8 ms·

As a Venezuelan I say this is a bad joke. They ransacked the central bank reserves, they pillaged all the gold bars in the vaults, they indebted the oil industr

As a Venezuelan I say this is a bad joke. They ransacked the central bank reserves, they pillaged all the gold bars in the vaults, they indebted the oil industry and there is nothing left to give as guarantee for more money. They only want to try circumvent the shitty currency they destroyed with their bad policies. Stay away from this.

alacombe 9y ago
Be careful, there is a lot of zealots of the Venezuelan "model" around here.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- Frondo 9y ago
  Wide-scale corruption and dictatorial tendencies? No, I don't think many people endorse that here.
  - major505 9y ago
    Try living in Brazil. A "socialist" in every corner endorsing crazy Maduro policies.
    - oscargrouch 9y ago
      Brazilian here too, and this is total BS. I've never seen anyone, even the most die-hard leftist (a species headed to extinction by the way) support Maduro policies. Only some leftist parties giving oficial statements of support, but even than with the majority of their members, not supporting it, and going against the official statements. So i dont know in what reality you are living on.. but im sure is not the same as mine. HN has always been, a place of good and clear information, so please, lets keep it that way.
      - rodorgas 9y ago
        Do you have any evidence that majority of left parties members doesn’t support Venezuelan government despite the officials statements? The truth is that every major left party in Brazil supports Maduro (PT, PSOL, PCB, PCdoB, PDT, …). Sure there are dissidents, but it’s a unpopular opinion on the left-wing. For example, take a look on this post from the leftist congressman Jean Wyllys criticizing Maduro[1]. The vast majority of comments are from leftists backlashing him or trying to argue about why Maduro measures were good and necessary. 1: https://facebook.com/jean.wyllys/posts/978205575560783 https://facebook.com/jean.wyllys/posts/978205575560783
        owebmaster 9y ago
        PSOL and Jean Willys don't support Maduro, but they aren't really socialists/left wing. They more like American liberals.
        major505 9y ago
        https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2017/07/28/politica/1501262473_019811.html https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2017/07/28/politica/1501262... http://www.psol50.org.br/blog/2017/07/31/secretaria-de-relacoes-internacionais-do-psol-toda-solidariedade-a-revolucao-bolivariana/ http://www.psol50.org.br/blog/2017/07/31/secretaria-de-relac... https://www.reddit.com/r/brasil/comments/6qw61v/secretaria_de_rela%C3%A7%C3%B5es_internacionais_do_psol/ https://www.reddit.com/r/brasil/comments/6qw61v/secretaria_d... In the last couple years with the things going even more south in Venezuela, sure, there's been some dissidents in some of the leftist parties, but most of them still refuses to acknowledge that.
        owebmaster 9y ago
        The second link gives me "page not found". The third one is a reddit that also points to a page that doesn't exist. The first one is an opinion article. I understand what you are saying, but as a brazilian left-wing myself, nobody respects PSOL, they are right-wing. And they don't support Venezuela. We do.
- EthanHeilman 9y ago
  Even most people on the radical far left view Venezuela as a cautionary tale. I'm not saying Maduro apologists don't exist but even in ideological groups predisposed to support socialist governments they are pretty rare these days.
  - sien 9y ago
    The odds on favourite to be next British Prime Minister is a Chavez / Maduro apologist: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11/does-jeremy-corbyn-have-a-venezuela-problem/?utm_term=.807afc7b81cb https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11... The former British Labour Party Mayor of London Ken Livingston said the problem in Venezuela was that not enough rich people were murdered: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/03/ken-livingstone-venezuela-crisis-hugo-chavez-oligarchs https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/03/ken-livings... An important Australian Trade Union pledged support for Maduro in August this year: http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/australian-unions-pledge-support-for-democratically-elected-socialist-venezuelan-dictatorship/news-story/2e833f4fb5307403d47defdce44b31a3 http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/austral... (updated due to the comment below - thanks for that!) In Australia there is a group called the Australian - Venezuelan solidarity network: http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org/ http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org/
