Deteriorating Situation in Venezuela

[B. W.]

A suggestion that United States should build stronger economic and political ties with South America, has nothing to do with blaming United States for everything. Your absurd whitewashing of the issue is irrelevant, even if it is amusing. Likewise, your understanding of Chile's economy and history is equally warped. In your words, "it was in a similar position to Venezuela", which is inconsistent with reality.

Chile was an oligarchy of banks, landowners, and mine companies until essentially 1920s. After 1920s, when the army rewrote the Constitution and Chilean democracy slowly developed. Still, Chilean economy was dominated by fierce protectionism enacted by the pressure of incumbent economic players on the government. This was reminiscent of corporatism we saw in Mexico during PRI rule. Economic growth was slow, and nobody liked that. Especially the workers who were largely left out of the economic gains. By the late 60s, the polity massively expanded (by giving women the right to vote, as an example), and Allende managed to win a 34% plurality.

Allende managed to ruin the country in two short years, at which point, Nixon and the Chilean military instituted a dictatorship. Which, while stabilizing the economy, privatized in a Russian oligarchy style, creating a new set of economic elites dependent on Pinochet. Indeed, Pinochet's crony capitalism quickly led to a financial crisis, unsurprisingly. I suppose Chile is economically successful, in the same way that the Russian Federation is an economic success as well. Alternatively, if you were to ask Milton Friedman today, what he thinks of either country, he would most likely tell you that both Chile and Russia are an example of what not to do when embarking on a neoliberal transformation.

I was reading stories about the problems in Chile way before you made that climb up Bareback Mountain. Those were the days when there was no internet (or Wikipedia) and one had to totally rely on what the newspapers and news magazines wrote. There were literally hundreds of stories written about the situation in Chile. People were taken from their homes and shot on their doorstep. Women were raped in their own homes and people were starving. The economy had collapsed. That may not sound like a comparison to Venezuela to you, but it seems pretty close to me.

And since you brought up Milton Friedman, his economic philosophy of "greed is good" (globalism), has started to fall out of favor. It's really strange to see someone on the left touting the virtues of that philosophy, especially since there is a direct contradiction between it and the welfare of American workers.

Additionally, we don't have a "duty" to South American countries. While I strongly believe we should focus on strengthening all the economies in the western hemisphere that is only going to happen with a cultural change in some of those countries. It is not our "duty" to make that happen.

[Love Mountain]

I was reading stories about the problems in Chile way before you made that climb up Bareback Mountain. Those were the days when there was no internet (or Wikipedia) and one had to totally rely on what the newspapers and news magazines wrote. There were literally hundreds of stories written about the situation in Chile. People were taken from their homes and shot on their doorstep. Women were raped in their own homes and people were starving. The economy had collapsed. That may not sound like a comparison to Venezuela to you, but it seems pretty close to me.

I'm sure. I bet you were in the crowd during the Kennedy assassination as well.

[B. W.]

I'm sure. I bet you were in the crowd during the Kennedy assassination as well.

Actually, I was a few hundred miles from there, but I did hear the speech he gave at Rice Stadium.

[conon394]

Those were the days when there was no internet (or Wikipedia) and one had to totally rely on what the newspapers and news magazines wrote. There were literally hundreds of stories written about the situation in Chile. People were taken from their homes and shot on their doorstep. Women were raped in their own homes and people were starving. The economy had collapsed. That may not sound like a comparison to Venezuela to you, but it seems pretty close to me.

The economy was hardly collapsing, and would had issues no matter what due to world copper prices. Women raped in the homes really dig up link... really. I suppose nobody was raped or harmed under saint Pinochet?

As long as South American countries embrace dictators

They have oft little choice but to embrace dictators seeing as that was the US wanted.

[Daruwind]

Nice article
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/w...my-maduro.html

[Love Mountain]

Venezuela, a cautionary tale of how populism can ruin a country.

[Exarch]

Venezuela has won its rights to its won gold, stolen by Perfidious Albion. Just goes to show you can't trust Anglo white supremacists with your own nations gold.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sd0kpLZHFH4