Socialist Venezuela.....feel the Bern

[Sunni Man]

Venezuela is a Bernie Sanders style socialist paradise.

Check it out......you won't be disappointed. .....

 

[Bruce_T_Laney]

Venezuela is a Bernie Sanders style socialist paradise.

Check it out......you won't be disappointed. .....

America will never become like that... Bernie Sanders if elected would only be the President and would not have a Democratic House and most likely not a Democratic Senate, so again it will not happen here even if Bernie is elected...

Also too many people forget States have as much to do with the health of this nation, and the Federal Government can cripple the state economy to a point it will never be like what is on your video...

So as some hide under their blanket fearing a Communist nation is on the rise the reality is America has too far to go to become like Venezuela or Cuba, but don't let me stand in your way in believing it will happen...

 

[RoshawnMarkwees]

Venezuela is a Bernie Sanders style socialist paradise.

Check it out......you won't be disappointed. .....

America will never become like that... Bernie Sanders if elected would only be the President and would not have a Democratic House and most likely not a Democratic Senate, so again it will not happen here even if Bernie is elected...

Also too many people forget States have as much to do with the health of this nation, and the Federal Government can cripple the state economy to a point it will never be like what is on your video...

So as some hide under their blanket fearing a Communist nation is on the rise the reality is America has too far to go to become like Venezuela or Cuba, but don't let me stand in your way in believing it will happen...

What are you talking about? It's already been going on for fifty years. It's called welfare and Great Society. Sanders would expand that to every facet of the country. We'll be fleeing to Canada and then Canada will elect Trump to build a wall on the Canadian/American border to keep Americans out.

 

[LuckyDuck01!]

For the record, Venezuela is a "communist" country, which is different than a democratic socialist country. Communism has socialistic policies, but its government is also totalitarian, thus not allowing other political parties. Europe is an example of democratic socialism. Their grocery stores are not lacking in food and other products, their health care system far exceeds that of the United States and their educational system is also superior to the United States.
That said, personally, I'm a "centrist." I believe in elements of both republican and democratic ideology.

 

[Sunni Man]

Venezuela is Bernie's kind of country.

Long lines to buy a loaf of bread, and it only costs a suitcase full of devalued money. .......

 

[waltky]

Venezuela cuts power to four hours...

Venezuela cuts power to four hours a day to save energy
Fri, 22 Apr 2016 - Venezuela introduces power cuts of four hours a day from next week to deal with a worsening energy crisis.

The cuts will last for 40 days as the country struggles under a severe drought limiting hydroelectric output. It is the latest setback to Venezuela's economy which has been hit by a sharp fall in the price of its main export, oil. The country's main brewer, Polar, also says it will stop production because it has no dollars to buy grain abroad. The company, which produces 80% of the country's beer, says 10,000 workers will be affected by the stoppage.

Announcing the restrictions on Thursday, Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez said the hours of suspension would be published on a daily basis in newspapers and on ministerial websites. He added that the cuts would not happen between 20:00 and midday. Venezuela's energy crisis has been deepening all this year, in February, shopping malls were told to reduce their opening hours and generate their own energy.

Electricity Minister Luis Motta looks at previously submerged land during an inspection at the Guri Dam in Bolivar state, Venezuela​

President Nicolas Maduro has accused the country's business elite of colluding with the US to wreck the economy. He has accused the President of Polar, Lorenzo Mendoza, of being allied to the opposition which now dominates the Venezuelan parliament against him. Many businessmen and opposition politicians blame the energy crisis and shortages of basic goods on government economic mismanagement.

They say tough currency controls introduced in 2003 by the late president, Hugo Chavez have only made this worse. Venezuela's economy is in dire straits, suffering from spiralling inflation, shortages of some basic goods and dwindling revenue from oil. The country's almost exclusive relies on oil, the price of which has fallen sharply.

