Venezuela faces economic and social collapse

[waltky]

Colombia havin' to re-supply after Venezuelan shopping spree...

Colombia sends 46 trucks to restock after 120,000 Venezuelans cross border to buy goods
July 18, 2016 -- After more than 123,000 Venezuelans entered Colombia over the weekend to buy basic goods, Colombian officials sent 46 trucks to restock the border town of Cucuta.

Colombia's Foreign Ministry estimates 35,000 Venezuelans entered on Saturday, while 88,000 entered on Sunday. Venezuelans began queuing at the town of San Antonio del Tachira to cross the Simón Bolívar bridge to reach the Colombian town of Cucuta in the Norte de Santander province. Venezuelans also entered Colombia through the Pedro Maria Ureña international bridge. The Colombian National Police escorted the 46 trucks to Cucuta after fears of skyrocketing prices and scarcity due to unprecedented demand.

Venezuelans from all over the country traveled to the border crossing to purchase basic goods as Venezuela faces a deepening economic crisis, El Universal reported. The Colombian and Venezuelan border was completely closed by Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro late last year after three Venezuelan soldiers and a civilian were injured in an attack by suspected smugglers in San Antonio del Tachira.

Colombia and Venezuela's 1,400-mile border is porous and highly unregulated. It's often used by smugglers to purchase heavily subsidized goods in Venezuela to resell in Colombia for a profit. Food scarcity in Venezuela has led basic goods such as flour, sugar and rice to be missing from shelves. A little boy was lost amid the flow of tens of thousands during the weekend. Colombian police officers were able to reunite the boy with his mother -- a moment caught on video.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-Ne...?spt=sec&or=tn

[waltky]

Venezuelan court attempts coup of gov't....

Venezuelan authorities try to defuse court row 'coup', urge review
Sat Apr 1, 2017 | Venezuelan authorities called on the Supreme Court on Saturday to review its decision this week to annul the opposition-led congress, which critics have decried as a "coup" and a lurch into dictatorship.

President Nicolas Maduro said in an address on state television in the early hours of the morning that the conflict between the Supreme Court and National Assembly had been overcome, but gave no details. Maduro, flanked by senior officials, introduced his Vice President Tareck El Aissami. "(We) urge the Supreme Court to review the decisions ... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers," El Aissami said. The court's move to assume Congress' responsibilities has sparked international condemnation and protests across Caracas.

[center]
Opposition supporters clash with riot police in front of a courthouse in Caracas, Venezuela March 31, 2017.[/cenetr]

In a rare show of dissent from a senior official, Venezuela's powerful attorney general Luisa Ortega, long an ally of Maduro, rebuked the court on Friday. "It constitutes a rupture of the constitutional order," the 59-year-old said in a speech on state television. "It's my obligation to express my great concern to the country." The pro-Maduro Supreme Court said on Wednesday it was taking over the legislature's role because it was in "contempt" of the law. It has shot down most of the National Assembly's measures since the opposition won control in 2015.

PROTESTS, CONDEMNATION

The country's disparate opposition called for protests on Saturday. However, after years of failure on the streets, it is unlikely these will develop into the wave of anti-Maduro unrest seen in 2014. Maduro, 54, a former bus driver and self-declared "son" of late leftist predecessor Hugo Chavez, was narrowly elected president in 2013. His ratings have plummeted as Venezuelans struggle with a fourth year of recession, scarcities of food and medicines and what is thought to be the world's highest inflation. Critics blame a failing socialist system, whereas the government says its enemies are waging an "economic war". The fall in oil prices since mid-2014 has exacerbated the crisis.

Pro-government supporters clash with opposition supporters during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government outside the Venezuelan Prosecutor's office in Caracas, Venezuela

The Supreme Court's power grab brought condemnations and concern from the United States, Organization of American States (OAS), European Union, United Nations and major Latin American nations. Ally Russia bucked the trend, urging the world to leave Venezuela alone. Maduro accuses Washington of leading a push to topple him as part of a wider offensive against leftists in Latin America. OAS head Luis Almagro, whom the Venezuelan government views as a pawn of Washington, has been pushing for its suspension from the 34-nation regional bloc, which has announced an extraordinary meeting for Monday to debate Venezuela.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ve...-idUSKBN1721P8

[waltky]

Venezuelan Supreme Court backs down...

Venezuela: Supreme court backtracks on powers bid
Sat, 01 Apr 2017 - The supreme court's move to assume legislative powers led to days of anti-government protests.

The Venezuelan supreme court has reversed its ruling to strip congress of its legislative powers. It made the decision after the government of President Nicolas Maduro urged it to review the ruling "to maintain institutional stability". The initial decision - announced on Wednesday - had been denounced as a "coup" by the opposition, which dominates the National Assembly. Anti-government protesters have staged daily protests against the move. The supreme court announced the reversal on its website. A day earlier, chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega, an ally of President Nicolas Maduro, became the first high-ranking official to criticise the judges.

