Venezuela to Ration Electricity After Colombia Cuts Gas

[7962]

Source: Bloomberg news

Venezuela’s government announced the start of electricity rationing in western Zulia state as well as water rationing in Caracas to reduce demand on the power grid, a day after Ford Motor Co. (F) halted production in Latin America’s largest oil exporter.

The second-largest U.S. automaker joins competitor Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Dutch truck-maker CNH Industrial NV (CNHI) in suspending assembly in the South American country because of the difficulty of obtaining dollars to import parts from the government.

Shortages of everything from water to car parts and flour to pregnancy tests come after three months of protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro that have left at least 41 people dead. The government yesterday said it will start rationing electricity and water as drought drains hydroelectric reservoirs and water tanks.

“This is another acknowledgment that the country is not working,” Michael Shifter, president of Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, said in a phone interview yesterday. “If this spreads to the rest of the country and becomes a nationwide rationing of electricity, it will significantly cut into Maduro’s support.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-05-07/venezuela-to-ration-electricity-after-colombia-cuts-gas.html

---

The "Bolivar revolution" continues.....right down the drain.

[Adrahil]

1. Sounds like things are going great! NT

[fasttense]

2. Because bloomberg news is such an unbiased new source

Spin, spin, spin. Take a little information and leave out a lot of information then make it sound dire. The uber rich in the US really hate socialism in South America. They have to convince the masses how bad socialism will be for us if we dare try it. So bloomberg is doing their part in spreading the spin, spin, spin.

So what is wrong with this story? Ask yourself what does Ford Motor company, Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Dutch truck-maker CNH Industrial NV (CNHI) have to do with the rationing? The spin makes it sound like these huge corporations would be sooooo willing to provide anything they could if only the poor, poor corporation could get what they needed. When was the last time a huge corporation actually helped a society without exploiting the society for profit?

[Hestia]

3. ^ +100%

[sweetapogee]

4. from the op

"because of the difficulty of obtaining dollars to import parts from the government."

[fasttense]

6. So they say,

Poor, poor Ford Motor Corporation, they can't get any dollars. That's the answer. It's nothing that those huge corporations did themselves. They are mere passengers in a boat tossed about by the political storm. These huge corporations have no power, no control over national events. Who will save them?

[hack89]

8. The VZ government controls access to dollars

Companies in VZ need dollars to buy goods, materials and parts from other countries. If they don't have access to dollars they can't do that.

[jtuck004]

16. You know dollars come from here, right? Ford has access to more dollars

globally than the VZ govt has. If they really want something, it would be there.

They are trying to pressure the govt and people to acquiesce like we do here. It is just one site, and not the largest one by any means, of many Ford sites.

[hack89]

17. What about those thousands of domestic VZ companies?

where do they get their dollars?

You want to focus on a handful of big corporations while ignoring the vast majority of small companies that absolutely depend on the VZ government for dollars.

[Bacchus4.0]

20. the black market n/t

[jtuck004]

21. Noit ignoring them. Just know that the argument that Ford can't get dollars is specious.

Once off of that we can move to what really is affecting what, and one of those things is we think if Socialists prevail to our South they are gonna all rise up one day and kill us all in our beds because they want what we have. So we spend an enormous amount of resources trying to fuck up the lives of people in other countries, coercing them to adopt a point of view that serves our corporations. Remember, we are still officially afraid of Cuba, and they are dependent on VZ, so anything we can screw up in VZ is seen as a positive. Because we just can't have socialist countries doing well. It wouldn't be proper.

But more important than our government is who really runs things. Our corporations want free reign globally to suck wealth from the citizens, and in countries where they can't, they will use any resource they can to pressure their government to do their bidding. I suspect that has something to do with this as well.

You are correct about the small companies, but there is a much larger picture here, in that this country has a vested interest in making sure nobody likes VZ, no matter who we have to hurt to make it happen. Perhaps similar to what is going on the Ukraine, or other places described through our history.

Probably wouldn't be a bad thing if we tried to build ourselves up into something that other people wanted to emulate, but instead we sneak around lying about what we do, spying on each other, and push on with our ineptness, and then we portray VZ's pres is a 40 watt bulb in a sign surrounded by 1000 watt shiners.