Venezuela cuts power to four hours a day to save energy - BBC News

 

[OffensivelyOpenMinded]

Boinie Sanduhz. Oy Vey.

 

[waltky]

Why the current crisis in Venezuela?...

What has gone wrong in Venezuela?
Wed, 18 May 2016 - BBC News looks at some of the factors which have led to the current crisis in Venezuela, where President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of emergency.

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro has declared a state of emergency to combat the economic war he says foreign powers and right-wing forces in Venezuela are waging against the Latin American country. Venezuela has the world's highest inflation rate at 180% and there are shortages of basic goods as well as power shortages. Opposition politicians have handed in a petition with 1.85 million signatures asking for a recall referendum to oust President Maduro from power. Here, we look at some of the factors which have led to the oil-rich country's current crisis.

Members of the opposition of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro clash with riot police during a demonstration in Caracas​

Why low oil prices are bad for Venezuela

There is no question that Venezuela is heavily dependent on oil, of which it has the world's largest proven resources. Oil accounts for about 95% of Venezuela's export revenues and was used to finance some of the government's generous social programmes which, according to official figures, have provided more than one million poor Venezuelans with homes. But prices for Venezuelan oil have plummeted. They almost halved from an average of $88 per barrel in 2014 to $45 in 2015. By 13 May 2016, they had fallen to $35 per barrel. The low oil price means that the government does not have the amount of dollars in its coffers it once had. This in turn is a problem because Venezuela's economy is not at all diverse. The country grows and produces very little except oil and has historically relied on imports to feed its people. A lack of dollars means it is struggling to import all the goods its people need and want.

What's behind the shortages?

The fact that the government has fewer dollars at its disposal to import goods is a large part of the problem. But there are also other factors. President Hugo Chavez, who governed Venezuela from 2002 to 2013, introduced price controls on some basic goods in 2003. The idea was to make essential goods affordable for Venezuela's poor. The prices of items such as sugar, coffee, milk, rice, flour and corn oil were capped. Producers complained that the new regulations forced them to operate at a loss. Some refused to provide goods for the government-run stores where the price-controlled goods were sold; others decided to stop producing these goods altogether. The result was that the country became even more reliant on imports.

What's with the long queues?

See also:

Asked about aid, China says Venezuela crisis is domestic matter
May 16, 2016 - An economic crisis in Venezuela is a domestic matter, a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry said on Monday, when asked if the country planned to give aid to the Latin American nation.

The OPEC country, which has received about $50 billion in Chinese financing since 2007, is also struggling with a contracting economy and runaway inflation, following a collapse in oil prices.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has imposed a 60-day state of emergency due to what he called plots by the United States and within his own country to subvert him. "We hope that Venezuela can properly handle their current domestic situation and safeguard the stability and development of the country," said Hong Lei, a spokesman for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He declined to comment specifically on the situation in Venezeula, however.

Investors have long hoped China would provide financial relief, or at least ease the terms of a major loan pact by which Venezuela borrows money and repays in shipments of oil and fuel. The Venezuelan opposition won control of the National Assembly in an election in December, 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. Protests are on the rise and a key poll shows nearly 70 percent of Venezuelans now say Maduro must go this year.

Asked about aid, China says Venezuela crisis is domestic matter

 

[waltky]

Venezuela degenerates into anarchy and mob violence...

Mob burns Venezuelan man alive over $5 as justice fails
May 19,`16 -- The mob didn't know at first what Roberto Bernal had done, but he was running and that was enough.

Dozens of men loitering on the sidewalk next to a supermarket kicked and punched the 42-year-old until he was bloodied and semi-conscious. After all, they had been robbed of cell phones, wallets and motorcycles over the years, and thought Bernal had a criminal's face. Then a stooped, white-haired man trailing behind told them he'd been mugged. The mob went through Bernal's pockets and handed a wad of bills to the old man: The equivalent of $5. They doused Bernal's head and chest in gasoline and flicked a lighter. And they stood back as he burned alive. "We wanted to teach this man a lesson," said Eduardo Mijares, 29. "We're tired of being robbed every time we go into the street, and the police do nothing."