    - LocutusOfBorges 9y ago
      Livingstone was Mayor of London- not Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor's a completely different, ceremonial role. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London
    - WillyOnWheels 9y ago
      > The odds on favourite to be next British Prime Minister is a Chavez / Maduro apologist: > https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11.... Trying to glue the legacy of Venezuela to Corbyn is silly. I am well aware of Corbyn's admiration of Hugo Chavez defying American intervention in Venezuela. If the various papers in England want to keep up that theme, they should explore Conservative ties to Saudi Arabia and Pinochet's regime.
- mikeash 9y ago
  By “here” do you mean HN? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen an HN commenter advocate for the Venezuelan model.
  - owebmaster 9y ago
    For sure we are here :) Latin America must set itself free of American imperialism and deal with them in more equally terms. Viva la Revolucion Bolivariana!
sremani 9y ago
This is a sign of a hail-mary thrown by an utterly bankrupt (morally and politically) government. I see it as, Maduro is very desperate and the end of him is near. Thought 2017 would be the end of him but sometimes the inevitable takes time. Among other things Venezuela is a narco-state both its elite and military engage is lot of narco smuggling and money laundering. This could be a mechanism for them to hide or transfer wealth out, I am only guessing. I do concur that people should stay away from this.
- sjeohp 9y ago
  > an utterly bankrupt (morally and politically) government How so? My understanding is that they just won regional elections praised by international observers as free and transparent[0]. Interestingly, western governments/media & opposition claims of fraud (without evidence) directly contradict the findings of the delegation from the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA). From the article cited: The CEELA delegation was comprised of 1300 international observers, including former Colombian Electoral Court President Guillermo Reyes, ex-president of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Court, Augusto Aguilar, and former Peruvian electoral magistrate Gastón Soto. According to the body’s report, the vote was held under conditions of “total normality” and the right to a secret ballot was “guaranteed”. I also find this interesting: For its part, CEELA has reported that it has yet to receive any formal denunciations from the opposition, which has issued its fraud allegations via the media. President Maduro has requested a 100 percent audit of Sunday’s elections, a call that was subsequently echoed by the [opposition]. [0] https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13442 https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13442
  - jimmywanger 9y ago
    I could not find a single article about these findings that aren't from a leftist leaning website. If you search "ceela venezuela vote" on Google, the only articles that come up are from teleSUR (a mouthpiece of the Venezuelan government) and Venezuela analysis (another rabidly left organization, the one you cited). Do you have any fairly impartial news sources you'd care to cite? Of course, this could all be a plot of the evil Imperialist western capitalist powers to strangle the last peoples' stronghold. /s
snappyTertle 9y ago
Government backed crypto? No thanks...that defeats the entire purpose.
neilwilson 9y ago
Central banks of a sovereign nation don't have reserves. That's a 'gold standard' mentality. The value of a nation's currency is determined by how difficult it is to get vs how much you need to get it. And that is determined by the nation's spending and taxing policies - including the ability to enforce that taxation by force if necessary. The Bolivar needs to fully float on the international markets like the Egyptian Pound. And then the government needs to start taxing people in Bolivars while not issuing as many by spending. It doesn't matter than nobody wants to hold Bolivars. It matters that they need to get them to stay out of jail.

