Must-See Video About Venezuelan Student Protests

This speaks for itself.

Here's more on the video and protests:

The Guardian: ShortCutsBlog, February 17, 2014

How a first-time film-maker alerted the world to Venezuela's student protests

Andreina Nash, a 21-year-old student, has brought the plight of student protesters in Venezuela to global attention – with a short film she made in a day

Cronyism in Venezuela and Costa Rica

…And in Really Bizarre News

By Jamie Douglas

Friends and fiends, some of the following may leave you wondering about reality, but I swear on the latest edition of Granma, that it is all true.

The Chávez Family in Caracas

According to the official news out of Venezuela, the Maximum Lider of that sad Bolivarian nation, Hugo Chávez died on March 3, 2013. But according to the people who were to embalm him for posterity, he had expired some time before that, as his organs had been rendered unsuitable for display-quality embalming due to decomposition.

Meanwhile, of course, the nation had to continue to be governed. Enter the infamous and (deliberately) incompetent bus driver Nicolas Maduro, who was handpicked by Chávez while he still had some marbles.

One would think that two of the Chávez family’s daughters would have vacated the premises in a dignified manner to relocate to one of the Chávez’s many country estates. After all, while the nation was suffering through one of its worst crises – shortages of food, inflation and the crumbling of its infrastructure – Hugo Chávez managed to steal at least a billion dollars, according to the Criminal Justice International Associates, while diverting another 100 billion dollars to cronies and criminal enterprises.

Perhaps the biggest blow to the Carcass in Caracas was that he was transported to his final resting place in an imperialist yanqui Cadillac. (A pretty old one I must say)

OK, so we know that Hugo has been dead for about a year. Now, we can report that two of his daughters have refused to surrender the presidential palace and are throwing wild and crazy parties there on a continuous basis, denying the new puppet president access to his (birth) right. Rosa Virginia and María Gabriela Chávez continue to occupy "La Casona" in Caracas, throwing big parties for their inner circle, costing tens of thousands of dollars, and continuing to live the corrupt lifestyle they were endowed with by their father.

Maybe it is time to remind them what happened to the Ceausescu family in Romania. Eventually, the people who have been screwed out of their heritage for so long will rise – and that could turn out very badly for Rosa and María.

The Chinchilla Family in Costa Rica

Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s lame duck president, Laura Chinchilla, must be getting ready to follow many of her predecessors into the corrupt nation’s penal system, probably along with a good number of her family members. This time, it involves the disastrous highway that was built along the Rio San Juan, along the border with Nicaragua. Not only was this highway built along the banks of the river, where the soft soil has already caused millions of dollars in erosion and cost overruns, but the whole project was built without any competitive bidding by a Chinchilla-family-owned outfit that had never before done anything of such magnitude.

It will eventually also be revealed what her secret trips to Colombia and Peru were about, when she just commandeered a corporate jet. (Cocaine maybe?)

But in Costa Rica, it is almost established custom for out-of-office politicians to meet in prison, where they have very comfortable accommodations. And when they are released, they still have all the loot, possibly moving to Panama where the administration of President Martinelli has held on to their ill-gotten gains for a small fee.

Jamie Douglas

At Large in South America

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

News from Around the Hemisphere, Jan 15, 2014 (reposted from original location)

article from January 15, 2014
By Jamie Douglas

First off, an apology to my readers: I have not been writing as often as I would like, as I am not well... but not ill enough to refrain from occasionally spouting my opinions and pointing out interesting facts.

Mexico’s continuing problems

Poor Mexico! After the recent elections, there was hope that the violence would subside somewhat, but it is only getting worse in the states that have been flashpoints in the unfortunate war on drugs, which has cost over 100,000 lives over the past few years – one of which is the state of Michoacán, where I used to reside until I went to buy the newspaper for my morning coffee at Pátzcuaro restaurant where expats, artists and criminals alike would mingle.

Since that morning eight years ago, when I was shocked to see photos of 22 mutilated corpses on the back pages of La Voz de Michoacán, things have gotten progressively worse. In a recent article in Proceso [spanish], it is revealed that the Knights Templar, successors to the Zeta crime syndicate, have now entered politics on behalf of the PRI, the hyper-corrupt Mexican political party that bled the country dry for generations. After a brief respite, the PRI is back in power, with a little help from their usual election fraud along with the Knights Templar, who have become an economic force to contend with, as they have made hundreds of millions of dollars running the port of Lázaro Cárdenas and illegally mining iron ore.

As a result of long-standing collusion between the local, state and federal government and the cartels, Michoacán has come close to being an ungovernable failed state, and the neighboring states up and down the Pacific coast may follow.

When will the powers that be realize that the unfortunate war on drugs had the same results as the prohibition in the United States did? It enabled criminal elements to take over the country with diluted and dangerous unregulated alcohol, corrupting most major police forces by flooding them with money.

Panama and Nicaragua race for a wider canal across the isthmus

In 2006, Panama’s then-president Martin Torrijos announced a plan to expand the Panama Canal so it could accommodate today’s VLCCs. He boldly stated that this project would turn Panama into a first-world country. Perhaps he did not anticipate all of the corruption that would inevitably follow this proposal. Perhaps he underestimated the larceny of the Martinelli administration. But one thing is glaringly obvious: The conglomerate that bid on the work grossly underestimated the cost and time for building this ambitious project – and therein lies the current problem. The Panama Canal Authority is refusing to pay for the cost overruns and has threatened to take over the project by force mejeure.

