Bernie should have promoted Maduro socialism

[Ransom]

Venezuela's socialist government ordered public workers on Tuesday to work a two-day week as an energy-saving measure in the crisis-hit South American OPEC country.
President Nicolas Maduro had already given most of Venezuela's 2.8 million state employees Fridays off during April and May to cut down on electricity consumption.
"From tomorrow, for at least two weeks, we are going to have Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays as non-working days for the public sector," Maduro said on his weekly television program.

Work Mondays and Tuesdays?

........that's....brilliant. Reverse the work week, 2 days on.....5 days off!

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/...D=ansmsnnews11

Drought has reduced water levels at Venezuela's main dam and hydroelectric plant in Guri to near-critical levels. The dam provides for about two-thirds of the nation's energy needs.Water shortages and electricity cuts have added to the hardships of Venezuela's 30 million people, already enduring a brutal recession, shortages of basics from milk to medicines, soaring prices, and long lines at shops.

Sounds like what America would look like under a Hillary regime.

[waltky]

'Many sign' Venezuela recall petition...

Venezuela crisis: Opposition claims big win in push to recall Maduro
Thu, 28 Apr 2016 - The Venezuelan opposition claims that 600,000 people have signed a petition for a recall referendum on President Nicolas Maduro.

It is more than triple the number needed to start organizing the process. Earlier, Mr Maduro dismissed the initiative, saying he would serve out his full mandate until 2019. Many Venezuelans are furious because of a deep recession, food shortages and a power crisis that has cut supply to four hours a day in most cities. Under Venezuela's constitution, presidents can be removed from office by means of a referendum once they have served half their term.

People participate during an event organized by the Venezuelan opposition collecting signatures as part of the process to seek a referendum to remove the president of Venezuela Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela

At this earliest stage, 1% of those on the electoral roll must sign the petition to start the process. "It's an extremely high number given that the National Electoral Board only requires a little under 200,000" signatures, said Enrique Marquez, deputy speaker of the opposition-controlled parliament. He said the signatures would be handed over to electoral officials next week.

'End anarchy'

Mr Maduro was sworn into office in April 2013 and is halfway through his six-year term. Thousands of Venezuelans queued to sign the petition in the capital, Caracas.

Steps towards a recall referendum

1. One per cent of voters on the electoral roll have to sign a petition within 30 days to kickstart the process

2, Twenty per cent of voters (almost four million) have to sign a second petition in order to trigger the referendum

3. For the referendum to be successful, an equal or greater number of voters than those who elected Mr Maduro would have to cast their vote in favour of the recall. Mr Maduro won the 2013 election with 7,587,579 votes

Miriam Leal, 54, told Agence France-Presse news agency that she was signing "to end this anarchy". "We don't have medicine, work, education, and on top of that there is the electricity problem," she explained. Like Ms Leal, many Venezuelans expressed their despair at the country's economic crisis which has seen inflation rise to the highest level in the world. The oil-rich country relies almost exclusively on oil exports for its revenues and has been badly hit by the global fall in oil prices. There are shortages of basic food items and medicines, and long queues form at supermarkets whenever some basic staple foods arrive. A drought has also caused water levels at the country's main hydroelectric dam to drop dramatically. Last week, President Maduro announced that power would be cut for four-hour periods daily except for in the capital, Caracas.

'Democratic exit'

See also:

Power crisis worsens in Venezuela, citizens irked by shortening of work week
Thursday 28th April, 2016 – Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has reportedly shortened the number of working days in a week down to two days, even as the country is grappling with the power crisis.

The decision, which is an update on the previously declared three-working day week, has reportedly been taken by virtue of the worsening power crisis in the South American nation. The public has reportedly reacted negatively to the imposition, with protestors lining up to sign petitions calling for the removal of the now highly unpopular President Maduro.

According to reports, the country’s Vice-President Aristobulo Isturiz declared that government officials and public employees are to report to work on Monday and Tuesday and remain at home for the next five days in order to continue the rationing of energy. President Maduro added that employees will receive their full salary in spite of the shortened week.

Venezuela's mucho grande macho man Maduro

In response to the imposition, employees have reportedly decided to use the days to stand in queues for food and milk, amid the blackouts that have now become frequent. Reports state that public hospitals are to be open throughout the week, and public schools will be closed on Friday now, apart from Saturday and Sunday.

