(Reuters)
By Andrew Cawthorne and Deisy Buitrago
Nov 14 (Reuters) - Venezuela's socialist government has arrested more than 100 "bourgeois" businessmen in a crackdown on alleged price-gouging at hundreds of shops and companies since the weekend, President Nicolas Maduro said on Thursday.
"They are barbaric, these capitalist parasites!" Maduro thundered in the latest of his lengthy daily speeches. "We have more than 100 of the bourgeoisie behind bars at the moment."
The successor to the late Hugo Chavez also said his government was preparing a law to limit Venezuelan businesses' profits to between 15 percent and 30 percent.
Officials say unscrupulous companies have been hiking prices of electronics and other goods more than 1,000 percent. Critics say failed socialist economic policies and restricted access to foreign currency are behind Venezuela's runaway inflation.
"Goodyear has to lower its prices even more, 15 percent is not enough, the inspectors have go there straightaway," Maduro said in his evening address, sending officials to check local operations of the U.S.-based tire manufacturer.
Since the weekend, soldiers and inspectors have gone into 1,400 shops, taken over operations at an electronics firm and a battery-making company, and rounded up a handful of looters.
The move - Maduro's boldest since taking office in April - is reminiscent of the dramatic governing style of Chavez, who nationalized swaths of the OPEC member's economy during his 14-year socialist rule.
Like Chavez, Maduro says he is defending the poor.
The inspections have shaken Venezuela three weeks before local elections that his opponents are casting as a referendum on the 50-year-old former bus driver. Maduro has made preserving Chavez's legacy the mainstay of his government and has been matching his former mentor's anti-capitalist rhetoric.
"It's time to deepen the offensive, go to the bone in this economic war," he said.
Only a few of the hundreds of shops targeted with surprise inspections had been found to be offering "fair prices," officials say. Some businesses are voluntarily lowering prices - or staying closed - in case the inspectors come.
"We've reduced everything by 10 to 15 percent, but it's not fair. I can't make a profit now," said the owner of one small electronics store, who asked not to be identified.
"I agree they should go for the big fish, the real speculators, but they risk hurting us all."
Venezuela's official inflation, 54 percent annually, is the highest in the Americas.
Maduro said the forced price discounts should lead to negative inflation of 15 percent in November and 50 percent in December - forecasts that brought immediate mockery from critics on Twitter.
CROWDS AT SHOPS
Around Caracas and other major cities, crowds of shoppers are flooding electronics, clothing and other outlets where price cuts are anticipated. There has been some violence.
The Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflicts reported 39 incidents of looting or attempted looting since Friday. "We ask officials to moderate language in speeches that could be interpreted as calls to violence," the local non-governmental organization said.
The rhetoric on both sides is becoming more strident.
The campaign to reduce prices and blame entrepreneurs may play well with Maduro's power base among the poor and could help unite factions within the ruling Socialist Party.
Given Venezuelans' anxiety over inflation, and scarcities of basic goods from toilet paper to milk, Maduro was risking a backlash at the December 8 nationwide municipal elections.
Plenty of Venezuelans have applauded his measures, saying price hikes were out of control, while others have expressed fears that Maduro could be uncorking dangerous forces.
Critics say the moves do not tackle the roots of Venezuela's economic malaise, like an overvalued bolivar that forces many importers to buy black-market dollars and then pass those costs on to consumers.
The government has ordered local telecom companies to block various websites showing the bolivar at 10 times the official rate of 6.3 to the greenback on the illegal market.
Prominent pro-opposition columnist Nelson Bocaranda said Maduro's economic policies were "chillingly similar" to those of Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The African leader also used security forces to enforce a price crackdown in 2007.
Opposition party Justice First accused the state of hypocrisy, saying its stores were also hiking prices unjustifiably.
An imported sandwich toaster, for example, that costs $34.99 in the United States, was selling at a fivefold markup of 1,100 bolivars ($175 at the official exchange rate) in state supermarket chain Bicentenario, it said.
"This shows the economic chaos Maduro has got us in where prices have no logic. The government created this monster and now tries to pretend it will control it, but Venezuelans cannot be deceived by this electoral show," Justice First said.
