Venezuela has fallen/been pushed over the cliff.

[Patriot Guard Rider]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10027833155

cali (111,491 posts)

Venezuela has fallen/been pushed over the cliff.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a sweeping crackdown Saturday under a new emergency decree, ordering the seizure of paralyzed factories, the arrest of their owners and military exercises to counter alleged foreign threats. The embattled leftist is struggling to contain a raging economic crisis that has led to food shortages, soaring prices, riots, looting and vigilante justice, pushing Venezuela to the brink of collapse. He accused the United States on Friday of destabilizing the country at the behest of the "fascist Venezuelan right," prompting him to declare a state of emergency.

<snip>
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/maduro-orders-seizure-of-closed-venezuela-factories-jailing-of-owners/ar-BBt3bLI?ocid=iehp

AngryAmish (24,013 posts)
1. That is a mistranslation.

Star Member msanthrope (33,862 posts)
7. Thread win on the first reply. Nt

Star Member malaise (140,709 posts)
2. Pushed over the cliff is correct

Reminds me of the sabotage in Jamaica in the late 70s/early 80s.

Star Member msanthrope (33,862 posts)
8. If you have proof that Maduro is a CIA plant, then, yes. Nt

 

Star Member FLPanhandle (6,153 posts)
3. No one pushed Venezuela off the cliff, they jumped.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of Economics 101 knows that Venezuela implemented the most stupid and self destructive economic decisions of any country in SA.

As their self inflicted wounds began to mount, Maduro kept making things worse by implementing even dumber restrictions.

Factories have gone out of business because they can't import parts throwing millions out of work, asinine fixed currency conversion (at multiple tiers benefiting those in power), destroyed trade, international companies were seized and then abandoned when the government found their own rules made them untenable, etc., etc. etc.

If the Obama administration wanted Venezuela off a cliff, then the best strategy was sit back with cold drink and watch Maduro do their work for them.

Star Member PufPuf23 (5,047 posts)
5. Anyone recall this?

Also recall that there was a failed USA backed coup in 2002 followed by a USA backed oil strike in 2003? Rumsfeld called Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador the western hemisphere's axis of evil? USA NGOs NED and USAID supported un-democratic challenges to the elected Venezuelan government until they were asked to leave. Same old story.

I am not a Chavez lover so don't call me that but the USA has not been what one could call friendly and supportive regards Venezuela.

Poor Venezuelan people.

By Brett Wilkins, Digital Journal

09 February 13

Baltimore - For the eighth straight year, Venezuela's state oil company is donating free heating oil to hundreds of thousands of needy Americans.

The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program has helped more than 1.7 million Americans in 25 states and the District of Columbia keep warm since it was launched back in 2005. The program is a partnership between the Venezuelan state oil company Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), its subsidiary CITGO and Citizens Energy Corporation, a nonprofit organization founded by former US Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy II that provides discounted and free home heating services and supplies to needy households in the United States and abroad. It has been supported from the beginning by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

In 2005, a pair of devastating hurricanes, Katrina and Rita, led to dwindling oil supplies and skyrocketing fuel costs. Some of the poorest and most vulnerable Americans, including many elderly people on fixed incomes, found themselves having to choose between heating their homes or providing food, clothing or medicine for themselves and their families. Since that first winter, CITGO has provided 227 million gallons of free heating oil worth an estimated $465 million to an average of 153,000 US households each year. Some 252 Native American communities and 245 homeless shelters have also benefited from the program. This winter, more than 100,000 American families will receive Venezuelan aid. With the US government estimating that households heating primarily with oil will pay $407 (19 percent) more this year than last, the program remains an invaluable helping hand to many needy Americans.

Last year, President Barack Obama and Congress reduced Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding by 25 percent, cutting off an estimated one million US households from desperately needed assistance just as winter's worst chill, accompanied by record heating oil prices, set in. Fortunately, the CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program was able to assist an estimated 400,000 Americanslast year.

More at: http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/324-100/15947-venezuela-donates-free-heating-oil-to-100k-needy-us-households

Star Member COLGATE4 (10,160 posts)
6. Yep. Chavez' gratuitous ploy to gain support in the US by sending heating oil

to the Northeast. Another $465 million he threw away trying to garner support instead of investing it to the benefit of the Venezuelan people.

