Thoughts and facts about the relationship between Venezuela and the United States from a "hands off Venezuela " point of view.
Friday, December 25, 2015
There is an economic war being waged against Venezuela. More than one, actually.
Check out @maduro_en's Tweet: https://twitter.com/maduro_en/status/660287120507019264?s=09
How would you feel if you had a young cousin who lived far away, let's say in Venezuela, and you saved up to go meet your family by marriage and this young man showed kindness and hospitality. You' d probably take a liking to him, his kids and his wife. And would have respected this young man who was feeding his family
by driving a motorcycle taxi, having total strangers hop on the back of his motorcycle often in the dead of night, take them where they want to go, and pray you'll get paid and not slain at the end of every ride, in the country considered to be the second most dangerous in the western hemisphere.
Now, you find out that he's been in an accident. His left leg is a mess. Don't know exactly what got broken or torn, because there was no ambulance, just a police van to take him and his motorcycle home. Where he lives, in a metropolitan area of a million and a half, there's no free public hospital. And unlike 20% of Venezuelans, he can't afford private medical insurance. So now not only he can't get a diagnosis and treatment, he can't feed his kids either. So I want the world to know that this sort of thing happened in the oil rich socialist led country called Venezuela. It annoys me to read or be told that Venezuelans have free medical care. Some do, of varying quality and some do not. President Maduro is my witness.
Check out @SomosChavezSuc's Tweet: https://twitter.com/SomosChavezSuc/status/678185269204512768?s=09
So, imagine, in the run up to the election the government started giving out goodies. Not just taxi rides to the polls but taxis! YUP, brand new cars fitted out to be legal taxis. Now, I just told you the story of a young man who surely could have used one. It looks like at least someone who lives in a district that voted 100 % opposition to the government got two! Cars are like gold in Venezuela right now.
Of course there is economic warfare being waged against Venezuela, several wars, I believe. I follow events in Venezuela closely since I have relatives there through marriage, many who I met during my visit there from November, 2014 till February 2015. I observed inconsistencies between things pro Chavistas believe is reality in Venezuela and the actual reality.
Capitalists are always in an economic war with the working class. In the guise of producer, wholesalers, retailers, speculators, and landlords they're always in economic with consumers, tenants, and each other. The USA and Saudi Arabia have been waging a conscious economic war both against each other and against Venezuela, Iran and Russia. The US has been gearing up quite openly, fracking oil and natural gas at great environmental and public health risk. Also they've been moving to solar, wind and ethanol from home grown corn. Electric cars are becoming more common in California and high milage hybrids are replacing old fashioned gas guzzlets. That petroleum prices were going to go down, at least for an appreciable stretch of time should have surprised no one. Yet Venezuela was caught flat footed, without the ability to make money exporting anything much at all and needing to import almost everything.
I wouldn't call myself a Trotskyist, as Marea Socialista describes itself. Full disclosure : I was a member of Workers World Party (WWP) from 1969 'till 1979. For part of that time I edited the monthly periodical "The Bond" published under the rubric "American Servicemans' Union" which was a paper organizational front of WWP. WWP never during that time publicly declared itself to be "Trotskyist" but internally urged members to read Trotsky's works. But no, I have no axe to grind for or against Trotsky, may he rest in peace.
Though I don't and never did call myself a "Chavista " I've been sympathetic to Chavez the man, and many things he accomplished and many more he tried to accomplish. It hurt me when the up holders of the old pre Chavez regime won the December 6th legislative election. Marrea Socialista along with former cabinet ministers to the late President Chavez as well as the long time Chavista Bolivarian Circles and others have an emergency plan:
Finally, although with difficulties, is opening the debate on the scope, content and consequences of the "economic warfare." In the PSUV congress of economists held in the week of December 14th, debate, although closed, it became public.
A sector experts and leaders overshadowed today , but who enjoy respect in the base of Chavez,questioned the veracity, reality and usefulness of insisting on explanations focus the country's problems and the crisis in the "Economic Warfare ".
Leaders of the likes of Ali Rodriguez Araque , a historic Bolivarian process, former finance minister and head of PDVSA, among other senior officials in the Chavez government, which insists questions with the name of economic warfare to describe the current crisis .
Long from different sectors of the Process has maintained the need to assume the real causes of the crisis, in order to accurately attack. Butthis debate was silenced long time and still try to keep it under seven keys. However, the electoral debacle, has, in a paradoxical way, the positive effect of putting this discussion on the table.
For us, one of the most powerful reasons for the crisis lie in the mafia pattern of capital accumulation at the expense of oil rents , which is being developed in the country, as we have shown in previous studies.
Here again we review, what is the real "economic war".
Embezzlement to the nation, mafia-type primitive accumulation, and diversion of oil dollars.
