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"We Lost A Battle Today": Venezuela Rebukes Maduro's Socialist Paradise In Dramatic Election
“Change has started in Venezuela,” Jesus says.
We’re of course referring to Jesus “Chuo” Torrealba, the opposition leader in Venezuela where mid-term elections held on Sunday showed citizens are fed up with Nicolas Maduro’s socialist paradise.
In what amounted to the worst defeat in history for Hugo Chavez’s leftist movement, the opposition won at least 99 of 167 seats that were up for grabs in the National Assembly. With 99% of the vote counted and 22 seats still contested, the United Socialist Party had won 46 seats. "As important as the number of seats won, is the number of votes," Barclays adds. "For comparison, based on projected voter turnout, the opposition looks to have received more than 8.0mn votes in this election, exceeding what Maduro received when he was elected in 2013 (7.58mn). "
As WSJ notes, “the margin of victory was bigger than expected, and a landmark victory for the country’s frustrated opposition, which hasn’t won a legislative or presidential vote since the late populist Hugo Chávez won the presidency in 1998 and launched his self-styled Bolivarian Revolution.”
“I feel as if we won the World Cup while playing with our two legs tied. This has been the most abusive campaign ever, but the important thing is that we were able to use democracy to beat a system that is deeply undemocratic,” opposition deputy Julio Borges said. Here’s WSJ summarizing what’s at stake:
A majority will allow the opposition to free political prisoners like Leopoldo Lopez, a former mayor well known outside Venezuela, enact basic laws, and approve the budget and government debt. Three-fifths of congress—101 or more deputies—would permit the passage of powerful laws that could lead to a host of deep overhauls. The opposition could also remove the vice president or ministers. Two-thirds of the assembly would give them the power to restructure a judiciary that human-rights groups say is stacked with government supporters.
"This is not the first time that the opposition has a majority in the legislative assembly," Barclays reminds us. "It also had a majority at the beginning of the chavista era when Chavez was first elected in 1998-2000 [but] at the time the opposition also only had a simple majority, versus the qualified majority (or even super) that it may have achieved this time." The implication: "...this will be the first time that the opposition can impose real checks and balances on a chavista government."
But if you thought Mauricio Macri has a tough road ahead in Argentina (where the newly-elected President who just threw out the Peronists will need to fix a veritable FX crisis post-haste), it’s nothing compared to the disaster facing Venezuelan officials. “The current government is doing more or less everything wrong at the moment in terms of maintaining a viable economy,” Paul McNamara, a money manager at GAM UK Ltd. in London told Bloomberg.
Yes, “everything wrong.” Here’s what “everything wrong” looks like:
And here's a map that puts things in context vis-a-vis LatAm as a whole (via Goldman):
As WSJ puts it, "though rich in oil, Venezuela is ravaged by inflation above 200%, rampant food shortages, a local currency that has shed 81% of its value in 2015, as well as low oil prices that have left the government broke and unable to import basics like medicine and car parts." Right. And let's not forget that Caracas has recently resorted to selling its gold and tapping its IMF holdings in a desperate attempt to service its debt.
“In any other country, people can save. Here, no one in my generation can save anything, and much less have hopes of owning a car or a house," one hotel worker told WSJ.
For his part, Maduro called the vote a "wake up call."
“We have come with our honor to recognize these adverse results, to accept them and tell Venezuela that the constitution and democracy have triumphed,” he declared. “We accept the results just as they have been announced by the electoral body.”
Well that's nice of him, and we suppose he fully understands that this was essentially a referendum on his mismanagement of the economy and according to at least one observer, this may be Maduro's "come to Jesus" moment (no pun on the opposition leader's name intended): “One good thing about this election is that Chavismo will have to face reality,” Michael Penfold, a professor of public policy at Venezuela’s IESA business school told WSJ. “Oil has been the drug that has kept the party going. But now it’s over. They have to take decisions that they have put off.” Here's Maduro's speech, which he delivered wearing a Sopranos-style red track suit:
Obviously, we're a long way away from any kind of meaningful change in Venezuela, so no one should get too excited here. Indeed, even if this ushers in a new era for Venezuelan politics, persistently low crude prices will conspire to keep the economy hamstrung for the foreseeable future. Here's Barclays on why you should curb your enthusiasm, so to speak:
Even if the election has shown that inaction can have a political cost, we think that, challenged by a reinvigorated opposition, the Maduro administration will not be able to coordinate the necessary economic reforms. This would require moving away from the rhetoric of ‘economic war’, and to admitting that things are not being done well and need to be fixed. However, after the results were announced, President Maduro appeared reluctant to step back, and continued to blame the ‘economic war’ for the country’s situation and government’s election defeat. Even if the government does now move to introduce reforms that could bring improvements, we think it faces a credibility problem that will limit its ability to succeed. The government has spent the past two years talking about reforms but not making any, while distortions in the economy have widened. For reference, the spread between the official and non-official exchange rate moved from around 200% to more than 14,000% during this period. The country’s economic crisis has become systemic and requires comprehensive rather than partial solutions. Therefore, a change in leadership seems to be a precondition for implementing a successful structural reform process. In the absence of significant reforms, the economic situation is likely to keep deteriorating.
