I would have though that the country with the largest oil reserves in the world would have enough leverage with the largest consumer in the world. In fact, I would have thought they would be bestest mates.
If socialism was any good someone somewhere would have implemented it and others seeing how good it was would have implemented it. Guess what? It's a scam and nowhere has it worked and any countries that have tried it have failed.
So there you have it people, Socialism....the road to serfdom indeed!
Oil took a dive but has recovered. And with the largest supplies there's no excuse..it's still the most important trading commodity. Don't think the Saudis ran out of toilet paper either...I wouldn't be so harsh. Just like Venezuala was overly dependent on oil
Just like Venezuala was overly dependent on oil receipts, Ireland is overly reliant on MNCs
Oil took a dive but has recovered. And with the largest supplies there's no excuse..it's still the most important trading commodity. Don't think the Saudis ran out of toilet paper either...
Oil took a dive but has recovered. And with the largest supplies there's no excuse..it's still the most important trading commodity. Don't think the Saudis ran out of toilet paper either...
When it's pointed out that globalresearch.ca is run by a nutjob and extreme left wing conspiracy theorist, the OP defends by saying "Of course, that's the whole point, research." Nice "research"!
We have revisionism :
All this is Maduro's fault...Saint Chavez, the great leader did only good.
We have revisionism :
Things were dandy until the big, bad USA came along.
Sure, wasn't Saint Chavez freely elected?
Course he was, he was promising his people the sun, moon and stars and for a while we have able to give it to them. But as happens all socialists, he eventually run out of other people's money!
This time it's Maduro who is a totalitarian. Other times / countries, it's Central Planning, a dictator or maybe even something else. The key point here is that it's not and never is the fault socialism!
I would have though that the country with the largest oil reserves in the world would have enough leverage with the largest consumer in the world. In fact, I would have thought they would be bestest mates.
A very good point.
The reason Venzuala is in the mess it is today is purely down to the Chavez & Modura govts stripping PDVSA's of all its cash flow and spending it on their social programs and nationalizing everything that moved. That is not the fault of the US or neoliberals etc
Oil took a dive but has recovered. And with the largest supplies there's no excuse..it's still the most important trading commodity. Don't think the Saudis ran out of toilet paper either...
Did you even read the link in my previous post?
Their oil infrastructure is crippled having been starved of investment under socialist govts.
Venezulan breakeven is $50 to $70 - WTI is not $50 but they're not even getting that now as their are issues with their purities.
Saudi breakeven is approx $4. Saudi Aramco is probably the best capitalized company in the world - the Saudi govt has never come in and sacked 75% of the workforce.
On top of this Venezuela's largest customer is now self sufficient with only a small number of US gulf refineries still running heavy crude from Venezuala (the largest being CITGO which is owned by PDVSA although their purchases have to be at market prices due to their credit agreements).
break even for the saudis is far higher than $4 , during the lows of early 2016 , the kingdom had to issue debt such was the pressure they were under with low oil prices
perhaps you are referring to the cost of extraction ?
Where did I say the incompetence of Chaovez or Modura was the fault of US or anyone else?
BS
Your original thesis was that the impoverishment of present day Venezuela was down to "a cartel of bankers, aided and abetted by compliant governments and protected by the US Military Industrial complex."
With respect, that is a complete fantasy.
Let's be clear what we are talking about here - a fertile country with vast natural resources where the bulk of the population are now malnourished and there has been a near complete break down in law and order. A country with an economy and standard of living that surpassed that of many Western European countries fifty years ago that is now on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, due almost entirely to the grotesque maladministration of the Chavez/Modura regime.
Repeating (frankly ridiculous) slogans or citing conspiracy theorists and ideologues to support your thesis change does not change reality.
A country with an economy and standard of living that surpassed that of many Western European countries fifty years ago that is now on the brink of a humanitarian crisis, due almost entirely to the grotesque maladministration of the Chavez/Modura regime.
Correct. They issued debt to fund their govt budget deficit, not to bridge extraction losses.
The same thing drives people to fascism and other forms of oppressive governments. The fallacy here is that the people who replace the bad guys must be the good guys. The reality is almost always that the people who replace the bad guys are the other bad guys.What drives people to socialism is living in an impoverishment state and having no future or no stake in the society they live in.
Of course that is a complete misrepresentation of everything said before.
That is quite the bogus proclamation.
The same thing drives people to fascism and other forms of oppressive governments. The fallacy here is that the people who replace the bad guys must be the good guys. The reality is almost always that the people who replace the bad guys are the other bad guys.
Yes, the USA has waged an economic war on Venezuela and the reason for that is primarily the same as the reason they support the viscous, totalitarian oppressive regime in Saudi Arabia; they need to ensure that the dollar remains the world's reserve currency.
That can only be done by ensuring that oil continues to be traded in dollars.
So, the USA and it's sanctions are all about the economic interests of the USA. That shouldn't surprise anyone; as General DeGaulle said, countries do not have allies, just interests. Therefore the USA is no different to anyone else, us included.
Now, on to why Venezuela has collapsed; in part it is due to sanctions and the pressure the USA exerts through the banks it influences but with the resources Venezuela has that should only be a minor inconvenience. Make no mistake; it is to a very large extent, the author of it's own destruction.
I quoted you verbatim because I've noticed from other threads that you have a tendency to shift your position when challenged without acknowledging same.
How would a democratic socialist republic reduce the chances of exactly the same issues of self-interest occurring?True, I agree entirely. It's all about self-interest. Problems arise when my self-interest conflicts with your self-interest. Democracy can, should resolve that, but not in itself, social policy is pivotal too. As such I am an advocate of a democratic socialist republic - the wealth of the state, generated from the resources of the state distributed in accordance to the needs of the state.
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