And the year starts with a bang

Today the National Assembly sessions for 2017 started, without the regime dissolving it. Actually chavismo representatives attended though they denounced that the Assembly was illegal, and that they would not even bother naming their whip. The chair for this year sessions is Julio Borges, replacing Ramos Allup. In his inaugural speech he took no gloves. He said that the objective of the Assembly was to find a way to get rid of the terrible government of Nicolas Maduro. And he demanded that the army faced up to its responsibilities: either support Maduro and its narco state, going down with him in infamy, or force him to accept elections and restore constitutional rule. Borges could have not been any clearer, and challenged the regime just as this one named the most leftist, castroite, communist narko cabinet since 1998.

So let's see what this all means.

But first, a little summary of what is the legal role of the Assembly now, and what the vice president of Venezuela is good for. (1)

The TSJ high court of Venezuela has ruled that the National Assembly is working outside the law because it has recognized the election of three representatives of Amazonas state whose election has been challenged. I am not going into the legalese here. Suffice to say that the election has been held thirteen months ago and the TSJ has yet to rule about the validity of the election. In no democracy such a delay in deciding an election is acceptable. Most democracies can hold by-elections in a matter of weeks, and correcting the electoral problem, like reviewing voter registry, does not take more than an extra month or so. There is absolutely no excuse for these by elections not to have been held by June 2016. The trick here is that as long as the validity of that election is not decided then the National Assembly does not have the 2/3 majority needed for some laws since the TSJ does not recognize the Amazonas representatives EVEN THOUGH they refuse to rule on their election. But the TSJ goes further than the 2/3 requirement: it is an excuse to throw out any legislation passed by the Assembly.

In short, the regime has no interest in settling the electoral issue since it is a perfect excuse to overthrow any action the Assembly may vote. It has nothing to do with democracy, it is all about retaining power even though the people has decided other wise on December 6.

As such the challenge speech of Borges is very simple to explain: since the regime will not recognize the Assembly under any circumstance, since the regime will not accept an electoral solution, then the only thing left is to challenge and force the regime to go to the logical conclusion of its totalitarian nature and dissolve the Assembly once and for all. Or quit. There is no dialogue, no nothing. The regime made it an either or situation.

In case you do not get it yet, it means that the Assembly is getting ready to organize protest all time, everywhere until it finally calls for the application of article 350 of the constitution which gives people the right not to recognize branches of government that do not follow the constitution. Yes, that crazy provision exists and will surely lead us to civil war.

The other thing in this game of thrones is the vice presidency. As of January 11, who ever has been APPOINTED without an election to the office of the vice president will become the automatic successor of Maduro if something were to happen to him. Otherwise the office of vice president of Venezuela is not even comparable to the one of prime minster in a parliamentary system. The Venezuelan Vice President is merely a super minister that takes care of the shop when the president is busy with something, like a trip overseas. The vice can be named and removed at will. The vice is, well, a bureaucrat who just becomes important after the president passes the 4 year mark of the 6 year term. Hence the importance this time around of Tareck El Aissami appointment yesterday. (2)

Putting Tareck at that positon has several political meanings. One is that the radical wing seems to have won the game inside chavismo and there is is only the military to stop them. Or so we are asked to believe. Another is that Tareck is second only to Diosdado Cabello in the repulsiveness factor. That is, Maduro tells us that we should let him serve his last two years otherwise Tareck will be the president. A sick game of wolf blackmail. Yet a third reading is that the regime is so exhausted, so discredited that those left willing to serve are basically the psychopaths. As such this reading is that the regime has decided to kill to stay in office. As much as necessary.

In all of these readings Tareck is merely the representative of a faction and we do not know for sure how much power he actually has inside chavismo. One thing we do not need to fool ourselves with: as a governor of Aragua he has demonstrated that he does not know how to manage a state. Managing a country he cannot. Tareck has only being good at creating militas, paramilitary organization and, well, organized crime. There is a reason for him to be on the DEA lists. He leaves his Aragua state as the most dangerous state in the country, the one where colectivos and pranes rule more than he does, And he probably is their ally since he cannot control them at this point, even if he wanted to.