Vigilante violence against people accused of stealing has become commonplace in this crime-ridden country of 30 million, once one of the richest and safest in Latin America. The revenge attacks underscore how far Venezuela has fallen, with the lights flickering out daily, and food shortages fueling supermarket lines that snake around for blocks. The ebbing price of oil has laid bare years of mismanagement. The economy is unraveling, and with it, the social fabric. "Life here has become a misery. You walk around always stressed, always scared, and lynching offers a collective catharsis," Violence Observatory director Roberto Briceno-Leon said. "You can't do anything about the lines or inflation, but for one moment, at least, the mob feels like it's making a difference."

Reports of group beatings now surface weekly in local media. The public prosecutor opened 74 investigations into vigilante killings in the first four months of this year, compared to two all of last year. And a majority of the country supports mob retribution as a form of self-protection, according to polling from the independent Venezuelan Violence Observatory. Amid the general haze of violence, Bernal's killing didn't even stand out enough to make the front pages or provoke comment from local politicians. Venezuela now has one of the highest murder rates in the world, and it's hard to find a person who hasn't been mugged. A quiet man with a muscular build from his time in the army, Bernal lived his whole life in a maze of narrow staircases and cheerfully-painted cinderblock shacks built into the hills above Caracas. This kind of slum is home for about half of Venezuelans, who are bearing the brunt of the country's collapsing economy.

The shantytowns draped over the capital have not seen running water for months, and residents have begun raiding passing trucks for food. Bernal had been out of work, and recently confided in his sisters that he and his wife were struggling to feed their three children. He wanted to find a way to move to Panama. Bernal spent the days before his death presiding over his sister's kitchen, preparing Easter stews and candied passion fruit. He chuckled softly when he won at dominos. His six siblings thought of him as the one who made it, attending a cooking school and becoming a professional chef. He liked to turn on the TV as soon as he got home from work, and would leave the room at the first sign of an argument. Many people who grow up deep in the slums assimilate some parts of street culture, sporting tattoos or jewelry, but not Roberto. "He was so on the straight and narrow, he didn't even have a nickname," his aunt Teresa Bernal said.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Where America will be in a few years if we continue on our socialist path...

Venezuelans pick through trash for food to eat or sell
Jun 8,`16 -- Until recently, Julio Noguera worked at a bakery. But he now spends his evenings searching through the garbage for food.

"I come here looking for food because if I didn't, I'd starve to death," Noguera said as he sorted through a pile of moldy potatoes. "With things like they are, no one helps anyone and no one gives away meals." Across town, unemployed people converge every dusk at a trash heap on a downtown Caracas sidewalk to pick through rotten fruit and vegetables tossed out by nearby shops. They are frequently joined by small business owners, college students and pensioners - people who consider themselves middle class even though their living standards have long ago been pulverized by triple-digit inflation, food shortages and a collapsing currency. Venezuela's poverty had eased during the administration of the late President Hugo Chavez. But a study by three leading Caracas universities found that 76 percent of Venezuelans are now under the poverty line, compared with 52 percent in 2014.

Staples such as corn flour and cooking oil are subsidized, costing pennies at the strongest of two official exchange rates. But fruit and vegetables have become an unaffordable luxury for many Venezuelan families. "We're seeing terrible sacrifices across many sections of society," said Carlos Aponte, a sociology professor at the Central University of Venezuela. "A few years ago, Venezuela didn't have the kind of extreme poverty that would drive people to eat garbage." While some search through the garbage piles for food they can eat, many more are drawn by the opportunity to fetch a few bolivar bills by rescuing and reselling bruised produce. On a recent evening, Noguera managed to retrieve a dozen potatoes. "I'm a trained baker, but right now there's no work anywhere here. So I make do with this," he said.