They added that experts, however, are not certain that the measures will positively affect the electricity crisis, seeing as 63 percent of Venezuela’s energy consumption is in residential areas. Further, professors and academic experts are also skeptical about the decision as cutting down the required working days in schools from 200 to 150 would hurt the children’s education, and this is also a hard hit on people waiting for university degrees or official papers which have to be collected within a certain amount of working days.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/2...g-of-work-week

[waltky]

Venezuelan democracy in action - Maduro faces serious recall movement...

Maduro recall petition tops 1M signatures in Venezuela
April 29, 2016 -- The Venezuelan opposition has gathered more than 1 million signatures over the course of two days for a petition to hold a referendum in order to recall President Nicolas Maduro.

El Pais reported that the opposition gathered 1,102,236 signatures as part of the first round of the petition. That was five times more than the 200,000 required by the National Electoral Council, also known as the CNE. After the signatures are verified the opposition must start the next step of the process, which will require signatures from 20 percent of the South American country's voting-eligible population be gathered within three days. "We don't need any more signatures, we are preparing for the next goal: 4 million," Governor Henrique Capriles Radonski, a political rival of Maduro, said.

The Venezuelan opposition gathered 1,102,236 signatures on a petition to hold a referendum in order to recall President Nicolas Maduro in just two days. Once the signatures are verified the CNE will require that the opposition collect 4 million signatures to continue the process.

Despite the early victory for the opposition, Democratic Unity Table electoral expert Anibal Sanchez told Fox News Latino that he expects further obstacles, including delays and arbitrary vetoes as the process moves forward. "They released the official forms, but delays will happen again in every step of the process," he said in reference to the 90 days it took CNE to release the forms required to collect the signatures. "They kept the right to invent ways to eliminate or question some of the signatures if they want."

The CNE is expected to announce whether or not the signatures have been verified in five business days, which will actually take two weeks because public administration only works Monday and Tuesday until 1:00 in the afternoon, by order of the government. Earlier this week, Maduro ordered a two-day work week for all federal government officials in reaction to the country's energy crisis. Opposition leadership believes the government is using this operating schedule to delay the referendum process until next year. "If we realize that that is going to be the case, other options will have to be considered, such as massive protests or calling for a Constituent Assembly to modify the Constitution and replace all the elected officials," Congressman Ismael Leon said.

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

See also:

Maduro recall petition in Venezuela gets 200% more signatures than needed
April 28, 2016 -- The Venezuelan opposition gathered 200 percent more petition signatures than required in one day for the planned referendum seeking to oust President Nicolas Maduro.

The opposition, consolidated in the Democratic Unity Roundtable coalition, needed to gather signatures from 1 percent of Venezuela's voting-eligible population in the first round of the petition process. The opposition gathered 600,000 signatures, three times the 200,000 needed, on Wednesday, according to National Assembly Vice President Enrique Márquez -- an opposition leader. "More than 600,000 were collected," Márquez said Thursday. "We have not yet been able to count all because many people have spreadsheets that are not yet computed. It is totally a high number considering that the requirement of the CNE [National Electoral Council] does not reach 200,000 signatures. It is an unprecedented success." The opposition coalition plans to continue collecting signatures through Friday, seeking to present the CNE with at least 1 million signatures next week before entering the last phase of the petition process.

The Venezuelan opposition has surpassed the requirement of getting 200,000 signatures for a petition that would seek to create a nationwide recall referendum where Venezuelans will be asked whether President Nicolas Maduro should be removed from power. The final phase in the petition process would require nearly 4 million signatures to be acquired within three days.

The final phase two could pose a more daunting task for the opposition, as it would need to collect signatures from 20 percent, or about 4 million, of the South American country's voting-eligible population within three days. The opposition is working to hold the recall referendum in which Venezuelans will be asked whether Maduro should be removed from the presidency by the end of the year. Maduro's approval ratings are usually below 20 percent -- at times dipping into single digits -- meaning the likelihood of his removal is high. The country held parliamentary elections in December, in which Maduro's ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela coalition was resoundingly defeated in what was seen as a referendum on Maduro and a groundbreaking victory for the opposition.

Maduro previously served as former President Hugo Chávez's vice president and became president after Chávez's death in 2013. Maduro narrowly survived a constitutionally required presidential election a month after Chávez died. Henry Ramos Allup, an opposition leader and president of Venezuela's National Assembly, recently accused Maduro's administration of attempting to sabotage efforts for the recall referendum by reducing public-sector work weeks to just two days.