Yes, it sure is, but then again, there's always drug smuggling.
We'll close with a quote from (who else?) Maduro: "We have lost a battle today, but the struggle to build a new society is just beginning."
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and that ain't brown ink on the voters index finger signifing that they voted, its shit my man
Socialism fails once again.
Obviously...they're just doing it wrong.
Going deeper into debt will certainly fix everything !
So easy any "ism" can do it.
VZ is a mess ... and the elites were just lining their pockets the whole way (i.e. they gained). For example, one could buy fuel at the incredibly cheap five to ten CENTS a gallon (US) and take it over the border to sell at market rates (in dollars desperately desired back home). Just need to have some buddies in the border/customs police. Insurance was another game; you bill out at the official exchange rate, but pay for services at the local exchange rate.
I sincerely doubt the douchebags who made all the money there and pull all the strings are about to become benevolent. They probably gave a nod for this to happen in the first place - out of simple acknowledgement they might kill the host ... or get themselves killed ... if it went on much longer.
Prepare for more bending over of the VZ people.
Regards,
Cooter
He can always go back to driving a bus. Remember, kids, it's always good to have a marketable skill in the real world in case that career in politics or finance doesn't work out for you.
May I suggest you learn how to TIG weld aluminum?
Would be a great advice to Obama as well: learn a skill for in the real world (e.g. how to weld).
By the way, when was the last time the U.S. had a president who managed such a kind of skill?
By extension, that must have been the last president who could talk to and understand common folks in the real world.
Must have been a long time ago, something like: "My great-granddad, when he was young, knew president ... and helped him repair his car by the side of the road."
Parasites like Obama (and Clinton) do not need real world skills. They will just keep sucking us dry.
Lets all sing together now! "All we are say-ing, is give socializm a chaaance."...lol.
Country has been trashed and now is bankrupt. What difference does it make? Forward comrade!!!
@VinceFostersGhost
Schadenfreude?
Wait untill capitalism is going to fail even more spectacularly
Funny then, that these doomed Marxist experiments all seem to use Capitalism to recover once they get sick of wiping with something other than toilet paper, isn't it?
"Trying to fly with your wings removed is just plane stupid..."
You have not seen actual capitalism in decades, if not centuries.
The faction of the International Communist Party that advocated violent armed struggle vs quiet "Change" from within faction isn't gonna like this one bit.
Nope ;-)
I wonder how Bernie and his communist friends at DSA view this..
Yezzz, I would suspect the National Socialist Democrat Party can't be none to happy about this.
How much you wanna bet they try and take credit for it?...lol.
They're probably upping their budget for internet trolls to spread the word to anyone doesn't drink their brand of Koolaid that "voting doesn't matter" while simultaneously ramping their own Get Out The Vote effort with their base... or they could be brushing up on their quotations attributed to Stalin...
I thought the International Communist PArty is now inhouse White house incumbent. There is no other country that is truly commie from the Tea drinker perspective-- apart from NK !
Maduro aint in that league. He doesn't have a Nobel!
Not even a nuclear ICBM like NK !
Only big boys have those toys. Nobels and ICBMs...
Oil is a thing of the past ! Or so says the WS beanstalk. Its all Unicorns to the Moon! And Obama sings : we are all renewable oriented. Solar to solve polar meltdown.
The coming divide is not Commie vs Roy Rogers; its Oligarchy vs People world over.
And its all about deflationary collaborative commons reset, using AI.
Maduro is not in Carlos Slim's league. Now that guy has clout!
"Be an Oligarch and run those who run the world."... So simple.
lol...now you're gettin it!
Project Mayhem 2.0 ;-)
Sadly, all these fun and games are only available for a limited time. And, there is a mounain of really hairy ugliness just around the corner...
the world requires 1 nuke plant built each week as the only means to replace fossil fuels, should our desire include preservation of industrialized civilization and bringing the poor out of poverty, say the experts in paris.
just put a sign out front of the palace: free tp in el presidente's personal bathroom.
do they seriously say tp: papel higiénico? holy fuck no wonder they're screwed up. donde etsa la papel higiénico? that's a friggin' mouthful right there.
It's almost enough to make you quit wiping your ass.......
Where is the toilet paper?
Donde está el papel higenico?
Really, it seems so much more diifcult for you?
Careful, your exceptionalism is showing.
They call it papel toilette.
I'm fucking confused now - so who actually is the president of Venezuela? First it's Obama and now it might be Jesus?
WTF is going on down there?
I think Wasserman-Schultz is negotiating for us to get Jesus and they get O'BareBack in exchange but I'm not sure either.
Things are moving rapidly! ;-)
It would take Jesus to save them at this point.
I don't understand your comment. I was told that Obama IS Jesus.
If only that TP were $100 bills, like the Royals in KSA use...
If not the USD, they'd better start using the CNY as currency, and thus be forced to use rational fiscal policies.