In a huge effort of independent research, the Research Team Socialist Tide, studied the evolution and inconsistencies, the management of the dollars earned the country over the period 1998 - 2014 as it had done before with the embezzlement occurred once the state received from the oil dollars in the period 1998-2013. [i] [ii]
The sum of these two studies presents a chilling picture that can be said that is not simple administrative corruption. Or to put it another way, administrative corruption is the lubricant with a pattern of mafia accumulation developed that strengthened financial capital, transnational and a new sector of the local bourgeoisie, which can include under the name of Bolibourgeoisie .
The total capital flight and diversion without registration of dollars on the world market obtained by PDVSA reached an astounding $ 475.631.- MM (Four seventy-five thousand six hundred thirty-one million).
Frame. 1 Count of capital flight by imports and financial management illegitimate diversion of oil dollars more .
To give just a few examples of what this number means say that according to the cost of original construction of Line 5 of the Caracas metro , which is not yet completed, with the embezzled amount could have built the line 350 times .
If measured in apartment building who like to acquire new and old rich Venezuelans in Miami , the type,Roberto Rincón [iii] , that figure reached for the purchase of 2 million 500 thousand new house 5/4, 6 bathrooms, parking for 3 cars and park .
But the common people better understand the figure if this sum, compared with imports in 2012, one of the years showing a higher volume in that regard. The embezzlement done so far and has not stopped in September had reached to cover years of imports although the barrel of oil would have been at $ 0 . This is what we're talking about when we talk about Embezzlement to the nation.
How and who associate the formed Bolibourgeoisie
This scam the country, and all Venezuelans, has given rise to a new privileged social sector that developed at an unprecedented speed. In just a decade, the old oligarchy of Amos del Valle , was displaced by star bankers as Escoté and Vargas ... that among many others, make up what is known as Bolibourgeoisie. Data on this sector are public domain and its operations can be followed daily in the press of the country and the countries along the Caribbean Sea. And even beyond the Atlantic.
But this capitalist sector is not engaged in production for domestic consumption or exports. No "work" and not "undertake" not to investigate or invents, does not invest or risk their own capital.Parasite has developed oil revenues for its close relationship with decision makers at the highest state level . And in partnership with multinationals.
The activities that achieves that "primitive accumulation" to make them a "legal" investments are all illegitimate lights, their investments are: from the most illegal as phantom imports companies briefcase maneuvers overbilling and organization of smuggling extraction. To speculative financial manipulation in managing the Nation dollars covering up the sovereign debt and PDVSA.
This emerging bourgeois sector has received illegally or unlawfully , throughout the period MM $ 126,888 (one hundred twenty-six thousand eight hundred eighty-eight million) more than what he got home and Petroleum Income Tax .Needless to say, without the complicity of high government sectors this situation would not have happened.
Table 2. Comparison of estimated dollars used by the State Oil Tax Revenue as embezzlement.
Another source of mafia accumulation: the large state contracts
Although we have not completed the investigation of the sector that is dedicated specifically to contracts with the state, we want to point out what leads us to argue that this Mafia boss, is also given in public procurement, especially the great works.
To demonstrate give an example: The political crisis in Brazil, then bursts or is part of the "discovery" of a mechanism of corruption. It becomes public bribes to access services contracted by the South American oil giant, Petrobras. But the private sector involved and for which he was arrested from his senior management including its president, is the Odebrecht Transnational construction, which is a major contractor of the great works in our country.
Among the works that are done Odebrecht extensions and new lines of the Metro System of Caracas.Will one example to say that should be under the magnifying glass: The original cost of Metro Line 5 was estimated in 2010 at MM $ 1,100 (one thousand one hundred million dollars) but in 2014 this figure amounted to MM $ 3,992 (Three thousand nine hundred ninety-two million dollars), according to the website of Metro de Caracas. Only the geometric increase in the estimated cost necessary to investigate this operation.
The maneuvers imports
Furthermore the collective Social Battle Spearhead , have also proven to be the main recipients of dollars to import during the exchange control are transnational: Automakers, laboratories, food ...
We can not leave out the main country's food packer. And we say packer because of "producer" has little. It has been repeated ad nauseam. For example in a work of Marea Socialista made on the basis of investigations of Spearhead, Juan Garcia leader of MS, as the Polar group shows with all their names, it is one of the top five receiving dollars from the country.
These operations are also involved major banks "Venezuelans", which are operating as international traders of their customers who in many cases are part of the major shareholders of these banks.
This is part of the true "economic war" against the country and against all Venezuelans. The maneuvers of hoarding, price gouging, smuggling of extraction, bachaqueo are simple tactical moves, gears. The background to this dispute is called war for control and distribution of oil dollars of the Nation, which more than a Cayapa War. If it continues to allow this pattern of accumulation in which no apparent complicity of the private and public sector to develop, the people who live on their work will be permanently lost the gains achieved in more than two decades of fighting.
Public and citizen audit Zero Impunity and Public Budget of oil dollars , are some of the measures to settle this structural corruptionthat has become a mafia pattern of capital accumulation.
Weapons to defeat the "Economic War" are primarily political. There is nothing to prevent the national government apply. Or if…?
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