alacombe 9y ago

Be careful, there is a lot of zealots of the Venezuelan "model" around here.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
Frondo 9y ago
Wide-scale corruption and dictatorial tendencies? No, I don't think many people endorse that here.
- major505 9y ago
  Try living in Brazil. A "socialist" in every corner endorsing crazy Maduro policies.
  - oscargrouch 9y ago
    Brazilian here too, and this is total BS. I've never seen anyone, even the most die-hard leftist (a species headed to extinction by the way) support Maduro policies. Only some leftist parties giving oficial statements of support, but even than with the majority of their members, not supporting it, and going against the official statements. So i dont know in what reality you are living on.. but im sure is not the same as mine. HN has always been, a place of good and clear information, so please, lets keep it that way.
    - rodorgas 9y ago
      Do you have any evidence that majority of left parties members doesn’t support Venezuelan government despite the officials statements? The truth is that every major left party in Brazil supports Maduro (PT, PSOL, PCB, PCdoB, PDT, …). Sure there are dissidents, but it’s a unpopular opinion on the left-wing. For example, take a look on this post from the leftist congressman Jean Wyllys criticizing Maduro[1]. The vast majority of comments are from leftists backlashing him or trying to argue about why Maduro measures were good and necessary. 1: https://facebook.com/jean.wyllys/posts/978205575560783 https://facebook.com/jean.wyllys/posts/978205575560783
      - owebmaster 9y ago
        PSOL and Jean Willys don't support Maduro, but they aren't really socialists/left wing. They more like American liberals.
        major505 9y ago
        https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2017/07/28/politica/1501262473_019811.html https://brasil.elpais.com/brasil/2017/07/28/politica/1501262... http://www.psol50.org.br/blog/2017/07/31/secretaria-de-relacoes-internacionais-do-psol-toda-solidariedade-a-revolucao-bolivariana/ http://www.psol50.org.br/blog/2017/07/31/secretaria-de-relac... https://www.reddit.com/r/brasil/comments/6qw61v/secretaria_de_rela%C3%A7%C3%B5es_internacionais_do_psol/ https://www.reddit.com/r/brasil/comments/6qw61v/secretaria_d... In the last couple years with the things going even more south in Venezuela, sure, there's been some dissidents in some of the leftist parties, but most of them still refuses to acknowledge that.
        owebmaster 9y ago
        The second link gives me "page not found". The third one is a reddit that also points to a page that doesn't exist. The first one is an opinion article. I understand what you are saying, but as a brazilian left-wing myself, nobody respects PSOL, they are right-wing. And they don't support Venezuela. We do.
EthanHeilman 9y ago
Even most people on the radical far left view Venezuela as a cautionary tale. I'm not saying Maduro apologists don't exist but even in ideological groups predisposed to support socialist governments they are pretty rare these days.
- sien 9y ago
  The odds on favourite to be next British Prime Minister is a Chavez / Maduro apologist: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11/does-jeremy-corbyn-have-a-venezuela-problem/?utm_term=.807afc7b81cb https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11... The former British Labour Party Mayor of London Ken Livingston said the problem in Venezuela was that not enough rich people were murdered: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/03/ken-livingstone-venezuela-crisis-hugo-chavez-oligarchs https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/03/ken-livings... An important Australian Trade Union pledged support for Maduro in August this year: http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/australian-unions-pledge-support-for-democratically-elected-socialist-venezuelan-dictatorship/news-story/2e833f4fb5307403d47defdce44b31a3 http://www.news.com.au/finance/economy/world-economy/austral... (updated due to the comment below - thanks for that!) In Australia there is a group called the Australian - Venezuelan solidarity network: http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org/ http://www.venezuelasolidarity.org/
  - LocutusOfBorges 9y ago
    Livingstone was Mayor of London- not Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor's a completely different, ceremonial role. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lord_Mayor_of_London
  - WillyOnWheels 9y ago
    > The odds on favourite to be next British Prime Minister is a Chavez / Maduro apologist: > https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11.. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/08/11.... Trying to glue the legacy of Venezuela to Corbyn is silly. I am well aware of Corbyn's admiration of Hugo Chavez defying American intervention in Venezuela. If the various papers in England want to keep up that theme, they should explore Conservative ties to Saudi Arabia and Pinochet's regime.
mikeash 9y ago
By “here” do you mean HN? I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen an HN commenter advocate for the Venezuelan model.
- owebmaster 9y ago
  For sure we are here :) Latin America must set itself free of American imperialism and deal with them in more equally terms. Viva la Revolucion Bolivariana!

sremani 9y ago

This is a sign of a hail-mary thrown by an utterly bankrupt (morally and politically) government. I see it as, Maduro is very desperate and the end of him is near. Thought 2017 would be the end of him but sometimes the inevitable takes time. Among other things Venezuela is a narco-state both its elite and military engage is lot of narco smuggling and money laundering. This could be a mechanism for them to hide or transfer wealth out, I am only guessing. I do concur that people should stay away from this.

sjeohp 9y ago
> an utterly bankrupt (morally and politically) government How so? My understanding is that they just won regional elections praised by international observers as free and transparent[0]. Interestingly, western governments/media & opposition claims of fraud (without evidence) directly contradict the findings of the delegation from the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA). From the article cited: The CEELA delegation was comprised of 1300 international observers, including former Colombian Electoral Court President Guillermo Reyes, ex-president of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Court, Augusto Aguilar, and former Peruvian electoral magistrate Gastón Soto. According to the body’s report, the vote was held under conditions of “total normality” and the right to a secret ballot was “guaranteed”. I also find this interesting: For its part, CEELA has reported that it has yet to receive any formal denunciations from the opposition, which has issued its fraud allegations via the media. President Maduro has requested a 100 percent audit of Sunday’s elections, a call that was subsequently echoed by the [opposition]. [0] https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13442 https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/13442
- jimmywanger 9y ago
  I could not find a single article about these findings that aren't from a leftist leaning website. If you search "ceela venezuela vote" on Google, the only articles that come up are from teleSUR (a mouthpiece of the Venezuelan government) and Venezuela analysis (another rabidly left organization, the one you cited). Do you have any fairly impartial news sources you'd care to cite? Of course, this could all be a plot of the evil Imperialist western capitalist powers to strangle the last peoples' stronghold. /s

snappyTertle 9y ago

Government backed crypto? No thanks...that defeats the entire purpose.

neilwilson 9y ago

Central banks of a sovereign nation don't have reserves. That's a 'gold standard' mentality. The value of a nation's currency is determined by how difficult it is to get vs how much you need to get it. And that is determined by the nation's spending and taxing policies - including the ability to enforce that taxation by force if necessary. The Bolivar needs to fully float on the international markets like the Egyptian Pound. And then the government needs to start taxing people in Bolivars while not issuing as many by spending. It doesn't matter than nobody wants to hold Bolivars. It matters that they need to get them to stay out of jail.