• This is a political forum that is non-biased/non-partisan and treats every person's position on topics equally. This debate forum is not aligned to any political party. In today's politics, many ideas are split between and even within all the political parties. Often we find ourselves agreeing on one platform but some topics break our mold. We are here to discuss them in a civil political debate. If this is your first visit to our political forums, be sure to check out the RULES. Registering for debate politics is necessary before posting. Register today to participate - it's free!

Venezuelan parliament votes to begin impeachment proceedings against Maduro

Exiled Attorney General Says Venezuela’s Maduro Blocked Attempts to Investigate Corruption
https://panampost.com/orlando-avend...o-blocked-attempts-to-investigate-corruption/

BY: ORLANDO AVENDAÑO - @ORLVNDOA - DEC 15, 2017

luisaortegadiazbloombergnota.jpg

State oil company PDVSA has long been a focus of corruption, but the Supreme Court of Justice and senior officials — reaching as high as Maduro himself — have carried out their own corrupt practices while hampering other possible investigations. (Wikimedia)

Venezuela’s Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz said President Nicolás Maduro never once confronted her about corruption within his regime before she was forced into exile. If anything, she said, the regime’s most prominent officials pressured her to drop inquiries into wrongdoing.
State oil company PDVSA has long been a focus of corruption, but the Supreme Court of Justice and senior officials — reaching as high as Maduro himself — have carried out their own corrupt practices while hampering other possible investigations.

“Every time we acted, we faced an obstacle and the Supreme Court would issue a decision to avoid criminal prosecution,” Ortega Díaz said.

Eulogio Del Pino and Nelson Martinez, two senior officials with PDVSA, were recently arrested for corruption along with dozens of lower officials. Ortega Díaz said it isn’t a sign of more transparent government, but rather a “fight for territory” and “a battle between mafias.”
Click link above for full article.
Maduro’s Venezuela regime is not only corrupt, but it is also taking advantage of the hardships of the people. The systematic bureaucratic corruption have been going on since Chavez was in power. Beside the corruption at PDVSA, the regime has been involved in drug trade. The Venezuela regime has been ranked by Transparency International among the most corrupt countries in the world.
 
Socialist Venezuela Ends 2017 with the World’s Largest Inflation Rate: Nearly 3,000 Percent
https://panampost.com/karina-martin...-2017-with-the-worlds-largest-inflation-rate/

BY: KARINA MARTÍN - JAN 2, 2018

Venezuela-culmina-el-a%C3%B1o-con-mas-de-2000-de-inflacion.jpg


Venezuela ended 2017 with four-figure hyperinflation reaching nearly 3,000 percent, according to the financial consultancy Ecoanalítica.

Though President Nicolás Maduro’s regime won’t admit to the inflation problem, the ever-increasing price of the dollar is enough to devalue of the country’s money significantly. According to the DolarToday website, Now, it’s at 111,413.23 bolivars.

The Maduro regime has not published economic data since 2015, and blames the United States and the international financial system for sabotaging the country’s economy.

The price of the most basic goods in Venezuela cost 13,883,365 bolivars (US $125), which is equivalent to more than 70 minimum wage salaries — equivalent to 177,000 bolivars (US $1.5 ). Monthly inflation reached 81 percent in December, on top of food and medicine shortages caused by price controls, low production and a lack of foreign exchange for imports.
Click link above for full article.
The Maduro regime fiscal crisis has gone from tragic to catastrophic. The economic disaster of Venezuela has precipitated the collapse of living and health standards, and famine is on the horizon. Wages had fallen, food is in short supply and calories consumption had decline.
 
Even if impeachment proceedings suceed, they probably won't have any effect since Maduro consolidated much of their power.
 
Even if impeachment proceedings suceed, they probably won't have any effect since Maduro consolidated much of their power.
Venezuela, which has the largest oil reserves in the world, in December 2017 started to ration gas due to shortages. Corruption and lack of investments had significantly reduced oil extraction. The regime inability to meet its debts obligations, confront the possibility that its oil shipments could be seize by its creditors to collect payments. This could lead to the collapse of Maduro’s regime.
 
As Venezuelan Oil Production Collapses Latin America Looks for a New Petroleum Leader
https://panampost.com/orlando-avend...tin-america-looks-for-a-new-petroleum-leader/
BY: ORLANDO AVENDAÑO - @ORLVNDOA - JAN 19, 2018

petroleo-venezolano.jpg


For years, Venezuela was a world leader in the oil industry. Today, its production has drastically declined, reaching unprecedentedly low levels. Crude oil fell by 11 percent in December, the Wall Street Journal reported, and throughout 2017 it fell by 29 percent.

