and for years the scumbag greedy far right there werr no better at diversifying

The economy nosedived as it was based on oil and oil nosedived

But greedy pricks that ran away as they had to give up a bit more of their wealth are 100% trustworthy?
 
whougonnacall said:
Agree it should be ..and for years the scumbag greedy far right there werr no better at diversifying

The economy nosedived as it was based on oil and oil nosedived

But greedy pricks that ran away as they had to give up a bit more of their wealth are 100% trustworthy?
Click to expand...

Depends on the regional definition of 'far right.' Lower taxation and lesser regulation doesn't have a record of crashing economies.

And are you really bringing up the 'The Rich Weren't Paying Their Fair Share' argument?
 
GearSolidMetal said:
Depends on the regional definition of 'far right.' Lower taxation and lesser regulation doesn't have a record of crashing economies.

And are you really bringing up the 'The Rich Weren't Paying Their Fair Share' argument?
Click to expand...
Id disagree there but thats getting way off track

Given the wealth was all being produced from the oil in the ground in this case def yes
 
Problems with Venezuela:
- Dutch Disease combined with collapse in oil price
- Corruption in every aspect of society
- Extreme crime rate deterring foreign investments
- Incompetent leaders blaming foreign forces instead of reviewing their policies

One of any of the above four will hamper economic development, but all four together is a recipe for a failed state.
 
Venezuela opposition slams 'desperate' Maduro state of emergency
By Alexandra Ulmer and Corina Pons - May 16, 2016​

r

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's opposition on Saturday slammed a state of emergency decreed by President Nicolas Maduro and vowed to press home efforts to remove the leftist leader this year amid a grim economic crisis.

Maduro on Friday night declared a 60-day state of emergency due to what he called plots from Venezuela and the United States to subvert him. He did not provide specifics.

The measure shows Maduro is panicking as a push for a recall referendum against him gains traction with tired, frustrated Venezuelans, opposition leaders said during a protest in Caracas.

"We're talking about a desperate president who is putting himself on the margin of legality and constitutionality," said Democratic Unity coalition leader Jesus Torrealba, adding Maduro was losing support within his own bloc.

"If this state of emergency is issued without consulting the National Assembly, we would technically be talking about a self-coup," he told hundreds of supporters who waved Venezuelan flags and chanted "he's going to fall."

The opposition won control of the National Assembly in a December election, propelled by voter anger over product shortages, raging inflation that has annihilated salaries, and rampant violent crime, but the legislature has been routinely undercut by the Supreme Court.

"A TIME BOMB"

Protests are on the rise and a key poll shows nearly 70 percent of Venezuelans now say Maduro must go this year.

Maduro has vowed to see his term through, however, blasting opposition politicians as coup-mongering elitists seeking to emulate the impeachment of fellow leftist Dilma Rousseff in Brazil.

Saying trouble-makers were fomenting violence to justify a foreign invasion, Maduro on Saturday ordered military exercises for next weekend.

"We're going to tell imperialism and the international right that the people are present, with their farm instruments in one hand and a gun in the other... to defend this sacred land," he boomed at a rally.

He added the government would take over idled factories, without providing details.

Critics of Maduro, a former union leader and bus driver, say he should instead focus on people's urgent needs.

"There will be a social explosion if Maduro doesn't let the recall referendum happen," said protester Marisol Dos Santos, 34, an office worker at a supermarket where she says some 800 people queue up daily.

But the opposition fear authorities are trying to delay a referendum until 2017, when the presidency would fall to the vice president, a post currently held by Socialist Party loyalist Aristobulo Isturiz.

"If you block this democratic path we don't know what might happen in this country," two-time presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said at the demonstration.

"Venezuela is a time bomb that can explode at any given moment."
Click to expand...

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0Y501X
 
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whougonnacall said:
Id disagree there but thats getting way off track
Click to expand...

*Facepalm*

Let me guess. You think economies have been crashed because people weren't taxed enough, and there weren't regulations.

Given the wealth was all being produced from the oil in the ground in this case def yes
Click to expand...

Which is ironic, because before Hugo Chavez, Venezuela did have a pretty good economy. Then higher taxes were set in upon the oil companies and the afluent, causing oil companies to go other areas with oil and lower taxes. Not all oil companies left, some stayed, but it's not been enough for the remaining tax revenue to cover the increased government spending for 'the masses.'

And now in recent months, the government has been in dire straights, not even being able to supply it's people with toilet paper and beer, and the President is declaring a state of emergency.

Bernie Sanders supporters love the promises of socialism, but they ignore the fact the same promises have been made over and over again to country after country over the last two centuries, and those promises are never granted. You would think that the means those promises were supposed to gain the desired results...

1. Increased taxation and regulation of 'the rich' and their corporations.
2. Increase the size of government, and control over citizens lives.
3. Control the means of production, distribution, and cost of products.

...were the entire point to begin with. Absolute power.
 
whougonnacall said:
Id disagree there but thats getting way off track
Click to expand...

*Facepalm*

Let me guess. You think economies have been crashed because people weren't taxed enough, and there weren't regulations.

Given the wealth was all being produced from the oil in the ground in this case def yes
Click to expand...

Which is ironic, because before Hugo Chavez, Venezuela did have a pretty good economy. Then higher taxes were set in upon the oil companies and the afluent, causing oil companies to go other areas with oil and lower taxes. Not all oil companies left, some stayed, but it's not been enough for the remaining tax revenue to cover the increased government spending for 'the masses.'

And now in recent months, the government has been in dire straights, not even being able to supply it's people with toilet paper and beer, and the President is declaring a state of emergency.

Bernie Sanders supporters love the promises of socialism, but they ignore the fact the same promises have been made over and over again to country after country over the last two centuries, and those promises are never granted. You would think that the means those promises were supposed to gain the desired results...

1. Increased taxation and regulation of 'the rich' and their corporations.
2. Increase the size of government, and control over citizens lives.
3. Control the means of production, distribution, and cost of products.

...were the entire point to begin with. Absolute power.
 
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