Lagniappe
Gustavo
Coronel : Chavenomics:
The Chávez answer to Milton Friedman
A
video that is becoming an official instructional document
for Venezuelans shows strongman Hugo Chávez in front of
his audience, a group of open-mouthed Venezuelan bureaucrats in
rapture at the inventiveness of their boss. In this video he describes
his ideas on the economy and, more particularly, on currencies
and bartering, establishing points of doctrine to guide the new,
revolutionary Venezuela. As the video starts we see Chávez
holding a piece of paper where he has drawn two circles. One of
the circles, he says, represents production. The other represents
the community market. Chávez starts his lecture by telling
the audience that, about 20% of the production should be donated,
given away for free. The rest of the production, he says, should
go to the community market and sold there.
However,
he warns, when you sell your production in the community market
you will not be given money but an alternative currency, local
in character. "You cannot go to another town with this local
money to buy a beer. You have to spend it in your village, in
your community. You give your bananas and you get two chickens
or coffee in return. You are not supposed to make a profit or
become wealthy. This bartering is what we call Socialism."
Moreover,
he adds, this local money will not last forever. It will become
"oxidized;" this is, valueless in time. Chávez's
version of the new Venezuelan currency is even worse than what
is going on in Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe is printing trillions
of Zimbabwe dollars for "national" use, valid for one
year, afterwards only good for children to play Monopoly. This
is a throwback to what took place in Venezuela in the 19th century,
when farm owners paid slaves with tokens that could only be redeemed
in the farm store, adding economic slavery to their wretched human
condition.
The
central theme of Chavenomics is that no one should be rich, that
being rich is sinful. Of course, a careful exception is made for
leading revolutionaries and government bureaucrats, who are amassing
illegal wealth like never before in Venezuela's history. The rest
of the population should be happy enough to barter their production
for other essential goods.
It
is easy to see where Chavenomics will lead the country. Savings
will be impossible, of course. How can you save money that is
only valid for a short while? What is the logic of saving money
that can only be used in the same community where you live? What
will happen to open trade? How will you buy a car or an icebox,
which are not made in the village? Chavenomics appears to be the
very opposite of progress and civilization.
When
Hugo Chávez goes to New York and delivers a vulgar and
aggressive speech, insulting the president of the United States,
which is Venezuela's main commercial partner, some of our friends
abroad might think that they are seeing only a histrionic, for
export Chavez. And they are right! Because the real, inside Venezuela
Chavez is different, much worse. He is a modern caricature of
the Latin American caudillos of the past, possessing all their
rural primitiveness. Being semi-illiterate and unable to digest
properly what he reads, he grows enthusiastic about social, political
and economic ideas that do no longer have validity in today's
world, while his immediate collaborators do not dare to contradict
him. He is not in the same category of Argentinean populist Juan
Peron or of one of his idols, the Peruvian military strongman
Juan Velasco Alvarado but closer to Haitian dictator Duvalier
or to Dominican Republic Trujillo, as described by Mario Vargas
Llosa in The Feast of the Goat . He shares with them a rustic
mentality that pretends to use Paleolithic tools to deal with
the present and the future.
Possessing
almost unlimited political power Chávez is determined to
create a Venezuela in the mold of his mental limitations and prejudices.
He advocates bartering as the economic system of choice, aligns
himself with other primitive political leaders such as Gadaffi,
Kim IL Sung and Ahmadinejad, bans Christmas trees and Santa Claus
from Venezuela (symbols of imperialism), orders all public employees
to dress in red garments (the color of his revolution) and demands
that only Venezuelan music be heard over the radio, rather than
the "trash" that comes from the north. His personal
compass has only two bearings: south and east. In his increasing
dictatorial style he threatens television stations and newspapers
critical of him with closing them down and political opponents
with prison. Those who voted against him have been listed and
singled out for political and social retaliation. As the absolutist
monarchs of the past he is slowly creating his own church, no
longer orthodox catholic but an increasing mixture of liberation
theology, biblical Catholicism, evangelical fervor, voodoo practices
and local Venezuelan witchcraft. He carries an assorted collection
of religious medals, amulets and talismans inside his expensive,
tailor made, shirts and suits to protect him from Texan Satans.
Since
there are no suicide bombers or spectacular street battles the
Venezuelan tragedy is developing, unnoticed, by the rest of the
world. The Organization of American States (OAS), should have
acted long time ago to re-establish the democratic equilibrium
in Venezuela but appears to be totally indifferent about its deteriorating
situation. Those who are responsible for this indifference will
ultimately pay a heavy price in terms of political and personal
prestige.
Gustavo
Coronel
is a 28 years oil industry veteran, a member of the first board
of directors (1975-1979) of Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), author
of several books. At the present Coronel is Petroleumworld associate
editor and advisor on the opinion and editorial content of Petroleumworld.
Petroleumworld not necessarily share these views.
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News 11/20/06
Copyright©
2006 Gustavo Coronel. All rights reserved.
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