[Venezuela] Country's oil reserves may exceed Saudi Arabia's

Some info from Wikipedia on Chavez's domestic policies.Not perfect, but not bad at all. Much better than a lot of other world leaders, for sure.

Chávez's domestic policy is embodied by the Bolivarian Missions, a series of social justice programs that have radically altered the economic and cultural landscape of Venezuela. Although recent economic activity under Chávez has been robust under these programs,[41][42] per-capita GDP in 2004 has dropped around 1% from 1999 levels.[43][44] However, as of September 2005, there have also been significant drops since 1999 in unemployment[45] and in the government's definition of "poverty",[46] and there have been marked improvements in national health indicators between 1998 and 2005.[47][43]
Aims of the Bolivarian Missions have included the launching of massive government anti-poverty initiatives,[48][49] the construction of thousands of free medical clinics for the poor,[50] the institution of educational campaigns that have reportedly made more than one million adult Venezuelans literate,[51][52] and the enactment of food[53] and housing subsidies.[54] The Missions have overseen widespread state-supported experimentation in citizen- and worker-managed governance,[55][56] as well as the granting of thousands of free land titles to formerly landless poor and indigenous communities.[57] In contrast, several large landed estates and factories have been, or are in the process of being, expropriated.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Chavez
Theres lot more stuff out on the Web for those who are serious about finding out the truth.

 

somebody earlier was saying that opec is just a bunch of "robber barons," i was just pointing out that venezuela is a member of opec

all members of opec, including venezuela, have production quotas and a lot of venezuelan oil actually goes to the US and i believe they own citgo as well, but i don't think they will flood the market, it wouldnt benefit them to do so in the long run

thanks for the welcome!

 

Right, but the article says that Chavez is trying to get their reserves upped in the view of OPEC so Venezuela can crank out more oil.

by the way - you have to be a former poster. No rookie averages 25+ posts per day on his first time in here. FMPinetree1960? Achebe? ZRB?

 

well whether he can or not, we will see...opec obviously has an interest in seeing the price of oil stay high...some like to see it higher than others

i'm not a former poster, i'm a rookie, but i have been reading clutchfans for years (too cheap to register) and have been a life-long rockets fan as well....so i almost pissed in my pants when i found out that registration was free....take care

 

OK, I think that may have just run together with your response to bigtexx. I'm following you now.

 

Here's something from CEPR from November:

http://www.cepr.net/columns/weisbrot/2005_11_01.htm


Economic Growth is a Home Run in Venezuela

By Mark Weisbrot

CARACAS - "Viva Chavez," shouted Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen, as the team celebrated its World Series sweep last week. Guillen is Venezuelan, and a national hero in this country of 25 million people who seem to believe that they too, along with Chicagoans, have won the World Series.

His cheer for the country's leftist President Hugo Chavez might have caused some reaction just a year or two ago. But these days it went largely unnoticed, despite the continuing hostility between the Chavez government and the Bush administration. Relations between the two governments have been sour since the Bush administration supported a military coup against Chavez in April 2002, as well as a failed attempt to recall him last year.

But Chavez' popularity is now among the highest of any president in Latin America, with a 77 percent approval rating, according to the latest polling.

A few economic statistics go a long way in explaining why the Venezuelan government is doing so well and the opposition, which still controls most of the media and has most of the country's income, is flagging.

After growing nearly 18 percent last year, the Venezuelan economy has expanded 9.3 percent for the first half of this year - the fastest economic growth in the hemisphere. Although the government's detractors like to say this is just a result of high oil prices, it is not so simple.

Oil prices were even higher and rose much faster in the 1970s. But Venezuela's income per person actually fell during the 1970s. In fact, for the 28 years that preceded the current government (1970-1998), Venezuela suffered one of the worst economic declines in Latin America and the world: per capita income fell by 35 percent. This is a worse decline than even sub-Saharan Africa suffered during this period, and shows how completely dysfunctional the economic policies of the old system had become.

Although Chavez talks about building "21st century socialism," the Venezuelan government's economic policies are gradualist reform, more akin to a European-style social democracy. The private sector is actually a larger share of the Venezuelan economy today than it was before Chavez took office.

One important reform, long advocated by the International Monetary Fund, has been the improvement of tax collection. By requiring both foreign and domestically-owned companies to pay the taxes they owe, the government actually increased tax collection even during the deep recession of 2003 -- a rare economic feat.

As a result, the government is currently running a budget surplus, despite billions of dollars of increased social spending that now provides subsidized food to 40 percent of the population, health care for millions of poor people, and greatly increased education spending. The official poverty rate has fallen to 38.5 percent from its most recent peak of 54 percent after the opposition oil strike. But this measures only cash income; if the food subsidies and health care were taken into account, it would be well under 30 percent.

The government's currency controls have also helped to stem the capital flight that had hurt the economy prior to 2003. The country's public debt and foreign debt are at moderate levels. With an accumulated $30 billion of reserves - perhaps twice what the country needs -- Venezuela is well-poised to maintain growth even if oil prices drop unexpectedly.

