I don't think he actually believes that his changes will bring prosperity, he's just trying to minimize impact of devaluation on the poor. Also, there's an easy solution to curbing the black market dollar exchange - just lift the unnecessary regulations that cause the black market to flourish in the first place. This would of course mean that Chavez's grip would be shaken, so it's a no-go, of course. I'm pretty interested how it will eventually turn out, all this nationalization and economic stupidity has to backfire sometime (I hope).

Sounds great.

Are there still institutions that have nothing to do with Chavez? You should let him know so he can undermine them.

Average inflation 1990s - 44%
Average inflation 2000s - 21%

Average growth rate per year 1990s - 2.5%
Average growth rate per year 2000s - 4.0%

Chavez was first voted into office in 1999.

Ummm ... ok. He's almost to dictator status, so I have a hard time differentiating the two. My bad.

I am aware of the miserable history of the Venezuelan economy. It's full of really dumb decisions like this one, attempts to deny economic reality. There's a reason the black market rate is 6-to-1 and even the devalued rate is 4-to-1 (versus dollars). And threatening to seize businesses if they raise prices? What're they supposed to do, starve? Obviously, the answer is yes.

Well stop with the dictator charge then you might see what is really going on. The multinational corporations propagandize just as much as Chavez does.

Actually he is trying to protect the poor from starving by instituting price controls. The government is subsidizing the companies that sell foreign food by having a lower currency exchange than the "non-essential" rate. So his only recourse is to threat nationalization.

The devaluation is much needed in Venezuela. It would probably be better if they let the Bolivar float though. But I never said Chavez and Venezuela (look at their history) are brilliant at economics. I said Chavez on average was better than what came before him.

This article is crap revisionism (see my post above about inflation and gdp) but it has some interesting facts in there.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=ap5NmuuE4Bn0

Hahha yea, he's a real champion of the poor. Thank god for Chavez, the quality of life is tops down there. He IS a dictator, I'm not sure who you think has power down there, but it's him. He's a mean spirited man who won't ever let go of his power. I don't usually agree with Malor on economic issues, but he's right. Chavez is on the express train to Mugabe town.

I don't know about Maverick, but this being true does not at all imply (for me) that multinational corporations are somehow innocent or without blame for the situation. There's been plenty of ridiculous stuff going on in Venezuela for decades, and there's loads of room for more than one villain. But screwing with the money supply is a purely government thing now that Chavez has his thumb on the banks, and it'll do more economic damage than even the biggest, greediest corporations - who do, after all, contribute at least some productivity and growth. And note that it's not the adjustment that's the problem - it's the reason the adjustment was made, and the failure to accept the real exchange rate (black market minus illegality markup) that is the problem. He's been printing money, which is stupid, but he's also trying to block the results of that printing, which is beyond stupid. Price controls don't make things cheaper for poor people, they simply cause shortages. If something isn't economically practical, guess what? It tends not to happen.

Actually it was Perez in the 1990s that was on the Mugabe train. See my post above about inflation. But he was backed by the USA and multinational interests. As you can see in my posts above Chavez has been better. The poverty rate has gone down.

So I posted the facts, and propaganda still peruses your posts and others from the first post down. Venezuela will not implode because of this devaluation. It is just one of many that Venezuela has had to deal with in the past 30 years.

Poverty and crime was and has been rampant pre and post Chavez. Don't delude yourself on that for propaganda points.

Imagine - Even after 10 years of dictatorship/communism stores are still not owned by the government.

Chile 14,000
Argentina 12,500
Venezuela 12,300
Uruguay 10,700
Brazil 9,400
Suriname 8,200
Colombia 8,200
Peru 7,300
Ecuador 7,100
Bolivia 4,200
Paraguay 3,900
Guyana 3,600

GDP per capita

Real Capitalists know these facts and don't let propaganda get in the way. There are opportunities abound in South America.

The money printing causes the devaluation, which reduces living standards and f*cks up the economy. The price controls will cause the implosion.

Remember what I'm telling you, goman. Your economic prescriptions are getting a full-on test. Print money for everything you need. Let's see how it works out for Venezuela.

What exactly is a Real Capitalist?

We've got a Venezuelan on the boards, you know. Anyone want to get Feeank's take on all this? I know he's not pleased with the state of gaming in Venezuela.

Apparently someone who wants to print money, then blow it on risky ventures. And why not? He can always print more!!!