The booming economy may make elective surgery and luxury vehicles affordable for the upper-middle class, but the Venezuelans who are amassing the immense fortunes are the Boliburguesa, or the members of President Chávez’s inner circle. (The name refers to the president’s leftist Bolivarian revolution and the bourgeoisie.) Boliburgueses had constructed mega-mansions in the most storied Caracas neighborhoods and bought spanking new jets. A journalist friend who shadowed one of Chávez’s closest allies was chauffeured around in a bulletproof BMW, flanked by Korean bodyguards who can allegedly brain a would-be assailant with a butter knife at a distance of 20 meters. “It was like something out of Goldfinger,” my colleague said, still somewhat incredulous.
A glimpse into the socialist paradise of Hugo Chavez.
(link fixed)
Link down.
“Something out of Goldfinger” I definitely want to read that.
Doug:
The link actually works. Kate just missed the “l” at the end.
http://www.theamericanscholar.org/sp07/letterfromcaracass-starr.html
But Kate… don’t you know what a wonderful man Chavez is because he teaches all the serfs to read?
The trouble with the socialist urge is that the “proleones” tend to like seeing their new rulers pig it up, as it convinces the simple peone that his new rulers are easygoing hypocrites, who will consequently deliver easy government.
If ever there were an “inside straight” in democratic politics, this has gotta be it.
Poverty has actually fallen under the Chavez government, from 42.8% in 1999 to 37.9% in the second half of 2005 (source: Center for Economic and Policy Research). The rapid growth in Venezuela’s economy (17.9% in 2004 and 9.4% in 2005) is most likely the reason that the poverty numbers are dropping.
Just thought I should inject some facts into this debate.
Well color me flabbergasted. Veneuzela actually started OPEC? But I thought it was the big bad Muzzies. Or was that Halliburton? Or maybe just the human emotion called greed?
But Bob, the article dosen’t dispute that there has been some immediate benefit to the poor from Chavez’s throwing around of windfall profits. Once resource prices come down, though, poverty rates will spike accordingly.
Yup, and we all know how deadly those Koreans can be.
It’s actually not a bad article, if one discounts revisionist history such as “the president was forced to abdicate,” which, decoded, means “the president was deposed in a short-lived military coup.” But knowing the sources of some of his assertions would improve my confidence a little.
Bob. Please define Venezuela’s definition of poverty. And please provide us with your source for those statistics.
Remember the good old days when Alberta was going to own the rest of Canada, freeze the Eastern bastards right into the dark, and the Arctic was going to see a million businesses bloom?
For those who don’t, look at this graph.
That pro-nor’-wester sea-change point was supposed to be “inevitable” as of the time when the price of crude oil was at its highest, in real dollars, according to that graph.
I suggest an exercise to Bob and his likesake. Look for the price at the end of 2003 on that graph, and compare it to the present-day price.
Hmmm… so Comrade Leader throws some money at the poor and keeps them happy with anti-American rhetoric while he and his cronies pocket as much of the oil money as they possibly can, but does nothing at all to bring about real national development using that same oil money. Think harder and demand more, guys; that’s why you’re poor. It ain’t the oil cartel and the decadent capitalist conspiracy that’s doing you in.
Im no fan of Chavez by any stretch but frankly I dont see anything more morally repugnant about someone owning a “mega-mansion” and driving around in a bullet proof BMW because they are a senior government official than the someone doing the same because he inherited the money from his rich daddy.
I frankly don’t care who is uber wealthy.
“Elect me, and you will get what is rightfully yours.”
Indeed!
Bringing in something possibly unrelated to this discussion, remember Russia at the start of the 20th century? It was a nation with an undeveloped economy, with a tiny middle class. Maybe roughly equivilant to Brazil at the time (or Venezuela now). Everybody points to Russia, and says “See? That’s why socialism doesn’t work”. But look at Russia today. It’s economic position is light years ahead of where it was in 1910. Maybe something similar will happen to Venezuela. Also there are of course poverty issues that have to be looked after.
A general comment, for what it’s worth: there’s a quick way for the government officials of any Latin American nation (not just Venezuela) to jack up the GDP statistics for it: offer, or hint at, an amnesty for the habituants of the underground economy, the ones with no GDP-tied means of support. If a lot of ’em believe it, then their activity will move off-account to on-account, which will make the GDP numbers go up without much change in the underlying economy.
FYI: I have no evidence that Chavez or his minions have pulled this trick down in Venezuela recently. I mention it as something to watch out for with regard to the entire region’s economies.
Chavez and amigos are just repeating history.
At this point, despite some movement towards socialism, Venezuela is still an overwhelmingly capitalist society – and the article describes typical features of a capitalist society.
Gee.. A few of these “capitalistas” are going to be dead sooner than later. Koreans hmmmmmmm?
Im no fan of Chavez by any stretch but frankly I dont see anything more morally repugnant about someone owning a “mega-mansion” and driving around in a bullet proof BMW because they are a senior government official than the someone doing the same because he inherited the money from his rich daddy.
You don’t pay taxes, do you?
Socialist hell is more like it.
Nothing but a bunch of Caribbean Arabs under Chavez. When oil prices take there tumble they will be back to herding geckos.