We Witnessed The Riots & Chaos During Venezuela's Elections with Suroosh Alvi | VICE on HBO
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- VICE founder Suroosh Alvi and correspondent Ben Anderson traveled to Venezuela as Maduro seized the country’s political institutions with an alleged “sham election” and violently suppressed growing opposition to his rule.
In early 2017 Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced moves that would turn the world’s most oil-rich nation from a democracy into a dictatorship. This sparked a crisis, igniting longstanding anger over inequality, misrule, hunger and crime.
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“The issue on the streets is not an issue of ideology, it’s not people out on the street saying ‘we want capitalism instead of socialism,‘” veteran journalist Phil Gunson told VICE News. “It’s people out in the streets saying ‘we can’t eat.’”
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Maybe if the USA stopped the embargo, stopped pumping fracking oil and boycotting Venezuela, what about actually helping Venezuela and stopping the corruption.
But no, the opposite, the USA is deliberately helping the people who are devaluing the currency, engaged in violence, financing right wing ideology, even financing the coup-d-tete.
Where is the humanitarian aid? nowhere, instead the USA supports the companies refusing to sell products to Venezuelans and instead overcharging them and creating fake shortage with the creation of the black market.
Don't kid yourself, this is 100% political and what is on the line is the lives of the poorest people of Venezuela, and while many of the wealthy Venezuelans may support he Neoliberal Imperialism backed by the USA Capitalist Imperialist Monroe doctrine if the people loose, they will suffer.
Quick reality check for you, if the USA is so bothered about the people of Valenzuela where is the humanitarian aid, why not lift the embargoes, but no, they want to starve the socialism out of the country, just like every other South American country and they wont be happy until they put a right wing stooge dictator in power.
VICE News So buy GUNS.
mark rigsby Do you honestly think there are places for ordinary people to buy weapons in Venezuela? Their government isn't stupid. And on top of that, their currency is so devalued that only the richest of them could afford a single gun if someone were selling them.
Incredible reporting. Fascism transcends ideology.
fuckfannyfiddlefart why should the US stop fracking?
I live in Colombia and I get the news about Venezuela every day. The situation is way worse right now and the biggest proof of this is that people are leaving the country. South America is now facing the migration of hundreds of thousands fo Venezuelans to different countries, especially Ecuador, Colombia and Argentina.
David Galvis Saavedra Argentina? I don't think so. Brazil instead.
Argentina or Brazil. I think the principle stands. They are leaving their country trying to find a better place to live
Hello, I'm genuinely interested: What do you think we in for example the UK could do to help the people of Venezuela? Bearing in mind the government will not accept aid apparently, this is like a ultra slow disaster movie & it seems a bit ridiculous knowing this is real life & not some movie set
Well, that is a really tough question for me to answer. But I would say that contacting different noprofit organizations and spreading information as much as possible might help Venezuela. Also, and this is very difficult to write, people will get tired eventually and they themselves will overthrow this regime.
It feels weird but I'm tempted to urge our government to ignore the Venezuelans & drop aid by plane yet it could prove awkward if they really didn't want us there.
Vice founder is worth $400 mil.. And he still going around working.. I applause you sir
Yup. He's been doing this since forever, he's an OG Vice reporter
1.38 billion $ actually*
Just goes to show greed has no limits
@FirstEastern Perspective Yes that is our standard policy. Overthrow and murder anyone who disagrees with us. Of course we need to kill them quickly. We certainly don't want a trial that people might see and hear. I guess our alliance with the Saudis is making us more and more like them.
I prefer the days of my youth when a country had to attack us or threaten us in some manner before we attacked them.
One of three vice founder.
Sad really, to see nations with such great potential to get ripped apart like this.
is the power of comunism when take the power !!!
Phill Pretty simple , let Venezuela give up their oil to western corporations , and our US government will instal a fake democratic government for the Venezuelan people . Once this is done , we sell their oil back to Venezuelan at higher prices, so they become Western’s slaves .
