tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post4289492183807774558..comments2024-03-26T00:37:34.943+01:00Comments on Venezuela News And Views: Diary of Venezuelan businesses demiseDanielhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-30778386434547401012016-07-25T21:00:54.363+02:002016-07-25T21:00:54.363+02:00Half the stuff mentioned exists in other countries...Half the stuff mentioned exists in other countries, the purpose of laws like LOPCYMAT (which happens to exist since 1986 but was never enforced) and LOCTI is pretty standard in most developed countries, it's just poorly implemented here.<br /><br />I'm assuming when you say thugs you're talking about colectivos and such, no argument there, that definitely serves to show the dark side of the chavismo.<br /><br />I don't think Venezuela was victim of a Cuban masterplan any more than it suffered the missteps of a poor opposition, which BTW failed so hard because it's early core just wasn't used to not holding constitutional power nor did they start to understand chavismo until it was too late.<br /><br />Raúlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02054517704956163564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-78794446334251729842016-07-15T07:39:48.207+02:002016-07-15T07:39:48.207+02:00Total control of the economy is, I think, what Dan...Total control of the economy is, I think, what Daniel identifies as the cause of the failure of the Venezuelan administration. When things don't work out these guys bring in even more controls (of price, production, distribution, currency, education, medicine, etc). This is what socialists/communists believe in. Corruption is just the tropical flavor, not the cause. Antoniohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09796338192588924400noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-7960068587713112132016-07-13T17:06:27.811+02:002016-07-13T17:06:27.811+02:00Yesterday, Maduro made the military responsible fo...Yesterday, Maduro made the military responsible for food deliveries, according the the news.William Hubschwerlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00982230953460314441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-51931384420097004342016-07-13T05:41:09.739+02:002016-07-13T05:41:09.739+02:00When you do the stuff Daniel mentions above you ar...When you do the stuff Daniel mentions above you are not incompetent you are determined to destroy all successful business. When you arm the thugs after you already control the country and allow prisoners to carry guns you clearly are set on destroying all relavence of civility. Whether the govt is incompetent or not it has set out to acheive exactly what it has. Once anyone with fight in them has left, is dead or in jail the remainimg sheep will happily accept a Cuban life style. And the worse part is even most of the educated are chalking it up to incompetence and corruption and missing the real Cuban masterplan. In the end Cuba has a much bigger drug empire, has oil revenue and all that helped keeps their stolen wealth.Canadian Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04392005954549946976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-54116035745903963492016-07-12T19:22:11.988+02:002016-07-12T19:22:11.988+02:00What I admire in you is your sense of perspective,...What I admire in you is your sense of perspective, of finding links where there are none, or refusing to have your ideas swayed by the environment, of not letting facts and history and context trouble you.Danielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12128609182544333477noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-47940459238632586782016-07-12T03:04:18.404+02:002016-07-12T03:04:18.404+02:00Also the current environment will sort out the lio...Also the current environment will sort out the lions from the sheep. Once all lions are jailed or left the country all that will be left is the spineless sheep who will gleefully accept a Cuban way of life.Canadian Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04392005954549946976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-42510735743086027272016-07-11T21:45:15.002+02:002016-07-11T21:45:15.002+02:00I pretty much agree with most of what you say, but...I pretty much agree with most of what you say, but despite all my hatred towards chavismo, I don't necessarily think the broken country we have now is the end product of Chavez's malice, but the incompetence of the regime as a whole.<br /><br />All the complex legislation we have here is something you see in every normal European, just poorly implemented. Corruption has been our demise, especially because in many ways chavismo is a new governing that was not used to power as the old guard from "la cuarta", When you couple that with the unprecedented amount of oil income hcavismo has seen, corruption looks even worse.