Regardless of what will happen in this chapter of Panama Canal history, Panama will not be a first-world nation until it rids itself of all the scams that are at home there, including the banking and real estate sectors, much of which is run by American and Canadian expats, con men and women and convicted criminals trying to sell anything they can think of.

Meanwhile, a Chinese investor has put together a consortium of wealthy business people from China to build a canal clear across the isthmus in Nicaragua. This project is slated to begin in December of this year; and if successfully completed, it will be quite a thorn in the side of the Panama Canal Authority. But with the enormous nature of the project, one should not hold their breath. China may be riding high at the moment, but nothing lasts forever. The Chinese economy is already feeling the pain of the costs of their armed forces and high-speed rail networks.

I wonder why Mexico has not pursued the logical choice of building a trans-isthmus canal from Tehuantepec to the Caribbean. Perhaps the cost and logistics are too prohibitive, along with the opposition of the indigenous people.

Venezuela and crime

Venezuela’s sweetheart, actress and former Miss Universe Monica Spear, and her husband, Thomas Berry, were brutally murdered a few days ago when their car broke down. Their little 5-year-old daughter was also shot but survived.

Venezuela is a spectacular nation, blessed with abundant natural resources and stunning beauty. From Angel Falls to the Caribbean islands, nature has blessed this nation with abundant and fertile lands, not to mention the crude oil reserves in Lake Maracaibo and the gold in the ground.

Unfortunately, the riches of the nation have been distributed unequally to the point of forcing many into a life of serious crime. The homicide rate is near the top of world statistics, and the prisons are overflowing. The staggering amount and wide distribution of serious crimes is affecting everyone from the very poor to the very rich. Ironically, Monica Spear and her family moved to Miami out of fear for their safety. Nearing the end of a holiday vacation, fate caught up with them.

If there is one good thing that can be said about it, it is the fact that thousands of people came to her funeral and thousands more protested the senseless violence the Bolivarian nation is confronting.

And now the weather

After an early spring followed by another cold front, the Southern Cone countries of Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina have been hit with several waves of severe weather, which included some of the most intense lightning and thunder this observer has ever witnessed.

Torrential rains in Brazil took their toll in human lives, and Uruguay also had several casualties, including a police officer who was killed in downtown Montevideo when hit by a swinging door he was trying to secure during one of the storms, which packed winds of up to 100 km/h.

Argentina also suffered one of the worst heat waves in their recorded history that was compounded by the failure of the electric grid in Buenos Aires, causing brownouts, blackouts and several heat-related casualties. The worst incident happened in the small beach town of Villa Gesell, where four youngsters were killed on the beach by lightning and another 22 injured. The tragedy happened so quickly that the victims never had a chance to escape.

I will not opine on the cause of all this severe weather, from the polar vortex to the unseasonably severe cold in Antarctica that caused an Australian tour boat to get stuck in the pack ice, forcing other important scientific programs to be interrupted when several additional ships had to be sent to their rescue. The Australian organizer of the trip defended his expedition as having valid scientific value by explaining that the lay observers on the ship were qualified to make observations of the current conditions in the region.

Antarctica, being the last frontier on this planet, has been exploited for high-end tourism for several years, and this latest problem is no different from any other for-profit organized tour.

Jamie Douglas

At large in Uruguay

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

It Finally Happened: Venezuela Is Admitted to Mercosur

article from August 1, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

On July 31, 2012, the three monkeys, you know, the blind one, the mute one and the one who can’t smell a rat broke the original Mercosur Treaty and, in their greed for energy, allowed Venezuela into the club of dying nations. They are dying because, except for Uruguay, the economies of the other nations are tanking at a pretty good clip. The ride is over for Argentina and Brazil.

Uruguay is getting the better part of the deal, because frightened Argentineans and Brazilians are repatriating their soon-to-be-worthless or, in the case of Argentina, already worthless money into the only safe haven they know of.

The situation in Argentina is so dire that Empress Cristina’s government bought a whole slew of dogs that supposedly can sniff out money being smuggled out of the country. The dogs have never eaten better! Here Fido, have some asada. Sources in Uruguay are stating that there has been no slowdown in Argentinean pesos coming across the border. Perhaps the money would have been better spent to train the dogs to sniff out cocaine and pasta base, which is causing a crime wave in the Southern Cone nation.

So now it is a done deal, illegal as hell of course, but the photo of the four dunces says it all: They should all have oily mustaches (Cristina probably already has one from having her nose up Hugo’s behind).

Meanwhile, Paraguay, where the original document that lays the groundwork for the four-nation treaty lies in repose, was suspended by the other three for having impeached President Fernando Lugo, thereby making the unanimous requirement for the entry of additional nations meaningless.

A little history is in order here: Since the Great Dictator Hugo Chávez took power in Venezuela, human rights, along with freedom of the press and freedom of expression, have gone to hell in a hand basket in Venezuela. Now bring in Paraguay, with the Honorable Field Marshal Strössner also having ruled with dictatorial powers, whose Senate suddenly wants to be the “good guys,” the human rights champions of that landlocked nation, and deny the entry of Venezuela into Mercosur for its violations of the Inter-American Free Press Accord.

