Stay away from this.
How so? My understanding is that they just won regional elections praised by international observers as free and transparent[0].
Interestingly, western governments/media & opposition claims of fraud (without evidence) directly contradict the findings of the delegation from the Latin American Council of Electoral Experts (CEELA). From the article cited:
The CEELA delegation was comprised of 1300 international observers, including former Colombian Electoral Court President Guillermo Reyes, ex-president of the Honduran Supreme Electoral Court, Augusto Aguilar, and former Peruvian electoral magistrate Gastón Soto.
According to the body’s report, the vote was held under conditions of “total normality” and the right to a secret ballot was “guaranteed”.
I also find this interesting:
For its part, CEELA has reported that it has yet to receive any formal denunciations from the opposition, which has issued its fraud allegations via the media.
President Maduro has requested a 100 percent audit of Sunday’s elections, a call that was subsequently echoed by the [opposition].
If you search "ceela venezuela vote" on Google, the only articles that come up are from teleSUR (a mouthpiece of the Venezuelan government) and Venezuela analysis (another rabidly left organization, the one you cited).
Do you have any fairly impartial news sources you'd care to cite?
Of course, this could all be a plot of the evil Imperialist western capitalist powers to strangle the last peoples' stronghold. /s
From your sarcasm I take it you're unaware of the history of leftist governments in Central and South America?
Even with the term "banana republic" there was an economic endgame in sight (e.g. cheaper fruit).
This current Venezuela farce has absolutely no redeeming qualities unless you're a member of the ruling elite (of Venezuela).
By your reasoning, every economic and/or political collapse in Central/South America can be blamed on the history of United States intervention, absolving the government of all accountability.
That said, I think it's possible the revolution has deteriorated since the death of Chavez and that corruption is indeed rife. I'm just wary given the history of propaganda.
I also think its possible that the administration still has popular support in spite of its real problems, given the violent right-wing nature of the opposition and the apparent lack of credible evidence suggesting otherwise.
> the violent right-wing nature of the opposition and the apparent lack of credible evidence suggesting otherwise.
People in Venezuela have lost 19 pounds on average in the past couple of years. Take a look at the exchange rates. What is the profit for "right-wing" groups?
Looks like the US need some left wing rule. But yeah this is fake news. Don't lie to pretend you have a point kiddo.
https://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/2172028...
The last time I checked, the Economist is a fairly neutral news organization.
Although el gordo Maduro hasn't had too much trouble finding rice and beans, by the look of things.
How do you know that a country lost weight? They didn't show how they got these numbers, just said it as an IMF forecast. This is plain simple manipulation. It is a shame that my first comment got so many downvotes.
If you distrust all news sources that disagree with your point of view, I don't know what else to say.
This study was conducted by Venezuelan universities.
What argument would you want to hear that would make you decide that Venezuela is a hideously mismanaged dictatorship? They can't keep up production of oil, which is their (95%) only source of foreign reserves.
You seem to discredit research done by native institutions and distrust mainstream media.
I hear Victoria falls is really nice. And you can prove all the propoganda wrong. Good luck. Bring some hard currency.
People in Caracas will jack you for a biscuit and 10 (amercian) bucks.
Yes, a Bolivarian paradise. Have fun at Victoria falls.
Btw, I'm more chino than gringo. Just so you know.
Do you mean the fake organization started by Hugo Chavez to legitimize elections in socialist states? The one that doesn't have a website or an organizational charter and gets its funding from Venezuela?
FOH.
The value of a nation's currency is determined by how difficult it is to get vs how much you need to get it. And that is determined by the nation's spending and taxing policies - including the ability to enforce that taxation by force if necessary.
The Bolivar needs to fully float on the international markets like the Egyptian Pound. And then the government needs to start taxing people in Bolivars while not issuing as many by spending.
It doesn't matter than nobody wants to hold Bolivars. It matters that they need to get them to stay out of jail.