That represents the largest decline in production in the country’s history, which comes largely as a result of mismanagement and a lack of investment.

However, Venezuela’s oil production is still far from free fall, according to Alejandro Grisanti, the Director of Ecoanalítica.

“Production fell by 216,000 bpd (barrels per day) in the month of December alone,” he said. “And in 2016, it was reduced by 649,000 bpd. I have no words to reflect my deep concern about the destruction of our oil sector.”
Click link above for full article.
Venezuela economy is in big trouble. During the last four years, the economy shrunk by about 40% and inflation reached 2,600% last year, according to the National Assembly. About one in four factories didn’t reopen after Christmas, according to a local industry association.
 
PDVSA had defaulted $700 million in bond payments. During the first week of January, a tanker carrying Venezuela oil was impounding in the island of Curaçao by creditors seeking to collect $30 million in back payments. Venezuela’s economy depend on oil exports for 95% of revenues. Maduro’s regime will be running out of money in a near future and would not be able to hang onto power. This would be a predictable ending for the Maduro’s regime.
 
PDVSA had defaulted $700 million in bond payments. During the first week of January, a tanker carrying Venezuela oil was impounding in the island of Curaçao by creditors seeking to collect $30 million in back payments. Venezuela’s economy depend on oil exports for 95% of revenues. Maduro’s regime will be running out of money in a near future and would not be able to hang onto power. This would be a predictable ending for the Maduro’s regime.

Unless there is some assistance to be had at any point for Maduro, I would have to agree. However, it is still possible for someone to step in and help them. Though with how many bridges have been burned in this regime, I doubt that is going to happen any time soon.
 
Study: Venezuelans have lost more than 11 kilos on average in 2017
https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2018/02/22/starving-venezuelans-lost-11-kilos-average-2017/

According to the survey, 87% of Venezuelan households live in poverty. Of that percentage, slightly more than half (56%) are recently and 30% chronically poor.

By Sabrina Martín Last updated Feb 23, 2018

46.jpg

Children from the Wayuu tribes in a school in western Venezuela. Note how poor school food is: hunger in Venezuela starts worrying the international communities. (Versión Final)

A recent survey conducted by Venezuelan universities revealed the seriousness of the food crisis in the country, detailing the situation of starving Venezuelans.

Every year, the main universities of the country join together to carry out the Survey on Living Conditions (ENCOVI). This year’s results demonstrate that in the South American country, people do not live, they survive.

The Simón Bolívar University (USB), the Central University of Venezuela (UCV) and the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) initiated this project in the absence of official data. The report focused on seven areas: poverty, food, health, education, personal security, emigration, and work.

The data of the report

In 2017 the increase in poverty, food shortages, inflation, and insecurity was undeniable, to the point of surpassing all the previous forecasts.

Two of the most damning figures are the measures of the shortage of food and its consequences. According to the survey, starving Venezuelans lost on average more than 11 kilos during 2017, something people on the street commonly refer to as “Maduro’s Diet”.

Almost 90% of respondents said that family income “is not enough” to eat and 78.6% said that in the last three months they ate less because they were not able to get food.
Click link above for full article.
Venezuela, under the Maduro regime, produces only 30 percent of its demand for food. It have the highest inflation in the world and no dollars with which to pay the debts. The famine is reaching catastrophic proportions. Score of people go to bed without food. The conditions in the country are ripe for a political change. The Arm Forces are suffering an internal crisis, requests for discharge and desertion are growing. Many of the military high ranking officers are corrupt. Soldiers and their families are suffering the same problems than the rest of the population, medicine shortage, food scarcity and inflation. The Venezuela people need their support to bring back a democratic government.
 
Venezuela's Maduro Ramps Up Arrests to Purge Dissenting Military
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ramps-up-arrests-to-purge-dissenting-military

By Fabiola Zerpa
March 19, 2018, 7:46 AM PDT

President Nicolas Maduro is clamping down on dissent in the middle ranks of Venezuela’s army, a sign that his alliance with the top brass may not be able to guarantee his grip on power as he prepares to face re-election in May.

Police have detained 19 officers since the start of the month, charging nine of them with treason and instigating rebellion, said Alonso Medina, the lawyer for six of those accused. The government has yet to confirm the arrests. On Tuesday, former intelligence director Miguel Rodriguez Torres was also arrested, accused of plotting to attack the unity of the armed force and having ties to U.S. intelligence services, according to the Information Ministry.