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

[Tahuyaman]

Venezuela's socialist government ordered public workers on Tuesday to work a two-day week as an energy-saving measure in the crisis-hit South American OPEC country.

Liberals should be supporting this as a great way to combat climate change / global warming.

[Peter1469]

Venezuela is falling apart.

[waltky]

A sore loser already...

Maduro promises ‘rebellion’ if ousted
Tue, May 03, 2016 - CLOCKS AHEAD: Venezuelans set their timepieces ahead by a half-hour in a move ordered by the government as part of its efforts to deal with an electricity shortage

A defiant Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday urged supporters to launch a general strike and “rebellion” if the opposition succeeds in ousting him from office in a referendum. Maduro’s fiery May Day speech came as Venezuela’s emboldened opposition prepared to present today more than 10 times the roughly 200,000 signatures needed to begin organizing a referendum to remove the unpopular president, blamed by many for the country’s deep economic crisis. Maduro vowed to fight for his job, despite a deep crisis in the country that has seen riots and looting in the second city over four-hour daily blackouts introduced to save energy. “If the oligarchy some day does something against me and manages to take this palace, I order you to declare yourselves in rebellion and decree an indefinite general strike,” he told supporters massed outside the presidential palace.

Maduro told them the referendum “is an option, not an obligation. Here the only obligation is the presidential election and that will be in 2018.” A recent poll found that more than two-thirds of Venezuelans want Maduro, elected president by a razor-thin margin in 2013, to leave office. Venezuela, which has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, has plunged into economic chaos as global crude prices have collapsed. It has been in recession since 2013. The import-dependent country faces acute shortages of food and basic goods such as toilet paper due to a lack of currency, more than 96 percent of which it gets from oil sales. Maduro has vowed to press on with the socialist “revolution” launched in 1999 by his predecessor, Hugo Chavez, which has given Venezuela a government-led economy.

Supporters of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday hold up a cardboard figure of him and National Assembly President Henry Ramos Allup at a rally to commemorate May Day in Caracas.

If the electoral board accepts the signatures collected by the opposition as valid — far from a sure bet, since opponents say the board is stacked with Maduro cronies — the opposition will then have to collect 4 million more for the board to organize the vote. Opponents are racing to hold the referendum before the end of the year. According to Venezuela’s constitution, after January next year a successful recall vote would transfer power to Maduro’s vice president rather than trigger new elections. Jesus Torrealba, spokesman for the Mesa de la Unidad (MUD) opposition coalition that controls Venezuela’s legislature, said the signatures — collected in “record time” — would be delivered to the electoral board today. However, board official Tania D’amelio suggested on Twitter that the board might not start verifying the signatures until late this month.

Meanwhile, Venezuelans lost half an hour of sleep as their clocks were set forward on Sunday on Maduro’s orders to help save power. At 2:30am, Venezuela shifted its time ahead by 30 minutes — to four hours behind Greenwich Mean Time. The move, announced in the middle of last month, is part of a package of measures the embattled president is pursuing to cope with a crippling electricity shortage. In announcing the time change, the Maduro government said 30 extra minutes of daylight at the end of the day would curb the use of lights and air conditioning, especially draining for the power grid. Maduro’s government has also instituted four-hour daily blackouts across most of the nation, reduced the public-sector workweek to two days and ordered schools closed on Fridays — adding to the woes of a nation already stuck in a crushing recession.

MORE

[Ransom]

Venezuela is falling apart.

I remember when Chávez was calling Bush el Diablo, smelling sulfur and what not, you used to be able to get the Left to discuss Venezuela. Not no more. Reality has set in. Ain't nothing to boast on, another social stat failure.

[waltky]

Maduro's popularity drops as crisis rises...

Poll: Approval of Venezuelan Leader Drops as Crisis Bites
Thursday 5th May, 2016 - Just over one in four Venezuelans approves of President Nicolas Maduro's governance as a crippling economic crisis weighs on the leftist leader, according to a leading pollster.

Venezuelans are suffering rampant shortages of products including bread and antibiotics, salary-destroying inflation, and increasingly frequent power and water cuts as the OPEC country's state-led model flounders. Maduro, whom the opposition is vying to remove from office this year, saw his rating drop to 26.8 percent in March from 33.1 percent in February, according to a Datanalisis poll seen by Reuters. While low compared with his charismatic mentor and predecessor, Hugo Chavez, Maduro's popularity remains above that of neighboring presidents including Colombia's Juan Manuel Santos and Brazil's Dilma Rousseff.