POTENTIAL?? This country was once the fourth richest in the world until......say it.......SAY IT........S O C I A L I S M!!!!
@@veronicacougar5687 fourth richest when?
@@EivinSukoi aye at least we'll able be richer in that scenario and actually be able to live a day without worrying about when I'm going to die.
When you let a bus driver run your economy.
holly yates let's see what happens when a reality TV star runs our country
The economy starts booming?
Ya when a tea seller runs a the same shit happens ( talking about India)
the economy booms
Sean , Established businessman? Go do some research before you start saying things that make you look stupid. Don’t just believe everything Fox News tells you. lol 😂
17:45 holy shit...
im amazed that only 7 guards were injured
Never seen a petrol bomb going off like that. Think there was more than petrol in that bottle for sure
J0S3PH R3Y3S
😓😓😓
i felt bad but i think they desreved it . they cant hold a region where the people want independence
Unfortunately it wasn't loaded with nails and screws
I have a good friend that escaped Venezuela with her mom,dad, and brother. She told us at school that even though her family was pretty good economically, she would still go months without having pads and her brother didn't have diapers. She said it would take a truck full of currency just to get a cart full of groceries. God bless Venezuela❤
20:30 he wishes "Good morning venezuela" at night... I feel that people are right for protesting against him
Lmao hahaha
you do know that it could possibly be at 5:00 AM in the morning right?
@@guardiadecivil6777 *probably*
Combine Guard 20:02 “later that night”!?
Fake subtitles
13:59 “This is not normal buisness for a politician” he says after literally replying with emojis
"Extreme threats"
his reply: 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
That firebomb on the cops was crazy
What? It is almost as if they do not like socialism.
Hagge Bänke fascism transcends ideology. Any given ideology including capitalism with violent incompetent leadership will fail.
Anikraze So now Chavez was fascist? Talk about rendering a word irrelevant
Everything is not black and white. Neoliberalism and savage capitalism (which you most likely support lmao) are the reason why Venezuelans opted for a different path, because under neoliberalism the poor were starving in an oil rich country. Now, chavez and maduro have a ton of flaws, just like the vast majority of Latin American governments, but they opted to leave this world order of neoliberalism, Venezuela under neoliberalism was destined to be a neo-colony of the US governed by corporate interest due to its large oil reserves.
Hagge Bänke I could care less what the children of the bourgeoisie think. I would rather see the indigenous people of Venezuela the elevated to a higher standard of living like they have under the under Chavez and Maduro
Jose Rojas stop saying Neo! Venezuelans voted in this mess.
Reminder that:
1)70% of Venezuelan economy is private, therefore we have a capitalist system, not a socialist one. Knowing this fact alone and calling still calling Venezuela socialist means that you suffer severe brain damage.
2)Much of the situation happening now is due to an oil crisis, not started by Venezuela. Also, while there are some bad places, much of what is reported by anti-socialist media, mainstream or "independent", is often nothing more than propaganda(wich in itself is not wrong) based on lies. There are many people who have legitimate grievences, but there are many who are simply agents of capitalism in general and American imperialism in particular. Wich leads me to:
3)Wealthy bourgeois "people" have been found hoarding food(not unlike what their ilk has done in the past) in times of need.
Yes, and the US is so concerned for the Venezuelan people, they continue to push evermore for greater sanctions - that effect - who the most harshly? You guessed it: The average Venezuelan.
in Sweden our lefties said venezula is a great socialist country that shows it working in south america. well they arnt talking nowö. lol.
quezcatol I'm a far leftist, communist to be exact and I have comrades in Sweden that would laugh at you. They don't celebrate Venezuela... just the anger coming out of it.
funny, because I remember how they praised venezuela and still today love cuba.
quezcatol it's funny because you right wingers love to lie and create false stories to discredit leftism.
so the left will finally disavow cuba and venezuela?
vem ska du rösta för :)
that politician a savage lol he sent “😂😂😂😂😂😂😂” to a death threat lol
are you kidding ? those were the crying ones.