A funny thing happened on the way to the impeachment of Bishop Fernando Lugo: The very Senate that had threatened Lugo with impeachment, should he vote for the admission of the Bolivarian nation, found itself without a vote at all after impeaching him. While the Mercosur summit was happening at the Intercontinental Hotel in Mendoza, Argentina, a Paraguayan delegation desperately tried to get into the summit to register their vote but was prevented from doing so by armed Argentinean gendarmes. By impeaching their undesirable socialist president, they had actually facilitated what they were trying to prevent: the admission of Venezuela into the Mercosur.

Oil speaks louder than words and treaties. Until the World Court or the US-run OAS decides that this was an illegal move, Venezuela will enjoy all the benefits of its membership in a useless organization, pouring crude down the throat of the member nations while gaining very little ...except prestige among losers.

Jamie Douglas

At Large in the Southern Cone

[Image of Mercosur Headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay, via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Crumbling Infrastructures: Buenos Aires, Caracas

article from February 25, 2012

By Jamie Douglas

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ash Wednesday in Buenos Aires turned out to be a very tragic day. A fully loaded commuter train with over 2,000 porteños on board suffered a suspected mechanical failure in its brake system, slamming into the end-of-the-line barrier at the Once station in the capital city, with devastating results. Fifty dead and 650 injured – ¡que horror! – a very inappropriate end to the Carnival festivities, although not altogether unexpected.

The infrastructure of the city of Buenos Aires has been crumbling since the 1980s, but the bottom really fell out during the last financial crisis when Argentina defaulted on its sovereign debt. Looking at the photos and videos of this catastrophe, I was astonished to discover that the rolling stock looked to be from about 1950s or 60s and in very bad shape, even just look at. Buenos Aires has become somewhat of a dangerous eyesore, where you are not safe in the best of neighborhoods anymore.

Those of us who always admired the city as “the Paris of South America” now look at it as a crumbling city, a city where you can still look up at the beautiful facades of those magnificent edifices built in the 1920s; but while looking up and admiring that, be careful, because the sidewalks are hazards to your health. There are not just cracks, but holes and missing manhole covers – and you really have to be very careful where your next step will take you, as there are so many dogs that use the sidewalks as their toilet.

Then there are all the homeless sleeping and living in the entryways to abandoned businesses. And whatever you do, exercise extreme caution when using an ATM. It’s not that robbers in Buenos Aires are very sophisticated; in fact, they are quite clumsy, spilling a drink on you or dropping mud from a balcony to cause a major distraction, or dropping something in front of you, trying to take advantage of the Good Samaritan in you so they can grab your wallet, purse or bags. The current economic downturn has led to a lack of public safety, with the federal police abandoning their patrol duties on the subway and trains, leaving that to the local police, who are either part of the criminal gangs or not present at all.

So for those of you contemplating moving to Buenos Aires, be aware. Crime is surging, inflation is over 25%, and public confidence has reached new lows. It was only a couple of weeks ago that a well-known French photographer was stabbed to death at 8:30 in the morning, in a very populated and “safe” section of town, the park dedicated to the Falklands War Veterans in Retiro. ...it makes the photographer in me want to leave that part of my life behind. Whenever I stepped out while in Buenos Aires with my Nikon camera, the people at the front desk of my hotel would warn me, shopkeepers would warn me and waiters in restaurants would have me hide my equipment. Fortunately, we were always very aware of our surroundings. And when the guy came by with a huge key ring and dropped it at my feet, it was me who kept a local from running after him. It was such an obvious attempt to separate us from our luggage in front of the hotel that it was almost laughable. Jajaja!

Caracas, Venezuela

In Caracas (how similar that sounds to carcass!), Venezuela’s Clown Prince is now following his destiny, which looks to be an appointment with Mr. D. After denying rumors about having The Big “C,” he just announced that a new lesion of about 2 centimeters had been discovered in an undisclosed location “near his pelvis,” where surgeons in Cuba last June had removed a baseball-sized malignant tumor, and after a few rounds of chemotherapy he had declared himself to be cancer free. Hallelujah!

Except that he is not. For the first time since his medical misadventures began, he openly stated that it was probably a malignant growth. Various experts in the field of his unknown cancer have previously stated that he in all likelihood suffers from Steve Jobism, which is denial of his terminal condition and the putting off of the immediate treatment of his disease. After all, a bull can only be a bull if he has his cajones; and now that a young, virile opposition leader has emerged, Henrique Capriles, the 39-year-old governor of Miranda State, the chances of Venezuela’s return to the civilized world are getting better with every moment that Chávez waits to have radical surgery. I do wish him well in his battle for life, but more importantly, I wish Venezuela only the best in its recovery from the years of darkness. Let there be light!

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Merco-Mess in Montevideo and President Obama’s Jinxed Hopes For a Regional FTA

article from December 21, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Merco-Mess in Montevideo

The Mercosur meeting in Montevideo, Uruguay, showed promise of having all the ingredients of the classical Latin American telenovela (a soap opera with high drama) even before the delegates sat down. The high drama outpaced even the most lurid expectations. I am stunned myself at how this event unfolded.

A little history lesson here for those who have not been able to keep up with the fast-paced developments in the region:

Mercosur, short for Mercado del Sur, or Market of the South, was formed in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción to promote the free trade and the movement of goods, people and currency. Its member nations are (in order of economic power) Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay. There are five nations with associate member status: Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, while the Bolivarian dictatorship of Hugo Chávez signed a membership agreement in 2006. It was to become a South American version of the European Union with a common currency, the fictitious gaucho.