“The truth is that discontent inside the military barracks is just the same as in the street,” said Medina. “Officials are disgruntled by hunger, hyperinflation and insecurity."
Click link above for full article
The confrontation between the Maduro regime and the Arm forces is about to reach a climax. Beside resents arrests of military officers, there are hundreds of military personnel behind bars. The retired general Cliver Alcalá, in a communique to the Venezuela citizens, asked all the members of the National Armed Forces to react against the resent arrests and the other arbitrariness against military officers. The communique couldn’t be more crystal clear.
 
Russia China flee from Venezuelan refineries fearing imminent collapse
https://panampost.com/sabrina-marti...ezuelan-refineries-fearing-imminent-collapse/

Both nations realized that Venezuela’s oil industry is almost in total neglect and to get it back on its feet would require millions in additional investments

By Sabrina Martín On Mar 30, 2018

Russia and China, allied countries of the dictatorship in Venezuela, declined taking over the Venezuelan refineries of Paraguaná, as the Maduro regime had offered.

Both countries realized that Venezuela’s oil industry is almost in total neglect and that to get it back on its feet would require millions in additional investments.

Rosneft (Russia) was set to run the Amuay refinery with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, and Petrochina would handle Cardón, whose capacity is 310,000 barrels per day.

Given this situation, Venezuela, with some the largest oil reserves in the world, plans to close three of its largest refineries due to a shortage of oil and lack of personnel. A situation that leaves the major source of income of the South American country in disarray.
Click link above for full article.
The imminent closure of 3 of the 4 domestic refineries, which account for near 50% of the refining capacity, due to diminishing crude oil extraction, equipment failures, personnel shortage and failure of negotiations with Russia and China oil companies to take over those refineries, basically is the spell of dead of Venezuela oil industry and very probably of the Maduro regime.
 
The Lima Group and the US Will Not Recognize Venezuela May 20 Elections
https://panampost.com/sabrina-marti...ill-not-recognize-venezuela-may-20-elections/

The Lima Group, at the 8th Summit of Americas, has approved a resolution calling for a return to democracy and the Constitutional order in Venezuela.

ELECTIONSIDEOLOGYINTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
By Sabrina Martín Last Updated Apr 16, 2018

Grupo-de-Lima.jpg

he Lima Group has succeeded in drafting a resolution to pressure the Venezuelan government to restore Constitutional order (PanAm Post).

At the Summit of the Americas, the member countries of the “Lima Group” signed a document in which they demanded the Venezuelan government hold “free and transparent elections” and ratified that the elections to planned by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, lacking these principles, have no legitimacy; furthermore they ratified their support for the National Assembly as the only legitimate legislative body in the South American nation.

The heads of state and governments of Argentina, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Saint Lucia, and the Vice President of the United States, met on the occasion of the VIII Summit of the Americas; in the face of the breakdown of Constitutional order in Venezuela, and concerned about the worsening political, economic, social and humanitarian crisis in that country:
Click link above for full article.
On April 19, besides the 16 countries of the Lima Group, Francia, Alemania, Italia, Japón, España and Great Britain, got together in the Department of the Treasure of the U.S. to discuss the Venezuela’s crisis. Hopefully this countries would take action very soon due to the grave humanitarian condition of the Venezuelan people.
 
No one wants to be last in line.' Seizure of Venezuela oil assets may start wave
Venezuela oil assets seizure by Conoco may start wave | Miami Herald

BY ANTONIO MARIA DELGADO
adelgado@elnuevoherald.com
May 10, 2018 01:39 PM

The decision by ConocoPhillips to seize the Caribbean assets of PDVSA, Venezuela's state-owned oil company, has established a dangerous legal precedent that could swamp the South American country's already impoverished oil monopoly under a wave of similar claims and cut deeply into its ability to operate, experts said.

The decision, which came amid the accelerating deterioration of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A.'s production capacity, could lead creditors to try to seize other Venezuelan assets abroad, including oil exports, to recover the more than $40 billion they claim they are owed.
Click link above for full article.
Venezuela owed Conoco over $22 billion and PDVSA is practically bankrupted. Conoco could lay claim to all PDVSA offshore assets. If this take place, Maduro downfall will be inevitable if he cannot payback the debt.
 
