• Venezuela Just Had A 'Let Them Eat Cake' Moment
    18 replies, posted
[quote][B]In Venezuela, a plunge in oil prices, the country's main export, has turned a goods shortage problem into an unmitigated national disaster[/B], but the tragedy seems lost on the country's food minister, Yván José Bello Rojas. [B]Venezuelans can wait in grocery-store lines for days to find products that may not even be on the shelves — this has been the case for over a year[/B]. But when a reporter asked Rojas if he ever waits in lines, he said: "[B]I've been in tons of lines. I went to my favorite sports team's game this weekend, and I had to get in line to get a parking space. I got in line to buy my ticket. And then ... I made a line to get into the stadium. And you know what, I made a line to find my seat. And then you know what," Bello finished with satisfaction, "I went to go buy an arepa ... and I had to wait in line there, too[/B]."[/quote] [quote]Earlier in the seven-minute interview Bello explained the shortage problem was not due to an unbalanced Venezuelan economy manipulated by government price regulation and bloated by government spending, but due to issues with distribution. "[B]The same people can't just go and buy the same products every day," Rojas said matter-of -factly, adding that one person couldn't possibly buy one gallon of milk per day, for example, even if they had the money to do it. "More than anything [the shortage] is a distribution problem because if any government has done their homework on food, it's this Bolivaran government[/B].[/quote] [quote][B]Herrero said that since this interview was released, she has been blocked from government events and received threatening calls demanding that she take the video down[/B]. She took to Twitter to say that under no circumstance would she buckle to government pressure. "Don't waste your time calling to threaten me," she said. "I'm not going to take down the video that hurt the minister of food."[/quote] [quote]Speaking on a visit to Doha on Monday, President Nicolas Maduro stuck to the party line, blaming oil's ruinous price plunge on the global capitalism "of the north." "[B]The capitalism of the world of the north is trying to destroy OPEC, to control sources of energy, to destroy the just prices that we need and have been assimilated by the entire world," said Maduro[/B].[/quote] [URL="http://www.businessinsider.com/venezuela-food-minister-dismiss-shortages-2015-1"]Source: Business Insider[/URL]
Maduro is a fucking loony. OPEC (at least some of its Middle Eastern members) is trying to destroy the 'capitalism' of the west and control the output of oil by selling it cheaper than what the west can produce it at, not the other way around. Why haven't the Venezuelan people overthrown their incompetent government yet?
I like how the way Herrero speaks about; she speaks in a way that elicits the thought of how fishy the Venezuelan government is and she's sticking to her guns [quote=herrero]"Don't waste your time calling to threaten me," she said. "I'm not going to take down the video that hurt the minister of food."[/quote] goodshit herrero
God it's like watching a train wreck and not being able to do anything.
the situation over here is fucking horrible there is a shortage of primary need goods and very much everything else, if you DO manage to find something thats primar for your needs ( food, toilet paper, higiene goods etc ) then its going to be overpriced to the maxium limit becouse the bolivar isnt worth shit ... Right now just to get by i have to work as hard as i can with freelance programming, sell the dollars i make , locally here I really hope that im able to move out of this here either by the end of this year or the first few months of the next one this is no way to live..
[QUOTE=Antdawg;46912560]Maduro is a fucking loony. OPEC (at least some of its Middle Eastern members) is trying to destroy the 'capitalism' of the west and control the output of oil by selling it cheaper than what the west can produce it at, not the other way around. Why haven't the Venezuelan people overthrown their incompetent government yet?[/QUOTE] this year shit will go down *crosses fingers*
Holy shit Venezuela attempts to blame the country's problems on Capitalism. Meanwhile, a Venezuelan Government Minister uses an anecdote about how he has to wait in line to see his little Bourgeoisie Sports Games(this is a textbook example of a "1st World Problem") to liken to how most Venezuelans have to go without their basic necessities. I rather like the title of this thread. For a party that claims to be so adamantly against Capitalism, they sure do a good job of perpetuating class difference and economic inequality throughout the country. [editline]12th January 2015[/editline] [QUOTE=Antdawg;46912560]Why haven't the Venezuelan people overthrown their incompetent government yet?[/QUOTE] Because many of the alternatives are fascists and nationalists backed by the USA, something that most Venezuelans also have no interest in. Most in Venezuela perceive the situation as a choice between the horribly incompetent Chavist Government and returning to an American puppet. Not to say that there [I]aren't[/I] alternatives outside of these two, but these alternatives are not advantageous to the agendas of the Chavists or the Americans so they are obfuscated by the medias of both sides.
