Posted on 01/12/2013 5:23:36 AM PST by Cincinatus' Wife
CARACAS, Venezuela — As perishable foodstuffs rotted on cargo ships that had waited three weeks to unload at Venezuela's largest port, unsettled consumers this week found shelves at Caracas' main downtown market devoid of rice, cooking oil, sugar and other items.
Widespread scarcities and chaos at the nation's main ports, including Puerto Cabello, are just some of the problems Vice President Nicolas Maduro will face as he takes the reins of power in the absence of President Hugo Chavez..........
....Alejandro Grisanti, head of Latin America research at Barclays in New York, said sharp spending cuts were necessary after an "unsustainable" 2012 budget deficit inflated by Chavez's election year giveaways, including apartments and appliances, that helped him to a resounding reelection victory in October......
Maduro may also have to reconsider Chavez's imposition of price controls, which won the socialist regime the support of poor voters by artificially depressing the prices of basic food items — if consumers can find them.
Price controls have also caused the shriveling of Venezuela's domestic industries because local producers can't afford to sell goods at the mandated low prices, according to Ismael Perez, director of the Conindustria, the nation's leading business association of manufacturers.
Venezuela's manufacturing sector has lost 150,000 jobs over the last decade, and the country must now import products such as sugar, rice, coffee, milk and beef, all of which Venezuela was self-sufficient in before Chavez took power.
With domestic production shrinking, the country has had to step up imports just to feed its population. ......
......In Chavez's absence, the government continues to blame manufacturers for the shortages. Just this week, it seized products and facilities owned by PepsiCo Inc. and food conglomerate Polar, accusing the latter of hoarding.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
August 2012: Venezuelan state governor: Cuba inefficient at mangaging ports, food dist. ["bleeding them dry"] "Hugo Chávez’s government has granted Cuba key concessions in Venezuela’s food distribution system by making the island its purchasing agent abroad as well as its seaport manager — activities that represent a fabulous business for the Castro brothers while generating more scarcity and huge losses for Venezuela.
The governor of the state of Carabobo,Henrique Salas Feo, said that a great part of the problems of scarcity and cost of living increases in Venezuela could be attributed to the corruption of people close to its government and Cuba’s inefficiency managing the facilities at Puerto Cabello.
“Puerto Cabello is the entry gate to Venezuela;it handles 80percent of everything that enters or leaves the country, but since the Cubans took over, things are getting worse by the day, which is affecting Venezuelans’ daily life,” Salas said in a telephone interview with El Nuevo Herald.
“The economic reality of all Venezuelans depends on the good management of the port,but imported goods are incurring in enormous delays that create scarcity and increase costs that end up transferred to the consumer,”..
According to the governor’s estimates, poor port management and corruption are provoking a 30-day delay in containers entering the country,which contrasts with the 72hours it took before Cubans took control.
The port terminal is of particular importance due to the severe deterioration of the Venezuelan productivity as a result of government policies, which has increased the dependence on imports, he said.
The situation created by expropriations, the strict currency exchange control and the system that controls pricing is leading Venezuela to go abroad to acquire basic consumer products.
The Chávez administration has also granted concessions to Cuban enterprises to acquire products abroad, a situation that lends itself to corruption.
“[The Cubans] control everything that comes in and goes out......
....“They are bleeding the country dry,”.....
Schadenfreude
Here in the U.S., we will hear “bleeding the country dry” expressed more and more about the actions of Obama.
If we could just get rid of those pesky few who refuse to understand that we all have to work together, we'd finally have a worker's paradise and everybody would be prosperous. Don't you bourgeois pigs understand that?
I wasn't going to put in a /sarc tag, but then realized I'd get 10 replies from angry FReepers telling me to move over to DU. I could post the above over there and get 150 replies telling me "right on".
I’d laugh but our cuts are coming...
How do you say schadenfreude in spanish?
Bet chavez will blame Bush.
Why not, his buddy baraq does.
severe deterioration of the Venezuelan productivity as a result of government policies
the strict currency exchange control and the system that controls pricing is leading Venezuela to go abroad to acquire basic consumer products.
The Chávez administration has also granted concessions to Cuban enterprises to acquire products abroad, a situation that lends itself to corruption.
“[The Cubans] control everything that comes in and goes out......
Sucks to be them. They trusted communists.
Bet a lot of the imports are magically appearing in Cuba.
Regodeo in Spanish
Wonder what will happen when the US Gov't mandates low prices for medical care?
Well...
They do have a surplus of red undershirts.
As to be expected, of course, I just read this morning in the WSJ that Obama is planning on making one of his priorities the “strengthening of ties” and “improvement of the relationship” with Venezuela. This, to me, explains why VZ felt perfectly free to pretend that Chavez wasn’t dead and go ahead by illegally installing the “chavista” government. They obvioiusly know that Obama has got their back.
My take is that Hugo had big dreams.......
Had he not been mortally afflicted by cancer, he would be the savior of Cuba and annex it to Venezuela .
I believe it is Castro that has annexed Venezuela.
Actually Pepsi and Polar merged a while ago so Pepsi really owns both...
I wonder how much Pepsi really cares since hyperinflation and monetary devaluation in Venezuela is costing them 100's of millions in write offs and asset charges every year...
Kinda looks like the next “big cut” for Venezuela will start at the very top.
It’ll be amusing when that douche starts smelling sulfur for real, instead of rhetorically for a UN speech.
Sadly, we won’t have an administration with the inclination to make the best of that event.
Follow how Chavez used the division of his opposition to assume more and more power - until he "owned" all branches of government and pulled all the levers, confiscated private business and shut down opposition media.
That Venezuelans own guns (Chavez recently began outlawing guns, the wheels have been put into motion) is all that kept Chavez from outright dictatorship 10 years ago. "We are Chavez" is the rallying cry now for Chavistas (who Chavez has armed) who shout down those that say Chavez is unable to serve (according to the constitution a new election must be called in 30 days if he misses his inauguration) that the constitution doesn't matter now (that Chavez can "rule" from Cuba through his surrogates).
The division (competing parties) amongst his opposition set the stage and allowed for this.
I see your point except that a younger Chavez might have thought he would outlast the aging Castro’s. Even in the weakened state, Venezuela had a stronger economy than Cuba. ( I think)
I see your point too.
Also, Hugo’s brother Adan is the real revolutionary and force — Hugo had the “it” factor that brought in the “fans” to put him into power and snowballed his revolution.
Adan Chavez and the Castro...... are running things.
“.......In August, 2006, following reported differences with Chávez during his recent international tour, Presidential Secretary Delcy Rodríguez was replaced by Adán Chávez. Adán Chávez had previously been the ambassador to Cuba........Adán is older than his brother and was involved with pro-guerrilla groups before Hugo. Adán Chávez was designated by his brother as Minister of Education in January 2007.” - Wiki
Yes. I saw that too and my radar went up (well, it was already up).
Of course we do....it just depends on the definition of "make the best of".
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