Yeah, he also said capitalism destroyed life on Mars. Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs. Here's one that comes to mind in relation to the above: But that's just me.
He's not a last minute opportunist. Chavez has been a Christian his entire life. He was even an alter boy. Of course, he's human so he's done his share of sinning. I just don't see the fact that he's been horrible for Venezuela will keep him out of heaven.
You will know them by their fruits also comes to mind. I don't listen to what people say, so much as what they do. Still, his salvation or lack thereof is for God to decide, not any of us. As for my first post, IT WAS A JOKE. Hope that clears it up.
It seems he's done a lot of good for his people, or at least that he's presided over economic growth. I'm sure the corporations he took from are barking mad, but that's the gamble you take when you're in a country which doesn't guarantee property rights.
Numbers don't lie. Sure, he nationalized a lot of industries and employed them in manners taking advantage of economies of scale and such. He has also led to revolutionary advances in communal business and manufacturing. Clearly, none of that would be constitutional here, but he changed their constitution, doing so with absolutely huge margins. I can see why he's popular in his country and can understand why he's not popular here.
sure, a) once they have taken possession of the oil and gas industry and b)there's not enough environmental extremist whacks to hinder the despot's continued control of government, and c) the despot himself does not give ample credence to the environmental whacks.
Chavez is lucky that Venezuela has lots of oil otherwise they would be a very poor country. At least Chavez is willing to use his country's resources.
A Capitalist! Jesus did turn 2 loaves and a few fish into 12 baskets full of fragments left over, after 500 men ate. A socialist like the U.S or Venezuelian Presidents would turn 12 baskets of fragments left over into one can of sardines can with a label, "your tax dollars at work"! (Kinda like what Obama's doing to our economy.) :02.47-tranquillity:
Duh! Nothing like part of the statistics!! How about how much private wealth and industry was "nationalized"??? (Taken from the "people"?) How about mentioning that it now takes a month's worth of average wealth (income) to get a loaf of bread??? What's the inflation rate?
Clearly, that happened. It's a foreign country and this was done with the will of the people. How you feel about it morally is beside the point. GDP has more than doubled, poverty is much lower and unemployment is less than ours. I really could give 2 sh**s about companies in Venezuela having their businesses nationalized. They're free to pursue compensation in international courts or through actions in other countries, but good luck with that. Inflation is very high, but that's not a bad thing. Many countries (including Venezuela) purposely inflate their economy to attract manufacturers who want to export. And the Month's work to get a loaf of bread is just BS. http://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/country_result.jsp?country=Venezuela Bread costs about $2.00/loaf there. Minimum wage (U.S. equivalent in 2009 dollars [best I could find]) is $8,495/year. You do like to just make sh** up and try to run with it, doncha?
What will become of Venezuela after Chavez? No idea. Probably reform to the right over a period of time. What's been going on economically during the Hugo Era? That's easier. First, the price of oil went from around $35 per bbl to around $100 per bbl. Even for Venezuela's crappy oil (high sulphur, low gasoline fraction, difficult to refine). Second, expropriation. Not just of foreigners' assets, either. Hugo has nationalized the oil industry domestically, the banks, the media, transportation and most heavy industry. Third, the past decade has been a miracle for South American economies. So, to put it bluntly, during an economic boom, the price of their prime hard currency earning export has tripled. And Hugo has still found it necessary to steal money from foreigners and his own people. And still needs more cash. But where's it coming from? The problem with stealing is that, once you've stolen everything someone has, you either have to find new victims or give the original victims a chance to build up a kitty again. He's out of time and money at the moment. And, I'll be damned if the son of a bitch isn't going to die just in time to keep his rep with his idiot followers and global leftists intact. You don't accept my analysis? Look at neighboring countries like, say, Colombia. Nasty place, of course. Capitalist. Friend of the hated Yankees. And a damn fine economy with tremendous growth, healthy industries and intact foreign trade. And they don't have nearly the petro-crutch that Hugo does. Likewise Brazil, one of the economic miracle BRIC nations. Same story. Even with formally socialist presidents, they have managed to maintain rule of law and a very healthy private sector. Also without oil exports. Nope, sorry to say that Hugo has mis-managed Venezuela about as comprehensively as any man has ever mis-managed anything. The sooner he dies, the better for mankind.