It appears VZ has made some serious errors, but it's not as if we aren't there to kick them in the back of the knee anytime they appear to stumble, instead of using our resources so we could all face our global challenges together.

[Bacchus4.0]

24. no, really. Ford can't get dollars from Ven government. They can't convert Bolivars to dollars

at a profitable rate so they are not going to continue operating at a loss. Just ask the airlines that are bailing.

[dotymed]

65. IMO, 'OUR govt.'

Does not want Venezuela to succeed and is doing all possible to torpedo their economy. If it is a success (like other, 1st world, socialist countries in Europe, then we'd have a constant reminder in out "back yard" that a fair system is so much better than capitalism.
Any Democratic system is.
America IS NOT A DEMOCRACY. That is proven and easily observable.

[The Magistrate]

18. I Tend To Agree, Sir: This Is The Capitalist's Equivalent Of A Strike

And its purpose is to put pressure on the government in hopes of subjecting it to a breaking strain that will allow the old oligirchary back into control of the place.

[EX500rider]

67. Why would a Dutch company care what kind of govt Venz. has?

And I don't think the Europeans are all that anti-socialist anyway.
They DO care if they can make money in any country they operate in, and 50%+ inflation plus inability to transfer Bolivars to dollars will hamper that for sure.

[nolabels]

70. You are living in the last century

We are currently in the realm of Have's and Have-nots. In today's world the Haves use what they have to take away the little of the Have-nots

[EX500rider]

71. Right, cause the Europeans SO hate socialism...

...and Dutch truck manufacturers SO care what kind of govt a country around the world from them has.... lol

[nolabels]

72. I work on those piece of crap Volvo trucks all the time

I have been repairing trucks for 35 years. Mostly every idea or manufacturing technique that Volvo uses they borrowed or leased into are from other truck companies. Wow! they copy ideas from other companies. Seems to me Japan was doing that back in the 70's too

There are lots of reasons Europe is the tail trying to wag the dog, but no time to explain,
i got to go off to my job now

[Bacchus4.0]

19. Venezuela government won't convert Bolivares to dollars and allow repatriation

of the money out of Venezuela. If the government does convert the currency to dollars, businesses take a heavy loss. Thus, operating in Venezuela simply isn't profitable under the current government imposed system.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/26/us-venezuela-airlines-idUSBREA2P22O20140326

[jtuck004]

23. So let's say you have a socialist government that thinks you make too much profit,

and they want to provide medical care, food, education, etc. That costs more money than cutting food stamps and letting 7 million people be foreclosed on while you leave criminals in charge of your banks and send them $1.2 trillion to profit from, and corps want that money. Worse than they want people to live. If your corp can help destabilize them (just like Saul Alinsky taught) you can re-organize to something that suits you better, and profit from it.

You are correct about the currency situation, but that leaves out a lot of the back story.

The question to ask is who profits from this if their govt is toppled, like Chile, perhaps. here. We don't even do the dirty deeds sometimes - but we sure encourage others to do it for us. (just fyi - The Shock Doctrine is a good book if you haven't had the pleasure).

So just replace United States with the name of any global corporation who sees the $$$ signs in the oil reserves and labor of that country, and mix in our history, and suddenly this whole thing looks a lot less black and white. None of this happens in a vacuum.

I think VZ has made some mistakes, but I think it is very likely we are in there making sure to provoke them and make sure they have the worst possible outcome, and the stories we hear likely border on if they aren't outright propaganda.

So I'm a lot hesitant to just adopt the party line and say bad VZ government, won't play ball with others.

[Ikonoklast]

27. You cannot starve your sources of tax revenue, either.

In the end, you collect 0% in taxes from businesses forced to be unprofitable.

[jtuck004]

30. They are only forced to be as unprofitable as they WANT to be. This doesn't

get rid of their profits, it says that people's lives and welfare are more important than excessive profit, and that small profits are enough.

Used to be more people thought that here, now not so much, since criminals and other pond scum have learned to make well-placed donations.

[hack89]

36. If production costs are greater than revenues then there are no profits.

and that is what is happening in VZ.

