Saturday, January 02, 2010
Venezuela's New Socialist Man
The week before last President Chavez went on national television to announce a new "socialist" automobile outlet that would presumabely sell cars at a discount and not use capitalist measures on loans, such as requiring a down payment.
Well, the reaction was rapid and quite amazing on one of the governments larger web-sites that allows user comment - Radio YVKE Mundial.
You can see there article on Chavez's comments here.
But its not the article itself that is of so much interest. Read 150 or so comments that follow - a record for that site. In it you will get clear evidence of how much Chavez has raised, or not raised, the consciousness of Venezuelans.
Some examples:
[I almost cried when I read Neizy's please for a car. It seems his son and daughter-in-law desperately need a car to get to and from their jobs - otherwise they could be forced to use public transportion such as a bus, or worse still, the Maracaibo metro. - O.W.]
[The above case shows the need for some out of the box thinking. Seeing as the government can't manage to do anything to reduce crime maybe they should consider giving known criminals preference in getting these socialist cars; the thinking being that way they'll be less inclined to steal other peoples cars. So, for example, all people being released from Venezuelan prisons after serving their sentances should be given free cars. Just a thought - O.W]
[OMG, this person is a doctor and has to take a bus!!! Get her a car, STAT - O.W.]
[yeah, really, even if they are barely making any cars they should at least get their web site working - O.W.]
[Yeah, it really sucks when you can't get free shit from the government because some other asshole, who needs the free shit even less than you do, got it first!! - O.W.]
I'm not posting any more of these comments - it is simply too depressing. Anyone who wants to read more can go to the web-site and read them for themselves.
One final comment. Remember how Chavez berated a government banker from the Bank of Venezuela for requiring down payments to purchase a car?
Well, just think about it. Maybe those morgage brokers at Countrywide, and Citibank, and Bank of American weren't really scum bags trying to make obscene profits while scamming people through "no money down" morgages. Maybe they were just trying to intraduce socialist lending practices to the United States!!
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Well, the reaction was rapid and quite amazing on one of the governments larger web-sites that allows user comment - Radio YVKE Mundial.
You can see there article on Chavez's comments here.
But its not the article itself that is of so much interest. Read 150 or so comments that follow - a record for that site. In it you will get clear evidence of how much Chavez has raised, or not raised, the consciousness of Venezuelans.
Some examples:
wladimir
valencia, venezuela - Viernes, 1 de Ene de 2010. 7:30 pm
BUENAS NOCHES HERMANOS EN QUE PARTE DEL PAIS REALMENTE SE PUEDEN CONSEGUIR ESTOS VEHICULOS............YO QUIERO COMPRAR UN VEHICULO PERO NO BAJO LOS PARAMETROS DE ESTAFA QUE APLICA EL BURGUESISMO CAPITALISTA...................HERMANOS DENLE UNA APURADITA A LA SALIDE DE ESOS VEHICULOS A LA CALLE PARA QUE EL PUEBLO EN GENERAL SE LE ACABE LA ANGUSTIA POR TANTA ESPERA,QUE YA PASA DE AÑOS........MIS RESPETOS Y SALUDOS..........Y VIVA LA REVOLUCION........................
RODOLFO ARCE
CARACAS, VENEZUELA - Viernes, 1 de Ene de 2010. 10:15 am
PATRIA SOCIALISMO O MUERTE
VENCEREMOS ESTO APLICA EN TODOS LOS SENTIDOS ASI QUE COMPAÑEROS UNA VEZ MAS CON ESTE PROYECTO INVOLUCREMOS TODO NUESTRO APOYO CON LA FINALIDAD DE QUE TENGA UN BUEN DESEMPEÑO Y CUMPLA CON LA EXPECTATIVA DE MUCHOS COMPATRIOTAS QUE DESEAMOS ADQUIRIR ESTE BIEN SOCIALISTA
FELICITACIONES HUGO ESPERO QUE LOS DEMAS CUMPLAN CON SU LABOR PARA QUE ESTO SE CONVIERTA EN UNA REALIDAD.