Now, more than 20 years later, the merry-go-round keeps going around. The most recent Mercosur Summit took place in the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, where the host, President José Mujica, who is Presidenta Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s new lapdog, has been pushing for the incorporation of Venezuela as a new member state, in spite of the legislature of Paraguay’s refusal to ratify its entry. Paraguay’s president, the virile Priest Father (really – three illegitimate kids) Fernando Lugo, was trying to strike a side deal with Argentina’s Kirchner, Brazil’s Dilma Rousseff and Uruguay’s Mujica, which would have bypassed the unanimous requirement from the agreement.

 

Hugo Chávez already announced the he will (and did) travel to Montevideo to announce Venezuela’s full membership, but something did not go according to plan. The president of Paraguay’s Congress, Senator Jorge Oviedo Matto, made three points very clear:

1. The Paraguayan constitution requires the approval of every international agreement and must be voted on and approved by Congress before becoming law.

2. If the membership of Venezuela will be approved against the objection of the opposition congress, President Lugo will be impeached.

3. The Paraguayan position is not against the nation of Venezuela, but against its dictatorial despot, Hugo Chávez, under whose leadership the Venezuelan government has ceased to respect the freedom of the press or the political freedom of opponents.

In Montevideo, meanwhile, Uruguay’s foreign minister announced that there is a formula on the table, the objective of which is to find a mechanism to assure a prompt entry for Venezuela into the crumbling union, while at the same time Paraguay’s threat to leave the Mercosur was described by Senator Oviedo Matto as being an event by which his country will not be losing much, “…and what have the advantages been so far? There will be no parting tears!”

Chávez’s arrival in Montevideo to announce his country’s entry has been toned down a little bit by his public admission that Venezuela’s incorporation doesn’t have to be decided today (Tuesday, Dec 20).

To add to the high drama, it was revealed during lunch that one high-ranking member of the Argentine delegation, an ultra-Kirchnerite wunderkind, was found hanging from his shower in his luxury hotel suite at the Radisson Hotel. Iván Heyn, Argentina’s under-secretary of commerce, was one of the most promising Young Turks, best friends with former minister of the economy and current Vice President of Argentina Amado Boudou. He was one of the most prominent leaders of the young Kirchnerist organization La Campora, and his future as a political and economic leader was as assured as you can get in Argentina.

His death brought shock and disbelief to the summit, which was temporarily suspended. The headline of the Mercosur press release reads, “On hearing the news, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez suffered a decompensation and had to be taken for medical attention.”

This, of course, will open his tragic death to all kinds of conspiracy theories; but regardless of the circumstances, the loss of such a promising young man is a tragedy.

By 23:30 on Tuesday night, the delegates announced the formation of a working group to help smooth the entry of Venezuela and Ecuador into Mercosur. The member nations also signed a free trade agreement with Palestine and expressed their solidarity with Argentina’s effort to gain control over the disputed (by Argentina) Falkland Islands, referred to around here as las Islas Malvinas.

US Hopes for a regional free-trade agreement

Now that the US finds itself playing second fiddle to China in Latin America, the Obama administration just suddenly rediscovered its old and exploited southern neighbors, with US Trade Representative Ron Kirk wanting to kick-start a trade agreement with South America and calling for a greater opening of the Brazilian economy to the United States. Since 2009, Brazil’s largest trading partner has been China, whose influence is spreading rapidly across the entire Southern Hemisphere.

The Clown Prince of Venezuela, of course, could not resists the opportunity to go on state TV in Caracas on Monday, Dec 19, telling Obama to “leave us alone” and calling him a clown and an embarrassment as well as suggesting that he should focus on governing the US, which, says Chávez, he turned into a disaster.

Very interesting he should say that. He must have been practicing his speech in front of a mirror.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

[Image of Mercosur Headquarters in Montevideo, Uruguay, via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Latin America News Roundup Nov 30, 2011: Argentina, Colombia, Cuba

article from November 30, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Argentinean Holidays

Being a worker in Argentina in 2012 certainly has its benefits. Out of the 366 days next year, 122 will be official holidays and weekends, precisely one third of the whole year, assuming that the end of the world will not surprise us all. There will be a total of 10 fin de semanas largas, or 3-day weekends, with the possibility of an eleventh one to celebrate the bicentennial of the Argentinean flag on Monday, Feb 17. That last one is pending approval of a bill in the lower house, after the Senate approved it already.

Add to that the vacation days that are written into the law, and the average worker productivity will be down, forcing manufacturers to hire more workers, something that is great for the economy, driving down unemployment and raising income tax receipts. Oh, sorry, I almost forgot! It doesn’t work that way. Few people actually pay taxes, and employers will probably just force their workers to be more productive. Have another mate, mate, and then get back to work.

Venezuela-Colombian cooperation on drug kingpin capture

The short and violent criminal career of Colombian bad boy Maximiliano Bonilla-Orozco has come to its inevitable conclusion. No, he is not dead, but he has just been apprehended in Venezuela’s third-largest city, Valencia. Bonilla-Orozco has been on the US’ list of most wanted drug kingpins for a while. It is alleged that he was the mastermind behind sending several hundred tons of cocaine from Colombia to the US and sending millions of dollars back through Mexico.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the capture was made on Sunday while Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was on a state visit to that very country. Santos thanked his Venezuelan counterpart, President Hugo Chávez, for his country’s invaluable assistance in the capture of the very high-value drug trafficker who has wrought so much damage in many parts of the Americas.