Maduro uses repression and military purge to stay in power in Venezuela
Venezuela's Maduro uses military purge to stay in power | Miami Herald

BY ANTONIO MARIA DELGADO
adelgado@elnuevoherald.com
May 29, 2018

Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro fared very badly in the May 20 elections. He wanted to show worried chavistas that he's still popular enough to lead the revolution, but the extremely low turnout proved exactly the opposite, analysts said.

His insistence on holding the elections, despite warnings from the international community, served only to increase the risk of further economic sanctions on his regime. The demands of foreign debt-holders for lack of payment are putting oil operations at risk, and Maduro faces one of the toughest moments in the history of chavismo (the leftist political ideology of late President Hugo Chávez) with only one weapon — repression.

“Inevitably, this will dramatically increase the risks that we Venezuelans face,” opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said in a recent interview with el Nuevo Herald.

“I foresee a period of enormous repression, which they are already planning, not only against civil society but also against the … armed forces,” Machado added. “They are going to move against those officers and soldiers who still know their historic responsibilities and who understand that Venezuela is today a failed state controlled by an outlaw regime.”
Click link above for full article.
Overt 75% of Venezuelan did not vote. Unfortunately the Venezuelan have been not able to get rid of Maduro, since the opposition was not allow to participate in the fraudulent election. With U.S., Canada, the European Union and 16 Latin American countries leveling sanctions against the Maduro regime, it is becoming more difficult for him to remain in power. The Castroit regime is not in a condition to adequately prop him up. He will not be allow to established a totalitarian regime like in Cuba.
 
Twenty years ago Venezuela was the richest country in Latin America. The socialist policies of the Chavez regime manage to ruin the economy and bankrupt the country. Even with the price of oil at $100 a barrel, the regime was already faltering economically. Venezuela oil company PDVSA is facing many lawsuits for unpaid debts that could cause taking over its assets. The regime owes $9 billion in payment and has only $9.6 billion in reserve. Venezuela is practically bankrupt.
 
Unrest in Venezuelan Barracks: The Imminence of a Rebellion against Maduro’s Illegitimate Rule
https://panampost.com/orlando-avend...-rebellion-against-maduros-illegitimate-rule/

By Orlando Avendaño Jun 11, 2018

A week ago, the Bolivarian National Armed Forces celebrated an act of “reaffirmation of loyalty” to the dictator Nicolás Maduro. At the military meeting, Maduro asked the Armed Forces to maintain their subordinate status.

“I demand maximum loyalty to the commander in chief of the Armed Forces…Are the Armed Forces going to betray the people of Venezuela?” Asked the leader of the Chavista regime, while speaking to a small group of officers.
Click link above for full article
No doubt that there are discontent among the military forces against Maduro regime. The military purge by the regime negates the regime assertion that they are in full control. The next effort by the militaries could topple Maduro regime and bring stability to Venezuela.
 
Last edited:
OPEC data show Venezuela oil output in free fall
Flash' '-' 'OPEC' 'data' 'show' 'Venezuela' 'oil' 'output' 'in' 'free' 'fall' '-' 'France' '24

12 July 2018

253b6fd92856df6f10750877ac767742264ce7c6.jpg

AFP/File | Only once during the last 30 years has Venezuela's crude production dipped lower

CARACAS (AFP) - Venezuelan oil production crashed to a new 30-year low of 1.5 million barrels a day in June, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said on Wednesday.

The South American nation earns 96 percent of its revenue through oil sales but a lack of foreign exchange has sparked economic paralysis that has left the country suffering serious shortages of food and medicine.

The government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro has told state oil company PDVSA to increase production in the country which sits atop the world's largest reserves of crude.
Click link above for full article.
Maduro socialist regime is on the brink to accomplish the collapse of the oil industry. Even so Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, the regime is struggling to meet basic domestic demands. PDVSA oil production is only 30% of the normal output. The regime is force to import crude oil to blend with its heavy oil to export it, in order to repay its debt with China and Russia.
 
But things are going so well there. He has Venezuela looking like a lot of democrat controlled US cities.

Well...ok...not quite as violent as the democrat controlled US cities...but still.
 
But things are going so well there. He has Venezuela looking like a lot of democrat controlled US cities.

Well...ok...not quite as violent as the democrat controlled US cities...but still.
Very good comparison. Unfortunately Venezuela under Maduro is getting there very fast. His aim is to surpass Chicago violent crime.
 