ivàn moreno
mèrida, venezuela - Miércoles, 30 de Dic de 2009. 1:47 pm
deseo tener mi carro para este año 2010 el problema es q tengo sueldo minimo,qisiera sabr si hay chance pa obtener el carro y pagar comodament sin que me perjudique mi sueldo
gregory subero
barcelona, venezuela - Miércoles, 30 de Dic de 2009. 8:48 am
ES UNA MARAVILLOSA IDEA DIOS BENDIGA AL PRESIDENTE YO TENGO UN CATANARE Y AÑO 81 Y QUIERO CAMBIARLO MEDIANTE UN CREDITO POR FAVOR DIGANME LOS REQUISITOS AQUI EN BARCELONA Y PTO. LA CRUZ HAY MUCHA ESPECULACION FELICITO AL GOBIERNO POR ESTA INICIATIVA "PATRIA SOCIALISMO O MUERTE VENCEREMOS"
Neizy
Maracaibo, Venezuela - Martes, 29 de Dic de 2009. 11:26 pm
Felicitaciones al gobierno del presidente Chávez y el ministro Samán por tan noble iniciativa. Desearía conocer los requisitos para que mi hijo pueda optar a un carro; ya que fuimos víctimas del robo del anterior y con el dinero que entregó el seguro sólo pudimos comprar un carro de segunda mano que ya no ofrece seguridad. Lo necesita para ir a su trabajo y llevar a su esposa al trabajo de ella. Gracias.
[I almost cried when I read Neizy's please for a car. It seems his son and daughter-in-law desperately need a car to get to and from their jobs - otherwise they could be forced to use public transportion such as a bus, or worse still, the Maracaibo metro. - O.W.]
JOSE BASTARDO
MATURIN, VENEZUELA - Martes, 29 de Dic de 2009. 4:05 pm
TENGO UN HIJO EN CONDICIONES ESPECIALES, Y EL AÑO PASADO (2008) FUI VICTIMA DE UN ATRACO A MANO ARMADA DONDE PERDI MI VEHICULO, Y PARA REMATAR EL SEGURO SE NEGO A PAGARMELO, EL CASO ESTA EN EL INDEPABIS Y EN LOS TRIBUNALES DE LA REPUBLICA, (SIN RESPUESTA)NECESITO SABER COMO HAGO PARA ADQUIRIR UN VEHICULO SOCIALISTA, TENGO CONSTANCIA DE TODO LO DESCRITO ANTERIORMENTE. SR. PRESIDENTE
GRACIAS POR EL APOYO QUE BRINDA A LOS DESAMPARADOS POR LAS LEYES.
PATRIA, SOCIALISMO O MUERTE VENCEREMOS!
[The above case shows the need for some out of the box thinking. Seeing as the government can't manage to do anything to reduce crime maybe they should consider giving known criminals preference in getting these socialist cars; the thinking being that way they'll be less inclined to steal other peoples cars. So, for example, all people being released from Venezuelan prisons after serving their sentances should be given free cars. Just a thought - O.W]
Johana Ramonez
Valencia,29/12/2009, Venezuela - Martes, 29 de Dic de 2009. 2:00 pm
Hola gusto en saludar a todos. estoy interesada en conocer los pasos y requisitos para optar por uno de los vehiculos socialistas, quiero saber si hay que tener cuenta en el banco venezuela y a donde tengo que ir para obtener la informacion. Necesito un vehiculo para trasladarme a mi sitio de trtabajo y llevar a mi hija a su lugar de estudios. Espero su pronta respuesta y gracias por pensar en nosotros los Venezolanos....Patria Socialismo o Muerte......Venceremos
MARITZA GONZALEZ
valencia, Venezuela - Martes, 29 de Dic de 2009. 1:55 pm
TENGO UNA HIJA MEDICO, VIAJA TODOS LOS DIAS DE VALENCIA A PTO CABELLO COMO PASAJERA. QUISIERAMOS SABER COMO LOGRAR ADQUIRIR UN VEHICULO SOCIALISTA Y DIGO SOCIALISTA PORQUE EL MISMO NO SOLO BENEFICIARIA A MI HIJA SI NO TAMBIEN A DOS COMPAÑERAS QUE SIEMPRE ANDAN CON ELLA. SI ALGUIEN PUEDE DARME UNFORMACION SE LE AGRADECERE INFINITAMENTE.GRACIAS
[OMG, this person is a doctor and has to take a bus!!! Get her a car, STAT - O.W.]
carolina
Maracaibo, Venezuela - Martes, 29 de Dic de 2009. 1:42 am
buenas noches... estuve visitando la pagina de venirauto y a los links que le hice clip no abrieron que pasa todavia esta en mantenimiento? y otra pregunta yo me registre cuando la pag abrio en el 2007... dice asi
Esta recibiendo este correo porque se ha registrado
en nuestra seccion de clientes http://www.venirauto.com/clientes/registro
Este correo confirmara su dirección de correo y activara su cuenta.
