Rubén Rivero Capriles : Venezuela

Establishing further ties between Africa and South America

Rubén — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:22:00 GMT

A long term goal could be to expand direct scheduled commercial airline and ocean freight service between South American and African countries through private investors willing to establish a true global infrastructure. Help from governments is certainly useful, but our political systems are generally prone to corruption and diverted resources.

In terms of tourism and emigration, South Americans like to travel to North America and Africans like to travel to Europe. In that sociological context, promoting direct trave between Africa and South America is quite tough at this time. We should continue establishing online bonds between our people, so that eventually our fresh intercontinental market becomes big enough for transportation companies to profitably establishing direct air and sea routes. We need more convenient transportation options to develop our intercontinental tourism industry.

The borders between contiguous African and South American countries are inherited from colonial times and they continue separating kindred from each other. These intracontinental rivalries do not seem on their way to being resolved any time soon. In the mean time, we should promote a very strong bilateral relationship between South Africa and Brazil. The next two Football World Cups as well as a future Olympiad will take place in either of these countries. Africans and South Americans from across our continents should take advantage of the global rise of Brazil and South Africa, because the smaller countries might also accelerate the integration between our various local cultures through the help of the big two.

The history of slavery is far from having been exhaustively studied. It is easier nowadays to construct a person's genealogy tree through sites such as geni, myheritage and even facebook. It would be interesting that a team of Nigerian, Benin, Togo and Ivory Coast researchers teamed up with Caribbean, Colombian, Venezuelan and Brazilian counterparts with the goal of finding out their common ancestors.

The petroleum and gas industries of Venezuela and Nigeria are facing tremendous production challenges due to internal conflicts arising from our local populations. Perhaps a stronger integration among the people of our countries could divert some interest out of nationalistic subsidies back into meritocracy. Our countries are potentially rich in developing alternative sources of energy, but the legal issue of private vs. state ownership of resources remains as a significant drawback to investment, research and development.

I have not studied any of these issues in depth and I am sure there are people out there who are much more qualified than me to propose a framework for establishing further ties between our continents. The main purpose of this essay is to promote a wake up call to other Africans and South Americans to further develop our direct interaction within the context of competitive globalization.

Rubén Rivero Capriles

Caracas, November 19, 2009

http://www.riverocooper.com

http://www.rroopstr.com

Open letter to the people of Saskatchewan

Rubén — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 21:44:00 GMT

This is an open letter to the people of Saskatchewan and anyone who has followed the rise of this beautiful, formerly forgotten Canadian province.

Although my business is based in Florida as I happen to hold a U.S. social security number which helped me incorporate it, I now live and work in my home country of Venezuela. The Venezuelan petroleum industry has produced over the whole span of the twentieth century a number of very qualified oil engineers and technicians, many of them are now looking for employment opportunities in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Several qualified Venezuelan petroleum experts actually turn to me in order that I recommend to them suitable people they may contact in the prairie provinces. Alberta in particular has recently benefitted from many Venezuelan immigrants who have lent their know-how to the benefit of the Alberta oil boom, and it seems that Saskatchewan is now becoming the hot spot to work in Canada. So you should not be surprised if, in the near future, you and your Saskatchewan kindred start noticing further international interest on what happens there, instead of the previous emphasis on the now unemployment-ridden Ontario and Québec.

When I studied the International Baccalaureate at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West in New Mexico, I became a very good friend of Sask-born Ian Chisholm (now Senior Partner at the Roy Group in Sydney, British Columbia). We had a contest on naming Canadian provinces and their capitals, and I happened to win that contest! In return, my English was really bad at the time so I had to endure a few misleading jokes because of it, but that is the way great friendships are born.

Saskatchewan and Canada's experience with the first nations is also a topic of interest for me as here in Venezuela we must also deal with issues of integration to mainstream culture against the loss of traditional values and ways of life from our native population.

I am under the impression that people in Saskatchewan are wary of this sudden international interest in their province. I sympathize with you in your strive for keeping your province free of mega urban atrocities, so my request to the people of Saskatchewan is that you manage to find a way to keep your provincial assets while welcoming a few good input that may selectively come from the outside world.

I do look forward to exchange more impressions with Saskatchewans during these times of social changes and challenges.

