Tag Archives: Private Property

Feb
3
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 2/3/12

In this week’s roundup… President Chávez threatens to nationalize the country’s banks and companies if they fail to comply with his orders; Venezuela’s currency has inflated by 528 percent since 2003; the kidnapping of a Mexican envoy to Venezuela underscores the country’s deteriorating security situation; a new anti-terrorism law generates concern that it could be used to target dissidents. Among other news, Henrique Capriles Radonski gains Leopoldo López’s support as he heads into the opposition primaries on February 12, 2012.

Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez warns banks of nationalisation, BBC News
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez has warned that he could nationalise banks that refuse to finance agricultural projects backed by his government.

Chavez Says He’ll Nationalize Companies That Don’t Limit Prices, Bloomberg
Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez said he will nationalize companies failing to comply with new price controls for consumer goods that the government is preparing to unveil. The price regulations may affect companies including Procter & Gamble Co., Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL) and Johnson & Johnson.

Venezuela’s accumulated inflation hits 528% in nine years, El Universal
Between February 2003 (when price controls were first implemented) and December 2011, Venezuela’s accumulated inflation has skyrocketed 528 percent. This has hit the worker’s purchasing power, as they can buy 15 percent less than in 1998.

Fear grips Venezuela after kidnapping, The Financial Times
It almost became an international incident when thugs kidnapped the Mexican ambassador and his wife this week in Caracas, shocking the country’s diplomatic community and embarrassing President Hugo Chávez as Venezuelan crime rates continue to soar before October’s presidential election.

Venezuela passes anti-terrorism law; critics warn it could be used for crackdown on dissent, The Washington Post via the Associated Press
Venezuela’s congress has approved a law aimed at fighting organized crime and terrorism, though opposition lawmakers say they fear it could be used to crack down on dissent.

Venezuela’s new chance, The Washington Post
Polls show Mr. Capriles in a dead heat with Mr. Chávez, even though the president has benefited from a wave of public sympathy since revealing seven months ago that he had been treated in Cuba for cancer.

The man who would defeat Hugo Chávez, The Christian Science Monitor
Living with 30 percent inflation, regular power outages, and one of the highest murder rates in the world, however, the middle class has since tired of Chávez. A tough fight lies ahead. The candidate who will take on Chávez in Venezeula’s October Presidential election will be chosen in primaries held on Feb. 12. Young state governor Henrique Capriles Radonski is likely to take that mantle.

Henrique Capriles Radonski, Venezuela Presidential Candidate, Challenges Hugo Chavez, The Huffington Post
Time points out that the Venezuelan president has faced little competition in prior elections — but that changed when opposition frontrunner Leopoldo López threw his support behind fellow challenger Henrique Capriles Radonski, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

 
Jan
25
2012
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Venezuela’s Economy Ranks Second to Last in Latin America

Yet another study confirms what most Venezuelans already know – Mr. Chávez’s failed economic policies are hurting that country’s economy. The 2012 Index of Economic Freedom ranks Venezuela’s economy 174 out of 179. Among Latin American economies, Venezuela is second to last, ranking 28 out of 29 economies. To put it in perspective, Venezuela’s economy is less free than that of Burma, Iran, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The index was released earlier this month by The Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal.

The 2012 index captures the dim state of affairs for the Venezuelan economy, listing a number of factors that contribute to that country’s economic repression. Topping the list is the near-total authority wielded by the Chávez government. Since Chávez’s 2004 political takeover of the nation’s Supreme Court, Venezuela’s judiciary has been little more than a rubber stamp for the executive branch, allowing Chávez to break contracts and expropriate private property with near impunity. After opposition candidates won a parliamentary majority in the 2010 elections, Chávez convinced the outgoing legislature to grant him authority to rule by decree for the next 18 months, giving him almost total control of the Venezuelan economy.

According to the report, economic freedom in Venezuela is further hampered by extensive state interference in the economy. The imposition of price controls and the meddling in financial markets disrupt the flow of goods and services, resulting in widespread shortages and soaring inflation (which exceeded 28 percent in 2011). Meanwhile, there is little transparency in government decision-making; the state enforces regulations erratically and often awards contracts without competition, further dampening the climate for private investors.

