Nelson Bocaranda reports in today El Universal that the nomme de plume Simón Andrés Zuñiga, frequently present in aporrea pontificating about economic matters corresponds to none other than Minister of Planning and former Minister of all things financial Jorge Giordani, citing as the source former Minister of Planning Felipe Perez.
I had read Zuñiga frequently, but if true his writings gain an added value because Zuñiga claims to be an economist. But Zuñiga frequently shows weak points on economic matters, citing isolated cases, like Argentina’s Caja de Conversión but ignoring other experiences on the matter. (Hong Kong anyone? Or Venezuela pre-1970?). In fact, he cites Ecuador as another example, suggesting that Correa can not remove the dollarization he inherited because of its political cost. In fact, Zuñiga’s arguments are dense on ideology and short on content.
Because it takes a very ideological point of view to suggest dollarization, or any sort of foreign exchange flexibility, would “bad” for the workers, given that Chavista policies have generated 1000%-plus inflation over the last 14 years, truly hurting the working class, which managed periods of prosperity only when the Government had the foreign currency to keep the parallel rate down and whose purchasing power is currently decimated.
While the articles show an understanding of how the parallel market and why you need funds to lower it (At least better than Minister of Oil and Energy has), it seems to blame everything on conspiracies, as well as a deep belief that exchange controls have to be in place, despite the fact that economic history shows their recurrent failure. The main conspiracy: That players want to benefit form the bounty that Cadivi represents, but Zuñiga, whether Giordani or not, fails to note that it has been those near the revolution that have benefitted the most from it.
And that cyanide candy is not mentioned in the article.
The Devil's Excrement 
November 2, 2013 at 11:58 am
In case you didn’t know it, there’s a psychological war going on against Chavismo:
http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10118
These people are really nuts, you know?
November 3, 2013 at 7:04 am
Just hilarious!
Couldn’t they find a better picture of the woman?
She looks deranged.
October 31, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Fuck the Red Sox.
October 31, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Don’t anger the Devil. He wears red proudly today.
October 31, 2013 at 4:52 pm
Tsk, tsk… Such language. 🙂
(from a guy who routed for the Bearded Ones)
October 31, 2013 at 6:33 pm
I do, I do, very happy with win, managed to win in six which was indispensable for me, could not have watched game tonight. 🙂
October 31, 2013 at 6:33 pm
Ira, Miguel can put up with ANYTHING, but don’t touch the Red Sox! 🙂
October 31, 2013 at 6:37 pm
Red Sox are the irrational part of my life. Nothings entertains me like the Sox, few things makes me as happy as when they win, nothing makes me feel as miserable as when they lose.
October 31, 2013 at 6:56 pm
I know…that’s why I said that the Minister of Happiness (sounds like a Harry Potter character) did the trick..and in six games! You cannot get better than that!
November 1, 2013 at 2:02 pm
Yeah, but for years, I heard thousands of Sox fans say that they just wanted to see them win it all at least once before they died.
And they did, and the fans didn’t.
October 31, 2013 at 1:57 pm
OT. Concerning the last post, Miguel, the ministry of happiness had already something accomplished! 🙂
http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/eye-on-baseball/24163170/congratulations-2013-world-series-champion-boston-red-sox
October 31, 2013 at 9:51 am
These 15 years of Chavismo damaged the economy a lot worse that what people understand, Just take a look to the currency.
!n 1999, the year Chavez began ruling, one dollar was priced near 500 old Bolivares, ie 0, 50 new and current BsFuerte.
It was devalued 100 times the original value. Got it? 100 times!! The bolivar today just pay in US$ the 1% of a bolivar in 1999.
Let do the reverse math. A dollar today is priced 55.000 old bolivares (fifty five thousands) and in 1999 it was 500. This is 100 times the 1999 valuation.
The dumb guy that theoretically deposited 1000000 Bs (2000 dollars) , in 1999 in a Venezuelan bank, would have today, assuming a compounded high 18% yearly interest, would have today 12 milllions old bolivares or 12000 new bolvares, ie..220 dollars!!!! He lost 90% of the saved money in the bank.
October 31, 2013 at 11:32 am
Do not forget the fees Chavez implemented to take money from the bank. Also realize that the major Venezuelan banks are owned by Chavistas who can steal your money with impunity.
In 1986, I considered buying a condo in Caracas for $US40.000. Given the high inflation since then, I roughed out that the monthly mortgage payments in Bolivars from 1995 on would have been less than a coffee at Starbucks in the U.S.
October 31, 2013 at 7:32 am
OT:
Maduro sees the face of Chavez in an excavation site for the Metro:
http://www.noticierodigital.com/2013/10/maduro-dice-que-la-cara-de-chavez-aparecio-durante-una-excavacion-del-metro/
Just another logical step in the beatification of Chavez and more proof of Maduro’s mental instability.
October 31, 2013 at 9:05 am
Did they bury Chavez at Metro station? or is his corpse still at the military museum?
Maduro needs to divorce Chavez.
October 31, 2013 at 11:16 am
Coño vale… We are in halloween time !!!
October 31, 2013 at 6:36 am
“but Zuñiga, whether Giordani or not, fails to note that it has been those near the revolution that have benefitted the most from it.”
Before I knew he was Giordani, when Zuñiga said things like:
“Los sectores que manejan el poder económico, en los últimos 8 años, han logrado cambiar la correlación de fuerzas a su favor, y acorralaron al gobierno en febrero de este año, quien trató de salir del sitio de una forma estrepitosa: devaluando fuertemente”
I always thought that he was referring to Diosdado Cabello and the “derecha endógena”, whom he does not consider part of the real “RRRrevolution”.
October 30, 2013 at 11:24 pm
I haven’t read anything from Zuniga, only something about him yesterday morning, excerpts from rurunes in El Universal in which he was cited that he has criticized the Chavistas revolution for various reasons including “En primer lugar, la inflación es responsabilidad fundamental del Gobierno, no del sector privado”. Maybe I’m not reading it correctly? My Spanish is not great!
October 30, 2013 at 3:00 pm
the same way black markets emerge out of regulations, societies also find ways to break through regulations (gvmnt) however we seem to be completely obedient to their absurd rule.
October 30, 2013 at 5:36 am
In the article we can see clearly his thought process:
1.- The private actors (businesses) of the economy are “the enemy”.
2.- Exchange control is a way to take power from them
3.- The exchange control is the heart of the “chavista economic model”
4.- All the problems in the economy are attacks from the enemy
5.- The enemy is infiltrated everywhere: the BCV, the ministry of Finance, CADIVI, the government
6.- Everything is a conspiration against the chavista project
7.- It’s possible and necessary to control every process of the economy.
8.- To no do so would mean the end of chavismo
Someone with this mentality can never be convinced that he is wrong. Not by reasons and never by failures. Capitalist reasoning or logic would always have ulterior motifs and can never be trusted, it’s a ploy by the enemy to liquidate the socialist economy. Every failure only reinforces the view that the enemy is everywhere and must be subdued with more controls.
October 30, 2013 at 7:21 am
Exactly.
And has been mentioned many times every private business that needs to import has gone to the black market more than once due to the inability of the government to manage their resources.
They have now all broken the law & will be at the mercy of any decision of the government to prosecute them & close them.
November 2, 2013 at 6:27 am
good summary Amieres
November 4, 2013 at 9:07 am
Thank you
October 29, 2013 at 9:06 pm