@@wonka4 They're crying of laughter emoji's lol
@@tolaisolia8743 I meant in the video, btw. Not in Angel's comment.
Not real socialism. It will work next try, I swear!
And like most dupes you probably confuse state capitalism with socialism and communism with state capitalism. It's very hard to have a conversation with people who don't understand the terms they so freely employ after watching corporate media.
Pieter Steenkamp So you're saying the Maduro regime is not socialist and did not implement socialist policies. Your argument comes down to an ideological purity test. "Not real socialism!"
So everyone has to agree with your definition of Socialism or you won't have a conversation?
Don't worry next time they'll starve another million and it'll work THAT time
Pieter Steenkamp socialism is public ownership of the means of production. The hell do you think socializing agriculture meant? They came in with guns and said your farm now belongs to the state and you'll charge what we say because it's "fair". Your ideology takes successful nations and crushes then because it's pushed by altruistic people that don't understand basic economics.
It's not the size of the dog in a fight. It's the size of the fight in the dog. With all due respect to the Venezuelan people, it's a thing some people say. You guys are real fighters.
i truly respect their desire for freedom but compare these protesters with Ukrainians and you'll see that running away when the first shots are fired is not how you change a government. They need to stand their ground and find a way to fight because what they're doing isn't going to work.
This is what socialism does to a country
snarf no this is what capitalism does to a country
snarf this isn't socialism, this is capitalism disguised as socialism.
But I'm a communist not a socialist. Socialism is communism for liberals
Dictatorship idiot.
This is what happens when a country relies on one source of income instead of diversifying like the Saudis
no... no
i am still living here, venezuela, and i cant believe people AFTER watching this say this ISN'T SOCIALISMMMM WTFFFF i am so done, if you TRULY hate capitalism, come and live here, there is not a single drop of that thing here. I am so disappointed, its so so easy to talk when you are living in democracy
"Feed them first, and _then_ demand virtue of them!" - Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
this is your brain on communism
lol, they are not a communist country... socialism and communism are two completely different beasts.
THIS IS YOUR BRAIN ON PROPAGANDA
ANY QUESTIONS?
Nice joke. Too cute
the venezuelan economy is 70% private, which is more than the US'
I'm so glad I live in New Zealand, so peaceful compared to the rest of this crazy world, I'm also glad my country is surrounded by the vast ocean.
Never before have I actually wanted rioters to win a battle with police like I did with Venezuela
yo estuve alli y mataron a un compañero de universidad despues de graduarse RIP MIGUEL CASTILLO
World: "Yo there's some shit going down in Venezuela"
US: "yeah ok cool story"
World: "It's a shame...all that oil going to---"
US: "DID YOU SAY OIL!!"
World: "yeah but----"
US: "SAY NO MORE ON OUR WAY!!!"
World: "oh boy...here we go again"
1:55 This is the Vice I know and love, having one of your founders so in the field that they get tear gassed in the face and have to recover after running with a mob. 15/10
I left Venezuela when I was 6 and looking at this is making me cry and how my older brother got shot protesting, lived and this is horrible.
I was 6 when I left too :(( makes me so sad to see this
why didnt you post this shit last year? doesnt make sense. keep up with the times its not 2017 its 2018
KRZY !KZ would you rather they rush through their coverage or give a comprehensive look into the issue
Propaganda works every year and you have to keep repeating the lies to ensure indoctrination ....
Ummm... they did release this last year, this is a recap with new information...
Because this content was originally for HBO subscribers. They always post this higher quality content to everyone after one year. Yeah I hate it too, but it's not hard to find these newly released episodes on the internet without paying. In fact, their new season should start very soon.
REPEAT THE BIG LIE
JUST LIKE NAZI PROPAGANDA MINISTER DID
Some MIT grad needs to come up with a homemade remedy to disable the water truck.
emp
Maybe a high rpm fidget spinner...
Raincoats.
