Traders Are 'Scared As Hell' Of What's Happening In Venezuela

[MADem]

43. "God Given" Hair!

They are sitting on some of the largest oil reserves IN THE WORLD. They're OPEC members--you don't get in that club without a "minimum!"

They should be wealthy. Not just "OK" but rich as Roosevelts. They should be the salsa-merengue-tango version of Saudi Arabia. They should be able to import food from all over South America--beef from Brazil and Argentina, fruits and veggies from Peru, Ecuador, etc., they shouldn't have ANY want--they have enough oil to pay for everything.

Why aren't they? They "buy love" from Cuba with Free Oil. They also bribe their neighbors with cheap oil so that they won't go against them at OAS meetings. When they aren't giving away their wealth, they let the profits from their oil industry migrate to the oligarchy (aka the Boligarchs) who spend it carelessly and cackle at anyone who challenges their corruption.

They borrow huge sums from China--billions--in exchange for oil futures--they're selling the stuff at ten cents a gallon, in essence. And they'll still have to pump oil for Beijing long after that money is spent.

They ask people to fix their industry infrastructure, then refuse to pay them and nationalize their assets--for this reason, no one wants to help them anymore, and won't unless they are paid upfront. No one likes a weaseler/chiseller, and that is Venezuela in a nutshell. It's also why their infrastructure is falling apart and they can't pump at anywhere near capacity.

They don't pay their bills. That's why no planes will fly there, because any money for tickets purchased in VZ has to be "processed" through the gov't at their "official" exchange rate -- which is a joke. You can live like a king on a dollar a day if you find the right money exchanger who will keep his mouth shut--and that's assuming you don't get killed because they have--not the worst, they will INSIST--but the THIRD worst crime rate in the world. They actually might have the worst crime rate, most crimes are NOT solved, and who knows how many just aren't reported...because really, what's the point?

They bribe the loyal poor with stupid shit--here's some electricity for your shack, here's a cheap cell phone, here's a dumb-ass job sweeping the street. Show up at the Maduro rally and cheer like hell, we'll give you a frozen chicken for your trouble! This might not seem like a big deal, but when the line to get into the supermarket stretches for a half mile or more, and you have to worry about getting robbed when you come out of the store with your ration of toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, toilet paper and arepa flour, and there's no meat to be had so forget about that, you can see what a hellish life it is.

This is not "spin." This is how it is. There is a massive diaspora going on and anyone who can get out of VZ, with options (i.e. a job, a way to support oneself) does it. Puerto Rico--which isn't doing so great, either--is thick with VZans, so's FL, metro DC and a host of other communities in USA. It's AWFUL. The joke is "Why buy toilet paper? It's cheaper to use the money instead." The place is failing and there's no damn reason for it, save corruption and a really, really stupid world view.

I wouldn't be surprised if there's a coup enroute--and not by the opposition, from inside the power structure. Maduro, the Colombian incompetent, is way past his sell-by date and needs to go.