So, would you support a President Trump who wants to invest money in the AMERICAN people instead of the world?

Star Member COLGATE4 (10,160 posts)
13. Interesting. But it says nothing about 18 years of complete and total incompetence by Chavez

and followers, running a thriving economy into the ground. They didn't need any help from the US to do it - they managed just fine by themselves. Chavez threw billion upon billions of dollars away, striving to buy political support for his dreams of a new Bolivarian group. All of these billions which should have been spent in modernizing the petroleum sector - as well as the electric sector were instead thrown into grandiose projects that had no chance of becoming reality (see the article about China's failed 300 mile 'bullet train'in the Venezuelan outback or just simply skimmed off by political insiders. PDVSA (the State Petroleum Agency) which had before been a model for all of Latin America turned into a safe haven for Chavez supporters who knew nothing about the petroleum industry but did know how to support Chavez. And when the fools' gold of $100 a barrel oil finally collapsed Chavez's unfortunately picked successor didn't have a clue as to what to do. We now see the end result of his fruitless Presidency - currency devalued to at least 1000Bs per dollar. Shortage of basic foodstuffs, medicines and pharmaceuticals. Venezuelans unable to buy international airline tickets because they must be paid for in dollars. Same for cell phone service. Businesses failing because they can't get dollars to import the basic material needed to manufacture the end products. And npw facing a plebescite for his removal from office Maduro has decided to rule by Emergency Decree, nationalizing the few major companies that hadn't already been nationalized and calling up military maneuvers to cope with the coming Yanqui invasion.

Paragraphs are your friend.

Much more at the link.

[thundley4]

Socialism only fails under the evil pressure from outside capitalist dog regimes. 

[67 Rover]

Sounds bad but they did not have a Bernie Sanders to make Socialism work.  This time for sure! 

[Patriot Guard Rider]

Sounds bad but they did not have a Bernie Sanders to make Socialism work.  This time for sure! 

Yup, OUR socialists know how it's supposed to be done. They're Democratic Socialists dontchaknow.

By the way, did you see Maduro instituted Directive 10-289?

[USA4ME]

Venezuela is sitting on top of more oil than the Saudi's, Chavez misuses the income he claimed was for the people on things for himself and his cronies, and somehow to the primitives it's Bush's fault.

 

The crazy just never ends. Impossible for them to blame their own failed ideology even when it's hits them in the face. We conservatives are being too nice. Maybe other things need to hit them in the face.

.

[I_B_Perky]

Hey dummies? This is what you want for America.  People like me will survive. People like you will die.  Any questions?

[GOBUCKS]

They need a Bureau of Economic Planning and National Resources.

[98ZJUSMC]

The crazy just never ends. Impossible for them to blame their own failed ideology even when it's hits them in the face. We conservatives are being too nice. Maybe other things need to hit them in the face.

.

Yeah, it's impossible.  The lure of free shit, overcomes common sense and destroys the ability to rationalize demonstrated failure correctly, every time, with these infants.  The only possible answers are:  Bush, Reagan, Capitalism or, all three .... in no particular order.

[Big Dog]

Yup, OUR socialists know how it's supposed to be done. They're Democratic Socialists dontchaknow.

By the way, did you see Maduro instituted Directive 10-289?

Yes, he did. I plan to talk about that very thing tomorrow night on the ray-de-oh.

[jb2u11]

It amazes me that there are people who can twist their way into defending what has happened down there. 

[Karin]

I remember the days on DU when you couldn't say anything bad about "Ven."  The others would jump down your throat and say "at least he's providing food to his people!"  Right.  A sack of beans every other month maybe.

[jukin]

There is one huge success story out of VZ. Hugo's daughter has over $4.5 billion in overseas banks.

So there is that.

Also, millions of poor people haven't died........yet.

[nomad54]

Sounds bad but they did not have a Bernie Sanders to make Socialism work.  This time for sure! 

Lol.   

Oh, wait, a surprising chunk of our population actually thinks this, not so funny after all.