The court's original ruling had sparked new protests against the government

Speaking live on TV, she expressed "great concern" about a measure which, she said, violated the constitution. Promising dialogue to end the crisis, Mr Maduro had convened a late-night meeting of the state security council. Afterwards Vice-President Tareck El Aissami said: "We urge the supreme court to review the decisions... in order to maintain institutional stability and the balance of powers." Mr Maduro said: "This controversy has been overcome, showing the power of dialogue."

How did the dispute start?

In its original ruling, the supreme court had annulled the powers of the assembly, allowing the judges to write laws. The court had accused lawmakers of "contempt" after allegations of irregularities by three opposition lawmakers during the 2015 elections. The court has backed the leftist president in his ongoing struggles with the legislature. On Tuesday it removed parliamentary immunity from the assembly's members. There has been widespread international condemnation, with the Organisation of American States talking of the "final blow to democracy" in Venezuela.

Why the reversal? By Will Grant, BBC News, Havana

It seems that a combination of internal and external pressures forced President Maduro's hand. Inside Venezuela, the opposition's outcry was to be expected. However the sight of the normally loyal Attorney General, Luisa Ortega, openly criticising the move as unconstitutional was for many observers a turning point, and perhaps evidence of a wider split within "Chavismo". Externally too, the response was very robust. The Organisation of American States held an emergency meeting in which staunch allies of Venezuela, such as Cuba, lent their support to Mr Maduro. However, Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil and others called for cooler heads to prevail and for a return to the democratic order. In the end, it seems President Maduro may have decided that the supreme court's move was a step too far politically and hoped to avoid a repeat of the massive street protests which have led to violence in the past.

The opposition says Mr Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship

Perhaps even the election this weekend in Ecuador played a role. The race in the Andean nation is very tight and it can't have helped President Rafael Correa, as a close friend to Venezuela, to have to support a move that was being billed by some as a "self-coup" in the days before a presidential election. Tensions have been high in Venezuela because the country has been engulfed in a severe economic crisis. It has the world's highest inflation rate, which the International Monetary Fund predicts could reach 1,660% next year. Long queues, power cuts and shortages of basic goods are common. The government and opposition blame each other for the country's problems, made worse by the falling price of oil, Venezuela's main export product. President Maduro has become increasingly unpopular and the opposition has called for his removal.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-39468045

[waltky]

Venezuela City Issues Own Currency...


Venezuela City Issues Own Currency to Combat National Cash Crisis
March 17, 2018 — A western Venezuelan city began to issue its own currency this week to alleviate the hyperinflationary country's cash crisis.

The "Elorza" currency, with bills featuring the face of local independence leader Jose Andres Elorza, will be valid in the city of Elorza, near Venezuela's border with Colombia. The bills are being sold in the municipality's offices to ensure that thousands of tourists and residents can trade, said mayor Solfreddy Solorzano, a member of the ruling Socialist Party. Venezuela's national currency, the bolivar, has plummeted in recent years amid a crippling economic crisis. Prices are doubling nearly every month and basics such as food and medicine are nearly unavailable.

A woman holds a placard that reads "No more hunger. Stop. Change. Out Maduro Out" — a reference to President Nicolas Maduro — during a gathering of opposition supporters in Caracas, Venezuela

On top of that, there are shortages of cash itself, making basic transactions impossible. "People do not have bolivars to spend, so we created two denominations of notes," Solorzano said, adding that some 2 billion bolivars' worth of "Elorza" had been purchased — roughly $9,000 at the black market exchange rate. Many in Venezuela earn the equivalent of just a dollar or two a month.


Collective's currency


In December, a socialist collective in one of Caracas's emblematic hilltop slums launched its own currency, the panal, to try to overcome cash shortages. One note features the face of late President Hugo Chavez. The currency could be exchanged for rice that members of the community grew and harvested. In Elorza, the mayor's office receives bolivars by bank transfer or debit card payment and, after discounting an 8 percent commission, gives "Elorza" in exchange. People will be able to return the tickets to the mayor's office and claim a bolivar-denominated refund.


President Nicolas Maduro blames the country's crisis on an "economic war" being waged by Washington and the opposition, aimed at toppling his government. Critics blame strict currency and price controls and rapid money-printing. The central bank has increased the total amount of currency in circulation by more than 50 percent in the last month alone, though cash-printing has not kept up. Maduro says smugglers are taking Venezuelan bolivar notes over to Colombia.


https://www.voanews.com/a/venezuela-...s/4303284.html