Reinforced Umbrellas lol
The Chicago boys.
This is what happens when a bus driver takes on the power in the government...
To think that there are far left Americans who argue and even support the Maduro presidency/Chavez regime.
Venezuelan's need to get their hands on firearms to battle this dictator socialist communist government.....
Every country needs a 2nd amendment
@@wolfy1987 exactly.
3:58 i love the way he said no offense to dogs.
Haha "no offense to dogs"
This is the VICE I miss, real news.
Videos like this make me greatful for everyday i wake up to be living in the United States.
imperialist 1st world vs colonized exploited 3rd world
Lol you just wait….in 5-10 years America is gonna look like this, and if you think I’m exaggerating you obviously haven’t been paying attention to the discontent and anger that’s been building in the United States for years. Just like the fuse of a bomb, one day it’s all gonna go off, you just wait…..
It won’t be long and we’ll be a version of this
This is journalism at its best ...vice news has offered a rare insight about conflicts which otherwise are unknown to world ..
I pray that once these people get their country back they will reject socialism.
This is still going on one year after this video came out. God be with the citizens of Venezuela.
This is still going on five years after this video came out...
For once VICE's obvious bias isn't showing through their news coverage. This was very eye opening and seemed to be accurate. Thanks VICE!
It's eye-opening, but it's an incredibly one-sided and very biased video. I agree with the agenda put across in getting rid of Maduro and returning democracy - but it doesn't mean the video isn't one-sided or blatantly biased.
Gareth Ford-Elliott so what exactly is the "other side" of this situation in your opinion? I doubt you wanna hear the politicians side that is already everywhere and is quit ovviously bs
like I said, I completely agree with the video. but that doesn't stop this video being biased and one-sided. so saying that this video isn't biased is wrong. but i don't think the video is wrong. just saying it's not biased is wrong
Gareth Ford-Elliott I don't believe I said it's not one sided. I referred to VICE's particular liberal/socialist biases that show in their reporting constantly.
dtz1586 so to counteract your bias, you show only the one side you don't support? If Vice started only making conservative biased content, will that make them bias-free? All news are biased at this point. No one should be expecting the impossible, which is unbiased news.
He’s way too chill for being in the middle of a revolution.
13:52 I love this man he replied with laughing crying emojis
As a Venezuelan myself I have to say that it is unbearable for a human being to live in these situations , also they now introduced a system where they give you boxes of food that you pay for but the government decides what to put in them ,usually rotten foods which make people sick.
Bus drivers totally has a political background and qualifications to be an economic leader
Great Vice reporting, getting in the middle of it and following up, that's what I subbed for.
5 communist don’t like this video
I GUESS YOU COULD ADD ME AS WELL
America isn't too far from this now...
Vice be like “if only socialism were done right” lmfao
Hampdood because this isn't real socialism. This is capitalism disguised as socialism.
hmmm... which part? the part where he nationalized all almost all of Venezuelans industries?
isnt socialism, is only corruption a good amount of corruption
Hampdood lol keep drinking the kool-aid
enjoying all the trappings of capitalism , all the best in your oppressed "utopia"
But yet you support Bernie Sanders and his policies, the same policies Venezuela enforces that Sean Penn and Bernie Sanders support.
I hope these people stand there ground I know I would if the u.s gov tried to rewrite the constitution. May God be with you all freedom fighters.
The difference would be the American people are armed to the teeth. Itll be a war.
I would like to use about 20 seconds on this footage on a promotional video for our Peace Studies department, as we did a 'crisis simulation' on this topic a couple of months ago, Whom should I contact for permission?
13:53 "Hey shows us death threats he gets" this boy be sending crying emojis back, damn
The Venezuelan people need to continue the fight! I hope to see the day that this dictator is eventually locked up.