Pedro Hernandez, left, and his friend Luis Daza, pick up tomatoes from the trash area of the Coche public market in Caracas, Venezuela. At Coche, even once middle class Venezuelans made desperate by the country's economic collapse have taken to sifting through the trash to resell or feed themselves on discarded fruits and vegetables.​

The trash pickers aren't just people who've lost their jobs. Jhosriana Capote, a vocational student, comes to the trash heap to supplement her pantry. She recently completed an internship with a Coca-Cola subsidiary. "I used to be able to find food, but not anymore. Everything is lines," she said after an evening picking through the refuse. Dumpster diving isn't a new phenomenon in Venezuela, but it is a growing one. Venezuela was once the richest nation in South America, but a fall in oil prices combined with other economic problems has sparked desperation. Nearly half of Venezuelans say they can no longer afford to eat three meals a day, according to a recent poll by the local firm Venebarometro. The poll surveyed 1,200 adults at their homes the first week in April and had a margin of error of plus or minus of about 2 percentage points.

The government blames the political opposition, accusing it of waging an "economic war" to stir unrest and oust President Nicolas Maduro from power. The administration has launched an aggressive program to build urban farms in an effort to address food shortages. One recent night, two young girls found some cilantro, lemons and remains of a cabbage in the garbage. Their mother, Monica Espinosa, said the scavenging helps them get by since her husband walked out on the family. Espinosa said she still owns two apartments, but makes ends meet by cooking sauces from the vegetables she finds and selling them to stores, earning about $6 a week. "I'm a single mother with two children, and this is helping me get by," she said.

News from The Associated Press

 

[georgephillip]

Venezuela is a Bernie Sanders style socialist paradise.

Check it out......you won't be disappointed. .....

"Steve Ellner has taught at the Universidad de Oriente in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, since 1977. He is author and editor of a number of books on Venezuela, including the forthcoming Latin America's Radical Left..."

In this 10:20 minute TRNN interview with Sharmini Peries, Ellner explains some relevant Venezuelan details often omitted from corporate news in the US:

Venezuelan Opposition Activates Recall on Maduro's Presidency

"In the case of Venezuela there is something similar going on. A system of exchange controls in which you have this wide disparity over the last couple of years between the official price of the dollar and the black market price of the dollar. That situation lends itself to corruption. [inaud.]–

"PERIES: –And Steve, I must ask you, why isn't that situation being dealt with? I know that various economists have made proposals in terms of the exchange rates that are multi-layered in Venezuela. Why is that situation still lingering?

"ELLNER: Sharmini, my point that I make in conversations and in some of my writing is that there isn't a simple fix. The problem is complex. There's no panacea. The system of exchange controls was established as a result of the general strike of 2002-2003, and there was the threat of capital flight or fight. In fact, capital flight was occurring, and so the government established these exchange controls. In other words, you can't just purchase dollars. You have to justify your use of dollars, and the system worked fairly well.

"You had the official exchange rate at one level and the open market rate more or less twice that of the official rate, and that system worked fairly well up until late 2012 when Chávez was in really bad shape physically. He passed away shortly after that. And at that point, and we don't know exactly what the explanation is, but the official rate was, at that point, two to one. The price of the unofficial dollar shot up, and it's been that way ever since.

"Now, there's no quick fix, because if the government were to eliminate that system you wouldn't have any dollars left in the country. Everybody would take their dollars out of the country."

 

[waltky]

Chaos in Caracas...

Govt supporters storm Venezuela congress, injuring lawmakers
July 5,`17 — Pro-government militias wielding wooden sticks and metal bars stormed congress on Wednesday, attacking opposition lawmakers during a special session coinciding with Venezuela’s independence day.

