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Amid "US Coup", Venezuela Takes Another $5 Billion Loan From China
The people of Venezuela can rejoice... not so fast. Amid paranoid-sounding (though not unlikely) rantings about US-created coups (and blaming 'economic' war for his nation's Socialist utopia hyperinflation), it appears President Maduro just got another life-line (or more rope to hang himself). After begging China's leader Xi early in January for moar money (and getting it), China - which is already Venezuela's biggest creditor with over $50 billion loaned since 2007 - as Reuters reports, is said to plan on signing another $5bn loan to Venezuela for "wide-ranging" projects like "mature oil fields." So, it appears China is enabling Maduro to hollow out his economy even more.
China is poised to lend Venezuela around $10 billion in coming months, half as part of a bilateral financing deal and the other half for development of oil fields, a senior official at state oil company PDVSAsaid on Thursday.
The first $5 billion loan, part of the Joint Chinese-Venezuelan Fund, is due to be signed this month and will be destined for wide-ranging projects in the OPEC country, said the official.
The other separate $5 billion loan is set to be clinched in June and will likely stipulate contracting Chinese companies to boost production in PDVSA's mature oil fields, the source added.
"China wants to decisively back investments in areas like mature oil fields so that PDVSA can rapidly increase its production," said the source, who asked not to be identified.
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Maybe it's time to stock up on condoms and toilet paper?
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Finally, as we noted previously, the thread by which Venezuelan socialism hangs may soon snap...
For many years, the Venezuelan government was able to mask the failures of Hugo Chavez’ “socialist revolution” somewhat with the help of the country’s oil revenues. However, it should be remembered that shortages of basic goods in Venezuela are nothing new; the first press reports appeared about two years ago, when oil prices were still quite high (see also this late 2013 article of ours: “The Hygienically Challenged Crack-Up Boom”). As we quoted from a press report on that occasion, some Marxists – as long as they are members of the ruling class – seem actually not overly worried about scarcity:
“Not everyone thinks these shortages spell bad news. Planning Minister Jorge Giordani, an avowed Marxist, famously quipped in 2009 that “socialism has been built based on scarcity.”
Of course it was easy to make such quips, callous though they may be, back when the hugely popular Hugo Chavez was still around and able to distribute large oil revenues with both hands. The situation is a lot more difficult for Nicolas Maduro, who is probably slowly but surely getting worried about the potential for a counter-revolution (there has already been intermittent unrest in Caracas – and at the time the bolivar’s black market rate was still 85 to the dollar instead of 185).
Russia’s economy is likewise suffering from the decline in oil prices , but its government has a lot more breathing room in terms of debt and foreign exchange reserves and would be able to greatly help its economy merely by getting serious about tackling corruption.
Maduro has a much bigger problem, as he would essentially be forced to abandon the very ideology he so wholeheartedly supports if he wants to turn the floundering ship around. He does have one advantage over Putin though: he has very little to lose anymore in terms of his approval ratings. He probably must worry about his party comrades though, many of whom will be reluctant to abandon the late and great Hugo Chavez’ “socialist achievements”. It will be interesting to see how things will play out, in light of Maduro lately adopting steps he would never have taken a year ago. Still, given the government’s debt situation and Venezuela’s monetary statistics, a complete loss of confidence in the currency remains a very real possibility. In other words, the thread by which Venezuelan socialism hangs may soon snap.
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I'm long tacos
I'm long failed leftist governments having to borrow money to survive.
Faaareeeeee! toilet paper & health insurance for everyone!
Vote for Meeeee!
Another 5B they will not get back from that fraud Latin government
HMMM. Just a thought:
Well, the Chinese have what, 2 TRILLION in U.S. 'securities' laying around without a place to 're-invest'. It's worthless paper, of course (except for the fact that Billary went begging to the Chinese to keep loaning the U.S. money and put up all 'Federal' holdings as collateral, about 3 years ago).
