An excerpt from today’s Tal Cual Editorial (by subscription only)on why Chavez has been unable to distribute better income and Table from the inside of the same paper:
“If one takes into account that in the year 2002 and so far in 2003 both inflation and unemployment increased significantly, we can infer that up to today, the distribution of income has become more negative towards workers. At the close of 2001, the percentage of unemployed Venezuelans reached 13% of the active population. At the close of 2002 the number was over 16% and at this moment it is at 18%. On the other hand, inflation in 2001 closed at 12.3% and jumped to 31.2% in 2002 and in the first seven months of this year it is already at 17.4%, with which one may Project to the end of the year a number somewhat higher than that of 2002. (All official numbers from the INE 8National Institute for Statistics and the BCV, the Venezuelan Central Bank.). In other words, the increase in unemployment and the CPI of the last year can only translate in an even more regressive distribution of income for labor sectors
This is the real and dramatic balance of the four and half years of the Chavista Government. But there is another aspect. Our esteemed charlatan goes around the world proposing referenda about the external debt, repeating the usual clichés about the “external debt”, but here at home, in only tour years he has increased public debt by more than US$10 billion. And he ahs just requested authorization to borrow US$ 3 billion from international banks.
Thus a debt that Chavez received in US$24 billion (between external and internal), he has taken it to more than US$34 billion.
What does this mean in practical terms?
From the national budget increasing percentages will be used to pay the debt, taking them out of educational and health expenses. The future an immediate generations will pay the broken dishes of a coarse administration, which has done nothing but repeat the trends that I, the Supreme condemned in the past and which he still refers to (abroad) as if his won administration had not been a magnified and worse repetition that those carried out by his predecessors.
How crummy has this “revolution” turned out!”
The above table shows some important macroeconomic numbers and how they have evolved during Chavez’ Presidency. From top to bottom: Price of a barrel of oil, GDP change,inflation, unemployment, imports, exports, exchange rate and foreign investment. The only missing parameter is debt, as the Tal Cual Editorial points out, total debt has increased from US$ 24 billion to US$ 34 billion despite oil income that has been by far, the highest in the country’s history. Macroeconomic numbers never tell the whole story, but if they don’t improve, it is impossible to the people’s lot to do.
The Devil's Excrement 
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