[QUOTE=Scurvy;46912688]Holy shit Venezuela attempts to blame the country's problems on Capitalism. Meanwhile, a Venezuelan Government Minister uses an anecdote about how he has to wait in line to see his little Bourgeoisie Sports Games(this is a textbook example of a "1st World Problem") to liken to how most Venezuelans have to go without their basic necessities. I rather like the title of this thread. For a party that claims to be so adamantly against Capitalism, they sure do a good job of perpetuating class difference and economic inequality throughout the country. [editline]12th January 2015[/editline] [/QUOTE] Did you know that in some places people wipe their ass with leaves and their hands? Who needs toilet paper when leaves grow on the trees around you.
[QUOTE=Scurvy;46912688]Holy shit Venezuela attempts to blame the country's problems on Capitalism. Meanwhile, a Venezuelan Government Minister uses an anecdote about how he has to wait in line to see his little Bourgeoisie Sports Games(this is a textbook example of a "1st World Problem") to liken to how most Venezuelans have to go without their basic necessities. I rather like the title of this thread. For a party that claims to be so adamantly against Capitalism, they sure do a good job of perpetuating class difference and economic inequality throughout the country.[/QUOTE] Not to mention Maduro took his entire family on vacation through his new year world (money-begging) tour [url]https://twitter.com/VVperiodistas/status/554399465990553602[/url] lol
[QUOTE=ultra_bright;46912736]Did you know that in some places people wipe their ass with leaves and their hands? Who needs toilet paper when leaves grow on the trees around you.[/QUOTE] Toilet paper grows on the trees around them. Why should they have to use the leaves of the trees instead of the wood pulp?
[QUOTE=Scurvy;46912688]Because many of the alternatives are fascists and nationalists backed by the USA, something that most Venezuelans also have no interest in. Most in Venezuela perceive the situation as a choice between the horribly incompetent Chavist Government and returning to an American puppet. Not to say that there [I]aren't[/I] alternatives outside of these two, but these alternatives are not advantageous to the agendas of the Chavists or the Americans so they are obfuscated by the medias of both sides.[/QUOTE] I'm sorry my friend, people in Venezuela aren't this politically 'aware'. As a venezuelan, I can tell you this is a completely misinformed picture of the situation. Right now, I think there is finally a significantly larger section of the population who wants the current government to leave (before up until Chavez' death it used to be pretty leveled). However there is a good portion of the people who support the current government, even though the terrible economic situation which Venezuela currently faces will change many people's minds probably. There are no 'fascists' or 'nationalists' as alternatives to the ruling party, there is simply a right-wing opposition (made up of many of the old venezuelan political parties, but with plenty of new faces too). Nobody in Venezuela is thinking of "going back to an American puppet government". The government's crackdown on traditional media (TV, radio, Newspapers) has undermined these media and people have flocked to social media (the internet is so far almost completely unregulated) for political discussion and reading news. So in short, the reason why there hasn't been a change in government isn't because it's a choice of "two evils", it's simply because up until recently, the chavez government had large, legitimate support. Now the tables have turned for Maduro in terms of support, it is only a matter of 'when' the change of government will happen. Either venezuelans wait until a revocatory referendum is possible (next year), or overthrow the government... ...There's a good chance the latter will happen this year. [editline]12th January 2015[/editline] also today, influential political leader Henrique Capriles has called for massive movilization of people to the streets in protest of the food crisis [thumb]https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B7LYY2DCEAAQJm4.jpg[/thumb]