But then their root problem is cultural (rabbid socialism) and psychiatric (delusional, venal).
They should hang this asshole!
Julio Borges. Borges. Where have we heard that name before?
If you think Maduro doesn't have a gun to the back of his head, you're incredibly naieve.
The only problem for the elite now is that they hedged and pledged their oil to China.
Julio Borges...that joooish isn't it?
Your jewdar is malfunctioning, Julio Borges is not jewish. The Jew in the opposition is Henrique Capriles Radonsky.
Sure hope all that repatriated gold is in a safe place.
My Mexico .... is getting the most GDP traction .... for it fiat action .... Argentina, no so much .... Venezuela and Brazil are sliding backwards ?
Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela are reaping the rewards of Socialism. Their voters wanted the Free Stuff, well look at what they got.
Oldest political trick in the book: Free Stuff!
I hope Peru does not fall into that trap...
So ... the producers get back to work, and recreate some semblance of normalcy, only to be robbed again at the next election cycle?
Wash, rinse, repeat
I would have thought the economic disaster in Venezuela would be blamed on income inequality - seems so much easier if you can just blame it on 20 rich guys.
/s/
Why can't they just redistribute the wealth - I mean so many dumb fucks think that will solve every economic problem.
Let's eat the rich.
Every vote counted in VEN is one more than will be counted in the history of Saudi Arabia. But the Saudis kill Iranians, so to the Jews they are our friends.
What did you think was going to happen when you have a former bus driver driving the bus?
First thing would be stopping using Goldman as your banker! http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-11-21/venezuela-selling-gold-goldman-...
Then bring in the majors to vastly increse your supply of oil!
1) So the "dictatorship" fell after a few elections ? Why they did not keep rigging the elections as before ? This is the proof elections have always been fair in Venezuela.
2) There has been a lot of Venezuela bashing on ZH for a while now. Funny how a website that is deeply covering all the dirty tricks and manipulation the US and their minions use to topple down "non aligned" countries could mock a govt talking openly about those manipulations. Maybe ZH felt obliged to criticize Venezuela policies since it criticizes socialist policies of developped countries like the US. But please, you can't compare a developing country and a developped country, sorry. America socialist policies are meant to maintain the economy afloat, the ones of Venezuela to raise standards of living.
I will always support govt standing against imperialism, whether it is socialists like Chavez or far right parties like Golden Dawn.
Venezuela was once a rich developed country and the socialists managed to fuck up and turn it into a bankrupt developing country.
Like Chile was under Pinochet, right? It's amazing the progress that can be achieved when nobody dares to ask about the 10s of thousands of people disappearing
I was in Chile during the early '90s and the folks I knew sorta thought he was the reincarnation of George Washington and Simon Bolivar with some Adam Smith mixed in.
'course the poorest indians, atheists, socialists, communists, anarchists, etc didn't much dig him...
Shoulda heard the conservatives moan when the first 'next' liberal was elected in 91 or so...
So their politics were identical to US politics at the concurrent time.
Pinochet = Reagan as far as I could tell.
And the libs won the info war.
And by the way, eliminating the communists out of a country of something like 13 million with a death toll of around 1000, despite inflated bullshit numbers is pretty restrained. ZHers would exceed that number by magnitudes in the US given the opportunity.
(Most were allowed to immigrate, I used to fuck a girl who hid out in Vancouver for years, until the Libs got back in power.)
Haha ! So Venezuela was so rich and developed that the people decided to change and elected socialists, right ? Some facts ? "Once upon a time..." Explain me why Venezuela has been doing doing better than Columbia, not very socialist ?
https://www.google.bg/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_...
Aaaah ideology...
With lies.
Solution is simple, ie recycle ALL socialists.
Can't wait for the fascist socialist jackass in the White House to get the same rebuke, for the same reasons.
Just wait amigos. The Socialist ObamaCare will leave us in exactly the same shit fix -- the early capitulators (like United Healthcare) are finding its a fast track to bankruptcy, while several states are dumping their programs (shoving people onto Federal plans) because they don't want to go bankrupt either.
It won't be long before the Federal government figures out they don't have a spare $2 trillion per year to keep this con-man's dream alive.
The liberal criminals in Congress will have to kill Social Security or kill ObamaCare... Guess which one gets the ax the minute Comrade Obama leaves office?
Interesting to note that a voting system that works in expressing the majority's will is viewed as a failure of the system. I guess US commentators cannot get over the fact that they actually "...have no choice, they have owners" as Carlin stated so well, Whereas Venezuelans actually do have a choice and their vote counts.
Did no one look carefully at Goldman's numbers in the table?
2015F GDP US$531.9 billion
2016F GDP US$409.8 billion
But they put GDP growth (decline) at -8.2% in 15, and -4.6% in 16.
I'm just an engineer. (531.9-409.8)/531.9 = -22%
Geez, the squid isn't even TRYING anymore - just throw some numbers on a page, the sheeple will buy it.
Another victim...er, victory for democratic socialism...