[jtuck004]

44. Yet, they post profits. It must be magic. We have a company here, Pfizer, trying

to join with another company to avoid paying their taxes here. Yet we facilitate their screwing of us. (did you pick up on that one?).

At least Venezuela is trying to work for the people. I realize this isn't the place for such talk

so, bye.

[hack89]

46. Who is posting a profit? Not Ford's Venezuela operations

they are losing money - along with most other companies in VZ.

[jtuck004]

74. Poor, poor Ford. Only a 7 billion dollars in profit in 2013, if they could have just screwed

Venezuela a bit more they could have gone over. They can't so they want to take their ball and go home. One would think they, like many corporations here - might have been satisfied with screwing people over on paychecks and avoiding paying taxes in any way they can in all the other places they do business, but perhaps not.

One should note - they never claimed on paper to not be making any profit - just not as much as they wanted, because the government wants to use to feed people and build bridges instead. Imagine such a thing.

Fuck Ford and any other teabagger, rethug or other lowlife who doesn't want to pay their fair share, who thinks corporate profits are more important than people's lives.

But it isn't that simple. The US is deathly afraid, to the point of peeing in our collective pants, that a socialist culture might survive. So we let crooks foreclose on 7 million FAMILIES over the past few years, leave 9 million homes underwater on their loans today, replace tens of millions of jobs with lesser paying ones and leave tens of millions with no hope, ever, of things getting better in their lifetime -

ALL - to insure corporate profits at the expense of the people who labored to create them. This country will do nearly anything or everything to make sure that anyone who doesn't hold that point of view will fail, whether in this country or out, up to and including helping others who will kill and destroy any government or people that try. Plenty of history of that, lots of it written down now.

This isn't just Ford not making as much as they want - I suspect it has more to do with people here who can't stand that Venezuela doesn't have their noses as far up corporate asses as those of our current politicians and "business people" - a much larger, messier, and smellier picture.

Tell you what. You want to argue for Ford, go waste someone else's time.

[EX500rider]

73. "Yet, they post profits."

Show us where Ford in Venz. posted a profit recently. NOT Ford global.

[Ikonoklast]

42. That is total nonsense. Venezuela is ensuring they are operating at a loss.

Ford alone lost almost HALF of their total investment in Venezuela this year alone, $350 million dollars, due to massive currency devaluations.


What do you think is going to happen to all those jobs Ford provides to Venezuelans after their government runs them out of business?

Are you saying that businesses should be forced by government to operate at a loss? Because that is what is happening there.

[jtuck004]

43. Ford didn't provide jobs, silly, the consumer demand did. Ford can leave, someone else

can do it just as well, and the people can keep more of their labor.

Bye now.

[EX500rider]

48. Right, all those domestic venz car companies like........ ????

[Ikonoklast]

54. I've come to the conclusion that all of Madura's apologists are as ignorant of economics as he is.

Venezuela either replaces him ASAP or they will be in Zimbabwe territory within 18 months.

[EX500rider]

68. If you got hired by Ford then yes, Ford DID supply the job.

[Bacchus4.0]

28. the Ven government has limited profits to 30% maximum

Maduro is horrible and it would be good if he resigned. That is not toppling the government, unless you believe the government is the man.

Ford only cares that making cars in Venezuela is profitable. If it isn't profitable they won't make cars there. They could import all cars to Venezuela rather than do any manufacturing there I suppose but they would still need to be paid in dollars by the importers and car dealers. Its the government that controls the flow of dollars.

The government is Venezuela is a disaster. Its the people running it.

[MindMover]

32. This hubbub is about this ....

Last month, Maduro expelled three U.S. diplomats form Venezuela, accusing them of conspiring against his government. In response, the United States last week expelled three Venezuelan diplomats.

[Bacchus4.0]

34. the US expelled them like a month ago but it doesn't have anything to do with Ven's currency

exchange system or how poorly run the goverment is.

[jtuck004]

33. I know companies that would KILL for a 30% profit. Some too greedy, think

it's not enough, and they need to deprive people of their labor to take it. "Ford only cares about...profitable" < -you are correct about that, I suspect. Not the people.

