Banana Republic Newsflash

[Sigma_Orionis]

Can't say I'm surprised at this

[SciFiFisher]

Could it be that a "quiet" change of power is occurring? Hopefully, one for the better?

[Sigma_Orionis]

Maybe. we'll see

[Sigma_Orionis]

The History of This Country since the 18th Century

Remember the electric crisis?

It’s hard to, right? It seems like forever ago. Two months. An eternity.

What happened? Well, through the ingenuity and wit of Corpoelec’s crack team of engineers and technicians, the underlying problems were finally addressed. A far-reaching structural reform plan was put in motion to allow them to act nimbly, and decades of delayed maintenance were performed through a coordinated national effort. Major resources were devoted to finding a lasting solution to the problem, investments were fast-tracked, equipment was upgraded, the policy framework entirely re-invented…

No, of course none of that happened.

It rained. That’s what happened.

Water fell from the sky over Guayana, and it washed away our electric problems.

Until the next dry season, of course.

The story of Corpoelec is the story of policymaking in our country. When something bad happens, our first instinct is to just wait it out. It’s Maduro’s first response to everything. We still subsidize gas to absurd levels, even though everyone —even Maduro— knows it’s socially regressive, environmentally ruinous and financially unsustainable. We continue to over-value the Bolivar hindering trade, making ourselves uncompetitive and sustaining corruption. Not even the people whose job it is to implement them believe in these policies.

So what are we waiting for? Rain, of course. We’re waiting for oil prices to go up. We’re waiting for something to happen to magically relieve the pressure. As soon as it does, we’ll be happy to go back to of our old ways, living large and enjoying that cheap forex.

[Sigma_Orionis]

This is funnier than it should be.

I've mentioned TeleSur several times, and always compared them to Fox News. Well, the Caracas Chronicles Folks, just did a piece on TeleSur, and of course, compared them to Fox.

What's so funny? Fox being defended in the Comments section

[Sigma_Orionis]

Like I said before, the border with Colombia was closed to keep subsidized goods from being smuggled out of Venezuela.

Worked as well as it could be expected

[Sigma_Orionis]

This is interesting. According to these guys we just had an undercover Coup D'etat

[SciFiFisher]

This is interesting. According to these guys we just had an undercover Coup D'etat

See. That’s what I said.

[Sigma_Orionis]

So, you think that our Military just did a "Soft-Coup"? I don't see how that's going to fix anything. Specially when you consider how well have Military Governments (of any political leaning) have worked in the region. The article says that if their speculation is true, the Military will keep Maduro around as a figurehead till they don't need him. Well, I suspect that IF there was a soft coup, it won't be kept under wraps for long, And THAT will greatly increase the foreign pressure for presidential elections. So, either way it's a desperate measure, one that could very well trigger something worse. The funny thing is, NOBODY has reacted yet.

[grapes]

Padrino López was extremely loyal to Chávez, right? Maybe he's just still respecting Chávez's choice of Maduro, as well as not rocking the boat.

[Sigma_Orionis]

I am not so sure. Maybe you're right. But if he's such a die hard Chavez loyalist, the Armed Forces would be on the streets, along with the police to quell the riots. Instead they are doing their damnedest to avoid intervening in this mess. Only the police and the National Guard are being used in repressing the riots. The thing is nobody knows for sure what the guy is thinking. Hence, the rampant speculation.

[SciFiFisher]

So, you think that our Military just did a "Soft-Coup"? I don't see how that's going to fix anything. Specially when you consider how well have Military Governments (of any political leaning) have worked in the region. The article says that if their speculation is true, the Military will keep Maduro around as a figurehead till they don't need him. Well, I suspect that IF there was a soft coup, it won't be kept under wraps for long, And THAT will greatly increase the foreign pressure for presidential elections. So, either way it's a desperate measure, one that could very well trigger something worse. The funny thing is, NOBODY has reacted yet.

Fixing things? Maybe not. Unfortunately, I believe you are correct about military junta's being a tad incompetent when it comes to managing socio-economic changes. What is needed is leadership that is willing to admit that the current variant of "socialism" is not working as intended and make fairly drastic changes to improve things. It's rare for that to happen in any country when things are hitting the crapper.

I think the reason nobody has reacted yet is they are waiting to see what can get worse. It's not like things aren't bad already.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Fixing things? Maybe not. Unfortunately, I believe you are correct about military junta's being a tad incompetent when it comes to managing socio-economic changes. What is needed is leadership that is willing to admit that the current variant of "socialism" is not working as intended and make fairly drastic changes to improve things. It's rare for that to happen in any country when things are hitting the crapper.

Well, half of me finds it hard to believe that our Armed Forces would be able to provide that leadership. Why? It pains me to say this, but: THIS IS FUCKING LATIN AMERICA, where "Professional Armed Forces" is at best, wishful thinking, I'd trust an O-1 from your Armed Forces more than an O-7 from ours. OTOH, our Armed Forces, despite that it is generally considered that the Chavez/Maduro Government has them in their pocket because they're considered to have a lot of special privileges, has behaved less irrationally than we have given them credit for.

I think the reason nobody has reacted yet is they are waiting to see what can get worse. It's not like things aren't bad already.

THAT is so common here, that we (predictably) have a saying for that: "Amanecera, y veremos" which translates to "Dawn will come, and we'll see how it goes".

[grapes]

THAT is so common here, that we (predictably) have a saying for that: "Amanecera, y veremos" which translates to "Dawn will come, and we'll see how it goes".

We have a similar saying here, recent coinage: "Don happens"

[Sigma_Orionis]

You mean Mafia Don? or Don the buffoon with the orange hair?

[grapes]

Don, and all the trumpettes

O, and there are economic indicators, and then there are economic indictors:

For Venezuela's 'Millionaire' Contestants, Winnings Amount To A Few Bucks
http://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2 ... -few-bucks

Q: What's an indictor?
A: It's an indicator without a

[Sigma_Orionis]

So, we finally joined that select club of Latin American countries that sleepwalked into hyper-inflation, ain't that grand?

This is worse though

[SciFiFisher]

So.... ? Anything new?

[Sigma_Orionis]

Not much. We just appointed a Drug Trafficker as head of the National Guard. And, if the rumors are true, the person calling the shots on our Economic Policies is a lunatic. Other than that....

[Swift]

Not much. We just appointed a Drug Trafficker as head of the National Guard. And, if the rumors are true, the person calling the shots on our Economic Policies is a lunatic. Other than that....

So, in other words, same old, same old...

[Sigma_Orionis]

Yeah, i'd say so

[Sigma_Orionis]

Ok, it's official, Nicky and Co just said that IF there's going to be referendum, it won't be till January. That means that IF there's going to be Referendum (which they're pretty sure to lose) there won't be an election, His Vice-President will finish Nicky's term. I can't imagine how this is going to work out.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Oh great, Internet access is just going to get a lot crummier

[SciFiFisher]

Oh great, Internet access is just going to get a lot crummier

Oh Crap!

[Sigma_Orionis]

And just in case you thought "Get the Gringo" was an Old Wives Tale......