In this comment section:
"socialism is when the government does stuff and the more stuff it does the socialister it is"
"when venezuela fails it due to socialism but when france or sweden succeeds its due to welfare state and capitalism"
"oh but ur saying its not REAL gommunism also it killed 100 bazillion people"
If you want to write something you actually know something about, watch this first:
th-cam.com/video/le86H7Xfjrc/w-d-xo.html
Socialism only works if you dont have corruption and a stable/mixed market. Corruption in socialism compared to corruption in capitalism is more dangerous since everything is more intertwined. Chavez and Maduro's corruption devastated the economy that was overwhelming held up by one product oil. Socialism works in small formats in homogeneous groups but tends to be unstable on large scale. I watched the video you presented I agree on some points but I'm curious where he got his facts from. From my research the private sector is a lot more smaller since Maduro's rule contrary to the percentages presented by your video. Hope people in Venezuela find peace regardless.
Social-democracy is different from just socialism and about capitalism, despite all the flaws, just look at east Asian countries.
Imagine some people still think this isnt socialism in effect...
If any person in the world is going hungry humanity is fkn up.
Eliminate all borders and care for one another. ✊✌️
Eliminated the border(s) would cause more war. And violence is human nature
Explain to me how eliminating borders would cause more war.
@@elementel2699 people will still be fighting over territory
@@darkchylde7532 So how would eliminating borders cause more war?
@@elementel2699 I just answered. People would be fighting over territories.
What Venezuela needs is less US sanctions.
Corruption in Venezuela? And America has none?
Ever heard of Corporate Lobbying (Political Bribes)?
Why doesn’t another country just take over at this point
not that easy dude
Its illegal under international law if im understanding correctly what u mean.
The Koch brothers want to take it over.
this is how civil war begins
Did this Maduro play the part of El Chapo in the Netflix series?
saudi arabia is doing what Venezuela failed to do, preparing itself for an after oil world
Is good too see venezuelan work as a team. No gangs just venezuelan people working together. 👍
Señores de VICE News, en el minuto 12 con 58 y 59 segundos muestran es La Plaza de Bolivar en Bogotá, en su contexto no corresponde a un lugar en Venezuela. Thanks for giving us an excellent information. You have a great job for the people in all countries.
State control of corporations, state control of private property, state control of production and services, it always ends the same way.
Vice is very good at this kind of documentaries.
Socialism hasn't done this. There are countless capitalist countries suffering the exact same fate. This is not due to policy, it's to do with dictatorship, over-reliance on oil and mistreatment and exploitation from the West.
Gareth Ford-Elliott care to name any?...... lol socialism always ends in mass starvation and genocide and capitalism ends in a hard days work and cold beer
Isn't their over reliance on oil and corruption tied to it sort of a direct result of Socialism? Too much power in too few's hands.
Matt cash420 all countries plagued by corruption of their own government. Also funny you mention South Africa that is in the process of farm land appropriation. How very capitalist.
Yeah and the UK has the NHS which is a Socialist concept (which is loved and cherished by the vast majority in the UK). No nation on Earth is completely socialist. Venezuela had a few Socialist policies and was more socialist than other countries but ultimately they were still a capitalist state. pure socialism is impossible to practice in a world that is capitalist. you would have to shut yourself off from outside trade in today's world. South Africa is a capitalist country. Even the USA has socialist policies.
Corruption is what ruins countries, not political ideology. Capitalism, Communism and Socialism have never failed. Corruption has always been prevalent in all of them. The truth is, no system works best. There are aspects of all that work and the most successful economies and nations of all time have all been social-democratic ones (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland). Of course issues are still there because no system is perfect and politicians, like all humans, make mistakes.
The point is, Maduro fucked Venezuela. Not Socialism.
The least corrupt nations in the world are Socialist, so no corruption doesn't follow Socialism. Denmark and Norway rely a lot on oil - but they are transforming their economies to not become reliant through smart, socialist policies. It's not an issue with the ideology it's an issue with politicians being too greedy and voters being too dumb.
Great coverage!