I think it is not out of the realm of real possibility that we are making sure it is a disaster, and probably handing out cookies to people who will take to the streets and tear it down. We have a history of that.

He may be horrible, but from here it is hard to tell, with, I suspect, so many horrible people telling us how horrible he is and trying to encourage horribleness because our companies profit from it. I find myself being fairly critical of what I read now, because so much of it is propaganda.

[Bacchus4.0]

37. Ford wants control of their own profits, not have Ven hold them

and release money whenever they feel like it. Or sell dollars to them at a loss. Then there is a loss, not a profit.

There are other leftist countries in the region that are thriving. I would note Peru particularly and Brazil although they have slowed.
Chile and Uruguay are quite well off and have leftist leaders although those two countries have been quite developed for awhile. Peru has made extraordinary gains over the past 10 years under progressive government rule.

There is nothing wrong with pointing out the failures in Venezuela. Its not an indictment of progressive policies at all. Just noting that there is a horrible government in Venezuela that has really screwed things up over the past 15 years.

[jtuck004]

38. Or sell dollars to them at a loss. Then there is a loss, not a profit. - no, just a transaction.

The year-end would tell, and I bet they would still make money.

We used to cut what companies could make here, with usury laws and taxes. Now we are more comfortable letting corps screw people over, with 50 million in poverty, millions foreclosed on or underwater, and tens of millions of people, aging, and the money they worked for that would have paid their retirement and medical has been stolen (they call it making profit) by greedy corps the bill. I'm not sure we haven't made a damn big mistake too.

And you characterize - I didn't say there was anything wrong with pointing out failure. I just reserve the right to not believe much of what I hear from sources that defend corporate profits over people's lives, kind of like what has happened in this country. Then it isn't pointing out failure, it's just Faux-news level propaganda.

That said I do think Venezuela could use a change, but not to make Ford or any other corp happy. If it does it is probably the wrong direction.

[EX500rider]

49. A 30% annual profit with 50% inflation is a net loss.

[jtuck004]

51. Damn, a whole economiks course, and no tuition. Thanks, man!!

Of course, that assumes you only have their currency to work with which, and that you are only working with currency and not goods and not manufacturing your own goods in multiple places in a global corporation, like Ford. In that case it is damn near ridiculous to think that is their only consideration, since they have many other options for the purchase of money, bonds, at various trading ranges, movement of goods, etc., along with many ways to avoid paying the taxes they should be paying, their fair share, for the country which provided them the profit. As is the case here.

But...

I don't want to take up any more of your time. Really. None.

[EX500rider]

52. After some of the stuff you have posted in this thread a course in economics is a good idea.

Like the dutch really care what kind of government Venz has....and we all know how much the Europeans HATE socialism, am i right? lol...good one.

[Igel]

55. That rather depends.

If inflation is 30% or hight, that 30% isn't enough.

Same in the US in the late '70s and early '80s. A 5% pay raise is fairly large these days. 8% is cushy. With 12% annual inflation, an 8% pay raise would have been a 4% pay cut.

Profits, like raises, come after required expenses and after inflation.

[hack89]

35. But in VZ companies are not making any profit

what between inflation, price controls, periodic currency devaluations and the inability to buy dollars at the market rate.

You can't run an economy dependent on the global markets without paying attention to basic economics. The rest of the world does not have to play by VZ's rules.

[jtuck004]

39. Ford Posts First Quarter 2014 Pre-Tax Profit of $1.4 Billion

Net Income of $989 Million; Global New Product Launches on Track.

And VZ does not have to play by their rules either. They could be like us, tens of millions of people in poverty, the "middle class" being replaced wholesale with less, consumers picking up lots of costs that business should otherwise absorb, and a growing number of people in worse financial shape than they have been in years, with nothing in the future that indicates any real change, and banks reporting record profits, criminals in charge.

Can't imagine why VZdoesn't say they want to be just like us.

[hack89]

40. What about all those other companies in VZ?

Last edited Thu May 8, 2014, 02:26 PM - Edit history (1)

the non-billion dollar companies?

I understand your desire to deflect the conversation but come on - you are being disingenuous here by focusing on one company and ignoring all the rest.