<br /><br />Also, as a 27 year old I will always blame a clueless opposition for "awakening the monster", Chavez was controversial before 2002, but the coup really turned him nuts and made him wanna hold on to power even more. Legislation before 2002 was different, but not bad per se, this is shown by the fact that the laws you mention are all post 2003.Raúlhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02054517704956163564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-24962861528083285892016-07-11T09:15:14.163+02:002016-07-11T09:15:14.163+02:00Sounds like where the EU bureaucracy is headed. Wh...Sounds like where the EU bureaucracy is headed. What a mess.GeronLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13145189615256636055noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-76492634653223437372016-07-10T19:33:42.867+02:002016-07-10T19:33:42.867+02:00Sledge although there is no doubt thieft is rampan...Sledge although there is no doubt thieft is rampant and you may be right it is the root of the issues I believe it too is part of the overall design. Complete destruction of society including education and industry allows the 100s of billions stolen at the top to go unpunished and for the people left to have very low expectations. Maduro is by design to be the blunder. At some point a new Chavisno will come in and reduce the crime and ensure people can eat and have healthcare. Likely will happen when oil goes high and the people will settle on this new form as acceptable. At which point Venezuelans will live as Cubans and the Castros will not only have drugs at a larger scale but oil too. All this was acheived with mastermind to steal billions tge country and future trillions. The only questions that remains given the Venezuelan people have played out exactly as hoped is whether the USA elite are rewarded or do they at some point end this in order for benefit of the USA elite.Canadian Ashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04392005954549946976noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-64388435748670446252016-07-10T06:56:00.338+02:002016-07-10T06:56:00.338+02:00Daniel Duquenal on Twitter:
How Joseph Kennedy e...<a href="https://twitter.com/danielduquenal/status/751131231094472704" rel="nofollow">Daniel Duquenal on Twitter:</a> <br /><i>How Joseph Kennedy ended up as a vulture preying on the remains of Venezuela carcass. Shameful!</i><br /><br />Citizen Joe wants his nearly free oil to keep coming, so he can continue his "doing well by doing good" $400k a year gig, even though Venezuela is bankrupt. Conclusion: Citizen Joe is a scoundrel. What's the surprise? After all, Citizen Joe is a Kennedy.[As a childhood friend worked at Hyannisport one summer, I have some rather strong opinions on the family.] Scoundrel Joe, meet Scoundrel Nicolas. <br /><br />Maybe Citizen Joe can do a favor for Nicolas. Citizen Joe may have some contacts at the DOJ-or higher- that could drop the cocaine smuggling charges on the nephews of First Lady Cilia. We've seen how that works recently. <br /><br />Your blog post is a masterfully written but sad rendition of the results of the "an additional control or regulation will make it better" mentality. If things don't turn out as expected, an additional regulation will do. <br /><br />As Chavez saw Fidel as the big brother and Cuba as the model, it is quite likely as you posit, that Chavismo's ultimate goal was the destruction of productive private enterprise, with only the State and its cronies still standing. Killing the golden goose of private enterprise that lays the productive eggs is no big deal, because all private enterprises are all evil, blood-sucking entities. But if said private enterprises support Chavismo, then perhaps they can be deemed honorary socialist entities, such as big media.<br /><br />[Recall the Chavez quote where he said that if Fidel could be President of the World for a couple of years, he could set things right.]<br />Boludo Tejanonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-85194845113561256682016-07-09T21:05:39.166+02:002016-07-09T21:05:39.166+02:00corruption is just personal profit from ones posit...corruption is just personal profit from ones position . The genius of capitalism is that society and the law is arranged so that the human urge to profit benefits society and that corruption in the free markets does not exist. The essential evil of socialism is that society and the laws are arranged so that ALL profits are purely personal , none benefit society and every transaction becomes either corrupt or unprofitable . Anyone who extols, preaches or practices socialism is engaging in evil whether that is their intent or not . For a more theoretical exposition as to why socialism can NEVER EVER work , just as a matter of economics , one should look to Von Mises (either Human Action or Socialism ) . Simply put prices arent possible under socialism and as a consequence resources cannot be utilized profitably . Thus most projects result in products worth less than the resources and labor used to make them .Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09365279455417345244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-6509855407199854642016-07-09T21:02:21.612+02:002016-07-09T21:02:21.612+02:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09365279455417345244noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-72122795927651575332016-07-09T03:22:35.448+02:002016-07-09T03:22:35.448+02:00https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpneJ4qIuPo&fe...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpneJ4qIuPo&feature=youtu.beembolahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10205249471062031195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-6569339080912931612016-07-08T20:19:53.953+02:002016-07-08T20:19:53.953+02:00Someone mentioned how good it was during Perez Jim...Someone mentioned how good it was during Perez Jimenez, and he is correct. Yet, the day after he left the hatred came out together with crime and corruption. Similarly when Gomez died.