The captured narco received his drugs from the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) and has had extensive dealings with the Zetas, the ultraviolent Mexican gang of former military commandos. The US had a $5 million reward out for his capture, but Venezuelan officials announced that they will not claim the reward, stating that he will be extradited to the US as soon as the yanquis are ready for him. Bonilla–Orozco was indicted in New York in 2008. This comes as somewhat of a surprise to US officials, as Venezuela discontinued its anti-drug cooperation with the US in 2009.

Cuba’s privatization moves

Raúl Castro keeps surprising not just seasoned Cuba watchers, but also his long-oppressed compatriots. It is looking like the Pearl of the Caribbean will slowly get back to private ownership of businesses, automobiles and property. With the latest announcements coming from Castro, the road ahead for private enterprise looks promising. After over 50 years of the island’s Soviet-style central planning and execution, the president of the island nation has come to the logical conclusion that even at the very low salaries paid to state workers, having millions of underperforming but unfireable workers on the state payroll is a drain on the already-strained economy. President Raúl is encouraging the formation of small businesses, hoping they will hire as many as one million workers away from government payrolls.

While his ultimate goal is to strengthen Cuba’s communism with these changes, it appears more like the grassroots of a new socio-capitalistic society that, once it takes hold, will become the base for future economic development. Enterprising minds in the country are already planning and hoping for more relaxed rules that will allow the human spirit to soar once again on that incomparably beautiful island.

One of the major drawbacks has been the lack of capital available to potential entrepreneurs, but that is all about to change. As an early Christmas present, new banking and credit regulations will take effect on December 20, 2011, presenting for the first time the opportunity for farmers, small businesses and individuals with good ideas to obtain financing and to be able to open commercial bank accounts, a prerequisite for doing business with the government.

Cuba’s potential is vast. The islands citizens are very industrious people, having learned to make do with very little for more than 50 years. Being so close to Florida and having such a large underutilized labor pool, the possibilities of industrialization are very high. All it takes is for some of the US right-wing politicians to realize that the potential for their patrons, the large corporations that got them elected, is immense, and that the children of Cuban robber barons who fled to Florida should get used to the fact that they, too, live in a changing world. You can never go back, baby! Cuba of the 1950s is gone forever.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

South America News Roundup Nov 3, 2011: Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela

article from November 3, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Colombia: Adios, domestic intelligence service

In what was an expected move, Colombia’s President Juan Manuel Santos has dismantled his nation’s feared domestic intelligence service, known as DAS. This rogue agency had run its course long before a former chief of the DAS was sentenced to 25 years in prison for having given lists of union leaders, students, and left-wing organizers to the right-wing paramilitaries so they could be liquidated.

This assassin-by-proxy was chosen to head the organization by former President Alvaro Uribe, who himself should be tried in The Hague for his many crimes against humanity. Several former high-ranking members of the agency have also been imprisoned for their part in wiretapping judges, opposition politicians, journalists and dissenting members of the ruling party. Uribe himself has been repeatedly accused of masterminding the wiretapping, but he steadfastly denies that he ever ordered any of that, blaming it instead on “rogue agents.”

The new president signed a decree dissolving the agency, announcing; “Today the DAS turns 58 years old, and at 58, we are going to liquidate it.” This is a huge step forward for Colombia.

Bolivia: Morales vs. indigenous land rights

President Evo Morales had to acknowledge defeat at the hands of the several hundred Amazonian marchers protesting his arrogant encroachment onto a constitutionally guaranteed native territory, the Territorio Indígena Parque Nacional Isiboro Sécure. Brazil, which is pushing the project as well as financing it, is waiting for a decision by the Bolivian government to discuss an alternate route. The road project was to provide Brazil with a direct superhighway to the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, Morales’ coca-growing brethren have held their own vigil against the jungle-dwelling protesters. They were looking forward to occupying the land the land that would be opened up by the project and using for growing coca crops. They support the road, claiming that the local area will benefit tremendously from the improved access that would have been given to them to transport their wares to market. Who knew there was such a huge market for coca leaves!

Morales recently also purchased for himself a US$30 million Falcon 900 EX executive jet, pretty much top of the line in private jets. It seems that exposure to all of the state’s wealth is turning the formerly socialist coca growing “people’s president” into a connoisseur of finer things as he abandons the promises made to the indigenous tribes who elected him. In addition, he has ordered the construction of a $1.5 million presidential terminal. Power corrupts!

Venezuela: Foreign holdings nationalization campaign

In his ongoing campaign to nationalize foreign holdings, El Maximum Líder in denial has announced that the Bolivarian nation will seize an additional 700,000 acres of land from Agropecuaria Flora, owned by the UK’s Vestey Group. This is the second huge parcel owned by the Vestey Group to be nationalized, and the reason given was that the group would not accept the Venezuelan government’s offer of payment in Bolivars, which then would be almost impossible for them to repatriate.

