Joyous Venezuela opposition shatters Socialists' hegemony December 7, 2015 CARACAS (Reuters) - Ecstatic opposition leaders vowed on Monday to use their new majority in Venezuela's legislature to free jailed opponents of the Socialist government but also said they would not move to dismantle popular welfare policies. The opposition Democratic Unity coalition won more than twice the number of National Assembly seats as the Socialists in elections on Sunday that punished President Nicolas Maduro's government for the country's deep economic and social crisis. With 99 seats to the Socialists' 46 in counting so far - and results not yet in for the remaining 22 seats - the opposition looks certain to reach a three-fifths majority, meaning they could in theory have ministers fired after a censure vote. With two-thirds, they could try and shake up institutions like the courts widely viewed as pro-government. "The sheer scale of its victory could potentially give the opposition real teeth as it tries to alter the course of government policy under Mr Maduro," said Fiona Mackie, Latin America analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/venezuela...fficial-confirmation-024209523--business.html
Yup we done did it or whatever. Though the military choosing not to get involved played a big role in the outcome of things. Still a tad fresh so it might be hard to tell how everything will pan out, but as it is we're currently ecstatic and looking forward to many many changes. The political scene should be like that of a soap opera for the next few months... or years, not that it wasn't before, but having the majority of votes belonging to the opposition will certainly spice things up for the better.
It nearly did to be honest. They had planned to take the streets hadn't things come out the way they intended. They also were up to no good during the election day and violated plenty of laws as well kept voting centers open past their due time to force votes out of people who had yet to vote or simply were not going to. This time everything was just harder to hide and the military declaring they will stand with the people above anything else settled the matter. Even then the president spouted some idiocy unfit for a president (as per usual) right after the elections and I'm sure there's more to come from all of them, except this time these words are just words and we will keep on scaring the living Firk out of them.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...normous_victory_the_opponents_of_nicolas.html Pretty good article that touches on some of the points Jelly mentioned.
It is difficult to overstate just how GAWD AWFUL such a beautiful nation had become, then the insurgency rose up and threw the evil bastiches out of power. ¡Bravo! These 3.5 paragraphs jumped out at me the most: If the opposition wins a supermajority, it would have the power to pass major pieces of legislation, sack ministers and Supreme Court justices, and rewrite Chavez’s 1999 constitution that centralized so much power in the president’s hands. With voter turnout topping 74 percent, the opposition can credibly claim a mandate to undo the country’s failed socialist project, which has left Venezuela an economic basket case. That will likely not just mean calling for a presidential referendum to remove Maduro from office next year, but also the release of unjustly imprisoned political prisoners such as opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez. Not that Maduro and his political cronies didn’t reach deep into their bag of dirty tricks. The regime had extra representatives assigned to areas where it was expected to perform well. Some opposition candidates were banned from running, a well-worn Chavista tactic. The government intentionally crafted a confusing ballot, creating a separate party whose name was sufficiently similar to the opposition’s formal name to draw votes away. The government even introduced a candidate with the same name as one of the opposition candidates, in an incredible attempt to confuse people into voting for the imposter. The trouble is that electoral tricks couldn’t distract from the country’s collapse. Venezuela is the rare petrostate that suffers from chronic shortages of basic staples and medicine. Its public services have lapsed into utter dysfunction. The only things rising in Venezuela are the rates of crime, murder, and inflation—typically the world’s highest these days. The legacy of Chavez’s authoritarianism is all that had kept Maduro in the presidential palace. But the failure of Chavismo’s policies—the country’s slide into the community of failed states—has become too great for even its sympathizers to deny. This fight, however, is nowhere near over. Maduro and the ruling party will attempt to marginalize this victory in the weeks and months ahead through a variety of means. And it has the capability: Despite this landslide victory, the ruling party still has control of the machinery of state and the media. Maduro will most likely accept this loss now—thereby burnishing his democratic credentials and silencing international critics—only to try to undermine its practical significance later. Expect the courts to issue rulings circumscribing the powers of the legislature. Expect new edicts and orders concentrating even more power into the executive. Look for government budgets and competencies to shift. Watch out for allegations of corruption and criminal offenses against key members of the opposition. http://www.slate.com/articles/news_...normous_victory_the_opponents_of_nicolas.html
Good book re: Venezuela and why Chavez even came to power in the first place: http://www.americasquarterly.org/content/venezuela-chávez-anatomy-economic-collapse-ricardo-hausmann-and-francisco-r-rodríguez "Venezuela Before Chávez: Anatomy of an Economic Collapse, edited by Ricardo Hausmann and Francisco R. Rodríguez, offers some intriguing answers. Pointedly departing from much of the current research (and political discussion) on Venezuela, which focuses on the 14-year presidency (1999–2013) of late President Hugo Chávez, the editors have assembled a distinguished group of experts with the aim not only of exploring, as they put it, the “enigma” of Venezuela’s pre-Chávez collapse, but to explain why some countries go through such turbulence." "Underlining the critical role of oil (which today, according to the book, accounts for 80 percent of exports and 40 percent of government revenue), the editors and authors conclude that Venezuela’s dependence on petroleum exports eventually crowded out other factors necessary for a healthy economy. Economics professors María Antonia Moreno of the Universidad Central de Venezuela and Cameron Shelton of Claremont McKenna College show that mini-booms in oil prices consistently reverse growth in the non-oil sector, which sees an average 3.3 percent growth in pre-boom years turn into -2.8 percent in post-boom years." "What all readers—both supporters and critics of the former president—will be able to agree on is the primary takeaway of this volume: deep structural problems hidden in the wealth boom of the 1970s, including a shift toward capital-intensive labor, set Venezuela up for economic catastrophe."