<br /><br />This process has been in development for lusters. Venezuela just never had any game, that's the truth. We never had any game because we convinced ourselves a long time ago that planning and reasoning are futile. What happens today is just a natural consequence.<br /><br />But enough of the past, what can be done now? Just electing someone else won't do<br /><br />Emilio Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-11996485586329645432016-07-08T14:28:29.963+02:002016-07-08T14:28:29.963+02:00Canadian, I reiterate massive Corruption at all le...Canadian, I reiterate massive Corruption at all level is the main cause for Vzla's disaster, by far. Many got very rich long ago, yes, and craved the Power, more than money. But rich crooks like Cabello still want to stay in power because they risk JAIL time, and confiscation of their stolen properties worldwide. Look at Rincon. Plus many are involved in drug trade, so they want to stay in VZLA to avoid the DEA. <br /><br />That said many others, at all levels, from union workers to customs workers, to average public employees on all ministries, to mid-level managers, Millions of people still crave money and are desperate to steal more. Which they do every day, in smaller amounts. That's the corruption I talk about, everywhere, by the millions of people, in every town. <br /><br />Finally, why do you think the Exchange Controls and Price Controls are still in place? Everyone knows they are destroying the economy. But they use such stupid tools to STEAL money. Not to mention putrid companies like PDVSA with thousands of corrupt employees, or Corpoelec, or the mining industry. etc. Heck, even a Perrocalientero (hot-dog sales man in the street) or an average taxi driver usually tries to steal every chance they get. Corruption in Kleptozuela is everywhere. That's the problem. Because there's no punishment, no laws, and even the Judicial system is corrupt, not to mention the BCV, or the infamous military crooks.Sledgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10963609943524453700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-2378284348874060562016-07-08T07:28:40.978+02:002016-07-08T07:28:40.978+02:00Now we got it from the horse mouth. Thanks Daniel....Now we got it from the horse mouth. Thanks Daniel.<br /><br />One small point: "...discovering that blackmailing el pueblo was easy if that one was hungry". That was discovered a long time ago in the life of the robolution. I remember Gaicaipuro Lameda then president of PDVSA being horrified when Fidel told him exactly that and that was in 2000 (http://lasarmasdecoronel.blogspot.com/2016/03/un-grave-alerta-de-guaicaipuro-lameda.html) So it was in the card since the beginning, probably when coup monger Chavez was being brainwashed by Fidel before 1998.<br />Charlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01145328603062740131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-1572238151158910922016-07-07T23:28:01.043+02:002016-07-07T23:28:01.043+02:00Lesson learned: when populists who visit Fidel and...Lesson learned: when populists who visit Fidel and Raúl take over government a very strong effort has to be made to force them out. And all your capital has to be moved out gradually but without any misgivings. The going price for your business is whatever you can get. Get it all out and if you wish work hard to knock off the communists.Fernando Leanmehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16085680730729620836noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-72297944101265633892016-07-07T22:40:37.740+02:002016-07-07T22:40:37.740+02:00Although as Sledge says corruption runs a muck, I ...Although as Sledge says corruption runs a muck, I find it very difficult to believe corruption and stupidity is what lead Venezuela to where it is today. I think it is very clear Chavez never cared for the poor and likely did not hate the capitalist as was ultimately one. He used the poor who made up the majority of the country to create a dictatorship. But as a very rich man explained to me once money is not important to the super rich, as they take it for granted, power and control is how they measure themselves. They often feel other people are lessor people then them and should quiver in their presence and be subservient in all ways. I believe Castros/Chavez made a powerplay on Venezuela using oil wealth, and existing capital wealth to abuse the voting system to gain the ultimate control. Once in control they want to take all from the populous such that it is completely dependent on them and further the populous falls greater the spread of their superiority.Canadian looking inhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00060240194591839197noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-50611398749629418732016-07-07T20:29:18.646+02:002016-07-07T20:29:18.646+02:00Sorry for the typos and missed words. I promise to...Sorry for the typos and missed words. I promise to proofread in the future.