Puede accesar a su cuenta por la dirección http://www.venirauto.com
que hago con esto??
[yeah, really, even if they are barely making any cars they should at least get their web site working - O.W.]
Amarili Carrizo Vazquez
La Quebrada, Edo. Trujillo., Venezuela - Lunes, 28 de Dic de 2009. 11:48 pm
FELICITACIONES PRESIDENTE, por esta excelente politica, pensada para nosotros los de menos recursos. Es un paso para atacar el capitalismo que nos esta matando . SUGERENCIA: Para la adjudicación de estos vehículos se deberia investigar si el solicitante no tiene mas autos, ya que son muchos los vivos que acaparan y NO dejan para el que en realidad lo necesita. Deseo saber cuales son los tramites para adquirir uno de estos autos ya que lo necesito para trasladarme hasta mi trabajo. VIVA CHAVEZ
[Yeah, it really sucks when you can't get free shit from the government because some other asshole, who needs the free shit even less than you do, got it first!! - O.W.]
I'm not posting any more of these comments - it is simply too depressing. Anyone who wants to read more can go to the web-site and read them for themselves.
One final comment. Remember how Chavez berated a government banker from the Bank of Venezuela for requiring down payments to purchase a car?
Well, just think about it. Maybe those morgage brokers at Countrywide, and Citibank, and Bank of American weren't really scum bags trying to make obscene profits while scamming people through "no money down" morgages. Maybe they were just trying to intraduce socialist lending practices to the United States!!
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
No good numbers here
The Venezuelan Central Bank came out with its year end report. While it is not the very comprehensive report that comes out around May of the following year it does provide some interesting preliminary data. Please keep in mind these numbers are estimates and will change when the final numbers are released in February.
The full report can be read here.
I won't go over the full report but here are the key numbers:
Overall growth for 2009 was a negative 2.9%. Despite what some predicted, Venezuela definitely went into a recession and is likely still in one even as other countries around the world recover.
As stands to reason based on the country having such an overvalued currency, and as I have consistently predicted would happen, the tradables sector got hit the worst with mining down over 10% and manufacturing down 7.2%.
Some commentors would dismiss the above saying that it doesn't matter as the government is concentrating on agriculture.
That may be, but they are clearly failing there too. The sector that includes agriculture grew .1% in 2009. Make sure you read that right - it didn't grow ONE percent, it grew ZERO POINT ONE PERCENT. Clearly agriculture is flat on its back (again likely due to an overvalued currency and insufficient investment among other things) and is not going to rescue the Venezuelan economy.
Consumption fell by 1.8% with private consumption falling by more than that. Brute capital formation (which can maybe be sort of taken as a proxy for investment) fell by 7.6%. Last year it fell by 3.3%. So that is now two years in a row where that is down.
Unemployment averaged .6% higher in 2009 than in 2008. That is probably the least bad number in the entire report.
Imports were down from $49 billion to $38 billion. But exports dropped even more - from $95 billion to $61 billion. So the trade balance, which stayed positive, dropped from a surplus of $37 billion to $12 billion.
BTW, non oil exports were cut in half from $6 billion to $3 billion.
The only important numbers that I couldn't find in the report was on the countries debt. Based on everything we have seen during the year that likely increased sharply.
In sum, not a good year at all for Venezuela. And this with oil actually doing better than predicted. Just goes to show how bad policies can really mess you up.
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The full report can be read here.
I won't go over the full report but here are the key numbers:
Overall growth for 2009 was a negative 2.9%. Despite what some predicted, Venezuela definitely went into a recession and is likely still in one even as other countries around the world recover.
As stands to reason based on the country having such an overvalued currency, and as I have consistently predicted would happen, the tradables sector got hit the worst with mining down over 10% and manufacturing down 7.2%.
Some commentors would dismiss the above saying that it doesn't matter as the government is concentrating on agriculture.
That may be, but they are clearly failing there too. The sector that includes agriculture grew .1% in 2009. Make sure you read that right - it didn't grow ONE percent, it grew ZERO POINT ONE PERCENT. Clearly agriculture is flat on its back (again likely due to an overvalued currency and insufficient investment among other things) and is not going to rescue the Venezuelan economy.
Consumption fell by 1.8% with private consumption falling by more than that. Brute capital formation (which can maybe be sort of taken as a proxy for investment) fell by 7.6%. Last year it fell by 3.3%. So that is now two years in a row where that is down.