SO...
The Chinese are buying up Venezuela using worthless fedscrips that the American taxpayer is gonna have to pay for (eventually, or SOONER) in land, holdings, etcetera. They (the Chinks; or 'Chinese Communists') have been playing this game for more than 5,000 years, you know. They'll get Venezuela, and make the stoopid Yanquis PAY FOR IT at the same time!
Oh, by the way; FUCK Maduro (that commiesymplant scumbag) for selling his country out like a whore spending all her earnings for a night in Las Vegas. The PLA will OWN his ass because Venezuela won't be able to pay back this (or past) loan(s).
Why do they call Mexicans (and ALL indigenous peoples of South America) 'Latins', anyway? The LATINS were (are) from ITALY.
They don't SPEAK Latin, and they are brown and short and fat (mostly). Is it because they took on the religion of their conquorers, 'Roman Catholiicsm', perhaps? WELL, they like to BREED like rabbits, I guess (and WHY does the religious 'holiday' of EASTER ('ESH-TAR') involve RABBITS that bring EGGS (like rabbits actually LAY eggs, or some bullshit) to celebrate the death and rebirth of the son of the Roman Catholic GODDESS named 'MARY', anyway? Is it because the Roman Catholics decided to sway the stupid 'LATIN' Americans into coming to their 'MASSES' with something that would tittilate them (like FUCKING; akin to domesticated farm animals like RABBITS OR CHICKENS)? Is that why 'Easter Eggs' are made of CHOCOLATE (and the only natural source of chocolate beans is in SOUTH AMERICA)?
I bet most of you never made these tangentical connections.
Maduro's a SICK, TWISTED, DUMB FUCKER. REALLY fucking STUPID. Of course, MOST communist party members are JUST LIKE HIM.
WELL, GEE, 'MONTY', don't hold back now. Tell us all how you REALLY feel...
Holy Dude!
Here's a Valium. Sit down relax. You are about ready to give yourself a heart attack.
They get it back in farmland and oilfield lease deals.
More petro Yuan in Yankee's back yard.
Maduro's opening to China"Maybe it's time to stock up on condoms and toilet paper?"
I thought the Chinese just squat in the bushes...
Theres something to that actually.
Had a family (about fiddy of them) move in across the street from us when I was a kid in the city, one of the came out, hiked up her dress and took a piss right there in the yard then just walked back into the house.
Damndest thing I ever saw, I guess the two & a half bathrooms were occupied ;-)
I wasn't kidding there... [though I got the perfunctory downvotes from CH1, Las Vegas Dave, & iofera, who are 'prowling' these threads at the moment]...
It wasn't really meant as disrespect... It's not all that unusual behavior for many of the 1+billion Chinese... [Which, statistically, & by comparison to the entire American population, would make 'squatting in the bushes' more NORMAL than sitting on porcelain toilets that hardly anyone ever cleans afterwards, & which makes 'the bushes' the more sanitary alternative]...
Me?
Meh ~ I wouldn't be against reserving TOILETS for more CEREMONIAL occasions [like administering 'Swirlies' to anonymous junkers]...
I knew a guy in the Army who had to pull the mandatory tour in South Korea. Similar stories.
And so China ends up owning Venezuela, bought with US trinket money.
I'm wondering how much printed FRN's it would take to buy a South American colony with high-sulfur oil and a good strategic location. $50bil?
Exactly! US prints money from nothing and gives to China. China makes goods and Ships to the U.S. China Gives printed money to Venezuela. Venezuela trades Oil at a depressed price to China.
I guess printing money does work and everyone wins lol
Watch Argentina, Venezuela & Brazil over the immediate term.
Seatbelts. It's gonna' get very, very ugly.
Proof that you can have a financial collapse and not lose your totalitarian state.
Yes, it will get ugly. The US is pouring all the gasoline it can on the situation.
