In Venezuela there’s much human suffering because of lack of food and medicines; but petrol is 1 US$ CENT PER LITER!

Sir, I refer to your editorial "Venezuela’s problems can no longer be ignored" August 19.

Of course as a Venezuelan I pray for my country to get out of that tragic black hole into which crooks or naïve fools has submerged it controlling 97% of its export revenues. 

When we get out of it, which we will, we must see to never to fall into it again. And what we must do for that is to share out all oil revenues directly among the citizens, so to have our governments operate solely with the tax revenues provided by We the People.

But for the rest of the world, there also are important lessons to be learned. One is that stupid and irresponsible economic policies can cause just as much violation to human rights than any of those other sources usually identified. And when those economic crimes are especially grievous, those responsible for them should be prosecuted in international courts.

For instance, right now when there is huge human suffering in Venezuela, because of the lack of food and medicines; petrol (gas), even after it was raised a mindboggling 6.000 percent in February this year, is still being sold at less than ONE US$ CENT PER LITER - FOUR US$ CENTS PER GALLON.

That petrol should be sold, as a minimum, at its world price as a commodity. And the resulting revenues shared out equally to all, so that its citizens could be better positioned to deal with the de-facto state of emergency that exists; and petrol consumption would go down, and more petrol could be exported, and more food and medicines imported.

@PerKurowski ©

http://theoilcurse.blogspot.com

The Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela is generating great opportunities… for speculators and Vulture Funds.

I refer to Kadhim Shubber’s and Andres Schipani’s “Future of debt repayments in doubt as oil slide precipitates surge in five-year CDS”, August 19.

It says “No big oil-producing country has felt the pain of the price crash as acutely as Venezuela, where crude sales account for 96 per cent of exports.”

Sir, it is much worse than that, because that 96 percent of exports goes directly into the coffers of a very centralized government, which de facto dooms Venezuela to become, sooner or later, a failed-state.

And we then read “Francisco Rodríguez, a Venezuelan economist at the bank [of America], reckons Caracas still has some fuel and estimates some $61bn in state-owned assets could be sold to plug the holes. “Venezuela could continue paying bondholders for longer than it keeps paying Mr Maduro’s salary,” he says, alluding to parliamentary elections in December”

I wonder how would you feel if you lived in an absolutely disastrously governed country, and an investment advisor, from a reputable bank, was advising your government on how to scrape the bottom of the barrel in order for it to survive as long as possible? This advisor has placed himself completely in an après-nous et vous-le-deluge mode. Would a private citizen of such country, or of any country, look with sympathy at this adviser and his employer? I think not… I sure hope not!

What is Venezuela to do when its utterly inept government has used up that $61bn to plug the holes, which includes serving creditors/speculators… and perhaps therefore a bank economist earning a bonus?

@PerKurowski