How do you lose your shoes Sharoosh! Come on bruh bruh, take them socks off like the locals and use it for a makeshift gas mask! Lol 😷
Is nobody going to talk about how that politician responded to those death threats with crying emojis lol
13:49 gets death threat replys with laughing emojis
😂😂😂😂
Here's why you dont let the government take your guns while simultaneously building a militarized police force.
Socialism looks awesome
Europe is doing very well.
Tiziano L. They’re not socialist, they have a free market system. Look it up
MADURO A BUS DRIVER ???? RETURN TO YOUR BUSES MADURITO . YOUR ARE IN THE WRONG PLACE IN THE WRONG TIME . YOU SHOULD BE IN A BUS DEPOT !!!!. -
Bro I wanna go over there in fallout power armor to help them
Yeah Money Official if you're from America or Europe stay where you are, it's coming to you too so you'll be able to help right where you are
Poor Americans they need help try getting fishing rods and seeds you can cultivate good food my family lives from fishing and what we get from the ground that we work with our hands
lmao came here just to read the comments and not watch the vid
South America : * i think we should go claim Venezuela like what we did at Irap *
North America : * Wait for a couple more year *
Beards don’t really work well with gas masks.
Rebels in South American country exist.
US: would you like some Weapons.
10:59 DAAAAAAAAAAAAANM
The host doing the interview looked like he was gonna fall asleep hard lmao
I bet they wish they had the right to bear arms.
What so there would be more killing!
fuckfannyfiddlefart so the mistreated people can fight back
A well designed military against random people with guns... It’s best they didn’t have guns or it would be pure genocide.
Manny Tran its called a revolution..... it has happened thousands of times in human history. Also when its the whole country against a dictator it becomes a war of Attrition and the side with less people loses. If the people were armed they wouldn't be forced to produce or work and the outside world will not intervene so Maduro would be held hostage in his own country.
Like it was in Ukraine....Oh wait.
Yup that's what happens when you give away your freedoms
If there is one solace in life, it is that socialist always get what they deserve.
Let's see how the century plays out.
CHILE 1973 WORKER STRIKE STOP THE ECONOMY DEAD HIGH INFLATION
ALL BROUGHT BY THE CIA
ALL DENIED USA WAS INVOLVED DECADES LATER WE SEE "OPERATION CONDOR"
VENEZUELA 2013-2018 DOLAR TODAY MANIPULATED INFLATION AND STOP THE ECONOMY DEAD AND BLAMED MADURO
G. Enzian like china surpassing us in every possible way and becaming a superpower while our contrie is submerged into a shithole of protecionism and isolation from our former allies ? ??
China is no longer Communist, and is only socialist in that the government controls everything, they aren't interested in serving the people, just controlling them, but they are smart and know how to plan
My fellow Americans, let this be a lesson. Socialism does not work and lets not disarm ourselves. I bet if the people of Venezuela were as armed as us they would not be in this shitty position that's getting worse.
Thank you, if this was the case, the 2013-2014 protest would have taken Maduro out, the main problem was the shock groups pro government (colectivos) that were armed and stopped the opposition
When 70% of your economy is in the private sector but "soshulizm"
Where do you have that ?
He sounds like Bob from Bob's Burgers lol
This is what happens when socialism is allowed to run rampant.
Yeti Slinger capitalism*
Kapt Mao this dude
I don’t promote violence, but go protestors!
Gasmask is useless with that beard right?
As a general rule for biochemical agents, yes, tear gas might be manageable.
It’s crazy how with what is going on now in Venezuela now it’s like everyone forgot this
Sip bro,main bro
why is vice re-uploading this again?
This world needs prayer. .."Yeshua / Jesus is the way "
Saudi Arabia is fully dependent on oil as well but is rolling in it . Truth is not being shown here
That's what happens when countries don't have our USA second amendment. Guns to fight evil government. Instead of throwing rocks and running from their country. Stay and fight for the vulnerable.
What a joke. Guns without ammunition and people without food can't resist their government violently or otherwise. This has been proven so man times historically that only the profound ignorance of some segments of the US society can lead them to think they can 'fight' their government with physical means.