Think a second about the problems the regime faces now. Financially its budget is illegal and whomever lends money to Maduro risks not to be payed back once chavismo is booted out. But even if you were to consider lending money because the regime makes you an offer you got to consider, who is going to sit down with a vice president like Tareck? Do you really want to be pictured shaking hand with somebody who someday may be wearing an orange uniform?

The regime knows that, but it also has realized that it is too deep in shit and that might as well learn to live in autarky like the Castros do in Cuba. All there eat shit or nothing, but all are under control. That is the advice that Cuba has been giving the regime for years, we are just reaching the final implementation stage when people like me will have to cave in for food or leave the country.

In other words it does not matter who the vice president is for international purposes: only what this one will do at home matters. Hence the reckless nomination of Tareck (and some of those along).

You thus need to understand this to appreciate fully the gamble that Borges put in front today. These actions of the regime are more signs of desperate weakness. But it is when a rabid dog is cornered that it is the most dangerous. Yet, you do need to corner that dog before people are hurt.

If the year starts with such drama I do not want to think about what awaits us for the next 51 weeks.

--------------------

1) constitutionally the session period for the National Assembly is January to December, In January a chair and its assistants are named for the year. this is supposed to take place on January 5, Then about a week or two later the president needs to go and give the state of the union speech. The rest of the year has recesses, etc, with a delegation of the Assembly to seat during recess in case of.

2) the first 4 years of the presidential term the vice president replaces the president if this one ceases his functions. But it is as a caretaker, for little bit more than a month. Thus him being appointed is not a major issue, But after the 4th year, it is.

Read More

Maduro names the cabinet from hell

The news came as a surprise. Not that a new cabinet was unexpected: around January 10 everyone expected Maduro to name a new Vice President, the one that would succeed him as president if he resigns, or is resigned. But no one expected Tareck Zaidan El Aissami Maddah to become that vice-president. This is truly awful. And if you look at who is being named along to some key portfolios it gets worse.

So let's start with our Tareck boy.


Before we read into the nomination importance, let's look at his career. He is from a Syrian Druze family. Nothing wrong with being a Druze. Except that they support Assad and Chia and that sort of assorted terrorism (while those in Israel are well integrated in the state structure, go figure).

When young he militated with the left and was on board with Chavez, with a quick ascent (through Chavez brother who was a teacher of him it seems).

He was associated for 5 years with the Interior ministry, eventually becoming the minister himself before Chavez placed him in the crucial state of Aragua as governor. This is extremely important because Tareck was always at hand when the drug traffic system of Venezuela was organized big time. It was also the period when Chavez became interested in paramilitary ventures from the bolivarian militia to the dreaded colectivos of today. Amen of the close links to Iran and Syria, such as the weekly flight to Teheran for which there was no way to get a seat.

As a result Tareck El Assaimi was named in the Wall Street journal among those officials in Venezuela investigated by the DEA and what not for illicit activities. There is no doubting why Tareck easily deserves a spot there. In Spanish here, with pic included.

Since he has been governor he has the reputation to spend more time in Caracas than Maracay. It is to be noted that at first Chavez wanted him far in Tachira but Tareck had ways to impose his presence close to the action, Indeed he has been quite vocal in particular against any dialogue or any concession for the opposition. That he lost badly, real bad in Aragua assembly vote in December 2015 certainly angered him. Let's note that his own election in 2012 was with a surprising 55% in a state that normally historically gives 60% or more to leftist parties. He is clearly an imposed figure there, but his time has come.

There is only one reading possible in naming Tareck El Assaimi vice president of Venezuela at a time where he could become president until 2019 without an election if something were to happen to Nicolas Maduro. An appointed president, without a vote anywhere. Think about this: a terrorist sympathizer, milita and paramilitary organizer, likely drug trafficker, indicted in the US, is now the vice president of Venezuela. A vice president that cannot travel in any country with Interpol.