Still, some 68.9 percent of Venezuelans polled said Maduro should quit this year or be removed via a recall referendum before his term ends in 2019, up from 63.6 percent in February. The Democratic Unity coalition has ramped up its push to oust the 53-year-old former bus driver and union leader and this week cleared one of the first hurdles towards holding a recall referendum. Some 57.3 percent of Venezuelans said in March they would vote to remove him from office should a referendum be called, up from 52.1 percent in February, the survey showed.

"Senor Maduro, when are you going to get us out of this crisis?"

The opposition says the only way to avoid an impending economic or humanitarian disaster in Venezuela is to push out Maduro, whom they say is unwilling to correct Venezuela's economic distortions. Maduro has scoffed at plans to remove him and ridiculed his political rivals as divided, coup-mongering elitists. Having narrowly won a 2013 election, Maduro initially benefited from reverence towards his predecessor Chavez and the popularity of social welfare programs. But that has waned as many poor "Chavista" supporters bear the brunt of the economic crisis.

Since Maduro took over, the bolivar has fallen around 98 percent against the dollar on the black market rate. Annual inflation is in triple-digits. Polls in Venezuela are notoriously divergent and controversial, but Datanalisis has become the most closely watched by both sides. The survey of 1,000 people was conducted from March 4 to 14 has a 3.04 percent margin of error.

http://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/2...s-crisis-bites

[waltky]

Venezuelan crisis raising concerns in the U.S....

Venezuela president declares emergency, cites US, domestic 'threats'
14 May 2016 - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro declared a 60-day state of emergency on Friday due to what he called plots from within the OPEC country and the United States to topple his leftist government.

Maduro did not provide details of the measure. A previous state of emergency, implemented in states near the Colombian border last year, suspended constitutional guarantees in those areas, except for guarantees relating to human rights. Earlier on Friday, U.S. intelligence officials told reporters they were increasingly worried about the potential for an economic and political meltdown in Venezuela and predicted Maduro was not likely to complete his term. Venezuela's opposition is seeking to recall the unpopular leader, 53, amid a worsening crisis that includes food and medicine shortages, frequent power cuts, sporadic looting and galloping inflation.

But the former union leader and bus driver has vowed to stick out his term, and accuses the United States of fomenting an undercover coup against him. He pointed to this week's impeachment of fellow leftist Dilma Rousseff in Brazil as a sign that he is next. "Washington is activating measures at the request of Venezuela's fascist right, who are emboldened by the coup in Brazil," Maduro said during a Friday night broadcast on state television. Washington has had an acrimonious relationship with Caracas for years, especially following U.S. support for a short-lived 2002 coup against late leader Hugo Chavez.

Venezuela's ruling Socialist Party has long been a strong ally of Rousseff's Workers Party, however, and her departure adds to Maduro's isolation in Latin America. Flanked by his ministers and a statue of Chavez, Maduro signed a state of emergency and extend a state of economic emergency to protect the country from foreign and domestic "threats," without providing details. Venezuela's opposition, which scoffs at Maduro's accusations of coups-mongering, quickly condemned the measure. "Today Maduro has again violated the constitution," said opposition lawmaker Tomas Guanipa. "Why? Because he is scared of being recalled."

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...a/2784898.html

US concern grows over possible Venezuela meltdown - officials
Saturday 14th May, 2016 - The United States is increasingly concerned about the potential for an economic and political meltdown in Venezuela, spurred by fears of a debt default, growing street protests and deterioration of its oil sector, U.S. intelligence officials said on Friday.

In a bleak assessment of Venezuela's worsening crisis, the senior officials expressed doubt that unpopular leftist President Nicolas Maduro would allow a recall referendum this year, despite opposition-led protests demanding a vote to decide whether he stays in office. But the two officials, briefing a small group of reporters in Washington, predicted that Maduro, who heads Latin America’s most ardently anti-U.S. government and a major U.S. oil supplier, was not likely to be able to complete his term, which is due to end after elections in late 2018. They said one “plausible” scenario would be that Maduro’s own party or powerful political figures would force him out and would not rule out the possibility of a military coup. Still, they said there was no evidence of any active plotting or that he had lost support from the country’s generals.

