Since this doesn't involve flightsuits with codpieces or stuff blowing up or governments getting overthrown the conservatives will probably be all upset. Especially the reich wing "foreign policy experts" who have caused so much pain and suffering throughout the world.

I don't call them Rotters for nothing. They can't help but hate a "state-led economy" and love--smooshy love--a predatory capitalist economy (our own).

Venezuela is having economic problems for one reason only: the price of oil has dropped. It's not reflected in my commute costs, or yours, cuz Exxon Mobil & brethren get their pockets stuffed no matter what--but it's true globally and that is bad news for Venezuela. The hallmark of Venezuela's leftist government has been the re-direction of the profits from Venezuela's huge oil reserves from the rich few and foreign corporations, such as Exxon Mobil, to the poor majority, in the form of free medical care, free college education, free computers to every schoolchild and much other educational development, to pensions, to support for many and varied social programs, including cutting extreme poverty by 70%, to local infrastructure, to a better agricultural system and more--all excellent investments for the profits from Venezuela's main resource. Venezuela IS DOING THE RIGHT THING, to benefit the people of Venezuela with Venezuela's oil. But they got overextended when the price of oil, over $100/barrel for much of the Chavez/Maduro administration, plunged to today's much lower levels.

One could fault this leftist government--and all previous governments--for not diversifying Venezuela's economy sufficiently to ride out such dips in the price of oil, and to plan for a future without oil. But that is much easier said than done. Venezuela has been an oil-dependent state for more than half a century. Before that, it was ranches. And the mostly rightwing or "centrist" governments prior to Chavez/Maduro did not help at all by funneling all the oil money to the rich, and utterly neglecting the poor majority in their own country, as well as their country's infrastructure.

The RESULT of a "state-run economy" in Venezuela has been HUGE gains for the poor majority. And the result here, of a predatory capitalist-run economy, has been HUGE LOSSES for the poor majority.

Rotters chooses the latter. That is their loyalty and worship--predatory capitalism. So a state that cares about the poor majority gets shafted this way, time and again, in alleged news articles.

By editorializing in this way, Rotters implies that Venezuela's economic problems are WHY Venezuela's leftist government wants better relations with the U.S. They FAIL TO MENTION the U.S.-sponsored attempted coup d'etat against Chavez in 2002, and on-going efforts of the CIA, the USAID, the U.S. State Department and other U.S. entities to topple the ELECTED Chavez/Maduro government since 2002 up to very recently. Could be why they want better relations, no? ('Stop coup d'etating us!') The leftists in Venezuela and Latin America want peace. Could be they want peace, and think maybe diplomatic relations would foster peace. Could be because the 70 year civil war in neighboring Colombia--stoked by over SEVEN BILLION U.S. TAX DOLLARS--is in a peace process, talks being held in Cuba. The Colombian military, and the Bush-chosen fascist, militaristic and crime-ridden prior government of Colombia, will be less of a threat to Venezuela, with peaceful resolution of that long, long civil war. Thus, better relations with the U.S. is possible now, and wasn't while that war was raging on their border and sending tens of thousands of Colombian refugees into Venezuela.

There are LOTS of reasons why Venezuela wants better relations with the U.S. Rotters mentions (or implies) only one, and that one is way off base. What they DON'T do is ASK the President of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro, or some other government official. They don't ask because they won't like the answer, which, in my view, is likely the coup d'etat attempts. They also don't ask because they--Rotters--want to topple the Chavez/Maduro government, on behalf of their corporate pals, so they don't want to show any respect for this ELECTED government.

Rotters SUCKS. They don't suck any worse than, oh, the Wall Street Urinal, or the New York Slimes. They all suck. They all have the same point of view. They all have the same contempt for the poor majority and worship of the uber rich and the uber powerful. And they all do the same kind of perverted so-called journalism like this Rotters sly, slimy hit piece posted by Yahoo.

the underlying problem is misguided currency laws that made it impossible for companies to obtain the dollars necessary to buy goods and materials in the global market. That in turn has led to shortages and hyperinflation. Compounding the problem is a decade of falling oil production as they diverted oil revenue from maintenance and infrastructure upgrades to social programs (not a bad thing in and of itself if done correctly but when 95% of government revenue comes from oil, it pays to ensure that the oil infrastructure is take care of.)

Their economy was collapsing well before oil prices started falling - this has been going on for at least three years. The collapse in oil prices is simply accelerating the collapse.

rich, subversive, oligarchic parasites.

Or not?

There is a budget line item every year for the last 5 years that specifically identifies funding to support groups who oppose the Venezuelan government.