The message is clear, the regime has appointed somebody that has no problem to dip his hands in blood. Why do you think this is for? What would be the regime's intentions for the next few months?

How come he made it to such a position above so many big sharks in the pond? Because Tareck represents several groups. The terrorists with unsavory links across the world, but not the largest of chavismo group. But surely he has the contacts. He also represents the civilian narco economic wing. The wing that became drug trafficker by cupidity and pleasure rather than following geopolitical orders from Fidel and Hugo. I am not making any excuses for the military who "followed orders": all drug capos end up in the same gutter of violence. He is also a voice for the radical commie left civilian section (more below). He also has links with the corrupt bolibourgeoisie though if I were them I would think about leaving the country because Tareck knows where and how to get money if he needs it. As such his main ally in the regime is Diosdado Cabello and we could almost assume that he is the anti military establishment candidate, having only those deeply in drug trafficking on his side. Is this a provocation against Padrino? Or does it mean that the regime has finally prevailed and that the army will repress now at will?

Now that you know what the new vice president represents let's look at the ones getting in, a not reassuring perspective whatsoever.

Elias Jaua is now at education. That means radical ideology. He is of the band that think ideologization should be decisive in schools (even if his own children go to a famous private school). Jaua has been a life long communist, from neo terrorist activities in college to presiding over the massive expropriations of lands that have left us without food. He is an intellectual brute and has no problem taking the necessary measures to make sure that his ideology prevails, the ruin of the country being a small price to pay, just as it happened in Cuba.

Tareck and Hugbel salad days promoting riots at
Universidad de Los Andes

Jaua super ministry has for right hand Hugbel Roa who became recently quite infamous when he accused the new Venezuela cardinal of pedophilia (we are awaiting the evidence still) and when confronted through his microphone to the face of the represantive questioning his accusations. Quite a democrat. The obvious question for Roa is that since he allegedly knew that the cardinal loved little children so much, how come he was not arrested yet. The real reason for the irate Representative is elsewhere, Baltazar Porras is the one that saw Chavez asking for help and crying in 2002...

The finance and economy ministries are fused into a single super ministry one that will be presided by representative Ramon Lobo. Ain't that funny on how so many chavistas desert their assembly seat with such ease? Do they know something we do not know? But I digress.

Lobo has been a nobody in the regime. Oh, yes, he has been around for a while but this is the first time he hits jackpot. Before that he was mayor of La Azulita, which means Podunck for all practical purposes except that they have good coffee beans, smuggled to Colombia probably. Then they put him for Merida state representative. But he could not win his district seat, and made it because he also was candidate on the list system that ensured that the PSUV would get at least one seat in Merida. (note: the current governor is a communist).  So what does Lobo brings to his curriculum to direct Venezuela's economy having only directed the administration of a small rural district? Well, he is a life long communist. He also studied economy in college. Already a plus among chavismo [sigh...] But besides "academic" work and political agitation there is no evidence that he ever held a real job anywhere, you know those with real responsibility, that require you to make investment decisions, budgeting stuff out or real earnings, etc... From economy the only things he knows is to wait for the stipend from Caracas and spend it until he runs out of cash. And then blame Caracas. To deal with a country on the edge of official bankruptcy I am afraid it does not add up.

At labor ministry we have Francisco Torrealba another representative that leaves like a rat the National Assembly. I could not find much about him but I know of him as he was a main voice in attacking and making a case for chavismo as to how useless and illegal the National assembly is. But coming from the extremely corrupt labor direction inside chavismo, there is nothing good to expect from him, being a commie or not is irrelevant in that regime position.

So there you go, a most radical new government, and that without counting those that remain in like Molina who says that only chavistas have the right to be public workers, a violent promoter of apartheid for political reasons.