Unemployment averaged .6% higher in 2009 than in 2008. That is probably the least bad number in the entire report.
Imports were down from $49 billion to $38 billion. But exports dropped even more - from $95 billion to $61 billion. So the trade balance, which stayed positive, dropped from a surplus of $37 billion to $12 billion.
BTW, non oil exports were cut in half from $6 billion to $3 billion.
The only important numbers that I couldn't find in the report was on the countries debt. Based on everything we have seen during the year that likely increased sharply.
In sum, not a good year at all for Venezuela. And this with oil actually doing better than predicted. Just goes to show how bad policies can really mess you up.
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Sunday, December 27, 2009
If only bombast could be converted to something useful.
At the environmental summit in Copenhagen Amy Goodman of Democracy Now did a very brief interview of President Chavez. A transcript can be found here while the video is here.
In the interview Chavez doesn't actually say anything that is worth while. Still, there is something to be observed and commented upon so lets have a look at part of it:
Well, certainly global warming is not the fault of Venezuela (and surprisingly Chavez didn't take credit for helping inflate the price of oil and thereby reduce its consumption) but his statement calls for a very strong warning of be careful what you wish for. After all, Chavez has done essentially nothing to make Venezuela's economy less dependent on oil revenues so if oil were to be rendered obsolete it wouldn't be a pretty picture in his country.
Ok, so much of the world very seriously debates how much they are willing to cut back on emissions (predictably the U.S. and China suck on this) and Chavez comes out with the flippant and asinine remark of a 100% cutback.
Sure, that is a really meaningful goal at the moment!! Are Venezuelan scientists about to announce a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion rendering oil, coal, and natural gas obsolete? Somehow I don't think so. And this coming from a country whose emissions are going up, that recently broke records for automobile sales, that gives away gasoline practically for free, and that according to some sources has the highest per capita emissions in Latin America.
Quite frankly, these comments are simply insulting to the person who asked the question and to anyone who might be listening to his answer - but more on this in a moment.
So he really wants to emulate Cuba's "jinatera socialism"? If so, then I am not so sure most Venezuelans agree with his choice of roll models.
Moreover, he never does explain why socialism would somehow automatically lead to less emissions than capitalism - unless of course he means complete economic stagnation for decades on end as we have seen in Cuba.
Then he went on to say some at least half way coherent things - only because he said Obama sucks, and as it turns out, Obama really does suck.
After reading this silliness uttered by Chavez you are probably wondering how this merits commenting on. And the truth is that in and of itself it doesn't.
However, this is completely representative of Chavez's outlandish, and ultimately hollow and meaningless, rhetoric that one of these days some of his adulators should call him on.
He was asked a serious question - how much should emissions be reduced? And he gave a stupid and meaningless answer that simply wastes everyones time.
Just as when asked about how the economic crisis would effect Venezuela he said it wouldn't - that Venezuela was "blindado". Or just as any of his fanciful statements about pipelines and railroads crisscrossing South America. Or his empty rhetoric about constructing "socialism" in Venezuela.
Having pointed out these tendencies a number of times before I've often been told "but he is speaking figuratively".
Ok, sure, everyone speaks figuratively, occasionally.
But that isn't the problem with Chavez - the problem with Chavez is that these literally absurd statements are pretty much the norm in his speaking.
And to make a bizarre tendency even worse this has serious repercussions for Venezuela.
Chavez and his advisers constantly lie to Venezuelans about the state of the country's economy which means that festering problems are ignored and when bad events come along Venezuelans don't understand why those things are happening.
Chavez and his advisers consistently refuse to educate people about important matters - such as, for example, the effects of giving away billions of dollars of gasoline for free. Remember when a year and a half ago we were told that gasoline prices couldn't be increased because the population had to be educated on the issue first? Ok, anyone seen a significant education campaign on that topic? I didn't think so.
Chavez berates Venezuelans for the consumerist tendencies but then carries out economic policies that favor those tendencies and even berates banks for not expanding consumer credit for people to purchase cars.
Sadly, this at best wasteful and at worst self destructive discourse continues.
Yet no one in his ranks calls him on it. I guess that is what happens when you are left with nothing but sycophants and people who don't want to jeopardize their paychecks.
So instead of getting the useful and practical speech of a leader that would help a poor country solve some of the many problems it suffers from we get unending bombast.