Being like us would be a step up for VZ - abject poverty, a sky high murder rate, out of control inflation, food shortages, political violence are not the signs of a healthy society. .

[jtuck004]

41. Not tryintg to deflect, used your example. I smell straw...but anyway...

"abject poverty, a sky high murder rate, out of control inflation, food shortages, political violence are "

Are you talking about sections of Los Angeles, Detroit, other parts of the US, a housing market driven by cash investors where home ownership is now and will be out of reach for many permanently, or Venezuela?

And if we don't have food shortages, what is sending millions of people 3 weeks worth of food stamps because that's what they can really buy, if they are careful) while sending very well off banksters $1.2 trillion a year to profit from so that rentiers like Mi$$ RobME can steal even more from the labor of ordinary working people, and thus deny them and their children opportunity. They even have to steal toilet paper from the gas station, because that's not covered. Or use leaves.

USA!USA!USA! We are the beacon keepers of a healthy society. No one as good as us. Even if we have to wreck your economy, sow distrust, kill people, burn villages, bomb you with Democracy. We will save you if it kills you.

"Being like us would be a step." <-I agree with your words here. Just not sure in what direction.

[hack89]

45. The murder rate in VZ 15 times higher than America and is steadily

We have no inflation - they have one of the highest rates in the world. Their poverty rate is twice ours and increasing.

They are sitting on a shit ton of oil and yet they can't feed their people nor provide for their safety. Failed society.

[Judi Lynn]

64. The link you provided brought information I'm certain many have never heard.

I've got to post some of it here as there are people I would love to see this, regarding U.S. involvement in the assassinastion of Rene Schneider, a loyal Chilean officer who wouldn't turn against Allende for them, and the destruction of Allende:

After Schneider's death, the CIA recovered the submachine guns and money it had provided. Both Valenzuela and Viaux were arrested and convicted of conspiracy after Schneider's assassination. One member of the coup plotters that escaped arrest requested assistance from the CIA, and was paid $35,000, so "The CIA did, in fact, pay "hush" money to those directly responsible for the Schneider assassination—and then covered up that secret payment for thirty years."[16]:34

In 1970, the U.S. manufacturing company ITT Corporation owned of 70% of Chitelco, the Chilean Telephone Company, and funded El Mercurio, a Chilean right-wing newspaper. The CIA used ITT as a conduit to financially aid opponents of Allende's government.[18][19] On 28 September 1973, ITT's headquarters in New York City, was bombed by the Weather Underground for the alleged involvement of the company in the overthrow of Allende.[20]

It means a great deal to have read this link. Thank you, so much. You are helping us educate ourselves on information the government attempted to bury forever. We all need and deserve to know what has happened in our names.

[EX500rider]

69. 40 some years ago in Chile under a different administration has SQUAT to do with anything.

[EX500rider]

47. Getting paid in useless Venz bolívar's doesn't help buy parts overseas.

[Yo_Mama]

57. Companies don't make cars and sell them at a 10K loss ea

If you are expecting ANY corporation to subsidize auto production in a country to that extent, you are doomed to be disappointing. You are also being unreasonable.

[Bacchus4.0]

10. boo hoo. Poor poor Venezuela can't pay its bills or keep the lights on despite the worlds largest

supply of oil reserves.

[EX500rider]

50. So you think the Dutch are in on a plot against Venz? lol...ok

.....or maybe it's as they said, buying parts over seas in $ and then selling cars for fairly useless Bolvars that have 50%+ inflation does not work out.

Simple economics, not conspiracy

[snooper2]

66. Nationalize everything! So we get more good YouTube vids like this one from Venezuela

[7962]

5. Because, like Canada Air, they're afraid the govt will steal their money

Thats why no one will want to do business in VZ as time goes by. But they could mfg their OWN cars, like the Yugo. No need for those evil foreign companies.

[fasttense]

7. Oh my the bad nasty governments that they have no control over

are taking away all their money. Their lobbyists are all so useless. The bribed judges are all turning their backs. Who can they bribe next? A Citizen United ruling must be passed immediately in every country. At least they have the TPP. Poor poor corporations, their CEOs will starve, their wealthy stock holders will be homeless. Save the wonderful corporations. What's a corporate vulture to do? Mitt will be out of a job.

