05-14-2016, 09:47 PM
*** 15-May-16 World View -- Venezuela economy close to collapse as Maduro orders jailing of factory owners
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
****
**** Venezuela's socialist economy close to a crash
****
![[Image: g160514b.jpg]](http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com/ww2010/g160514b.jpg)
An injured man lies next to national guard members during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday (AFP)
Pity the poor Venezuelan citizen who enjoyed years of free Socialist
giveaways under president Hugo Chávez and more recently president
Nicolás Maduro, and now has to pay for it all, as Chávez's Socialist
paradise faces financial disaster.
The inflation rate in 2015 was 275%, the highest in the world,
and it's continued to surge. The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) estimates that it will reach 720% in 2016, and over 2200%
in 2017.
Maduro's government is drenched in corruption, with officials not
giving a s--t about anyone but themselves. Common staples are in
scarce supply, and citizens have to stand in line to get milk, rice,
flour, ketchup, diapers, and toilet paper. Crime and violence are
becoming rampant. And the fall into hell has been rapid -- 75% of
Venezuelan homes now live in poverty, compared to 27% just two years
ago.
New indignities keep getting piled on, one after the other:
Oh, wait. Maduro has found a solution. He's ordered a 30% increase
in the minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage 30% is sure to cause
even greater super-inflation and even deeper shortages, but logic
never stops a Socialist loon.
Maduro's opposition have collected two million signatures on a
petition to force a recall vote that would remove Maduro from power,
but Maduro has control of the courts and all national agencies. One
of those agencies that Maduro controls is the National Electoral Board
(CNE) which supposed to have certified the signatures a week ago, but
under Maduro's orders they're stalling.
Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles
said on Saturday that if Maduro blocks the recall referendum, then the
country "can explode at any given moment."
Maduro has announced that's calling out the army for military drills
starting on Saturday, to protect the country from "foreign
aggression," meaning the United States. Since the United States has
no plans to invade Venezuela, it's more likely that Maduro will use
the military to attack protestors violently, which is what Socialists
always do to stay in power. Miami Herald and Reuters (11-Apr) and VOA (2-May) and Bloomberg (27-Apr) and VOA (1-May)
****
**** Maduro orders jailing of owners of closed factories
****
As we mentioned above, the country's largest producer of beer has
closed down the last of its four domestic breweries, for lack of the
imported malted barley needed as the principal ingredient. Cerveceria
Polar, the manufacturer, is blaming the problem on Venezuela's
government for not giving the company the dollars it needs to import
supplies.
Venezuelan citizens are only allowed to have inflation-bloated and
increasing worthless currency, the Bolivar. Dollars are tightly
controlled by the government, and have been in particularly short
supply since the price of oil crashed over the last two years.
Cerveceria Polar and other manufacturing firms have been forced to
close their doors because they could import the goods they needed.
Like all good Socialists, president Maduro has a ready solution.
On Friday, Maduro declared a full-scale state of emergency. If a
factory has closed because they were unable to import what they need
to make their products, then Maduro will have the factory seized and
the factory owner jailed.
According to Maduro, the country is facing an "economic war," led by
the United States. BBC and
Fox News and USA Today (8-May)
****
**** Maduro recalls Brazil ambassador over Dilma Rousseff 'coup'
****
Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro recalled his ambassador to
Brazil, Alberto Castelar, following a vote by Brazil's parliament to
suspend president Dilma Rousseff from office and subject her to an
impeachment trial on charges of corruption. The debate in Brazil that
preceded the vote lasted for days, and resulted in wild protests and
fury from both opponents and supporters of Rousseff. Rousseff claims
that the corruption charges are bogus, and many people agree, saying
that Rousseff's real problem is that her left-wing policies have
brought the country to near ruin, though not yet as bad off as
Venezuela.
Maduro claims that the impeachment vote was actually a palace coup
against a democratically elected left-wing government. With Maduro
himself facing a recall petition in Venezuela, he has become an ally
of Rousseff.
There have been a string of coups and attempted coups against mostly
left-wing Latin American leaders in the last decade.
In 2004, there was a coup against Haiti's president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide; in 2008, widespread violence left dozens dead as opposition
groups sought to oust President Evo Morales; in the early hours of
June 28, 2009, the Honduran military kidnapped President Manuel Zelaya
and flew him to Costa Rica; on September 30, 2010, the police and
military kidnapped Ecuador's president Rafael Correa, who eventually
escaped; in June 2012, Peru's left-wing president Fernando Lugo was
impeached and removed from office.
Rousseff is just the latest in this string of "coups." Next in line
is Maduro, unless he completely destroys the democratic process by
ordering the army to use violence against his political enemies.
Reuters and TeleSur TV (Caracas)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chávez,
Cerveceria Polar, Alberto Castelar, Brazil, Dilma Rousseff
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com
- Venezuela's socialist economy close to a crash
- Maduro orders jailing of owners of closed factories
- Maduro recalls Brazil ambassador over Dilma Rousseff 'coup'
****
**** Venezuela's socialist economy close to a crash
****
An injured man lies next to national guard members during a demonstration in Caracas, Venezuela on Wednesday (AFP)
Pity the poor Venezuelan citizen who enjoyed years of free Socialist
giveaways under president Hugo Chávez and more recently president
Nicolás Maduro, and now has to pay for it all, as Chávez's Socialist
paradise faces financial disaster.