Meanwhile the tin-pot dictator, a great admirer of Muamar Ghadaffi’s many clownish uniforms, has decided that he will buy off the armed forces for the coming elections by giving them a 50% pay raise, the second major increase given to them in the last 18 months. Maybe, just maybe, he is trying to buy the loyalty of the troops.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

South America News Roundup Oct 18, 2011: Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia

article from October 18, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Argentina: Vog

For those of us living in some parts of Argentina, yesterday morning brought a renewal of the ash fall from Chile’s Puyehue Volcano. Instead of the crisp blue skies we have been getting accustomed to, we are under a blanket of vog (volcanic smog). On Sunday, I got up around dawn to let the dog out, and there was a heavy layer of what I thought was fog about 300 meters to the south which, it turns out, was that unpleasant ash, having drifted north and then east, once again wreaking havoc with air transportation across the region. All flights in and out of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Mendoza and Montevideo have been grounded, and there is absolutely no service to the rest of the country. Hopefully we will not see another repeat of the situation a few months ago, when Australia and New Zealand were affected likewise. Sleep sweet Puyehue, sleep!

Venezuela: Hugo

Venezuela’s President Hugo Chávez is back in Cuba for a complete checkup, after his fourth and final chemotherapy treatment. He appeared at the airport, joking that he was going to grow an afro when his hair resumed growing. The opposition has demanded that he come clean with his health status, stating that he was very ill, and he owed it to the country to reveal what type of cancer he had (probably prostate) as well as what his actual condition is and not treat it like a state secret. El Maximum Líder countered that he was in excellent health and that he would “sail” through the coming elections next year and be reelected. I think Venezuela could use a change!

Bolivia: Evo

Meanwhile in Bolivia, the coca-farmer president, Evo Morales, got spanked again by his constituents when close to 70% of the ballots for the election of his handpicked judges were turned in blank or spoiled. He not only had his cronies change the constitution to allow him to run again, but now he is going to stack the deck in every court having any constitutional powers. The people who put him into office, the indigenous masses of the country, are plenty pissed off at him for several breaches of trust, the latest being when police and military attacked peaceful protesters walking to the capital of La Paz to voice their protests against a Brazilian-financed four-lane highway through their tribal lands, which are supposed to be guaranteed to them. Evo ¿que pasa? Is the power of the presidency blinding you to your people’s needs?

You say “Falklands”, I say “Malvinas”

When it comes to delusional politicians, Argentina certainly has its share. Take for instance Argentine representative at the United Nations Jorge Argüello. His recent statements before the world body in regard to the Falkland Islands would make more sense if they had been uttered by a 3rd-world despot, but unfortunately, these moronic statements were made by the official representative of Argentina. Argüello claimed that the British government “hides information in London to the Europeans in Brussels and to the rest of the world” (whatever he means by that).

Also, in a recent address to an audience at the top Mexican university, UNAM, Ambassador Argüello said about the Falklands that, “England knows that if it cuts the social assistance and employment budget of the islands as it has done with other territories, it will lead to emigration to Argentina or South America, where the opposite thing is happening.” Huh?

While there is no doubt that the citizens of the islands lead a somewhat isolated existence, you would be hard-pressed to find even one resident of those cold and windy islands that would choose to live in Argentina or South America. But it makes for good propaganda. With the possibility of commercially viable deposits of crude oil, the residents of the Falkland Islands may end up being quite wealthy. It is solely for this reason that Argentina is rattling its plastic sabers all over the world, trying to get the support of other countries. But the United Nations made it quite clear how the destiny of the islands will be chosen: By a plebiscite of the residents living there! So come on Argentina, give it up. They were never your islands, and your claims are so far in the past.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where we have sheep, too, along with that Fine Malbec Wine!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Latin America Newsmaker Awards: A Platinum Award for Hugo Chávez

article from October 10, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Due to the many encouraging messages I have received from readers, I will continue this semi-irregular feature, looking into some different aspects of life and politics in the regions that make up Latin America.

I would like to offer my special thanks to several South American newsmakers who make life easy for me by delivering a constant stream of behavior worth reporting: The Platinum Award surely can go only to the one and only Hugo Chávez, with the Gold shared equally by Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and her Chilean counterpart, Sebastian Piñera. The Silver goes to Rafael Correa of Ecuador, while the leaders of Brazil, Colombia and Uruguay receive honorable mention for their actual efforts to do good for their citizens. Kudos to Dilma Rousseff, Juan Manuel Santos and José Mujica for their continued efforts, always giving me pleasant subjects to write about.

Platinum Award Winner Hugo Chávez

Hugo Chávez, after his fourth round of chemotherapy, is doing his best to mislead the world into believing that he is in great condition and does not have cancer. Unfortunately, his mere appearance dispels that assertion. He does not look well, and that should come as no surprise to anyone. The regimen of getting poisoned to within an inch (2.54cm) of your life takes a serious toll on anyone subjected to it. Last Saturday, October 1, 2011, he could be found buying votes by giving away appliances to his admirers. Kind of a waste, since they all were going to vote for him anyway. Although he firmly stated, “I am not sick at all” (Remember Richard Nixon’s “I am not a crook?”) to anyone who would listen to him, comrade Hugo is obviously not well. I do not wish him ill at all. I hope he will continue his struggle against the Big “C” and win. But even as El Maximum Líder, he is subject to the same suffering caused by that illness as any other mortal. After a Miami paper reported him to be urgently hospitalized, comrade Hugo showed the irresponsible imperialist Miami press that he was well, indeed, by publicly displaying his baseball skills, engaging several of his ministers in a game in the garden of his Miraflores Palace. At least his smugness is still intact.

Meanwhile the ultra-socialist president’s spending has come under scrutiny again. The Association of Latin American Newspapers has reported that one year ago, when comrade Hugo set out on his state visits to Moscow, Kiev, Teheran, Damascus and Tripoli, two of his trusted representatives set out from Miraflores with instructions to go to the central bank a few blocks away and pick up US$5 million in cash to cover the expenses of the upcoming trip. The agents dutifully went to the bank, got the money and promptly disappeared.