Four lawmakers were injured and blood was splattered on the neoclassical legislature’s white walls. One of them, Americo de Grazia, had to be removed in a stretcher while suffering from convulsions. “This doesn’t hurt as much as watching how every day how we lose a little bit more of our country,” Armando Arias said from inside an ambulance as he was being treated for head wounds that spilled blood across his clothes. The unprecedented attack, in plain view of national guardsmen assigned to protect the legislature, comes amid three months of often-violent confrontations between security forces and protesters who accuse the government of trying to establish a dictatorship by jailing foes, pushing aside the opposition-controlled legislature and rewriting the constitution to avoid fair elections.

Tensions were already high after Vice President Tareck El Aissami made an unannounced morning visit to the National Assembly, accompanied by top government and military officials, for an event celebrating independence day. The short appearance at the congress by top officials who have repeatedly dismissed the legislators as a band of U.S.-backed conspirators was seen by many as a provocation. Standing next to a display case holding the founding charter, El Aissami said global powers are once again trying to subjugate Venezuela. “We still haven’t finished definitively breaking the chains of the empire,” he said, adding that President Nicolas Maduro’s plans to rewrite the constitution — a move the opposition sees as a power-grab — offers Venezuela the best chance to be truly independent.

Opposition lawmakers brawl with pro-government militias who are trying to force their way into the National Assembly during a special session coinciding with Venezuela’s independence day, in Caracas, Wednesday, July 5, 2017. At least five lawmakers were injured in the attack. Despite the violence, lawmakers later approved a plan by the opposition to hold a symbolic referendum July 16 to give voters the chance to reject President Nicolas Maduro’s plans to draft a new political charter​

After he left, dozens of government supporters set up a picket outside the building, heckling lawmakers with menacing chants and eventually invading the legislature themselves. The siege only lifted after seven nerve-wracking hours when police set up a corridor to allow the hundreds of people trapped inside the legislature, including lawmakers and journalists, to leave. The brazen attack on one of the symbols of Venezuela’s already limping democracy drew widespread international rebuke. “This violence, perpetrated during the celebration of Venezuela’s independence, is an assault on the democratic principles cherished by the men and women who struggled for Venezuela’s independence 206 years ago today,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

Despite the violence, lawmakers approved a plan by the opposition to hold a symbolic referendum on July 16 that would give voters the chance to reject Maduro’s plans to draft a new political charter. Later Maduro condemned the violence, but complained that the opposition doesn’t do enough to control “terrorist attacks” committed against security forces by anti-government protesters. “I will never be an accomplice to acts of violence,” said Maduro during a speech at a military parade. The clash followed Tuesday’s appearance of two short videos by a former police inspector who allegedly stole a helicopter and fired on two government buildings last week.

MORE

See also:

Exclusive: At least 123 Venezuelan soldiers detained since protests - documents
Thu Jul 6, 2017 | At least 123 members of Venezuela's armed forces have been detained since anti-government unrest began in April on charges ranging from treason and rebellion to theft and desertion, according to military documents seen by Reuters.

The list of detainees, which includes officers as well as servicemen from the lower ranks of the army, navy, air force and National Guard, provided the clearest picture to date of dissatisfaction and dissent within Venezuela's roughly 150,000-strong military. The records, detailing prisoners held in three Venezuelan jails, showed that since April nearly 30 members of the military have been detained for deserting or abandoning their post and almost 40 for rebellion, treason, or insubordination. Most of the remaining military prisoners were charged with theft.

Soldiers march during a military parade to celebrate the 206th anniversary of Venezuela's independence in Caracas, Venezuela​

Millions of Venezuelans are suffering from food shortages and soaring inflation caused by a severe economic crisis. Even within the armed forces, salaries start at the minimum wage, equivalent to around $12.50 a month at the black market exchange rate, and privately some members admit to being poorly paid and underfed. Since the opposition started its protests more than three months ago, a handful of security officials have gone public with their discontent. Last week, rogue policeman and action movie star Oscar Perez commandeered a helicopter and attacked government buildings, claiming that a faction within the armed forces was opposed to Maduro's government.