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In the interview Chavez doesn't actually say anything that is worth while. Still, there is something to be observed and commented upon so lets have a look at part of it:
Amy Goodman: You sell more oil to the United States than any country but Canada. Your economy depends on oil, yet you are here at a climate change summit. What’s your proposal?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] The problem is not the oil, but what they do with the oil. The United States is the biggest spender of oil and of all the planet resources. Oil is a very valuable resource for life—electric heaters. We must transition ourselves to a post-oil era. And that’s what we must discuss, searching and developing new sources of energy. And that requires scientific research. That requires investment. And the developed countries must be the ones to assume this responsibility first.
Well, certainly global warming is not the fault of Venezuela (and surprisingly Chavez didn't take credit for helping inflate the price of oil and thereby reduce its consumption) but his statement calls for a very strong warning of be careful what you wish for. After all, Chavez has done essentially nothing to make Venezuela's economy less dependent on oil revenues so if oil were to be rendered obsolete it wouldn't be a pretty picture in his country.
Amy Goodman: What level of emissions are you willing to support reductions of emissions?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] One hundred percent. One hundred percent. We must reduce the emissions 100 percent. In Venezuela, the emissions are currently insignificant compared to the emissions of the developed countries. We are in agreement. We must reduce all the emissions that are destroying the planet. However, that requires a change in lifestyle, a change in the economic model: we must go from capitalism to socialism. That’s the real solution.
Ok, so much of the world very seriously debates how much they are willing to cut back on emissions (predictably the U.S. and China suck on this) and Chavez comes out with the flippant and asinine remark of a 100% cutback.
Sure, that is a really meaningful goal at the moment!! Are Venezuelan scientists about to announce a major breakthrough in nuclear fusion rendering oil, coal, and natural gas obsolete? Somehow I don't think so. And this coming from a country whose emissions are going up, that recently broke records for automobile sales, that gives away gasoline practically for free, and that according to some sources has the highest per capita emissions in Latin America.
Quite frankly, these comments are simply insulting to the person who asked the question and to anyone who might be listening to his answer - but more on this in a moment.
Amy Goodman: How do you throw away capitalism?
President Hugo Chavez: [translated] The way they did it in Cuba. That’s the way. The same way we are doing in Venezuela: giving the power to the people and taking it away from the economic elites. You can only do that through a revolution.
So he really wants to emulate Cuba's "jinatera socialism"? If so, then I am not so sure most Venezuelans agree with his choice of roll models.
Moreover, he never does explain why socialism would somehow automatically lead to less emissions than capitalism - unless of course he means complete economic stagnation for decades on end as we have seen in Cuba.
Then he went on to say some at least half way coherent things - only because he said Obama sucks, and as it turns out, Obama really does suck.
After reading this silliness uttered by Chavez you are probably wondering how this merits commenting on. And the truth is that in and of itself it doesn't.
However, this is completely representative of Chavez's outlandish, and ultimately hollow and meaningless, rhetoric that one of these days some of his adulators should call him on.
He was asked a serious question - how much should emissions be reduced? And he gave a stupid and meaningless answer that simply wastes everyones time.
Just as when asked about how the economic crisis would effect Venezuela he said it wouldn't - that Venezuela was "blindado". Or just as any of his fanciful statements about pipelines and railroads crisscrossing South America. Or his empty rhetoric about constructing "socialism" in Venezuela.
Having pointed out these tendencies a number of times before I've often been told "but he is speaking figuratively".
Ok, sure, everyone speaks figuratively, occasionally.
But that isn't the problem with Chavez - the problem with Chavez is that these literally absurd statements are pretty much the norm in his speaking.
And to make a bizarre tendency even worse this has serious repercussions for Venezuela.
Chavez and his advisers constantly lie to Venezuelans about the state of the country's economy which means that festering problems are ignored and when bad events come along Venezuelans don't understand why those things are happening.
Chavez and his advisers consistently refuse to educate people about important matters - such as, for example, the effects of giving away billions of dollars of gasoline for free. Remember when a year and a half ago we were told that gasoline prices couldn't be increased because the population had to be educated on the issue first? Ok, anyone seen a significant education campaign on that topic? I didn't think so.
Chavez berates Venezuelans for the consumerist tendencies but then carries out economic policies that favor those tendencies and even berates banks for not expanding consumer credit for people to purchase cars.
Sadly, this at best wasteful and at worst self destructive discourse continues.
Yet no one in his ranks calls him on it. I guess that is what happens when you are left with nothing but sycophants and people who don't want to jeopardize their paychecks.
So instead of getting the useful and practical speech of a leader that would help a poor country solve some of the many problems it suffers from we get unending bombast.
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