The inflation rate in 2015 was 275%, the highest in the world,
and it's continued to surge. The International Monetary Fund
(IMF) estimates that it will reach 720% in 2016, and over 2200%
in 2017.
Maduro's government is drenched in corruption, with officials not
giving a s--t about anyone but themselves. Common staples are in
scarce supply, and citizens have to stand in line to get milk, rice,
flour, ketchup, diapers, and toilet paper. Crime and violence are
becoming rampant. And the fall into hell has been rapid -- 75% of
Venezuelan homes now live in poverty, compared to 27% just two years
ago.
New indignities keep getting piled on, one after the other:
- Beer has become unavailable because the country's largest
brewery shut down for lack of malted barley.
- Get this: Despite the highest inflation rate in the world,
Venezuela can't print any more money because they can't
pay the printing bill. Oh, the irony.
- In order to save power, Maduro ordered that all clocks be
moved ahead one-half hour.
- Also to save energy, Maduro ordered that state employees
work only two days per week.
Oh, wait. Maduro has found a solution. He's ordered a 30% increase
in the minimum wage. Increasing the minimum wage 30% is sure to cause
even greater super-inflation and even deeper shortages, but logic
never stops a Socialist loon.
Maduro's opposition have collected two million signatures on a
petition to force a recall vote that would remove Maduro from power,
but Maduro has control of the courts and all national agencies. One
of those agencies that Maduro controls is the National Electoral Board
(CNE) which supposed to have certified the signatures a week ago, but
under Maduro's orders they're stalling.
Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles
said on Saturday that if Maduro blocks the recall referendum, then the
country "can explode at any given moment."
Maduro has announced that's calling out the army for military drills
starting on Saturday, to protect the country from "foreign
aggression," meaning the United States. Since the United States has
no plans to invade Venezuela, it's more likely that Maduro will use
the military to attack protestors violently, which is what Socialists
always do to stay in power. Miami Herald and Reuters (11-Apr) and VOA (2-May) and Bloomberg (27-Apr) and VOA (1-May)
****
**** Maduro orders jailing of owners of closed factories
****
As we mentioned above, the country's largest producer of beer has
closed down the last of its four domestic breweries, for lack of the
imported malted barley needed as the principal ingredient. Cerveceria
Polar, the manufacturer, is blaming the problem on Venezuela's
government for not giving the company the dollars it needs to import
supplies.
Venezuelan citizens are only allowed to have inflation-bloated and
increasing worthless currency, the Bolivar. Dollars are tightly
controlled by the government, and have been in particularly short
supply since the price of oil crashed over the last two years.
Cerveceria Polar and other manufacturing firms have been forced to
close their doors because they could import the goods they needed.
Like all good Socialists, president Maduro has a ready solution.
On Friday, Maduro declared a full-scale state of emergency. If a
factory has closed because they were unable to import what they need
to make their products, then Maduro will have the factory seized and
the factory owner jailed.
According to Maduro, the country is facing an "economic war," led by
the United States. BBC and
Fox News and USA Today (8-May)
****
**** Maduro recalls Brazil ambassador over Dilma Rousseff 'coup'
****
Venezuela's president Nicolás Maduro recalled his ambassador to
Brazil, Alberto Castelar, following a vote by Brazil's parliament to
suspend president Dilma Rousseff from office and subject her to an
impeachment trial on charges of corruption. The debate in Brazil that
preceded the vote lasted for days, and resulted in wild protests and
fury from both opponents and supporters of Rousseff. Rousseff claims
that the corruption charges are bogus, and many people agree, saying
that Rousseff's real problem is that her left-wing policies have
brought the country to near ruin, though not yet as bad off as
Venezuela.
Maduro claims that the impeachment vote was actually a palace coup
against a democratically elected left-wing government. With Maduro
himself facing a recall petition in Venezuela, he has become an ally
of Rousseff.
There have been a string of coups and attempted coups against mostly
left-wing Latin American leaders in the last decade.
In 2004, there was a coup against Haiti's president Jean-Bertrand
Aristide; in 2008, widespread violence left dozens dead as opposition
groups sought to oust President Evo Morales; in the early hours of
June 28, 2009, the Honduran military kidnapped President Manuel Zelaya
and flew him to Costa Rica; on September 30, 2010, the police and
military kidnapped Ecuador's president Rafael Correa, who eventually
escaped; in June 2012, Peru's left-wing president Fernando Lugo was
impeached and removed from office.
Rousseff is just the latest in this string of "coups." Next in line
is Maduro, unless he completely destroys the democratic process by
ordering the army to use violence against his political enemies.
Reuters and TeleSur TV (Caracas)
KEYS: Generational Dynamics, Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, Hugo Chávez,
Cerveceria Polar, Alberto Castelar, Brazil, Dilma Rousseff
Permanent web link to this article
Receive daily World View columns by e-mail
Contribute to Generational Dynamics via PayPal
John J. Xenakis
100 Memorial Drive Apt 8-13A
Cambridge, MA 02142
Phone: 617-864-0010
E-mail: john@GenerationalDynamics.com
Web site: http://www.GenerationalDynamics.com
Forum: http://www.gdxforum.com/forum
Subscribe to World View: http://generationaldynamics.com/subscribe
