Venezuela 1st-Qtr GDP Grows 7.9% on Jump in Spending (Update3)

Yep, they are just destroying their economy with all this
socialist ideological stuff. When, ohhh when, will they come to
their senses? (giggle)

May 24 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela's economy grew for a sixth straight quarter in the January-March period as manufacturers such as automakers Toyota Corp. and General Motors Corp. benefited from a surge in consumer demand.

Gross domestic product, the broadest measure of a country's production of goods and services, expanded 7.9 percent in the first quarter from the year-earlier period after growing 12.1 percent in the fourth quarter, a central bank report showed.

Consumer demand has soared as President Hugo Chavez has taken advantage of a jump in international oil prices to boost government spending by almost 40 percent this year. Demand for cars in Venezuela, the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter, has overwhelmed Toyota, leading to waiting lists of as much as three months for some models.

``The market is explosive right now,'' Enrique Pinochet, Toyota's director of sales and marketing in Venezuela, said in a telephone interview. He forecasts sales will rise 62 percent this year to 40,000 units, which would be Toyota's highest annual sales figure since it arrived in the South American country in 1957.

Bloomberg

Brazil's exports grow more than ever -- EVEN WHILE THE REAL RISES LIKE MAD AGAINST THE DOLLAR! :woohoo:

Chavez is a retard that needs to get his act together, I mean seriously, come on, giving food/housing/healthcare to the poor. Education for everybody?? How does he honestly expect that to last? :sarcasm:

It's important for the Bolivarian state to implement a real industrial development program, mainly guided by collective and state enterprise. They need a "development core" led by the state to head off the future blocade attempts of a certain unfriendly northern bully. Social programs are good, but industrialization is better.

As Venezuelans become increasingly well-off under programs initiated by Chavez's quasi-socialist leadership, they will also become increasingly self-interested, anti-tax, and pro-capitalist. In 10 years, some South American variant of Ronald Raygun will take over to the great pleasure of the USian capitalists and lead the popular destruction of all the supporting social programs, regulatory agencies, and infrastructure improvements Venezuelans have built during their deprecated "Bolivarian revolution".

Then, in 20 years, Venezuelans will be back where they started 10 years ago.

Of course, this assumes Venezuelans are as stupid as USians.

Venezuelans know very well most of the corporate news networks in the country are anti-Chavez, and the government has had to create a neutral news network called Telesur to counter the corporatist propaganda. Think of Telesur as Venezuela's version of the BBC, a government corporation subsidized by taxpayer dollars but independent of central authority.

But but we use Supply side economics and we are the greatest on earth right???? Hmmmm supply side economics huge deficit and debt..Demand side economics and great economic growth..America had the greatest economic expansion in it's history with demand side economics under Bill Clinton. America suffered the greatyest economic turn around with supply side economics under Bush*. And by Gawd we likes it that aways cause he is a good ol' boy...

Osama was seen behind a Bush in Caracas!