Cuba to Lose Oil “Freebie”, repeats Capriles
HAVANA TIMES (dpa) — Venezuelan presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said today that if elected on April 14th he would stop “giving away” oil to Cuba, alleging that this is what the current government does.
“We won’t give any more oil to Mr. Castro, it’s as simple as that,” said Capriles at a press conference.
Capriles said that after defeating the “candidate of the Castro brothers” (acting President Nicolas Maduro), he would end the controversial agreements with Cuba that allow the island to buy Venezuelan oil on preferential terms.
“That’s what I’ve said, and I repeat, we’re going to beat the other candidate. His mentor (Maduro’s), his boss is Raul Castro, and everyday resources to finance the government of Mr. Castro leave here. We’re not going to continue funding them,” said the candidate of the opposition alliance “Mesa de la Unidad Democratica” (MUD).
Capriles, who lost the presidential elections on October 7 to the late President Hugo Chavez (55%-44%), said: “Nicolas Maduro is the guarantee for the Castro brothers. I’m the guarantee for Venezuelans.”
The opposition candidate promised that his government would use oil revenues to increase the minimum wage by 40 percent, create a program of “Zero Hunger,” and encourage the creation of new jobs in the private sector and increase pensions for retirees.
Don’t worry! Capriles has as much chance of winning as the proverbial rich man passing through “the eye of the needle!” Still, it might be prudent for Cuba to make contingency plans, like investing as much as possible in alternative sources of energy. There is always the possibility that, through economic sabotage, coupled with a big infusion of $$$ from the U.S. to finance neo-liberal and right-wing political parties in Venezuela, that the Bolivarian Revolution could be (temporarily) overturned or set-back for a generation. In the end, however, most Venezuelans know that the upper- and middle-class did nothing for them during the many genrations they had the opportunity to use the revenues from oil to invest in education, medicine, transportation and social programs. Still, do to the ubiquitous and insistent propaganda of our monopolisitc media, here in the U.S.A. many folks are consistently bamboozled into voting against their economic interests.
Think how quickly Castro would be forced to make real changes without the help of Venezuela for the Castro regime.
Any and all change in the economy and improvement – very little- in human rights have been made by the regime because it had to to survive.
If the Soviet Union would still be paying for everything in Cuba there would have been no change.
When the Venezuelan support for the Castro regime ends times will be extremely hard – another special period – if the regime does not change.
If the regime is forced to real change then the beginning of a new and better future for Cubans will have started.
As far as Venezuela goes: the Chavez government has not invested enough in fundamental long term change in Venezuela.
In following Cuba’s example in some areas it has created the same problems: flight of professionals and a food dependent country that needs to import 70 to 80% of the food it consumes.
The government should invest in a home grown medical service and provide incentives for industry and agriculture.
The current measures are helping the Cuban people mostly and think how bad it would be without the help from Venezuela, it would make the gray period look like a joy ride.
Venezuela does have their own medical training programs, has build several new hospitals and have paid their doctors, nurses and medical staff well and the private hospitals, doctors and clinics make even more.
As for the biggest Mission program its importing refined gasoline products from the US at 130,000 barrels a day providing cheap gas to Venezuela’s citizens, even the oppo’s who are mainly the ones who can afford cars.
The US companies are making a killing, plus most of the joined ventures in oil industry are with US companies , who are ripping off the Venezuelan government with fixed rates and doing what the US does so well, cooking the books.
The only sabotage to the economy has has come directly from Chavez’s insane economic policies. Blaming capitalists for hoarding is an old lie, straight out of the Communist playbook. The accusation is used to justify seizing yet more private businesses which are then handed over to Chavez’s cronies. The businesses are then poorly run and the economic collapse spreads. That is the true legacy of Hugo Chavez.
You are right about one thing: the country is moving toward “real socialism”, ie. unemployment, economic decay and political totalitarianism, but not to the imaginary make-believe socialism you are dreaming of.
Capriles can say whatever he likes but almost all the polls even the opposition ones have him losing anywhere from 15-20% and with many defections within the right wing MUD so called coalition and the 1000’s of grassroots and rank and file militant groupings have even organized their own campaigns to ensure a victory by the PSUV and are making sure that there are no backsliding by the bureaucrats on moving forward to real socialism.
With that said, we should worry about what comes after the victory by the PSUV and the internal struggle within the revolution, the economic problems caused by the sabotaged by the capitalists such as hoarding and speculation, the 2nd devaluation of the currency in recent months and other problems.
The current measures of Chavez are mainly helping the Castro dictatorship, not the Venezuela people.
If the 6 billion dollars that Chavez donates to Cuba were invested in training Venezuelan doctors, improving local health facilities and providing decent incomes for doctors they would not need Cuban “imports”.
Zimbabwe used imported Cuban doctors to break local strikes and it resulted in a complete disaster with local doctors leaving resentment for the huge amounts paid to the Castro regime and the bad circumstances they were left in.
Venezuela need to invest in its own people. that is what Capriles wants to do.
Paying the Castrois 130,000 dollars per Cuban “cooperator” (7 times what a Venezuelan doctor gets) is just economical and health madness. No wonder lots of doctors leave.
Who will fund the purchases of beans from U.S. ?
The concern must be for the medico’s working out side Cuba that must be paid for by Venezuelan contracts. How do they survive until returning to Cuba? Then what happens to their lives. No work for them in Cuba!! Already more doctors then medicine.
What did the current opposition in Cuba do to help the poor when they were in power? Next to nothing. Now they want to close down all those wildly popular social programs and send all those Cuban doctors and nurses packing? How do these oppositionists plan to replace them. They don’t, of course. The magic of the market place will, ahem… take care of them.
To these oppositionists, health care is not fundamental human right, but a commodity to be sold to the highest bidder. It seems unlikely that the Venezuelan people will ever again fall for the false expressions of concern and the false promises of the ultra-right.
Even if, as is likely, Capriles loses, a non-charismatic Maduro will inherit 35-45% that voted to oppose the role of wetnurse to Cuba by the Venezuelan government. As inflation, shortages, crime and unemployment continue to rise during Maduro’s government, he will less able than his predecessor to continue subsidizing the Castros. The question is not if the subsidies end what happens to the regime in Cuba, but when.