Fast forward to the next day, when another pair of agents set out to harvest another $5 million, this time with a little more supervision and the money making it back to the palace. But it all goes to show that this comrade is not shy at all about spending lavishly on himself and his close associates. He raised the budget for spending on himself to $794 million in 2011. Seventy percent of that is his for discretionary spending, and the other 30% pays for parties ($10.4 million), clothing and shoes ($320.000), laundry ($408.000) and $9.5 million in upkeep of residences.

One of Hugo’s favorite phrases is that all that matters is saving the Bolivarian Revolution, even if we don’t have all of what we need to eat. All the rest is secondary.

I have a feeling that if comrade Hugo’s idol, Simón Bolivar, were alive today, Chávez might be lingering in a prison, if not dangling from the gallows, for illegal enrichment from the state coffers.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where is my Malbec?

[Image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

The Latest News from Venezuela, Aug 18, 2011

article from August 18, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

The past few days have brought several interesting news items from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to the forefront. Let’s get the one out of the way right away: President Hugo Chávez returned from Cuba after the latest round of chemotherapy, and according to his blog, he is feeling better and his cancer has not metastasized. Personally I am still in the dark as to why he could not find proper treatment in his own country.

The good news about Venezuela’s crude oil industry is the proclamation by OPEC that Venezuela now is sitting on top of the largest proven reserves in the world, exceeding those even of Saudi Arabia. The national oil monopoly, PDVSA, is fourth in the world’s rankings of oil companies.

The country should be sitting on a big pile of cash, but for years of unchecked spending and corruption. Unfortunately, many if not most of the social programs that have been announced to gain the support of the masses never really got off the ground. Added to this lack of proper fiscal planning, with Chávez having promised the Moon to many poorer Latin American nations, is an astonishing level of corruption that, together, have cost the Venezuelan treasury billions of US dollars (half a billion has been stolen from the PDVSA’s pension fund by a Ponzi scheme).

In spite of this wealth in the ground, the nation’s leader has been in direct contact with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to obtain an express loan worth US$4 billion. Time will tell what that Wiley Russian Fox will extract in concessions from Venezuela in exchange for the loan, but one thing seems certain: It will come with not just strings, but ropes attached. It is a given that the New Russia, while not so much engaged in a “communism vs. capitalism” struggle as during the Cold War, is finding itself playing second fiddle to China in Latin America. Getting a good foothold in Venezuela will at least make for some face saving. While Russia itself has an abundant supply of energy resources, it is never enough in a world of shrinking supplies.

These latest twin announcements from the president also involve the nation’s currency reserves and gold stash. The finance ministry is studying a plan to transfer over US$6 billion in cash away from US and European banks to more allied countries’ financial institutions. Brazil, Russia and China are of prime consideration in the transfer of the cash. They are also considering moving 211 tons of gold that is being held in European banks to the Caracas Central Bank vault, where it would be added to the 154 tons already there, making it a total of 365 tons in local storage.

Then cometh the announcement that President Hugo Chávez wants to nationalize the gold industry, so as to gain complete control of production and increase the output of the mines. He stated that it will be “by a decree to take the gold sector, which still remains in the hands of the mafia and smugglers.”

Chávez is preparing to make some new friends again. Venezuela certainly is a nation in flux. So stay tuned for the next exciting future history episode of the Bolivarian Colossus.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where the Malbec Wine is Always Fine!

[Image of Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez via Wikipedia]

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

South America News Roundup Aug 3, 2011: Peru, Venezuela, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina

article from August 3, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Reactions to Peru’s new president

NEWSFLASH! Ollanta Humala has been installed as the new president of Peru. Contrary to the expectations of a number of neoliberals, he has not yet joined Hugo Chávez in his Bolivarian utopia. He has not asked the substantial number of expatriates living in Peru to start paying taxes and, in fact, he does not seem to care about them one bit.

On the other hand, he has called on the private sector to join him in starting up a new national-flag carrier to replace Aero Peru, which went bankrupt under the Fujimori regime. Along this vein, even the mining companies are agreeing to acknowledge that their free-for-all is over and that they should pay reasonable compensation in the form of royalties (taxes) to the state. Over US$40 billion in investments are safe, and projects will proceed as planned, with the only difference being a little more equitable distribution of wealth, something that Chilean President Piñera had also promised to his countrymen, but so far to no avail there.

Grupo Mexico also announced that they will continue to invest heavily in Peru, committing another US$2.6 billion to up its copper production by almost 300,000 tons. The company’s announcement stated “…we are confident that the new government of Peru will ensure social stability, the rule of law and a stable and competitive tax regime.” And to top it off, they promised to invest in socially responsible projects. Kudos to Grupo Mexico!

Brazil, the Americas’ new “tiger,” continues to invest heavily in its neighboring nation, with an annual growth of investments of 30%, something that will surely accelerate, now that Peru has a stable platform with which to negotiate and do business.