Of courses Venezuela still faces many of the challenges common to the region: the judicial system is weak, crime rates are high, and the rule of law is not well established. But the present government, which has had less than three years of political stability - attempts to overthrow the government through violence and large-scale economic sabotage did not cease until the oil strike collapsed in February 2003 -- has set the economy on a solid growth path. And it has kept its promise to share the nation's oil wealth with the poor.

In short, the vast majority of Venezuelans got what they voted for, and even some who voted against the government now seem to be satisfied with the result. It's a pretty good start, and whatever the Bush administration thinks of Chavez - who calls President Bush "Mr. Danger" - it's the way democracy is supposed to work.

 

I suppose "basic" level is a relative term, but it's not really available to the poor. Chavez has a lot of great ideas. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be as interested in implementing them. Granted my perspective is based on conversations with a limited number of people primarily in Caracas, but the rhetoric FAR outweighs the reality.

That 33% number is interesting - I wonder how much of that has to do high oil prices in general and how much of it has to do with Chavez's policies.

I actually went to Venezuela excited to hear about what he was doing. I was sorely disappointed to hear what he really was doing. More of it sounded like a power grab than actually helping. Again, I have no numbers to back it up. I just base it on conversations with people.

 

Basic in that previously they had no medical care. They don't have personal doctors now, but Chavez did bring in Doctors from Cuba and set up clinics for the poor and underpriviledged. So now they do have some medical care.

The thing is that the poor are getting things they have never gotten before, and the ideas like the ones mentioned were talked about and implemented by Chavez.

The worst year of implementing that was the year of the coup.

 

i lived in Venezuela(Caracas) about four/five years ago. medical care was scary expensive. i tore my ligaments, and had to get a cast (COST: US$500). luckily my dad's company covered for it.

By the way Chavez is doing A LOT for the people, unfortunately he was the reason my dad had to leave as well, since they wanted local people working in the oil industry.

 

obviously oil prices allow him to do more. but there have been many accounts of high oil prices in countries that desperately need the extra revenue and nothing really being done.

 

FB,

This is not an indict of your position, but a question to clarify. Are your opinions formed from reading stuff like the axisoflogic site, or do you have some other experience at the core of your evaluation? I have been doing some reading and it makes sense that Chavez would spread some of the oil cash around in the kinds of programs you mentioned - that's how he'll keep support - but have also been seeing reference to the infrastructure etc falling apart. That might also make sense as the money that HAD been going to infrastructure etc is now going to healthcare clinics and such. But I wonder how long that can be sustained. Generally I think Chavez will have a short arc of success with these anti-austerity measures but that those plans usually entail a fairly sharp collapse at the end of the arc.

 

I know someone from Venezuela, and I was piqued by Chavez' reform, and work for the poor. So I read and listen to what I can about him.

I like Chavez' ideas with health care, and even some of his land redistribution. Yes, it will keep his support, and if that is the only reason he is doing it, then so be it. I don't know his heart, only the fruits of his labor. The years preceding Chavez were some of the worst years for Venezuelan's and their overall economy. The downward trend of the VEnezuelan economy turned around under Chavez. So while his policies may or may not last over time, they are an improvement over the oligarchies that were running things previously.

That being said, I think you are correct that he some problems keeping things going. He needs to reach out more to a middle class, and do more for business. It won't do good to improve education, only to have all the well educated folks leave Venezuela because once they ascend to middle class they are trounced on. They need to keep the brightest in the various fields in Venezuela. Chavez ought to highlight ways for the middle class to contribute to revolution, and still enjoy being in the middle class. He also needs to be careful, because of the threat of revolution, and coups against him, but still be as open as possible in regards to the media. He is still lacking there. He also needs to be public about denouncing his supporters when they do things like attack opposition groups, journalists, or things like that. He needs to set an example the next time something like that happens.

I am curious about it more than anything else. I would like there to be no further coup attempts supported by outside govts., and for that kind of interference to stop. I would like to see what an unhampered Chavez could do for his nation. It's not like I root for him the way I do for the Rockets or anything, but I want to observe what happens, and what can happen.

I like the idea of providing for the poor, and undoing the work of oligarchies and working to redistribute the ill gotten wealth from corruption and the elite. Whatever his problems are, he is actually putting action to his words about helping the needy, and providing healthcare, education, and assistence. There is a lot of talk in politics about doing that kind of thing, and what usually happens are watered down bills, that only slightly tinker the machinery in a way that it changes only a fraction. He is instigating real change.

But he has done a poor job of reaching out to those who are getting the college educations, and at the tops of the various professions. They need to be shown that it is worthwhile for them to stay as well.

 

It's also worth noting that women can get boob jobs in Venezuela for $1K a pop. And they definitely seem to take advantage of that.

 

That is a strange thing. I heard recently that Brazil has the largest per capita cosmetic surgery consumation.

That's really too bad. I would like Chavez more if he would ban those boob jobs.

 

Argentina's up there with the plastic surgery. Them being rivals and all...

 

Aregentina, Brazil, and Venzuela have a plastic surgery bug that must be wiped out.