Like Chavez on several occasions, Maduro is seeking decree powers from Congress, which granted preliminary approval on Thursday. He says he needs the Enabling Law to fix the economy, but critics accuse Maduro of simply amassing power.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/the-americas-blog/venezuelan-economic-and-social-performance-under-hugo-chavez-in-graphs
babyhueypnewton posted:I tried watching homeland but it sucked, but apparently in the future seasons the white guy turned MUSLIM goes to live in that abandoned skyscraper in venezuela. basically venezuela has become the boogeyman in popular media propaganda which means it's doing things right.
HenryKrinkle posted:when it comes to Venezuela the US mainstream press abandons all pretensions of being even the slightest bit fair.
Ironicwarcriminal posted:why are products like toilet paper in scarce supply after 15 years of socialist rule?
a marine doesn't ask this question. OO-RAH!
Ironicwarcriminal posted:why are products like toilet paper in scarce supply after 15 years of socialist rule?
because the capitalist parasites are full of shit!!!!
Ironicwarcriminal posted:why are products like toilet paper in scarce supply after 15 years of socialist rule?
huge socialist advances in distribution efficiency. Americans judge "supply" by how many products are sitting uselessly on shelves, but every warehoused, dust-covered roll of American tp represents at least Capitalist butthole going completely unwiped
Ironicwarcriminal posted:why are products like toilet paper in scarce supply after 15 years of socialist rule?
it's me. i can't stop pooping
The stuff they're doing now is all for show and doesn't really mean anything, no one in the government actually believes it's going to be effective because the problem isn't a few greedy business owners it's the bolivar. Actually stabilizing the economy would take either submitting to IMF-style neoliberalism or taking a hard left turn, neither of which they want to do and neither of which are actually a sure bet - the IMF shit fails as often as it succeeds + would undermine the government, and the scale of economic reorganization the country would have to undertake to prevent these sort of things from happening, (not just nationalization, but totally reorganizing the economy to be more self-sufficient instead of relying on oil exports and importing most everything else), would essentially mean a generation-long depression that the government probably can't sustain and would make them an international pariah. Essentially it's a really sad situation and emblematic of what happens to countries attempting socialism in a world without the USSR, and demonstrates why we need world revolution rather than these baby steps. Anyway I guess the government's plan now is to do a bunch of PR stunts that don't mean much while quietly implementing currency reform in an attempt to restore confidence with the public and businesses respectively, I have no idea if it'll work, but if I had to guess they'll probably make it through this.
elektrenai posted:there was even a bizarre episode of Parks and Recreation dedicated to ridiculing Venezuela
the fedex movie, aka "cast away" starring tom hanks, has a really bizzare and out of place section where tom hanks is in russia directing the brand-new fedex station in moscow and teaching russians about american productivity and capitalist values in a dim soviet warehouse
the first 30 mins and the last 10 are a huge fedex commercial, apparently fedex paid nothing for their role in the film, truly it is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism
Lessons posted:Basically inflation is out of control and approaching hyperinflation levels, there's shortages of staple goods and there's not much the government can do about it. Part of this is that Maduro's cranked up public spending but honestly it's been a long time coming because there's been massive capital flight from Venezuela in the past 5 years to the tune of $100 billion and the current budget is just the straw that broke the camel's back. People talk up the capital controls and claim they're causing this but really it's just that they didn't work, and really they were never intended to work because the PSUV is terrified of scaring off investment which is exactly what effective capital controls would do, and actually they've easing off on even the paltry measures they have now because it's become clear they're doing more harm than good.