The military documents seen by Reuters, which covered detentions until mid-June, appeared to support opposition leaders' assertions that anger and dissent among soldiers over economic hardship is more widespread. "This shows low morale and discontent and, of course, economic necessity," one former army general said of the detentions, asking not to be named for fear of reprisals. Venezuela's military and Information Ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

A demonstrator throws back a tear gas canister while rallying against Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela​

Venezuelans view the armed forces as the key power broker in their country. Opposition leaders have repeatedly exhorted military leaders to break with socialist President Nicolas Maduro. Maduro has said that he is the victim of an "armed insurrection" by U.S.-backed opponents seeking to gain control of the OPEC country's oil wealth. He has said that the top military brass have been standing by him. The National Guard has been at the forefront of policing protests across the country. It uses tear gas, water cannons, and rubber bullets against masked youths who in turn hurl stones, Molotov cocktails and excrement at security lines. At least 90 people have been killed since April. Privately, some National Guard members on the streets have acknowledged being exhausted, impoverished and hungry, though most remain impassive during protests and avoid engaging in conversation with reporters.

"LITTLE RAMBOS"

 

[blastoff]

I dunno what the problem is in Venezuela. Hugo Chavez's daughter managed to make out quite well under their system. What's wrong with all those other lazy fellow countrymen of hers? Anyone can become a multibillionaire if they'd just work hard at it like she did. And who needs toilet paper when you've got hundred dollar bills?

 

[waltky]

Drivers in oil-rich Venezuela stuck in gasoline lines...

Drivers stuck in gasoline lines in oil-rich Venezuela
Sat, Sep 23, 2017 - Venezuelan drivers are facing growing lines to buy gasoline, despite having the world’s largest oil reserves, adding to the OPEC member’s woes as its refineries sputter and its socialist economic system crumbles.

Lines to buy fuel and shuttered service stations have been intermittent problems for much of this year, most notably outside the capital, Caracas. However, in recent days the problem has worsened, with lines popping up at service stations in Caracas, while drivers in the southern city of Puerto Ordaz were waiting an average of four hours to fill their tanks. “I had an urgent medical appointment, but I had to suspend it because I didn’t have gasoline and the lines are several blocks long,” said Nelly Gutierrez, 35, an accountant. “There’s no medicine, water, Internet and no gasoline. How long is the government going to put us through this?”

State oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) did not immediately respond to a request for comment and the reasons for the apparent dip in supply this week were unclear. However, the country’s refineries are functioning at record lows due to constant outages and insufficient supply of crude resulting from slumping output, union leaders and refinery workers said.

PDVSA, suffering a dramatic cash flow shortage as a result of low oil prices, has struggled to pay for imports of fuel to fill the gap. In most cases, it has resolved major supply disruptions within a few days, although one shortage in March lasted several weeks and affected exports to ally and trading partner Cuba.

Fourteen tankers are waiting in ports in Venezuela and the Caribbean to unload a total 4.2 million barrels of fuel and blending components commissioned by PDVSA, but have not yet done so for lack of payment, according to Thomson Reuters data and shipping sources. PDVSA is forced to prepay its fuel imports because payment delays have led suppliers to halt open credit to the company.

Drivers stuck in gasoline lines in oil-rich Venezuela - Taipei Times

 

[Carl in Michigan]

Venezuela is a Bernie Sanders style socialist paradise.

Check it out......you won't be disappointed. .....

America will never become like that... Bernie Sanders if elected would only be the President and would not have a Democratic House and most likely not a Democratic Senate, so again it will not happen here even if Bernie is elected...

Also too many people forget States have as much to do with the health of this nation, and the Federal Government can cripple the state economy to a point it will never be like what is on your video...

So as some hide under their blanket fearing a Communist nation is on the rise the reality is America has too far to go to become like Venezuela or Cuba, but don't let me stand in your way in believing it will happen...