Noam Chomsky on Venezuela

[Miguel M]

Noam Chomsky makes it easy to understand ...

[GatoGordo]

1. Looking back at Chavismo with rose-colored glasses?

Chavismo still has its cheerleaders... though they are not cheering near as loud as they were in the past. Chomsky is one who still carries a candle for Chavismo, but with a lot of caveats these days. But there are others who cannot... WILL NOT... abandon the Revolution, no matter what sort of humanitarian disaster unfolds.

Like Mark Weisbrot. AKA, "the worlds worst economist" when it comes to predicting the glories of Bolivarian Socialist economics. From 2010 and 2012 respectively.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2010/sep/10/venezuela-economics

Now, it looks as though Venezuela may have emerged from its recession in the second quarter of this year. On a seasonally adjusted annualised basis, the economy grew by 5.2% in the second quarter. In June, Morgan Stanley projected that the economy would shrink by 6.2% this year and by 1.2% next year. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is projecting long-term gloom and doom for Venezuela: negative per capita GDP growth over the next five years. It is worth noting that the IMF gave the authors of "Dow 36,000" some competition for creative forecasting, with their repeated, wildly off-the-mark underestimates of the Venezuelan economy during the expansion.

https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/10/opinion/why-chavez-was-re-elected.html

Although some media have talked of Venezuela’s impending economic collapse for more than a decade, it hasn’t happened and is not likely to happen.

After recovering from a recession that began in 2009, the Venezuelan economy has been growing for two-and-a-half years now and inflation has fallen sharply while growth has accelerated. The country has a sizeable trade surplus. Its public debt is relatively low, and so is its debt-service burden. It has plenty of room to borrow foreign currency (it has borrowed $36 billion from China [pdf], mostly at very low interest rates), and can borrow domestically as well at low or negative real interest rates.

So even if oil prices were to crash temporarily (as they did in 2008-2009), there would be no need for austerity or recession. And hardly anyone is predicting a long-term collapse of oil prices.

Bolivarian Socialism looks so good on paper. Must be the wrong people keep implementing it?

[Miguel M]

4. Are they Chavismo or Castro-ists? Make up your mind.

Just yanking' yer chain.

[underpants]

2. Good 6 minute listen

Thanks

[Judi Lynn]

3. When you read or hear Noam Chomsky, you know you're listening to a man of character.

He has never been, never will be someone who hopes to benefit from the rape and abuse of his fellow humans.

In the words of the New Testament "Christian" fascists pretend to honor, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Thanks for the video, Miguel M.

[Blue_Tires]

5. I'll just leave this here:

Link to tweet

[Oele]

6. Venezuela and the Half-Truths of Noam Chomsky

https://quillette.com/2019/03/25/venezuela-and-the-half-truths-of-noam-chomsky/