The US just will not let the rest of the world go its own way. It must be the US way, or the US will kill you.
You are right, a wounded animal is very, very dangerous
Whatever we think of the shortcomings of Rousseff , Maduro or Fernandez we should never fail to applaud their heroic efforts to get out from under the grip of the Imperium
Why cheer one "socialist" dictator simply because they challenge another?
You can add Colombia to that list...we are going to hurt to without our oil revenues and all the foreign development money coming in....
woot!
just what we need ... increased crude production
it's all funny money at this point
anyone know the skim rate for a pineapple president on $10 billion?
It's a banana republic... & YES... We have no bananas... [lot's of paper bananas though]...
One communist bailing out another communist .. what's the big deal
China is loaning the money, not the U.S.
Yeah prolly those U.S. treasuries that are not being renewed.
Ironically the old commie guard in China is threatened by their new found capitalism.
That's incorrect. China has net outflows/ The PBoC is consolidating it's holdings and using RRR and internal lending rates to manage it's economy.
China is NOT actively lending YUAN. Matter of factly China is internalizing lending, from excess reserves.
Oil.
Venezuela, like most of Latin America, would go neither "crazy Socialist" nor "Gringo slave plantation" if Uncle Sam would just butt the fuck out.
No más mazorcas de maíz, para limpiar mi culo?
I don't speak Japazuelan
Google Translate.
LMFAO! Excuse me while I go do some gardening. My apricot trees are blooming and I need to re-pot my bell peppers, that I wintered.
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Hey Yen!
This Saturday is 10 years.
Booyah!
Knuks I'm happy for you. 10 years? retired, hole-in-one, grandchild, cancer free ? I'm perplexed....
Yen, it be all that clean livin', trudgin' along the road of happy destiny.
Best 10 years of my life
Be well, my brother
Congratulations! I'm at nine yrs as of Monday. I forgot until I read your post. Thanks for reminding me.
China lost big in Libya after the Nobel Prize Winner got rid of Gaddafi much to the hilarity of Hillary. Same thing will happen in Venezuela which has larger oil reserves than Saudi Arabia. Now if China sends some troops to Venezuela things will get interesting.
Obama failed his coup in Venezuela by Thierry Meyssan http://www.voltairenet.org/article186879.htmlHillary Clinton on Gaddafi: We came, we saw, he died
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fgcd1ghag5Y
In the end if they do not commit to engaging militarily then they will lose again. It will not stop at any locale until it is stopped or it collapses.
China is the competition not Russia. Russia can only hold it's own, at best.
Therefore, Russia is the distraction whilst China takes over.
Too bad Greece doesn't have any oil.
It does, but it doesn't have permission to extract it atm...
Don't they have lots of olive orchards there?
FUCK ME! Soros has taken over Z/H and i demand TRANSPARENCY TYLERS.
STOP FEEDING 19 SHIT ARTICLES ( USSA GDP & OTHER FINANCIAL DIATRIBE ; IT'S WAY PAST THAT ) AND CONCENTRATE ON THE ONE FUCKING ISSUE THAT IS LEADING US TO THE BRINK.
Quality not Quantity.
Like VOTES on important issues passing through CONgress on Christmas Eve someone's SOLD OUT.
The next month or so after Mickey Mouse Elections in UK, Nigeria etc we will see WW111 ( it's begun already ) with a split in countries, regions and communities.
CONTROL is OVER it's Dog eat fucking DOG in every household.
This is such a shitty article and you caught me off-guard. Let me go and check my passport to see if i'm real or just a hologram.
My dog tastes like chicken
Maybe it's a furry chicken then.
Tell him to post photos of all the banking families family members, addresses, phone numbers, emails and social security numbers as well as vehicles, planes, jets, and corporate structure diagrams.
"Like VOTES on important issues passing through CONgress on Christmas Eve someone's SOLD OUT"
I agree. Here is one for you.