The stuff they're doing now is all for show and doesn't really mean anything, no one in the government actually believes it's going to be effective because the problem isn't a few greedy business owners it's the bolivar. Actually stabilizing the economy would take either submitting to IMF-style neoliberalism or taking a hard left turn, neither of which they want to do and neither of which are actually a sure bet - the IMF shit fails as often as it succeeds + would undermine the government, and the scale of economic reorganization the country would have to undertake to prevent these sort of things from happening, (not just nationalization, but totally reorganizing the economy to be more self-sufficient instead of relying on oil exports and importing most everything else), would essentially mean a generation-long depression that the government probably can't sustain and would make them an international pariah. Essentially it's a really sad situation and emblematic of what happens to countries attempting socialism in a world without the USSR, and demonstrates why we need world revolution rather than these baby steps. Anyway I guess the government's plan now is to do a bunch of PR stunts that don't mean much while quietly implementing currency reform in an attempt to restore confidence with the public and businesses respectively, I have no idea if it'll work, but if I had to guess they'll probably make it through this.
so what if any particular initial cause is behind the inflation?
stegosaurus posted:elektrenai posted:
there was even a bizarre episode of Parks and Recreation dedicated to ridiculing Venezuela
the fedex movie, aka "cast away" starring tom hanks, has a really bizzare and out of place section where tom hanks is in russia directing the brand-new fedex station in moscow and teaching russians about american productivity and capitalist values in a dim soviet warehouse
the first 30 mins and the last 10 are a huge fedex commercial, apparently fedex paid nothing for their role in the film, truly it is easier to imagine the end of the world than to imagine the end of capitalism
speaking of tom hanks and bad movies i saw forrest gump again recently (after enjoying it as a 10 year old) and good lord what a piece of manipulative, self-congratulatory baby boomer garbage
Lessons posted:Basically inflation is out of control and approaching hyperinflation levels, there's shortages of staple goods and there's not much the government can do about it. Part of this is that Maduro's cranked up public spending but honestly it's been a long time coming because there's been massive capital flight from Venezuela in the past 5 years to the tune of $100 billion and the current budget is just the straw that broke the camel's back. People talk up the capital controls and claim they're causing this but really it's just that they didn't work, and really they were never intended to work because the PSUV is terrified of scaring off investment which is exactly what effective capital controls would do, and actually they've easing off on even the paltry measures they have now because it's become clear they're doing more harm than good.
The stuff they're doing now is all for show and doesn't really mean anything, no one in the government actually believes it's going to be effective because the problem isn't a few greedy business owners it's the bolivar. Actually stabilizing the economy would take either submitting to IMF-style neoliberalism or taking a hard left turn, neither of which they want to do and neither of which are actually a sure bet - the IMF shit fails as often as it succeeds + would undermine the government, and the scale of economic reorganization the country would have to undertake to prevent these sort of things from happening, (not just nationalization, but totally reorganizing the economy to be more self-sufficient instead of relying on oil exports and importing most everything else), would essentially mean a generation-long depression that the government probably can't sustain and would make them an international pariah. Essentially it's a really sad situation and emblematic of what happens to countries attempting socialism in a world without the USSR, and demonstrates why we need world revolution rather than these baby steps. Anyway I guess the government's plan now is to do a bunch of PR stunts that don't mean much while quietly implementing currency reform in an attempt to restore confidence with the public and businesses respectively, I have no idea if it'll work, but if I had to guess they'll probably make it through this.
ty for this explanation lessons.......i think if in the future there is political reaction against globally nomadic capital it will probably be at some supra-national or continental level: EU, some quasi-socialist Latin American Bloc, East Asia, OPEC
Lessons posted:The most obvious proximate cause is that the government budget is 70% higher than it was last year and probably some other stuff I don't know about
balance of payments
Lessons posted:Basically inflation is out of control and approaching hyperinflation levels, there's shortages of staple goods and there's not much the government can do about it. Part of this is that Maduro's cranked up public spending but honestly it's been a long time coming because there's been massive capital flight from Venezuela in the past 5 years to the tune of $100 billion and the current budget is just the straw that broke the camel's back. People talk up the capital controls and claim they're causing this but really it's just that they didn't work, and really they were never intended to work because the PSUV is terrified of scaring off investment which is exactly what effective capital controls would do, and actually they've easing off on even the paltry measures they have now because it's become clear they're doing more harm than good.