<br /><br />Last comment: and why all the Corruption, World Record Crime and murder rates, horrible economy and inflation, etc? Because there is no accountability, no punishment, no rule of law. Because all the cops, guardia, judges are all also totally Corrupt. Thieves. <br /><br />The only way such a total mess can be fixed, like it or not, is with a very, very tough government. A right wing Dictatorship, sorry to say. Yes, a Pinochet or a Perez Jimenez of sorts, unfortunately. Thousands less people die, they get educated, there is law and order, and when they get out people are more disciplined. And they steal a LOT less than adecos/copeyanos and Chavistas. And they build infrastructure for decades to come. Look at the economy under the infamous Perez Jimenez, and what he built in just 5 years, look at Chile now after Pinochet. Sadly, that's the only way for Vzla to get better. Sledgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10963609943524453700noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-65365145643931862602016-07-07T20:24:48.547+02:002016-07-07T20:24:48.547+02:00"There is only one question to be answered in..."There is only one question to be answered in future history books: how much of this destruction was willfully planned from the start. It is frightening to think that a regime deliberately planned for the impoverishment of its fellow citizens."<br /><br />There is an English language adage that I think applies, "never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity... but don't rule out malice." <br /><br />In this case, the question is whether or not malice can be ruled out. I believe that the Hugo Chavez very much disliked most capitalists. But like socialists in the past, have found that it is difficult to run any kind of productive enterprise without businessmen. He could not get rid of them entirely - however, he could make it more difficult for them. The few bright spots in Venezuela could probably be attributed to the passing influence of some advisor. As time went by, Chavez become more and more corrupted by the power and insulated by advisors. He might have really believed some of his own rhetoric about Capitalist and US plots against him.<br /><br />Thus, the system in Venezuela evolved in a manner that is very antagonistic to business. But Chavez and Maduro probably never intended for "El Pueblo" to go hungry or become more poor. It is simply an inevitable consequence of the mixture of economic ignorance, belief in socialist ideas and dislike of capitalists. <br /><br /><br />Joe 999999https://www.blogger.com/profile/11644721665245952646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4080946.post-84946441260298849252016-07-07T20:16:00.487+02:002016-07-07T20:16:00.487+02:00Excellent, pragmatic business example of what goes...Excellent, pragmatic business example of what goes on in Kleptozuela.<br /><br />"It is due to the incompetence, neglect, and stubborn ideology that is core of the Chavez project."<br /><br />This is where I disagree. <br /><br />Although Daniel did rightfully mention the key word a dozen times in this post, it is the root of all "negligence" or fake Chavista "ideology", or even "incompetence".<br /><br />Sure, there are few educated, competent Venezuelans left in that nightmarish place, most of us got the hell out long ago. For the same reasons this article describes: risk of being killed any day, crime rates through the roof, and the difficulty to conduct an honest, proper business, without engaging in bribes, tricks and endless bureaucracy. So about 1.5 Million of the few educated, competent professionals left to Madrid, Miami, or wherever they could.<br /><br />Still, that's not the main reason Vzla is bankrupt, and a veritable mess. It's Galactic Corruption; everywhere, at all levels, not just the Chavista "government" and the politicians, and the richest bolichicos. No. Everywhere. "El pueblo" is largely immoral and corrupt too. They will jump at any opportunity to steal something, or cheat at something, or invent some "tigrito" or twisted "guiso". <br /><br />The guards, police, union workers Daniel mentions are just a few example. All Corrupt to the bone. The "bureaucracy" mentioned here, which exists everywhere, not just public but also private agencies, is also rooted on massive Corruption schemes. To extort everyone for money, to get paid more for less work, to get rich. <br /><br />This massive "bureaucracy" is nothing but mechanisms designed everywhere, at all levels, so that crooks can steal money. "Chavistas" or not. There are really very few true "chavistas" a dead crook, a dead "ideology" and a fake one from day 1, of course. <br /><br />No one really believes in "socialismo" or in helping "el pueblo", all Millions and Millions of Enchufados was is money. The root of all evil, as they say. Why the increasing drug trade? Money. Profits. Why the so-called "incompetence", the stupid exchange controls or "precio justo" and all the dumb rules? To steal Money, that's why.<br /><br />Klepetozuela is nothing but a doomed country filed with crooks, everywhere, at all levels, not just the politicians. Everything is rotten, most industries, PDVSA, Corpoelec, you name it. All twisted crooks, "bajate de la mula, cuanto hay'pa eso, como quedo yo ahi?" Not all, but most pueblo people are twisted, zero morals. Most private businesses too. Not all, but most. <br /><br />Add the lack of real Education for 90% of the populace, to the 90% corruption, and you get the utter disaster we call Venezuela today. And it's only gonna get worse, MUD or no MUD. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Sledgehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10963609943524453700noreply@blogger.com