This is a cabinet named to destroy the opposition, to erase what is left of the private sector. This the first outright communist cabinet. As far as I know there is no "moderate" voice as the few military inside of it have been collaborating actively with the crazy left of the regime in the past. Let's just say that Padrino may have at most half a dozen supporters left. And I am very generous in assuming that Padrino has not fully caved in. He is himself a communist but reined in some of the excesses of the regime for his wish not to become the "el pueblo" murderer in history books.

This is a cabinet named to finish the opposition. It is a group that could not care less about world criticism of their actions. They are in to make sure that the opposition becomes powerless, and then, when all the necessary crimes are committed, that the opposition cannot mount a challenge, they will run totally flawed elections that they will win with major fraud, to justify their crimes.

Whether they succeed is another story.

You have been told.

-----------------------------------------------

PS: note that Tareck likes the good life, He tends to be nattily dressed when in private and likes very much stuff about like soccer, like, you know, owning teams and being hired as a striker, Qaddafi son's style. Do Druzes drink booze?

PS2: Jaua also is leaving the National Assembly. This is quite a razzia the regime makes in the Assembly PSUV faction.

PS3: already in 2014 O'Grady at the Wall Street Journal had quite a portrait of Tareck El Assaimi.  I mean, the world knows what this guy stands for. Who will dare be seen shaking hands in public?

Read More

Deliberate chaos: the first post modern cashless society. Not!

There are so many things that need to be discussed but my lifestyle, so to speak, forbids me to find the time for the blog. Yet tonight I must write to describe what is probably the most unjust, craziest, measure the regime has taken to date. And they did take a lot of those in the past.  But this one will hurt so many poor people that the mind reels at the idea on how a regime intentionally for the people has become now a regime against the people.

Today's bomb shell is the demonetization of the 100 tender in Venezuela.  Why, oh why?

The governor of Aragua, famed drug trafficker suspect cum links to Hezbollah and what not says it is a conspiracy from the US treasury to steal all of our 100 Bs, bills to provoke economic chaos.

Presidente @NicolasMaduro denuncia operación mafiosa dirigida por el departamento del tesoro de EEUU para robarnos los billetes de 100bs.

— Tareck El Aissami (@TareckPSUV) 11 de diciembre de 2016

I, for one, think that the US has much easier ways to achieve this. Actually, the US does not need to do anything, just sitting and watching is enough to implode the regime.

This being said, it is quite possible that there are hoards of 100 bills here and there. After all, not all drug traffic receipts can be stored in USD crisp greenbacks. Black market also takes its share of the 100 notes.  But in both cases any hoarding is temporal: drug traffickers, black marketers and Colombian mafias are business people, admittedly in their own sick way. For them it makes no sense to hoard a currency that loses a couple of  %  value points A DAY!

And then there is that:

Remember the $100s of millions #Venezuela spent importing 100-bolo bills? They're all being taken outa circulation. https://t.co/0p1Ji4xUHp

— Kejal પ્રવીણ Vyas (@kejalvyas) 11 de diciembre de 2016

With the amounts of bills the regime has printed how many tons of paper money do you need to hoard to shoot a hit at the Venezuelan economy?  Corruption and mafia traffic cannot be an excuse. Unless....  this is being used for some inside chavismo to hit others inside chavismo since chavismo is by itself now no more than a mafia.

Since there is no logical explanation and that the truth will eventually emerge, let's focus on the consequences, dires according to serious economists already on record.