[QUOTE=Antdawg;46912560]Maduro is a fucking loony. OPEC (at least some of its Middle Eastern members) is trying to destroy the 'capitalism' of the west and control the output of oil by selling it cheaper than what the west can produce it at, not the other way around. Why haven't the Venezuelan people overthrown their incompetent government yet?[/QUOTE] It's because of an historical reason. The US supported a lot of shit around this region and went sometimes against democratic governments head on just because "Fuck them, won't sell us their bananas at cheap prices, won't get their democracy" And so a tendency to vote anything that screams "ANTI USA. PRO "PEOPLE"" was born. From here stems the Kirchners, Maduro, (in part) Brazilian PT, Correa, etc etc. Plus, the economic viewpoint, unlike in the US where what matters the most is just %PBI growth per year and unemployment, people tend to value more the distribution of wealth -to extremes-, which would be any OCCUPY WALL STREET guy wet dream. Thing is, they value it so fucking much....they end up ignoring other OBVIOUS economic laws and effects....which ends up with them making up explanations such as "There is a warfare between the capital and the people" and "It's an operation from the United States"...which just feeds the cycle even mo
[quote]"The same people can't just go and buy the same products every day," Rojas said matter-of-factly, adding that one person couldn't possibly buy one gallon of milk per day, for example, even if they had the money to do it.[/quote] Looks like Venezuela's government is taking notes from the North Koreans
Back in the day when the 1970s oil crisis was at its worse you used to see Venezuelans coming to island to buy things in quantities, it wasn't weird to see stores accepting bolivars. Crazy how much things have changed, but it was going to happen eventually
[QUOTE=YouWithTheFace.;46914786]Back in the day when the 1970s oil crisis was at its worse you used to see Venezuelans coming to island to buy things in quantities, it wasn't weird to see stores accepting bolivars. Crazy how much things have changed, but it was going to happen eventually[/QUOTE] heh, those were "the days". The 70's economic boom in Venezuela was a period of such richness and excess we like to call it the " 'ta barato, dame dos! " era
[QUOTE=Cutthecrap;46914709]It's because of an historical reason. The US supported a lot of shit around this region and went sometimes against democratic governments head on just because "Fuck them, won't sell us their bananas at cheap prices, won't get their democracy" And so a tendency to vote anything that screams "ANTI USA. PRO "PEOPLE"" was born. From here stems the Kirchners, Maduro, (in part) Brazilian PT, Correa, etc etc. [B]Plus, the economic viewpoint, unlike in the US where what matters the most is just %PBI growth per year and unemployment, people tend to value more the distribution of wealth -to extremes[/B]-, which would be any OCCUPY WALL STREET guy wet dream. Thing is, they value it so fucking much....they end up ignoring other OBVIOUS economic laws and effects....which ends up with them making up explanations such as "There is a warfare between the capital and the people" and "It's an operation from the United States"...which just feeds the cycle even mo[/QUOTE] GDP growth doesn't matter if all of its going toward the top you know, and do remember that the wealth distribution in the US, despite everything, its still LIGHTYEARS ahead of latin america, i'm pretty sure that if wealth distribution was closer to what it is in the US, people wouldn't be nearly as interested in voting left(which is kinda of a trend of nations that are doing well enough), also in brazil at least, PT only got to power after the nearly disastrous FHC government(20% of the population was unemployed, now only 4% is, a massive improvement).
[QUOTE=Wizards Court;46917032]GDP growth doesn't matter if all of its going toward the top you know, and do remember that the wealth distribution in the US, despite everything, its still LIGHTYEARS ahead of latin america, i'm pretty sure that if wealth distribution was closer to what it is in the US, people wouldn't be nearly as interested in voting left(which is kinda of a trend of nations that are doing well enough), also in brazil at least, PT only got to power after the nearly disastrous FHC government(20% of the population was unemployed, now only 4% is, a massive improvement).[/QUOTE] It matters boy. It matters a lot. From where do you want to distribute richness later on? Why would you think Vargas and Peron were able to do what they did with each country? There was an instance of previous GDP accumulation. Remember UK? It has the level of life because it accumulated (it still does) wealth for decades. [QUOTE]its still LIGHTYEARS ahead of latin america, [/QUOTE] And we are light years behind northern africa....which is....good, or bad?