There are many pieces of legislation that are approved in a thoroughly dishonest and underhanded way. These bills never see an honest up or down vote by our "elected representatives". They are passed by two or three people, in an empty chamber, under the cover of "unanimous consent".
I rarely, if ever, see any reports in the lame stream media about these frauds, and the typical citizen does not even care.
For example, here is an eye-popping account, written by a former CONgressman, of how the Ukraine Freedom Support Act of 2014 was arbitrarily pulled from four committees that were evaluating it and passed by two persons in an empty chamber with absolutely no vote from the other 433 members of the house.
You know how long it took?
It took 54 seconds to put the motion request into words and ONE SECOND to "pass"!
The bill provided for these very substantive measures.
Perhaps the procedural rules need to be modified to require positive approval of a majority of seats (including empty seats) in order to pass legislation. This would prevent any bill from passing when less than 50% of the house is present to vote.
Article 1 Section 5 of the U.S. Constitution clearly says that the houses will set up their internal procedures and rules, and I do not disagree with that. However, self regulation can be ineffective without external checks, and I believe there should be a fundamental revision to curb known excesses, perhaps by taking a closer look at some of the quorum requirements, like you suggest. The end state is to make it harder (ideally impossible) to "game" the process.
I have read through some portions of the House Rules, and I understand how this flexibility can serve legitimate purposes, but I also see very clearly the potential for abuse. Reading through them, one gets the impression that there is far too much latitude for certain things.
I freely admit that I do not know what the solution is, but things such as the ones I just described (and there are worse examples) undermine the citizen's trust and confidence in the wholesomeness of the legislative process.
And that, is everybody's business...
Want another one? The Venezuela Defense of Human Rights and Civil Society Act of 2014 was passed in a similar way; by "voice vote" in a sparsely attended Senate session, and by "suspension of the rules" and immediate approval in the house.
Suspension of the rules means that "Two-thirds of the Members present and voting (got that?) must vote in the affirmative for the rules to be suspended and pass, adopt, or agree to the measure".
This is usually reserved for measures that are non-controversial and bipartisan.
Destabilizing and arbitrarily sticking it to Venezuela in every possible way has been US policy since 1999 (the year Hugo Chavez began his administration) to this very day, so this is definitely non-controversial and completely bi-partisan.
kicking-the-can-down-the-road; golden oldie for seemingly any occasion.
More like China showing the USA how to actually win friends and influence people. A lesson our government sorely needs it seems. A carrot works much better than a stick, in the long run.
The rest of the world has had enuf of ZIO-PUNK USSA.
About time.
No TP ? Let them wear Depends !
Venezuelans better learn some Chinese.
The banksters need to repay us.
First English phrase learned around the world: "Don't shoot." (Or "Hands up, don't shoot" in the DC US)
First Chinese phase learned: "Welcome. How may I help you?"
What happened to the Monroe Doctrine?
Do you know what year this is?
Odd how South America hasn't had that much fighting between nations.Some to be sure but not on the scale of
Europe,N.America or Asia.
Reminds me of this remark from a Laotian General in the '60's: "We had a nice little war here until the Russians
and Americans came in and showed us how to kill lot's of people!".
What happened to Venezuela having to sell their gold, last week, Tylers?
Please provide a link to substantiate your inferrance. I have seen no post here claiming Venezuela had to sell it's gold.
"For many years, the Venezuelan government was able to mask the failures of Hugo Chavez’ “socialist revolution” somewhat with the help of the country’s oil revenues."
That is merely re-stating the tired old propaganda line that was peddled for the entire duration of Hugo Chavez as Venezuela's President, and now, even after his death. The only problem is that it is complete rubbish. The devil is in the details, and also has a lot to do with how you measure failures and successes.
I will not do so now, but I have often written in the past about knee-jerk ideological blinders that reduce otherwise smart people to "willful ignorance" and denial of simple truths. There are no simple, clear-cut answers in easy to understand soundbites, and anyone who wants to truly understand the Venezuelan reality should not entertain them.