As of tomorrow and as long as the replacing currency is not provided these are the things that will be very difficult to do, because there is not enough low denomination bills (2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 which itself is worth barely a penny) to pay for routine cash stuff. You will need to carry wads of bills, if you can find them, for the following:

• Gas for your car, newspaper, candies, anything that is not attached to a ATM or cash point or whatever accepts your debit card (never mind that these devices have been collapsing recently due to the lack of paper money, by the way).
• Services like the grocery bag boy, your cleaning lady, parking, small tips, etc. are not possible as of tomorrow. Note that the recipients of these cash payments are in the lower economical ranks of the population and are taking a direct hit in their ability to purchase their food....
• You cannot buy in the informal market food items that you cannot buy at the store because either it is out of such sundries, or you were at work and could not take the time for the 1 to 2 hours requirement of standing on line at the grocery store. "bachaqueros" or small time black marketeers sell for cash.
• Never mind that the re-sellers, who make a living out of it, will not be making a living. They will simply hoard whatever they have until the new banknotes arrive. More scarcity, and of course higher prices to compensate their losses when they start selling again.
• You cannot buy bread if you do not have an ATM card, for whatever reason you do not have it. Then again bread is getting scarce these days so the problem may actually be worse than the lack of cash.
• Some businesses will take a direct hit, the more so we are in  the holidays season. Folks like the newsstand guy will see sales near zero for days.
• Whole classes of people will be affected and stand to lose money outright. The most vulnerable are retirees that only hold a savings account and who work on cash withdrawals from the bank. Many do not have or cannot operate or are afraid of debit cards that in some case only work for their bank ATM machines I understand (mine works for all but I understand that this is not the case for everyone). 
• Never mind the ill informed that will not think about exchanging their 100 bills on time. Outright robbery by the state out of the most vulnerable people.
• Purchasing cheap medicine will become difficult for many people.
• Etc. you get the picture.

In short, the measure to suppress the 100 bill without a mechanism for speedy exchange in an impossible to fulfill timetable is, well, a truly inhumane measure, a gross attack on the human rights of the Venezuelan people. Of course, boligarchs may be somewhat inconvenienced but not affected. El Pueblo? Fuck El Pueblo!

Yours truly is not one for conspiracy theories, but I am starting to think that maybe the regime is seeding chaos on purpose. Let's count: the killing of the recall election, the killing of the dialogue, the inability to replenish shelves for the holiday season, the removal of cash from the hand of people, etc....  The combination of all of this is already turning the country into an administrative chaos. Can this be truly done on purpose? After all chaos is a good excuse for people not to talk about the real issues, and then if they do talk about that chaos may justify repression.

Read More

The triumphant failure of the dialogue in Venezuela

I suppose that there must be somewhere a grand design to all of this. That we are asked to swallow hard because it is all for the best. That we should trust the Vatican envoy when he is in ecstasy about the progress made. Or is it that he is claiming victory as he is on his way to the airport to leave once and for all?

So let's look at what I think is a dismal result for two weeks of expectations. I never hoped for much but this is, well, words fail me. Let's see if I can try to explain it by doing a positive and negative spin to the 5 "points of agreement" reached today.


1- ---acordaron trabajar de manera conjunta para combatir toda forma de sabotaje, boicot o agresión---Agreement to work together against all forms of {economical} sabotage, boycott or agression---

Positive spin: the regime will accept to take measures to change the economic system so that production will improve and we will have less scarcity.

Negative spin: unfuckingbelievable!!!!  The opposition buys the regime's theses that the economic crisis is not its fault but that of external factors sabitaging. In short the opposition accepts to share the blame of a crisis that is entirely of the regime's making.  And I cannot even charitably conceded that it is in the aim to silence the propaganda of the regime: just you wait!

2- ...superación de la situación de desacato de la Asamblea Nacional... overcoming the situation of disobedience of the National Assembly...

Positive spin: the regime acknowledges that there is an impasse and that something must be done. For this it will allow a repeat election of Amazonas representatives and name the 2 electoral board members whose term expires in a few days (2 out of 5 in the CNE)

Negative spin: first the language puts the blame on the National Assembly for refusing to follow the clearly unconstitutional dictates of the high court TSJ. That it was about the Amazonas representatives is not an excuse: it is inadmissible that they have been suspended 11 months ago by the TSJ and that this one has not declared whether these elections were valid or needed to be repeated.  Nowhere in the world such a delay would be acceptable.