[QUOTE=Scurvy;46912688]Because many of the alternatives are fascists and nationalists backed by the USA, something that most Venezuelans also have no interest in. Most in Venezuela perceive the situation as a choice between the horribly incompetent Chavist Government and returning to an American puppet. Not to say that there [I]aren't[/I] alternatives outside of these two, but these alternatives are not advantageous to the agendas of the Chavists or the Americans so they are obfuscated by the medias of both sides.[/QUOTE] Holy shit you're ignorant. I'm a Venezuelan, born and raised, and currently living here, who has had to stand every single ounce of shit that this government has flung my way. I've had my future and my livelyhood triffled with by imbeciles who think they can run a country by perpetually fueling the hatred caused by the class divide. I've had my family split in two halves by this moronic left/right shit (Every single party here is leftist compared to every other country on the world). I speak in behalf of every Venezuelan I've ever known when I say, nobody wants another dictator, nobody here wants fascism, nobody here is actually a far right extremist, and the ones who are, they are treated just like the walking jokes they are. We are all aware we're a poor country, we're all aware the money has to be better distributed You know who started this whole "fascist and nationalists" shit? Our fascist and nationalist government. Our government that still, to this day, years after Chavez has died, still adores and idolizes him like if he were still running our country. A government that owns and runs the entire country as if it were a single corporation. A government that actively persecutes and incarcerates peaceful protesters, students, dissidents and opposition leaders. A government that justifies all this in the name of Chavez and country. And you know why we haven't kicked these fuckers out? Because of people like you, who think, like you, that the second that we depose these useless, thieving, scum of the earth bureaucrats and throw them into the cages those animals deserve to be in, we'll be immediately invaded by America, "because America", unlike every single other country in recent years who has parted ways with their former, despotic rulers, "because oil". You trust in the third world mentality, you believe that we're cursed by mediocrity and are forever doomed to have awful rulers which we acquired through being mediocre, and thus, you deny to be part of anything, you decline to help us change, you prefer, like Venezuelans tend to say, a "known evil, over an uncertain one", because you know for certain we can't possibly do better. The reason we haven't kicked these fuckers out, is because nobody believes in us, nobody trust us, nobody supports us, and nobody is willing to help us improve. The very few media that accurately conveys the opposition as the better half of Venezuela who would much rather try and change the country rather than continue watching it plummet into hell, can't go through the overwhelming curtain of propaganda and lies that this government has created. Unless we're granted the benefit of doubt by the rest of the world, word will never get out of what we're actually trying to achieve here. Unless the rest of the world starts calling out this government for being the heap of shit it is, Venezuela shall never improve.
[QUOTE=Big Bang;46918016]Holy shit you're ignorant. I'm a Venezuelan, born and raised, and currently living here, who has had to stand every single ounce of shit that this government has flung my way. I've had my future and my livelyhood triffled with by imbeciles who think they can run a country by perpetually fueling the hatred caused by the class divide. I've had my family split in two halves by this moronic left/right shit (Every single party here is leftist compared to every other country on the world). I speak in behalf of every Venezuelan I've ever known when I say, nobody wants another dictator, nobody here wants fascism, nobody here is actually a far right extremist, and the ones who are, they are treated just like the walking jokes they are. We are all aware we're a poor country, we're all aware the money has to be better distributed You know who started this whole "fascist and nationalists" shit? Our fascist and nationalist government. Our government that still, to this day, years after Chavez has died, still adores and idolizes him like if he were still running our country. A government that owns and runs the entire country as if it were a single corporation. A government that actively persecutes and incarcerates peaceful protesters, students, dissidents and opposition leaders. A government that justifies all this in the name of Chavez and country. And you know why we haven't kicked these fuckers out? Because of people like you, who think, like you, that the second that we depose these useless, thieving, scum of the earth bureaucrats and throw them into the cages those animals deserve to be in, we'll be immediately invaded by America, "because America", unlike every single other country in recent years who has parted ways with their former, despotic rulers, "because oil". You trust in the third world mentality, you believe that we're cursed by mediocrity and are forever doomed to have awful rulers which we acquired through being mediocre, and thus, you deny to be part of anything, you decline to help us change, you prefer, like Venezuelans tend to say, a "known evil, over an uncertain one", because you know for certain we can't possibly do better. The reason we haven't kicked these fuckers out, is because nobody believes in us, nobody trust us, nobody supports us, and nobody is willing to help us improve. The very few media that accurately conveys the opposition as the better half of Venezuela who would much rather try and change the country rather than continue watching it plummet into hell, can't go through the overwhelming curtain of propaganda and lies that this government has created. Unless we're granted the benefit of doubt by the rest of the world, word will never get out of what we're actually trying to achieve here. Unless the rest of the world starts calling out this government for being the heap of shit it is, Venezuela shall never improve.[/QUOTE] The Venezuelan government is a heap of shit.
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