Venezuela: A Case of Gross Economic Mismanagement


By Scott Morgan

The month of August 2018 is half over. Events in Venezuela indicate that just when one assumes nothing else that could challenge the imagination could occur that notion is easily dispatched.

We all have heard and watched the footage of the alleged Assassination attempt against President Nicolas Maduro as he addressed a Military Parade on August 4th. The President came out unharmed during the incident which resulted in two soldiers being injured. The Government was quick to accuse the political opposition and the newly minted President of Colombia Ivan Marquez of being behind the event.

Relations between these two neighbors have been interesting over the last few years. The Peace Deal between FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) and the Colombian Government did remove a long-standing source of contention between these two states. That being said the Economic Issues plaguing Venezuela has created new sources of tension. One of the reasons has to be the sheer number of Refugees fleeing in order to have some of the basic necessities of life.

Colombia is not the only South American Country that has been the target of Diplomatic Notes by Caracas. Reports indicate that Peru has also been asked to turn over two individuals-  Gregorio Jose Yaguas Monje and Yilber Alberto Escalona. It has been alleged that these two gentlemen were involved with the Drone Assassination plot against President Maduro.

This is not only the negative news that the Venezuelan Government has received this month. A court in the United States is allowing the Canadian Energy Firm Crystallex to move forward in its effort to collect over 1.1 Million pounds in compensation after a mining project it was operating in the country was taken over by state authorities. It was actually able to argue that the PDVSA was an ‘alter ego” of the State.

The US oil conglomerate Conoco was awarded with over 1.57 Billion pounds in a similar case earlier this year via arbitration. It is clear that assets being held outside Venezuela could be targeted for damages but we should not expect a run within the country just yet. Both Russia and China have interests in the Oil Industry that could actually act as a shield against efforts to seize assets within Venezuela itself.

The Maduro regime has major issues regarding its economic health and in its ability to restore itself to a condition of growth. It has sought to conduct some of its Oil Transfers offshore in friendly nations such as Cuba and has instituted a cryptocurrency linked to the Petroleum Industry in an effort to circumvent sanctions and allow state employees to receive their paychecks.

The ability of the Maduro Administration to survive is a wonder to some people once the concept of election rigging is passed. It has driven its Political Opposition underground or in some cases overseas. Gross Mismanagement of the Economy has seen it lose to Business in both the courtroom and in arbitration.

What the next step will be has yet to be seen….

(Image: Attempted Assassination of Nicolas Maduro[Ed] - AFP/Getty Images via Google Images)

[The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Dissecting Society. © 2007-2018 Author(s) ALL RIGHTS RESERVED]

Comments

  1. Poor Maduro, now he's devaluing the currency and increasing minimum wages by 3,000 percent, what?

    "The government will enact a massive currency devaluation and an increase in taxes, and will raise gasoline prices. A new version of the bolivar will trade roughly in line with where the black market was, and the government will raise the minimum wage more than 3,000 percent -- a level that still only equates to $30 a month."
    https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-19/confusion-reigns-as-maduro-mega-devaluation-roils-venezuela

    We should all bet against Venezuela.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Nicolas Maduro admitted socialism failed his country but now he comes with a socialist solution to the problem? This too will fail!!

    ReplyDelete

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