In another country far away,

artappraiser — Tue, 14 May 2019 05:03:23 +0000

In reply to How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry

In another country far away, another story of the unfortunate "progression" of progressive politics turning towards kleptocracy?

A Warning for the A.N.C. in South Africa

The narrow margin of victory for the governing party showed that voters are sick of stagnation and corruption.

By the Editorial Board @ NYTimes.com,

Cyril Ramaphosa, who retained South Africa's presidency in national elections last week, faces a serious quandary. His party, the African National Congress — the party of Nelson Mandela, which has governed the country since the end of apartheid — has become profoundly corrupt, as any party would after 25 years of unchallenged power. Yet because of that same corruption, voters denied Mr. Ramaphosa the strong mandate he may need to cleanse the party and put South Africa back on track.

In his victory speech, Mr. Ramaphosa pledged to end corruption“whether some people like it or not.” Whether he can is the big question hanging over South Africa after the election. That he must try is not in question, nor is that at this stage he is the only leader who stands a chance of routing the deeply entrenched kleptocrats in the A.N.C.

The election results were the worst for the A.N.C. since it came to power in the heady days of 1994, flush from its victory over white minority rule [....]

Wikipedia has quite a laundry list: Corruption in South Africa

The real reason Venezuela’s

artappraiser — Mon, 13 May 2019 09:34:53 +0000

In reply to How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry

The real reason Venezuela’s Maduro survives: Dirty money

Op-ed with video by Jackson Diehl, Deputy Editorial Page Editor @ WashingtonPost.com, May 12

When asked to explain why their efforts to oust Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have fallen short, Trump administration officials typically cite the sinister influence of Cuba and Russia, which they say has stiffened the regime’s resistance. What they don’t speak about so much is a possibly more important factor: the Cartel of the Suns .

[....] and that includes some of the most senior officials in the Maduro regime. These men are not clinging to power because they are true believers in socialism, or because of their fealty to Vladimir Putin and Raúl Castro. They hang on because, in spite of Venezuela’s economic implosion, they are still reaping millions — and they are likely to find themselves imprisoned in Venezuela or the United States if they walk away.

Cocaine trafficking is just one of a host of criminal activities in which the elite of Hugo Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution” are immersed. There is also illicit gold and iron mining; fraudulent oil sales; rake-offs from food and medicine imports; and corrupt currency trading.Maduro and everyone near him, including his wife, his No. 2, and the ministers of interior and industry, are up to their necks in it.

Though both the Trump administration and Maduro’s far-left foreign defenders prefer to describe the Venezuelan crisis in political terms, the reality is that the regime is less a government — much less a socialist one — than a criminal gang. That has two consequences that are complicating its removal. First, the money it is reaping from criminal activity is serving as a prop that allows it to survive U.S. sanctions.

Perhaps more importantly, the toxic taint on almost every top official makes it much harder to pursue the usual formulas for a peaceful transition, including the creation of a transitional government and amnesty for those who step down [....]

dagblog - Comments for "How a Chinese venture in Venezuela made millions while locals grew hungry"

In another country far away,

The real reason Venezuela’s