Chávez in Cuba

Meanwhile, the Clown Price of Venezuela has managed to discredit his own country’s medical institutions, which are of world class – if you can afford it – by choosing to have all his medical procedures performed in the country of his closest allies, the Castro Brothers of Cuba. There is no doubt that Cuba’s medical care is excellent and available to all, with or without money. But Hugo, have you no confidence in the treatment you would receive at home? Or are you aware of the fact that you pissed off the elite in your country to the point where you cannot trust them with your life? You know, there are some decent medications available now that will treat your symptoms of paranoia. And while wishing you a speedy recovery, the outlook for you is not great. What is it with all the secrecy, anyway? Why can’t you just come out and tell your beloved citizens, as well as your pal in Libya, that you have prostate cancer and that is was diagnosed much too late? Just toooo friggin’ machoooo! Make plans now for a successor to avoid bloodshed when you inevitably check out. It happened to Frank Zappa, and he was a much better person that you could ever hope to be!

Brazil’s economy

Brazil is economically on fire. Things are so brilliant there that all those industrialists have to wear dark shades! Every time news trickles out, things look better. They have successfully bid for the Olympics and the World Cup, and as opposed to the USA’s double-dip recession, their economy is just humming along. The biggest danger to Brazil at this point is the incredible strength of the real, their currency, along with inflation burning the whole thing up.

Uruguay wins the America’s Cup

Uruguay is happy as a pig in a blanket on a cold night. They are the little nation that could – and did! They went home across the Rio de la Plata a couple of weeks ago, carrying with them the precious Copa de America, after defeating Paraguay 3:0 in the final game in Argentina. ¡Felicitaciones a La Celeste! They are now the title-winningest country in the world history of fútbol.

Argentina’s upcoming elections

Argentina is getting ready to fix another presidential election. It starts early here. La Presidenta Cristina has promised 32-inch flat screen TVs to all the jubilados (retirees) for a highly subsidized price, and her people are all over the country passing out pork, beef, chicken and grain to the poor, something that they should have been doing all along, considering that Argentina has an incredible rate of poverty, facing inflation rates that the government files criminal charges against economists for mentioning. But it is the time-honored tradition of the incumbent using public funds to buy votes. In Argentina, politicians try to make points the same way they do in the USA. “I am the most Peronista candidate” is the Argentine version of “I am Reaganer than thou!”

Jamie Douglas

Lost in Space and Time. Send Malbec!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

An Abscess with Hemispherical Implications

article from June 30, 2011

By Jamie Douglas

Once again, a well-known politician is refusing to acknowledge his true medical condition, fearing that showing vulnerability to common ailments will tarnish the carefully nurtured image of invincibility. This time it is the usually robust and verbose President of Venezuela. During his recent tour of several Latin American nations, Hugo Chávez suddenly needed an emergency operation while in Cuba to take care of a “pelvic abscess,” a relatively rare occurrence, but one that obviously manifested itself with such speed that it was thought best for him to have immediate surgical intervention in Havana, which no doubt has some of the finest medical facilities in the hemisphere.

That, in spite of his being no more than three hours from an operating room in Caracas, with equally fine medical care. Ever since the usually hyperactive 56-year-old Venezuelan leader was hospitalized in Havana on June 10, the rumors have been flying about all the possibilities of his real condition – rumors ranging from cancer of the prostate to complications from previous cancer surgery. And rumors are exactly what they are, mixed in with some very wishful thinking by his opposition.

A pelvic abscess, of course, is a serious condition, as it involves a deep infection that, if undiagnosed and untreated, could continue to fester, wreaking inner havoc while outwardly just displaying some symptoms of discomfort. Treatment usually involves making an incision in the affected area and draining the abscess, while maintaining the surrounding area sterile to avoid onset of sepsis, which may be fatal.

So, knowing what we do about this condition, it may very well be what ails President Chávez, forcing him to recuperate slowly while he is visiting with his good friend Fidel Castro, who also suffered an undignified illness of the lower intestine, but one with much more serious consequences and a much lengthier recovery time. He was afflicted by diverticulitis, and emergency surgery is normally required when the affected area bursts, again leading to sepsis. Recovery periods may last for months, particularly in elderly patients such as former President Castro.

There is no doubt about the seriousness of President Chávez’s condition, as we are only a few days from when he is to host a regional summit of political leaders, as well as the bicentennial celebration of his country’s independence. Should he fail to make a showing for these events, he must be very seriously incapacitated, presenting a situation that may lead to an internal power struggle within the Bolivarian nation. Already, bond traders are exploiting the possibility of regime change to, hopefully, a more business-friendly (read pro-US) administration.

Meanwhile, his brother Adán Chávez, a reserved former physics professor, made some rather puzzling statements during a prayer meeting in Barinas, where he addressed an audience of several hundred supporters, stating that “both arms and the ballot box may be used in support of the Bolivarian revolution.” Invoking the legendary Argentinean-Cuban revolutionary Ernesto “Ché” Guevarra, he repeated the famous Hero/Mass Murderer quote: “It would be inexcusable to limit ourselves to only the electoral [process] and not see other forms of the struggle, including the armed struggle!”

I, for one, feel that enough blood has been shed on this beleaguered continent, and sincerely hope that armed conflicts can be avoided. It is for this reason that I wish President Hugo Chávez a speedy recovery – from whatever it is that he needs recovery from – and a speedy return to his homeland, where events will hopefully unfold in as orderly a fashion as is possible in this part of the world.

Jamie Douglas

San Rafael, Mendoza

Where the Malbec Wine is always Fine!

I encourage you to write me at cruzansailor [at] gmail [dot] com with any questions or suggestions you may have. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel-related business. My advice is based on my own experiences and is free of charge (Donations welcome). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.