Venezuela’s Maduro Must Adapt to Survive. He Won’t.

Foreign Polic ^ | December 12, 2014 | Juan Cristobol Nagel

[C19fan]

The international price of oil has dropped by more than 40 percent in the past six months. To put it lightly, this presents a major challenge to oil-exporting nations. Many analysts agree that, of all oil rich countries, Venezuela is the most vulnerable. A combination of persistent fiscal deficits, out-of-control inflation, and plunging public support for President Nicolás Maduro threatens to make the nation of 30 million ungovernable. What can Maduro do to survive?

In order to answer this question, we must differentiate between what Maduro can do, and what he most likely will (or, rather, will not) do.

[C19fan]

Embrace the suck Chavezisitas. Paraphrasing the great Baroness Thatcher, sucks when you run out of other people's money.

[DeaconRed]

POUND SAND! ! ! !

[2banana]

What can Maduro do to survive?

Give up most power

Drastically cut the size and scope of government

Institute free markets and dramatically grow economic freedom

Institute and defend personal liberty

In short - do everything the exact opposite of a socialist/marxist/progressive/US democrat

[hal ogen]

As with all socialist idiots, he should run away quickly before his countrymen do a Mussolini on him and his family. I laugh at his predicament and hope for the worst.

[GeronL]

They will create more idiotic schemes to fool the masses. They have a really long list of them now.

[GeronL]

The bus driver will never do those things.

[econjack]

Let me get this straight...so your popularity with the people is two points above dog pooh, so you tell the people that all the electronics shops must lower their prices. This inflation was because your fiscal policies have created the highest inflation rate in the world. However, since business has to pay higher prices for goods because of the inflation, they resist. So your reaction, as president, is to send soldiers in who, at gun point, force them to lower prices by as much as two-thirds. The shelves are cleared in a heartbeat and the people who got there late are a tad miffed. And you, as president, scratch your head and wonder why your policy backfired.

Seems to me that the average IQ in the gene pool would rise dramatically if you disappeared.

[Enlightened1]

It’s astounding what control freaks Maduro still has not figured out what China figured out long ago.

Many Communist/Socialist think they can ignore the univeral laws of market supply and demand. Perhaps on a temporary basis?

The central problem with Communism/Socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.

We trade our time for money. If a government comes along and takes most if not all of our money, then not only have we lost our time, but we lost our money.

Where will be the incentive to continue down this path if you are losing time and money?

[rrrod]

Here in S Florida SOS VENEZUELA signs are common.

[Thunder90]

Time to hit Venezuela with crippling sanctions and an embargo.

[twoputt]

There’s a lamppost waiting for Maduro.

[justa-hairyape]

Like most tyrants in history, he will invade his neighbor and blame it on his neighbor.

[Kenny Bunk]

The weird of this is that oil prices are at market. There is a vast oversupply and somewhat flat demand.

Oil countries got in the habit of spending/stealing everything their overpriced commodity brought in and not paying attention to other economic factors.
E.G., Libya, which was a food EXPORTER, now is facing hardship because they cannot afford to IMPORT enough food. Venezuela ought to be one of the major food producers in SA. Besides oil, they really have every other resource a country needs to thrive, except a political system that offers upward mobility to those Third Worlders that might be able to handle something besides breeding and eating.

Great Spanish put-down that describes Venezuela perfectly: "Un trén de primera clase, con pasajeros de la tercera." A First Class train with Third Class passengers.

http://tehmvidacolonial2009.blogspot.com/2009/08/cosas-curiosas-del-cuerpo-humano.html

[JoeFromSidney]

Socialism explains a lot of the problem, but don't forget the "oil curse." Nations that nationalize their natural resource (oil usually, but also other commodities) because it "belongs to the people," then export it, always end up in trouble. Although the oil "belongs to the people," somehow the money never reaches "the people." It stays with the folks in government.

The US has escaped the "oil curse" because we respect private property. If oil is found under your land, you get rich. In any other country, if oil is found under land you and your ancestors have occupied (but not owned) for generations, you are driven off the land and the oil is nationalized. Because, after all, it belongs to "the people."

[SunkenCiv]

Iteration ping.

[SunkenCiv]

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