Equally detestable, the opposition accepts that the regime will get one of the two new CNE members to be named when according to the National Assembly composition it should get none. The CNE should now be 2 to 3 in favor of the opposition and the regime will now retain a 3 to 2, and thus control of the electoral machinery with all the advantages that this implies including the electoral abuses that have been amply described.

3- Everybody agrees on defending Venezuela's right on a chunk of Guyana called Essequibo.

Positive spin: WTF?

Negative spin: WTF!

4- A "live together in peace agreement" has been approved.

Positive spin: Let's all sing kumbaya

Negative spin: wasn't there a constitution and rule of law to take care of that? OR is it now that we will live in peace because the regime decides it so? Where is the evidence of that intention?

5- Mumble jumble about organization of future conversations

Positive spin: we are still talking, nobody slammed the door.

Negative spin, the regime gains a few more precious weeks


I mean, this is bad.

In addition we learn that the next general sit down is December 6 which is an insult to the opposition as it is the one year anniversary of its landslide 2/3 majority which has been reduced to paltry negotiations so it can still breathe some. To add insult to injury the psychopath of Jorge Rodriguez is acting like the big bad Woolf enticing those in the opposition to see the positive results and thus to depose arms and join the dialogue.

What conclusions can we take, minimally?

First, the recall election is now dead. Even if December 6 were to produce the miracle of such an election there is no time to collet signatures and run it by January 10. RIP opposition main claim.

Second, the MUD is playing into the hands of the regime to accelerate its division. How can anyone think that Voluntad Popular will sit down with such paltry results? VP could possibly be talked into postponing Leopoldo Lopez release but in exchange for something big, at least a Recall Election BEFORE January 10.  Amen of other players like Maria Corina Machado.

Third, unless the MUD come up with something convincing like, now, we can only conclude it has started to cave in the regime and offer it a transition to its own measure. Why? Who? The army? The Vatican? Obama? Generic Fear?

One thing is certain, any good will at the OAS or Mercosur is likely to fade fast, if you ask me. By the time the opposition decides to hit the streets again all will have forgotten and all the work will need to be done again.

Only the regime is gaining so far. Prove me wrong.

Read More

So? Can we all agree on the D word?

This is kind of a melancholy post. For years now I have been calling this a dictatorship. It took sometime to start seeing it expressed in the foreign press. And even as I type there are some in Venezuela or overseas (I am looking at you, Zapatero just for today's denialist) that still refuse to use the D word, expecting who knows what leniency from who knows where.


For me the D word applies since Chavez closed Radio Caracas in 2007. Or if you want a more material date you can use early 2013 when the constitutional coup of the moment allowed Maduro to become Chavez successor. And many other moments you may prefer. It really does not matter much, the dictatorial nature of the regime has been obvious from the start, from the very first social program of Chavez "Plan Bolivar 2000" that established the Venezuelan army as a discretionary manager of public money, and thus corruption.

I remember it all. Try me.

This year the dictatorship has been forced to become more frontal, more classical. Until this year the excuse that Venezuela was an autocratic regime and not a dictatorship was that the opposition did manage some electoral victories, that there were still an opposition paper here and there, albeit on trial. Etc. But all those were mere excuses. For the left there was no way that the beloved populist could have generated such a monstrously corrupt and inefficient system.  For the right it was that declaring Venezuela to be a dictatorship would mean taking action for which democrats seem to have lost the taste for, and for quite a while now. The last outrage and successful international take, if I remember well, was against Fujimori who in my book is not any worse than Chavez, and certainly less calamitous for the general welfare of the people. Honduras and Paraguay were mere side shows where the changes eventually prevailed because, well, these changes had a true legal foundation.

But never was Chavez to be sternly criticized until Argentina's Macri made it to office. And yet, with more bark than bite so far.

But now things have become unacceptable and Venezuela is preparing to be suspended from Mercosur in a little bit more than a month while the OAS may suddenly decided to make a concrete Democratic Chart application. Only Erdogan receives Maduro.