The officials appeared to acknowledge that Washington has little leverage in how the situation unfolds in Venezuela, where any U.S. role draws government accusations of U.S.-aided conspiracies. Instead, the administration of President Barack Obama wants "regional" efforts to help keep the country from sliding into chaos. “You can hear the ice cracking. You know there’s a crisis coming,” one U.S. official said. “Our pressure on this isn’t going to resolve this issue.” Maduro hit back on Friday night, blasting what he said was a meeting "to conspire against Venezuela" in Washington. "Washington is activating measures at the request of Venezuela's fascist right, who are emboldened by the coup in Brazil," he said during a televised broadcast in reference to this week's impeachment of fellow leftist Dilma Rousseff in Brazil.

Maduro, 53, then declared a 60-day state of emergency which includes the "necessary measures" to protect Venezuela in the event of a foreign attack, he said, without providing details. Mobs in Venezuela have stolen flour, chicken and even underwear this week as looting increases across the crisis-hit OPEC nation where many basic products have run short, and the U.S. officials said this could spiral into widespread unrest. Soldiers fired tear gas at stone-throwing protesters on Wednesday as Venezuela's opposition marched to pressure electoral authorities into allowing a recall referendum against Maduro. Maduro has sworn he will not be forced out before his term expires in 2019 and accuses the opposition of seeking a coup against him to destroy the socialist legacy of his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez. Washington has had an acrimonious relationship with Caracas for years, especially following U.S. support for a short-lived 2002 coup against Chavez. The U.S. officials insisted that the United States was not “rooting against” Caracas but just wanted to see the crisis defused.

They expressed concern for a possible spillover to its neighbouring countries, especially Colombia, but said most of the instability would be "self-contained" to Venezuela. Such intelligence assessments help U.S. policymakers decide on how to respond. There was no immediate comment from the White House. The administration quietly sought last year to improve relations but the imposition of new U.S. sanctions and drug-related indictments stoked fresh tensions. The officials cited the risk of a Venezuelan debt default. Maduro's government has consistently paid its debt on time and has slammed market fears of a default as an international smear campaign. Weak oil markets and an unravelling socialist economy have fanned concerns that the Venezuelan oil firm PDVSA will be unable to make nearly US$5 billion (3 billion pounds) in bond payments between now and the end of the year.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...r/2784680.html

Related:

US officials: Venezuelan president’s hold on power weakening
May 13,`16 | WASHINGTON — U.S. intelligence analysts are increasingly convinced that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is likely to be pushed aside by members of his own socialist movement before finishing his term.

Senior American intelligence officials said Friday that as Venezuela’s economy spins out of control, Maduro’s grip on power is more fragile. They briefed reporters on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss their assessments by name. Since December, when the opposition won legislative elections by a landslide, the country has been wracked by growing political confrontation at a time of triple-digit inflation, widespread food shortages and almost daily hours-long blackouts across much of the nation. On Friday, Maduro decreed a “state of exception and economic emergency” giving him expanded powers to deal with the economic crisis.

In such a combustible environment, the circumstances under which Maduro could be forced to leave office before his six-year term ends in 2019 are varied, according to the officials. One described it as being able to hear the ice cracking without knowing where the floor will collapse. But the analysis, based on intelligence they did not share, points to a period of potentially violent political turmoil that will have consequences for international bondholders, oil markets and Venezuela’s neighbors, especially Colombia. The officials said the main concern for the Obama administration is that the deep political divisions and mounting economic hardships could trigger mayhem of the sort that Caracas experienced in 1989, when at least 300 people were killed during riots, looting and clashes with police against the backdrop of another collapse in oil prices.

The officials said they’ve seen no evidence a military coup is in the works and say it would be unlikely to succeed, but they cautioned that nobody envisioned in 1992 that an unknown junior officer named Hugo Chavez would lead a barracks uprising — an event that made him famous and eventually led to his election as president. The most likely scenario, they said, would be a sort of “palace coup,” probably in the form of a recall vote next year that would draw support from socialists concerned Maduro is wrecking Chavez’s legacy of reducing poverty. Potential turncoats include former National Assembly president Diosdado Cabello, former Interior Minister Miguel Rodriguez Torres and Tarek El Aissami, a powerful state governor. Like Maduro, all were Chavez loyalists.

MORE

[Peter1469]

Venezuela is collapsing. While sitting on more oil than Saudi Arabia (although it is very dirty oil).