Irrespective of whether they are capitalists, communists, anarchists, libertarians, socialists, etc. Reasonable, free-thinking humans understand that most things are not all or nothing; there are successes and failures in any endeavor. The one-sided, two dimensional presentation of things, and demonization of a complex man who was a godsend to his people is intellectually dishonest.
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When we add the third dimension, things take on a different, fuller appearance, and we realize things are not exactly what they seemed. Let me try to challenge your perspective a little bit.
There are many things which can be considered universally good, regardless of whether they came about through savage Capitalism, orthodox Marxism or anything in between.
For example, economic and social performance in many critical quality of life areas under Chavez was nothing short of spectacular. Here are 11 areas that can be considered phenomenal successes. To this, you can add the greatest and most effective literacy campaign in recorded history, millions of humans receiving medical care for the first time in their lives, cutting poverty and indigence by more than half, and many, many, other things.
Measured in terms such as these, Chavez' revolution was a resounding triumph.
What will the US think when China sets up a couple there?
So many signs that China was coming, and the US never got it right. Instead of building a healthy and strong relationship with the rest of America, one of the richest regions in the World in many aspects, the US always behaved like the bad guy in the neighbourhood, leaving Latin Americans no other choice but trying to get together (ALBA, UNASUR) and turning to China, Russia.
The China march seems unstoppable and irreversible. Meanwhile the US declares his neighbours "a menace to the US peace and security". Brilliant!
The state of affairs in Venezuela tells you just how far fallen American foreign policy and diplomacy have come. Obama declares them a threat to national security in early March and lately Congress has been try to ratchet up a number of economic sanctions against Venezuela & a number of key officials in Venezuela to get Maduro out. Economic sanctions are so hamfisted and heavy-handed that not a single country in the OAS supports them and even Canada criticizes the idea. You know when Canada goes against the US on anything in the OAS (besides Cuban issues) just how completely out an island the US is on that position.
This all stems from the fact that the CIA has screwd up time and time again in Venezuela the past 15 years. CIA couldn't get rid of Chavez a decade ago via a coup d'etat or throwing destabilzing him by having the oil workers strike and sabotage equipment. The most recent embarassment when the CIA tried to pull a 'Color Revolution' playbook in Venezuela and got rebuffed in the last presidental election. CIA can't even rig an election now in a South American country?
UNASUR, CELAC, ALBA, and MERCOSUR all have rejected the ridiculous actions from the US government. That is every nation in the Americas (33) except Canada and the US.
The Non Aligned Movement (120 nations) have also rejected US actions and intentions.
UN Security Council members Russia and China have also clearly gone on record.
If China giving Venezuela 5 Billion while the US is destabilizing Venezuela does not get the message across, nothing will.
Most people do not know this, but Venezuela itself also has a seat in the UN Security Council.
Here is something you won't see in the lame stream media: tomorrow in Geneva, the five organizations mentioned above (including the NAM) will meet at the UN Palace of Nations to discuss US destabilization and to fix common positions.
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Haiti has suddenly found itself "unable" to host the Organization of American States' General Assembly. This will probably cause it to be held inside the United States, so Obama will not have to travel to a potentially hostile country.
The Assembly itself has the potential to be a bigger fiasco than last year's meeting, where the US forcefully pressed to have Venezuelan opposition queen and CIA/State Department agent Maria Machado dramatically address the American Presidents and badmouth her country's government. That did not happen because the American Presidents voted down that nonsense en masse, leaving Canada and the US looking very foolish.
The way things are going, I doubt that President Obama will even make an appearance at the OAS this year.
We talk a lot of shit about Venezuela instead of learning America is not the only game in town China my well dock massive ships there in the future being a better trading partner with south America than America ever was.
A rude awakening when our exceptionalism bells ring silent.