Venezuela - Basket Case of S.America.
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Florida
Age: 49
Posts: 416
And my own memories of Venezuela are forever rose-tinted after flying in to the Angel Falls strip from Puerto Ordaz in a ServiVensa DC-3 and meeting a Lufthansa stewardess who had hiked the whole way up there and needed somewhere to stay...
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Clarty Waters, UK
Age: 55
Posts: 906
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: The Luberon
Age: 69
Posts: 919
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Perth - Western Australia
Age: 72
Posts: 1,804
I'm sure Venezuela's Russian friends will soon be along to assist. After all, their great friend Chavez bought 100,000 Kalshnikovs and 24 x Sukhoi-30 jets off the Russians, so I'm sure they'll be willing to help out their friends in militarism, when they're in a spot of economic bother .... won't they?? Won't they?????

Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Chedburgh, Bury St.Edmunds
Age: 78
Posts: 1,124
The land of beautiful women!. Sitting outside a bar in Caracas on a Saturday night is forever etched in my memories. Saturday night for young women was for parading your beauty up and down the street. Ah, makes me feel young again!!.
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: us
Posts: 93
I'm sure Venezuela's Russian friends will soon be along to assist. After all, their great friend Chavez bought 100,000 Kalshnikovs and 24 x Sukhoi-30 jets off the Russians, so I'm sure they'll be willing to help out their friends in militarism, when they're in a spot of economic bother .... won't they?? Won't they?????

Yes they are. They also purchased a 50% stake in one of the major oil plays.
China bought a large percentage of another play.
Venezuela just does not have the resources as in US$ to buy the equipment to produce the fields.
Russian is also the source from my recollection of the oil import for Venezuela to refine petroleum products for domestic consumption that was eluded to up post.
You just have to consider that even as oil prices increase, Venezuela has taken a major hit on oil revenues as Russia and China get there percentage of oil/monies first from the production in those plays.
VFD
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Texas
Age: 61
Posts: 5,630


Thought police antagonist
Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Where I always have been...firmly in the real world
Posts: 85
It's not all bad news then......getting rid of this stuff anywhere can only be classed as a bonus to society.....
Sugar shortage cuts Coca-Cola production in Venezuela - BBC News
Sugar shortage cuts Coca-Cola production in Venezuela - BBC News
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 73
Posts: 1,561
I was chasing a job in Caracas in 1981, one I narrowly missed. Back then things were booming there, with Venezuelan-registered aircraft a regular sight in Miami, where I was based.
11 Years later, in mid-1992, I met up with a Venezuelan crew at the Citation training facility in Wichita. What a tale of woe! Those guys were just hanging on to their jobs, worried about being caught up in the collapse of the Venezuelan economy, and I guess it was much better then than now, just 24 years later.
It's appalling, the damage that bad leadership can inflict on a country, how that can change its history. Venezuela without Chavez might have been like Cuba without Castro, but we'll never get to see those alternate versions of history.
The other day we went to a tango presentation, when the history of the tango is intertwined with the history of Buenos Aires and Argentina, and Juan Peron, another guy who managed to ruin his country.
11 Years later, in mid-1992, I met up with a Venezuelan crew at the Citation training facility in Wichita. What a tale of woe! Those guys were just hanging on to their jobs, worried about being caught up in the collapse of the Venezuelan economy, and I guess it was much better then than now, just 24 years later.
It's appalling, the damage that bad leadership can inflict on a country, how that can change its history. Venezuela without Chavez might have been like Cuba without Castro, but we'll never get to see those alternate versions of history.
The other day we went to a tango presentation, when the history of the tango is intertwined with the history of Buenos Aires and Argentina, and Juan Peron, another guy who managed to ruin his country.
Last edited by chuks; 24th May 2016 at 17:03.
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PBI
Posts: 215
Funny how the PDVSA (State Petroleum Co.) managed to shunt $40m a year to Lotus F1 to pay for hire driver Paster (Crashtor Maldonado)
Im sure those funds would have been much appreciated elsewhere
Im sure those funds would have been much appreciated elsewhere
Last edited by OldCessna; 25th May 2016 at 02:07. Reason: Spelling error.
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 73
Posts: 1,561
He's named Pastor, not Paster, but your point is a good one.
Petronas sponsoring Mercedes is another curious example of big bucks flowing from a Third World oil company to a Formula 1 team for no obvious gain.
Petronas sponsoring Mercedes is another curious example of big bucks flowing from a Third World oil company to a Formula 1 team for no obvious gain.
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: FL, USA
Posts: 382
With the views of the Caribbean Sea from the north coast, they could sell a Trillion Dollars of ocean view lots to the Gringos from the north with a stable government.
Last edited by WhatsaLizad?; 25th May 2016 at 05:44.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Everett, WA
Age: 65
Posts: 3,196
Don't forget Milka Duno in Indy Cars. Probably not as much money as Crashtor, but no where near as competitive. Crashtor could actually run competitive times, he just had an unfortunate habit of falling off the track or running into other cars. Milka, well in short I think I was a better race driver than she was, and I was no where near being professional caliber. I watched a race at Watkins Glen in '09 - she was so far off the pace it would have embarrassed any normal professional race driver.
But she did look good out of uniform

Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: england
Posts: 274

Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: Germany
Age: 73
Posts: 1,561
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 465
I entertained the thought that maybe Mr Chavez was not really a socialist but pretended to be one so as to come to power.
No matter how often socialism proves a disaster in the real world--as it always must, until they can create the New Socialist Man, who's happy to work hard so the products of his labours can be given to those who don't---they'll keep calling for more.
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Peripatetic
Posts: 11,309
Guffaw, snort, applause. Maestro, Maestro! Encore! | Tim Worstall 


Venezuelan Bolivar experiences inflationary spike, as booming abundance of socialist economy makes currency virtually meaningless



Venezuelan Bolivar experiences inflationary spike, as booming abundance of socialist economy makes currency virtually meaningless
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: us
Posts: 93
Inflation running 200% plus last year estimated 700-800% this year.
That plush 3000 Bolivar a month government controlled pay scale last year is only going to be worth 3 a month by the end of this year.
In the meantime the new normal is shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity in Utopia.
The government has basically about run out of resources to feed the population since hardly anything is produced domestically and has to be imported after the government has taken over production and manufacturing.
The end point is not going to be pretty and looking like it is approaching soon.
VFD
That plush 3000 Bolivar a month government controlled pay scale last year is only going to be worth 3 a month by the end of this year.
In the meantime the new normal is shortages of food, water, medicine and electricity in Utopia.
The government has basically about run out of resources to feed the population since hardly anything is produced domestically and has to be imported after the government has taken over production and manufacturing.
The end point is not going to be pretty and looking like it is approaching soon.
VFD