As you noticed in this video parts of the military defected. If they ever did something similar in the US the same would happen. A lot of people take their pledges seriously. For current examples see police officers not enforcing unjust laws.
Pieter why would the guns not have ammunition? I don't know why you talk of history while refusing to believe that civil wars have happened all around the world.
Civil wars that goes the way of the rebels are almost exclusively massively backed by some foreign super power; who would have the power or the intestinal fortitude to back American insurgents? Do you know how much ammunition you need to properly suppress movement?
People simply watch too many ( red dawn seems to be a cult classic ) films and think you kill a dozen people with a magazine's worth where the reality is that you are supremely unlike to even hit anything. We wont even start talking about anti armor weapons or what will be done against helicopter gunships and( god forbid) aircraft.
In order for the government to use the bigger weapons, they need targets for them. It's hard to use bombs and tanks on an enemy that doesn't wear a uniform without killing innocent people. When you are killing the families of your military, I would imagine they won't want to stay on your side, and they will take your equipment when they leave. It happened in this video.
13:54 his response is an absolute madlad move
What a boss
This is what happens when citizens can't have guns....
Retarded statement
Freddie Saint Delacree He's right you know, and armed uprising will do a whole lot.
If the citizens had guns there would not be protest, but a civil war that would collapse the country completely. Look at el salvadore in the past and some of the afican countries if you want to see how beautifull your praised "civilian uprisings" really are.
yes i'm sure a few fat militia men in the US could put up a fight against the biggest and most technologically advanced military the world has ever seen
jsbart96 lol @ 2nd amendment 1791, cricket gun era.... yeah, this day is 2018, advanced tech bla bla bla government.
owning guns does inflate their ego...
Incredibly well put together and filmed documentary Vice - I learnt a lot from watching, thank you! One question though, in the film it said during the 1970's the countries wealth was funneled into the countries elite, and I just did some research and found President Perez, nationalised the oil industry in 1976 (I'm guessing as a result of this social inequality)... so why was there a need for the Chavez revolution? If this nationalisation hadn't worked why did people think bringing in more nationalisation under Chavez would and if it did work, why a revolution in the first place?
Hi JMakes, that's a good question.
1976 nationalization had a short term (5 - 7 years) unprecedented economic growth that still lives in Venezuelans minds, but a long term crisis that is not pinpointed to that nationalization, and other bad decisions. So, the revolution Chavez initiated was about leaving behind the unpopular FMI economics recommendations (1989) and bringing back those years after a nationalization.
For many Venezuelans the nationalization on 1976 is where all economics mishaps started. This nationalization brought incredible amounts of new income to Venezuela, but also more debt (and Perez was a socialist also, he would hire elevator button pressers on government buildings just to say we had no unemployment), by 1983 spending was already unbearable and the economy crumbled, Venezuelan currency lost its value and the governments for the next years never stopped it, it was a slow and "controlled" downward spiral. This led Perez to a second term in 1988 - people were hoping for the same economic growth experienced after the 1976 nationalization- but by that time there was incredible debt and no new income, so Perez when the other route, asking FMI for money and compromising to a series of - on my opinion correct - but very unpopular "neoliberal" economic policies (one of the most controversial, was rising the gas price for Venezuelans) that led to riots and more political crisis. This is when Chavez enters into the political panorama, with a message against FMI "neoliberal" economics policies and the need of more nationalization.
Chavez kind of repeated all that, when Chavez took power oil prices were under 20$ a barrel, and shortly after they rose to over a 100$ a barrel, and that lasted for several years, so his economics mishaps and corruption would past under the table as oil money could cover all. Now spending is higher than ever before, oil industry is crippled and there is no timeframe on when oil prices will be up again, (and now not even a 200$ a barrel would be enough to revive the economy).
VIce has seriously lowered its reporting quality, i miss the old days
got to love when the camera is on the host, he looks just like grumpy cat!!!!!