Since last December the regime has proceded to the following:
*Using the judicial power to block almost all actions from the National Assembly
*Rule through a state of emergency system bypassing any legal control
*Go through a wave of arrestations and creation of political prisoners without any legal supervision, with "evidence" planted directly by the people performing the arrest
*Sue the last two remaining national daily papers
*Block any control activity that the National Assembly has in the constitution
*Suspend any election, going as far as saying that elections were not an important right
*Dispose of national assets to find fresh cash
*Decree that all remaining private companies must sell 50% of their production to the government
*Etc...... including heavy intelligence insulting propaganda to pretend that all is fine and dandy in Venezuela

But the latest was in my opinion a fatal mistake for the regime. Maduro decided that the National Budget would be approved by decree law, with the support of course of the Judicial Constitutional Court. Now, I am not going to go into the unconstitutional and illegal ways in which the regime decides taxation and how it disposes of the funds through appointed folks.Trust me, the case is clear against the regime.

Since "No taxation without representation", and we know how that ended, it has been the rule in any and every democracy that the budget must be validated by a parliament. Even if that parliament is elected under fraud, but there must be a Parliament Act. Why is such a parliamentary act a requirement? Because it is the contract symbol that the state is the guarantor of the money lent or borrowed. Failure to do such an act means simply that the only responsible party is the guy in charge and that his mere death slipping at night in the bathtub is enough to question whether his successor has any obligation in fulfilling previous commitments.

In short, if you lend money to the Venezuelan government as of today, you have zero guarantee, LEGAL guarantee, that you will ever be paid back (that we are broke and unable to pay our debt is another story, but I digress). And considering that the guy in charge, Maduro, is an ass, with a shaky hold at best, I wonder who will bail the country out...

There are two implications here.

First, obviously, that taking over discretionary disposition of all the nation's income is the most naked act of dictatorship a regime can do. Never mind that in the same ceremony where the "budget" was signed Maduro already decided that he would not give money to any opposition district which by law he is forced to do, even if he has way to deliver less than the survival requirements of such districts. Thus now we are free from having to discuss over and over the dictatorial nature of the regime. All understand money, all understand that Maduro has officially privatized the budget. Even commies understand that.

The second consideration is that we are in big trouble. If the regime has resorted to such an extreme move it is because it feels that its end is near, that too many inside the regime are about to meet their legal destiny in some court. Since it has been proven amply that the regime could not care less about the welfare of the people (starvation cases, distressing lack of heath care for which I can personally vouch for as my SO has been left without chemotherapeutic without the possibility of legally buy it overseas) then it has been easy for them to take the final decision.

By privatizing the national budget the regime grabs directly whatever is left of the country resources to use them to support Cuba and the repression machinery needed to remain in office. That is right, there is not enough money for the rest, it will all be used to sustain the repression and ensuring a minimum of popular support to be able to recruit enough of those that will do that repression. I will note that the forced sale of 50% of production (that will probably not be paid on time, if at all, and after having lost all relevant value due to inflation) represents about what the regime can physically manage in that legal robbery handling, and what it needs roughly for its CLAP distribution system (who not surprisingly in the beggarly nature of chavismo support has allowed Maduro to get back to 30% in polls). Never mind that by forcing such sale the regime acknowledges that all the expropriations made under Chavez have only yielded a cemetery of once food producing businesses.

So there it is, the regime has played its last card.

The regime could not possibly care less about what the fate of the country and its people may be. There is no other card to be played, there is no expropriation that can be done which can satisfy the needs of the people, unless looting of homes is next. Expropriation of banks is useless when inflation is scheduled to be 4 digits next year. Nothing left for populism, not even borrowing as no one will be foolish enough to lend a penny to the the regime now. All has been wasted. There is only the little bit of food produced by the private sector and a worthless budget which can at least pay for the criminals that are needed for public order.

Read More