[hack89]

9. So what is your solution?

how do companies get the dollars they need to import goods?

[7962]

59. Yes, put ALL the corporations out of business. Gee, who do I work for now?

[Bacchus4.0]

11. I bet they'd be willing to continue operating if they could make money there.

boo hoo, chavismo is a failure.

[EX500rider]

53. Yeah it funny the strange theories Chavista's come up with...

....basically muti-national companies care only if they can make a profit when selling or producing items in any country.
Otherwise they could care less about the local system of government.
China? sure! Communist, Monarchies, dictatorships far and wide, no problem...

And a theory that has a Dutch company being against a South American socialist government is beyond stupid.

[melm00se]

12. The Venezuelan government

has an exchange commission (CADIVI) that controls currency exchange and they cannot supply sufficient dollars to the private sector to purchase goods to import to (in Ford, Toyota and CNH Industrial)'s case) assemble into finished goods. No amount of willing to sacrifice profit will help here.

if you don't have the engines, frames, wheels, tires, nuts, bolts, windshields or any of the many other parts that go into building something like a vehicle, you can't build the vehicles.

This is then coupled with the fact that auto sales are down (by ~86% according to the article) you have a double whammy:

No Demand
No Supply

Of course, this has nothing, directly, to do with the importation of natural gas from Columbia but rather it is another symptom of an extremely sick economy and nation.

Any additional stressors (internal or external) on this country might cause an implosion. The Maduro Government is facing, among other things, an inflation rate (official) of 57%, a devaluing currency and plunging currency exchange rate, and an increase in educated and middle class emigration.

Eventually something's got to give and when that happens, I doubt that it will be pretty.

[Bacchus4.0]

15. actually, there is a demand but they can't get the supplies to build vehicles so production is down

also, the government just this past week set prices for the vehicles (even if the vehicles are not available which they are not).

I believe what you have in Venezuela is demand but no supply and if car makers and dealers can't make a profit at government set prices, they won't bother to produce anyway.

[Ikonoklast]

25. It's all part of the very same problem, Columbia wants dollars for its exported natgas.

No dollars, no natgas.

[Bacchus4.0]

31. true, but the cuts in supply of gas are because of the drought conditions

so Colombia must conserve its own resources first.

[dotymed]

13. Kicked for honesty.

[COLGATE4]

14. Have you even bothered to

read the answers other posters have given to his post?

[okaawhatever]

26. I suppose you believe what you say. Bloomberg isn't that biased. They are a financial reporting

media source so they aren't going to be talking about things in a broad sense. They usually only report about the financial aspect. In this case, Ford stopped manufacturing temporarily at their plant there and they gave the stated reason.

There isn't a huge conspiracy to make Socialism look bad. Other than some European countries with socialist policies, there hasn't been a successful socialist/Marxist/Communist country. History is what makes Socialism look bad. Cuba couldn't have made it without support from the USSR and later Venezuela, but they have come closest.

[Adrahil]

29. I know, right? Let's all move the Venezuela, the Workers' Paradise! NT

[L0oniX]

22. Hey Ford, Toyota ...there's plenty of energy and workers here ...assholes!

[EX500rider]

56. What does that even mean? Both companies DO have plants in the US..

[L0oniX]

58. If you don't want more jobs in the USA that's on you. Thanks.

[EX500rider]

60. Nothing wrong with build cars were they are going to be sold..

....and Toyota isn't even a US company!

[L0oniX]

61. You forget ...we used to export cars.

[firesalesman]

62. A Revitalized Car Industry Cranks Up U.S. Exports - WSJ, 7-2-13

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324577904578559933968739000

[EX500rider]

63. Used too? Still do...and in record numbers.

The United States exported a record 1.8 million cars and light trucks last year, and shipments rose another 9 percent in the first 10 months of 2013, according to Commerce Department data.

http://www.autonews.com/article/20131218/GLOBAL/131219864/record-u.s.-auto-exports-fill-ships-help-carmakers-with-costs