bradsgold's Profile
bradsgold's Posts
Protests as Venezuela embraces 2-day workweek to save power
.
View gallery
CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan cities cleaned up from a night of looting and fiery protests Wednesday as government offices closed their doors for the rest of the week in the face of a worsening energy crisis that is causing daily blackouts.
In Caracas, hundreds of angry voters lined up to sign a petition beginning the process of recalling the deeply unpopular President Nicolas Maduro.
The socialist administration began imposing a four-hour daily blackout around the country this week to save electricity. Then, Maduro announced that millions of officials will now work only Mondays and Tuesdays, taking the rest of the week off in a bid to save electricity.
Angry residents in darkened towns around the country took to the streets Tuesday night, setting up flaming barricades and raiding shops for bread and other scarce food.
On Wednesday, more than 1,000 police fanned out around the western city of Maracaibo after a night of riots. More than 100 people were arrested there for looting that damaged dozens of businesses, according to local governor Francisco Arias, who supports the Maduro government. Venezuela is among the world's most violent countries, and crime generally spikes here when the lights go out.
Maduro condemned the night of protests, and said his political enemies were trying to sow chaos and sabotage him.
"The crazy right wing doesn't understand that in hard times, a family has to band together," he said. "They're trying to create a violent situation."
Maduro warned that the water level behind the nation's largest dam has fallen to near its minimum operating level because of a severe drought. If it gets much lower, the whole nation could be plunged into darkness.
Experts say lack of planning and maintenance is to blame as much as the weather.
Caracas is being spared from the rolling blackouts and has not seen violent protests. Some Venezuelans complain that the country is starting to resemble the dystopian series "The Hunger Games," in which districts suffer for the benefit of a heartless capital city.
As people become more desperate in outlying states, opposition politicians in Caracas are appealing for calm after scoring a small victory that will allow them to begin an effort to recall Maduro.
View gallery
Venezuela's electoral authority on Tuesday delivered petition sheets to collect signatures needed to start the multi-step process. Some had believed that government institutions, which have stymied the opposition at every turn in recent months, would never hand those sheets over.
Opposition leaders held festive rally to launch the start of the recall drive Wednesday as many institutional buildings downtown remained closed.
"The government is scared of this count and that's why they're throwing up all these obstacles, but we will collect all of these signatures," said Henry Ramos, head of the country's opposition-controlled Congress.
About two-thirds of Venezuelans want Maduro to go, according to local polling.
Retired Environmental Ministry worker Edgar Diera sat on the steps of the Justice Ministry, making doomsday predictions to people who showed up only to find the doors locked.
View gallery
"A country needs its workers to show up," he said, shaking a newspaper at a snarl of cars in front of a broken traffic light. "This place is in ruins."
Venezuela's economy is projected to contract 8 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
People working for the state, the country's largest employer, will be paid for the days they stay home. Some have been using their Fridays off to wait in lines to buy groceries and other goods. Others have been going home to watch TV and run the air conditioning, leading critics to say the furlough is not an effective energy-saving measure.
There's also the question of the jobs they will be leaving undone.
"The measure will paralyze Venezuela's public administration, further hampering the state's ability to function," said Diego Moya-Ocampos, an analyst with the London-based consulting firm IHS Global Insight.
Venezuela Doesn't Have Enough Money... To PRINT MONEY
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud
Thursday, April 28, 2016
You know the old joke about the worthless currency, right?
"The guy with the wheelbarrow full of money was robbed. They stole the wheelbarrow and left the money..."
Unfortunately, that's the type of thing that's happening in Venezuela today – only the story gets much worse...
----------Recommended Links---------
"How I make $300,000 a month at my kitchen table"
A New Jersey man explains how anyone with a home computer could make thousands of dollars a month, regardless of experience... with an approach that still hasn't been covered by mainstream news. Click here for details.
"Atlantic Project" Breakthrough Goes Public Next Monday
An extraordinary announcement at a private industry meeting will trigger an alert – and a handful of investors could make a small fortune in less than 24 hours. Details here...
---------------------------------
I saw this type of thing firsthand when I visited Venezuela years ago...
I went to a bank in the middle of nowhere (Coro) to take out some cash.
It looked like a bus station. There was a long line, and everyone was carrying a duffel bag. I'd never seen anything like it.
It turned out, those duffel bags were full of cash... worthless cash. The duffel bags themselves were worth more than what was in them.
Today, the situation in Venezuela is much worse than when I was there.
Venezuela's currency is worthless... If you trade one U.S. penny for 10 Venezuelan bolivars, you're getting the worse end of the deal.
Specifically, right now, one U.S. dollar will get you 1,100 bolivars.(Tomorrow, it might be closer to 1,200 bolivars.)
So if you want to deposit $500 U.S. dollars into the bank today, then you will need 550,000 bolivars.
Amazingly, Venezuela's largest bill is 100 bolivars – which is less than $0.10 in the U.S.
You would need 5,500 of Venezuela's largest bills to deposit the equivalent of $500 U.S. dollars in the bank (hence the duffel bags). That's why the lines are so long – because the banks have to count all those bills.
Because Venezuela's largest bill is only worth less than $0.10 in the U.S., Venezuela has to print A LOT of bills. And this is where things get REALLY crazy...
Yesterday, Bloomberg reported that Venezuela is "now so broke that it may not have enough money to pay for its money." (The story is fantastic. You can read it here.)
At this point, the international companies that print money are tired of printing money for Venezuela... They either aren't getting paid on time, or aren't getting paid at all.
The money-printer has a dilemma with Venezuela: It's an order big enough to fill your factory for a year, but do you want to completely expose yourself to a country as risky as Venezuela?
And it's not just the currency...
Just yesterday, Venezuela announced a two-day workweek for government employees. You start work on Monday, and the weekend starts at the close of business on Tuesday.
Why? Despite the fact that Venezuela has the world's largest proven oil reserves, its government has to ration out energy.
This is a disaster... and it was all avoidable. I lay the blame squarely on Venezuela's government – mainly on the socialist rule of President Hugo Chavez from 2002 to 2013. This placed all the power in the hands of the government, and none in the hands of the people. And look what happened.
People think things like this don't happen in this day and age anymore... but they do.
People also think that things like this can't happen here... but they can.
The best thing you and I can do to avoid ever being in this situation is to do our best to limit the powers of the government...
Good investing,
Steve
Further Reading:
Thank you for this reminder of the numbers. A buck ten, thirteen cents, 5 cents or possibly nothing. When and if we get an award the actual payment is not clear and it will most probably languish as Venezuela stalls. If an award is given and Venezuela does make a payment, how do shareholders actually realize this reward? Another 2-3 years and hopfully we know the end of this story.
And the beat goes on and on and on and on. Ven could do this with GRZ's verdict? Could they also do the same to CRYFQ (If we ever get a judgement)? Never ending ridiculousness.