Reviews sound very promising, but the book is 488 pages. The above graph seems to show oil revenue jumping up nicely 4-5 years after Chavez gained power.
Mostly helped by skyrocking crude oil prices, I am sure: But yea, basically, prices fell and stagnated after the 70s, and Chavez comes into power at the lowest prices in a long time at a time when Venezuela was deep in economic collapse.
Comparing the first graph with the second graph helped me better understand the challenge Hugo Chavez faced while in power. Any other gems will be appreciated.
More or less, one of my nationalities at least and have lived here for about 15 years back and forth so I've been present to witness the whole process. Tend to avoid pointing that out because most people end up asking about politics and it's often hard to explain that it's just one big circus filled with excuses which are fitting of a reality show yet is what people here know as reality and worst of all, said people let it happen. It's gotten to the point where the average person can only buy eggs once per week. It's ridiculous. Eggs. Fucking eggs. Still a lovely country but nowhere near what it used to be, not even in comparison to how it was 5 years ago :c But we can always chill in the cool beaches and fancy ourselves some lovely meals. Venezuela has always had potential, but the constant mismanagement of resources joint together with ideals fueled by bias and resentment have made it the way it is up until now. Admittedly they have given voice to people who were otherwise unheard within the last 15 years, but they have done so in ways that have harmed the country more than anything else and it has become part of an ever growing culture that will take ages to get rid of. Can only hope recent events become a gateway to make things happen, not from one day to another, but change nevertheless.
¡Que bastinazo! But in your land "chevere" would be the correct word, I believe. Totally admire you peeps.
...why would you ever need more eggs than that? is this your daily breakfast? ( I understand what you mean, but the example of eggs is ridiculous to me .)
It's actually vastly more complex than "moneywise" in regards to the eggs. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/artic...gg-prices-to-tackle-world-s-fastest-inflation Collapsing economies typically lead to hyper inflation (the reasons why are out of scope for this discussion), but Venezuela is no exception here with an estimated 800% annual inflation rate currently. To deal with this, the government is heavily using price controls, particularly with foodstuffs and other necessities, as with eggs above. What this does is makes it impossible for suppliers to actually make money off these products, thus creating massive shortages (especially when people start smuggling the items out of the country to sell for higher prices elsewhere), leading to rationing by the government. This, in turn, leads to further inflation of the currency (again, for various reasons that I don't feel like explaining right now). EDIT: Wikipedia page on this is pretty informative: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shortages_in_Venezuela
Because it was the only basic food people had access to without having to stand for hours in a queue or having their ID checked. They pretty much saved the day if there was no meat or chicken, and are also one of the latest to be part of these regulations. I could have said meat, shampoo, chicken, deodorant, toilet paper, pads, milk, beans, butter, rice, medicines and the list goes on. Also that's not an unrealistic amount of eggs for a caloric diet.You end up hating them. Just a bit. It's been a chain of arbitrary decisions since the early 2000s. The amount of land and property that have been taken over and rendered useless is too damn high to account for. So whilst income has had it's hand in this whole deal that's not all there is to it, as the second article shows (or at least gives a rough idea, the Spanish one is more elaborated though it shares the same principle). I understand the actions being taken now, just not the ones that led to the current situation. "arbitrage (or bachaqueo), the ability to buy low and sell high, was created in Venezuela." It's not an ability, by the way. It's just easy money and an easy way to get things done which is what this government has always endorsed. Too bad they don't realise they do more harm than they do anything else and I can only hope these issues are tackled as soon as possible.