The stuff they're doing now is all for show and doesn't really mean anything, no one in the government actually believes it's going to be effective because the problem isn't a few greedy business owners it's the bolivar. Actually stabilizing the economy would take either submitting to IMF-style neoliberalism or taking a hard left turn, neither of which they want to do and neither of which are actually a sure bet - the IMF shit fails as often as it succeeds + would undermine the government, and the scale of economic reorganization the country would have to undertake to prevent these sort of things from happening, (not just nationalization, but totally reorganizing the economy to be more self-sufficient instead of relying on oil exports and importing most everything else), would essentially mean a generation-long depression that the government probably can't sustain and would make them an international pariah. Essentially it's a really sad situation and emblematic of what happens to countries attempting socialism in a world without the USSR, and demonstrates why we need world revolution rather than these baby steps. Anyway I guess the government's plan now is to do a bunch of PR stunts that don't mean much while quietly implementing currency reform in an attempt to restore confidence with the public and businesses respectively, I have no idea if it'll work, but if I had to guess they'll probably make it through this.
nice parody of paul krugman
Ironicwarcriminal posted:speaking of tom hanks and bad movies i saw forrest gump again recently (after enjoying it as a 10 year old) and good lord what a piece of manipulative, self-congratulatory baby boomer garbage
this but the entirety of Tom Hanks post-'Burbs career
babyhueypnewton posted:nice parody of paul krugman
Haha, nice parody of Baby Hue– *cool guy sunglasses fall off and my eyes bulge out then my pants fall down and you see I'm wearing women's underwear and also spaghetti falls out of my pockets*
My God. It's really you. Looks like my bourgeois japes are up.
gyrofry posted:Jenny's 'disease' is actually due to the use of nitrile inhalants and cocaine, and exacerbated by the use of AZT, a potent mutagenic chemotherapy agent
The conspiracy theory of amyl being the real cause of aids is my favorite because it compounds gay panic with the breathless (lol) reporting in the media of poppers as the ultimate libidinal enhancement. Such a pat explanation was irresistible to arbiters of public morals, yet at the same time it was (and is) taken up by gay activists in theface of postgrid contempt and indifference from both state and public. It's one of the rare narratives that united both sides of the American political aisle, albeit from its fringes, and as such it's what I think of every time the breathless reporting of anti-globalization protests from mother Jones et al details truckers! Longshoremen! Crusties! Teachers! All working together!
palafox posted:gyrofry posted:
Jenny's 'disease' is actually due to the use of nitrile inhalants and cocaine, and exacerbated by the use of AZT, a potent mutagenic chemotherapy agent
The conspiracy theory of amyl being the real cause of aids is my favorite because it compounds gay panic with the breathless (lol) reporting in the media of poppers as the ultimate libidinal enhancement. Such a pat explanation was irresistible to arbiters of public morals, yet at the same time it was (and is) taken up by gay activists in theface of postgrid contempt and indifference from both state and public. It's one of the rare narratives that united both sides of the American political aisle, albeit from its fringes, and as such it's what I think of every time the breathless reporting of anti-globalization protests from mother Jones et al details truckers! Longshoremen! Crusties! Teachers! All working together!
I've heard people say it's just complications from Gay Bowel Disease (or GBS for short)
babyhueypnewton posted:nice parody of paul krugman
so babyhueypnewton, what's happening in Venezuela
CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuela’s legislature on Tuesday gave President Nicolás Maduro decree powers that he says are necessary for an “economic offensive” against the spiraling inflation and food shortages buffeting the country’s economy ahead of important municipal elections.
With the ability to pass laws without congressional approval for up to a year, Maduro said that he would move fast to restrict profit margins and introduce other changes to the economy. The government’s plans have rattled entrepreneurs, who during nearly 15 years of leftist populist rule have seen 1,000 businesses expropriated while facing a raft of intrusive government edicts.
Economists, though, say that government interventions have squelched investment, forcing Venezuela increasingly to import products from across Latin America and from the United States. And currency controls, which opponents say often favor those close to the seat of power, have only driven up costs as businesses are forced to go to the black market for the dollars needed to pay for imports.
Anthony Smith, 36, who was waiting in line outside an electronics store, was pleased with the measures. “You can save like 60 percent,” he said with a smile, explaining that he thought the government’s plans would improve the economy. “The measure should continue.”
Another shopper, Isneda Uribe, 47, said she was able to buy a washing machine at a third of the listed price. “Supposedly they are going to maintain these prices,” she said, as she stood in line for her sister.