The Chavez/Maduro Socialist regime has brought down Venezuela, despite its oil industry, with the central planning polices assessorated by the Castroit regime, which destroyed the private productive sectors of the economy, making the country mostly dependent on oil. Socialism in action, Venezuela, the country that had the highest GDP per capita in Latin America, is sinking into poverty with hyperinflation and most Venezuelans starving.
 
Monthly wages for Cuban doctors on a foreign mission, at an estimated $100, represent just a fraction of what the Venezuelan government hands over to Cuba in return for its medical services. Cuban doctors complain about harsh working conditions and the poor state of the Venezuelan economy where food shortages and inflation have become a feature of everyday life.

If Cubans are complaining of working conditions in Venezuela you know it's got to be bad!
 
To the Washington Post: Venezuela Is, in Fact, An Example of the Failure of Socialism
https://panampost.com/orlando-avend...-fact-an-example-of-the-failure-of-socialism/

By Orlando Avendaño, Aug 23, 2018

https://panampost.com/wp-content/uploads/Francisco-Toro.jpg
Francisco Toro comes up short when he attempts to let socialism off the hook for Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis (EFE).

In the article, entitled “No, Venezuela does not prove anything about socialism,” Toro rails about what he calls “the conservative American mediasphere.” He deems them opportunists, seeking to promote their agendas by taking advantage of the Venezuelan drama. Specifically, he accuses them of linking anyone who raises the banner of “socialism” with those responsible for the worst humanitarian drama that the region has suffered.

His argument is based on the following premise: Venezuela is not the only country in Latin America that has been governed by some self-styled “socialist”, but Venezuela is the only one plunged into an unprecedented humanitarian tragedy.

“Since the beginning of the century, every country in South America, except Colombia, has chosen a socialist as president at some point. Socialists have taken power in the largest economy in South America (Brazil), in the poorest (Bolivia) and in the most capitalist country (Chile),” the article reads. Then, Toro says: “Mysteriously, the supposedly automatic link between socialism and the zombie apocalypse did not occur in those countries. Not content with just not collapsing, several of these countries have prospered.”
Click link above for full article.
Francisco Toro article trying to exonerate socialism from Venezuela acute problems, in reality proof that socialism doesn't work as an ideology and political form of government. Near 2.5 million Venezuelan have fled the country, like people fleeing for a war zone. This is something that is endemic in socialist countries. Socialism has been a colossal failure around the world. Mismanagement and corruption is practically guaranteed under Socialism policies.
 
Very good comparison. Unfortunately Venezuela under Maduro is getting there very fast. His aim is to surpass Chicago violent crime.

I think Venezuela became more dangerous than Chicago a long time ago. The homicide rate in Chicago is 23.8 per 100,000. According to Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, the homicide rate for Venezuela in 2013 was 62 per 100,000. By comparison, Detroit had a homicide rate of 43 and St. Louis (highest homicide of any American city with over 200,000) was at 59.8. For those wondering, America's current homicide rate is somewhere between 5 and 6 per 100,000 (this includes all of the mass shooting deaths btw). And Venezuela's murder rate is rising.

According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, Venezuela's capital, Caracas has a homicide rate of 122 per 100,000. By comparison, Iraq's worst year (2006) saw a war death rate of slightly over 100 per 100,000.
 
I think Venezuela became more dangerous than Chicago a long time ago. The homicide rate in Chicago is 23.8 per 100,000. According to Attorney General Luisa Ortega Díaz, the homicide rate for Venezuela in 2013 was 62 per 100,000. By comparison, Detroit had a homicide rate of 43 and St. Louis (highest homicide of any American city with over 200,000) was at 59.8. For those wondering, America's current homicide rate is somewhere between 5 and 6 per 100,000 (this includes all of the mass shooting deaths btw). And Venezuela's murder rate is rising.

According to the Venezuelan Violence Observatory, Venezuela's capital, Caracas has a homicide rate of 122 per 100,000. By comparison, Iraq's worst year (2006) saw a war death rate of slightly over 100 per 100,000.
Thanks for your response. Is very well documented.
 
Last edited:
Progressive used Nordic countries as examples that socialism work. Nordic countries are not socialists. They practice mostly free market economics with private ownership of production, agriculture and big business, matched high taxes and capitalism to pay for generous government entitlement programs. In socialist societies the government owns most of means of production, in which the lack of a profit motive lead to inefficiency of productive resources. Workers lack incentives to produce goods, which leads to shortages and higher prices, which lead to riots and use force by the authoritarian government to suppress the demonstrations. This sound very much like the current regimes of Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela.
 
Back
Top Bottom