All these factors taken together contribute to unemployment remaining above 12 percent in Venezuela. In addition, as expropriations continue to increase and Venezuela’s economy continues to grow more slowly than that of any other country in the Americas, it appears that there is little hope for immediate improvement under Chavez’s rule.

To see the 2012 Index of Economic Freedom, click here.

 
Jan
20
2012
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In Case You Missed It… Articles Roundup Week of 1/20/12

In this week’s roundup… Venezuela confirms its decision to leave the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), rebuffing long-term treaty agreements with 24 countries.  Hugo Chávez continues to defend his new defense minister, who allegedly has ties to drug traffickers and the Colombian FARC; Venezuelan opposition candidates sign a document foreswearing any “shock” reversals of Chávez’s economic policies should one of them win the presidential elections; the closure of Hovensa oil refinery in the Virgin Islands is expected to seriously hurt the Venezuelan economy; and Chávez delivers his longest speech to date, lasting a staggering nine and a half hours.

Venezuela to leave World Bank-affiliated body, renounces international arbitration, The Washington Post via the Associated Press

Venezuela plans to leave the World Bank’s international arbitration body and try to settle disputes with foreign companies within its own judicial system, Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez said Sunday. Ramirez also announced that Venezuela would seek to renegotiate dozens of international investment-related agreements.

Venezuela and international arbitration: Ick-SID, The Economist

For Hugo Chávez, sovereignty means never having to say you’re sorry. The Venezuelan president, who sees globalisation as an imperialist plot against developing countries, is determined to break free from all forms of international arbitration. His latest bid to de-couple his country from the rest of the world involves the World Bank’s International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), a tribunal which serves as an arbitrator for foreign-investment contracts.

Venezuela Needs as Many as 15 Years to Leave Arbitration Court, Bloomberg

Venezuela will need as many as 15 years to renegotiate bilateral investment treaties before it can leave the World Bank arbitration court, said Prosecutor General Carlos Escarra. Venezuela has treaties with 24 countries that need to be amended or canceled before authorities can pull out of the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, or ICSID, Escarra said yesterday in an interview with Union Radio.

Chávez Defends New Military Chief, TIME

President Hugo Chávez defended his new military chief on Tuesday, saying renewed allegations that he aided drug traffickers and Colombian rebels were part of a smear campaign against the general. Speaking before thousands of soldiers standing in formation at a Caracas military base, Chávez urged the military to defend his defense minister, Gen. Henry Rangel Silva.

Chavez Opponents Pledge No Shock Therapy If They Win Election, Bloomberg

Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won’t apply “shock” adjustments to reverse policies such as currency and price controls if they unseat the self-declared socialist in October’s election, according to two advisers for the opposition alliance. Six candidates competing in an opposition primary next month will sign a 164-page policy platform Jan. 23 committing them to a plan of action should they defeat Chavez.

Virgin Islands refinery shutdown to hit Venezuela hard, The Miami Herald

The announced shutdown of an oil refinery in the Virgin Islands will hit hard the state-run Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A. (PDVSA), a company that loses a major customer for its hard-to-place heavy crude and a major supplier of components for the gasoline consumed in the country, analysts said. The experts added that the closing of the refinery — one of the world’s 10 largest — could also impact the cash flow of the state-owned company, as the complex, where PDVSA has a 50 percent share, is one of the clients that best pays for Venezuelan crude. “It’s a very important customer for Venezuela,” said former state oil company manager Horacio Medina. “It is one of the places where they were sending large amounts [of crude] every month.”

Chavez Gives 9 Hour Speech Ahead of Campaign, Bloomberg

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez, who is running for re-election after battling cancer, signed off his longest-ever speech with a message to his opponents: “I’m back.” Chavez, who spoke for more than 9 1/2 hours during his annual address to the National Assembly on Jan. 13, said yesterday that he’ll begin campaigning for a third consecutive term once his opponents choose a single candidate from six aspirants in a primary on Feb. 12. The former tank commander last year reduced his almost- daily TV appearances after having surgery in June to remove a malignant tumor from his pelvic area. The speech on Friday was intended as a message that he’s regained his former energy and will be fit enough to campaign for the Oct. 7 election, said Marcelino Bisbal, director of media studies at the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello in Caracas.