Rubén Rivero Capriles

Caracas, November 17, 2009

www.riverocooper.com

www.rroopstr.com

Ejemplos de escasez causada por el control de precios

Rubén — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:29:00 GMT

La teoría económica predice que si un gobierno impone un techo para el precio de venta de cualquier bien o servicio, por lo común debajo del precio de mercado que resultaría de la interacción competitiva entre proveedores y clientes, habrá escasez de bienes ya que menos vendedores estarán dispuestos a vender al precio menor, mientras que más compradores tratarán de comprar a dicho precio menor. La demanda excedentaria que no puede ser satisfecha por la oferta existente se contabiliza como la cantidad de escasez.

La Venezuela de hoy se ha convertido en un ejemplo para libros de texto de este axioma macroeconómico. Hace poco en el supermercado no fui capaz de encontrar azúcar ni huevos. Todavía queda algo de café en los anaqueles, pero factores exógenos tales como la falta de lluvias durante 2009 y el anormalmente elevado costo para el productor colombiano de granos de café, están exascerbando la alarma. Venezuela, que fue el principal exportador cafetalero durante el siglo XIX, prontó estará importando café para su consumo interno.

Existe una larga lista de artículos cuyo precio de venta es regulado por el gobierno, a menudo por debajo de los costos de insumos para el fabricante. Además del café, los huevos y el azúcar, la regulación dictamina un precio máximo de venta al público para la leche completa, leche en polvo, pollo, carne, arroz, cerdo, harinas de maíz y de trigo, papel higiénico y mucho más. La mayoría de los bienes anteriores han estado intermitentemente dentro o fuera de los anaqueles durante períodos extensos, y el gobierno ha tratado de solventar la situación por medio de operativos urgentes y esporádicos que consisten en importaciones administradas por el estado para ser vendidos con enormes pérdida para los contribuyentes y para la compañía pètrolera estatal. Estos bienes importados son a menudo de calidad inferior y hasta llegan dañados en ocasiones. Dichas importaciones a menudo son transportadas desde su país de origen por mar, en contenedores sin un apego estricto a los estándares y procedimientos internacionalmente establecidos para este tipo de embarques. Luego se venden al público en condiciones poco higiénicas en tiendas propiedad del estado. Los clientes allí deben hacer colas durante horas antes de ser atendidos.

Muchos establecimientos al detal han sido forzados a cerrar durante algunos días por tratar de vender bienes producidos nacionalmente por encima del precio regulado. Estos establecimientos al detal argumentan que si cumpliesen con la regulación se verían obligados a vender a pérdida. Muchas fábricas procesadoras de alimentos están a punto de ser nacionalizadas, bajo la acusación de acaparamiento, ya que se niegan a vender sus productos a los mayoristas por debajo del precio de costo. Ello ha conllevado en que muchos proveedores han suspendido la producción por completo y la han transferido a países vecinos. Por consiguiente la capacidad industrial venezolana se ha encogido por un alto porcentaje cuya estimación cuantitativa varía según diversas fuentes. Como la capacidad se ha reducido estructuralmente, el movimiento clásico en los libros de texto de la curva de oferta agregada para la economía venezolana continúa ocurriendo. Esto resulta en aún menores cantidades ofertadas a un precio mayor, asumiendo que la demanda agregada sea constante. Sin embargo, la demanda agregada de hecho se mueve a su vez hacia la derecha (pero quizás en menor magnitud que la del movimiento hacia la izquierda de la oferta agregada), debido a extensas pagos por transferencias gubernamentales y debido a la tasa natural de crecimiento de la población. El resultado final es una de las mayores tasas de inflación (aunque menor a la de Zimbabwe) durante el siglo XXI a nivel mundial.

Tal es el contexto con el que aquéllos que todavía creemos en el potencial de nuestro país debemos lidiar diariamente para crear y mejorar las condiciones para los negocios.

Caracas, 28 de julio de 2009

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. rroopstr

Examples of shortages caused by price controls

Rubén — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 18:23:00 GMT

Economic theory predicts that if a government imposes a ceiling for the sales price of any good or service, usually set below the market price that would result from the interaction of competing suppliers and demanders, there will be shortages of goods because less sellers will be willing to sell at the lower price, while more buyers will try to buy at that lower price. The excess demand not being met by existing supply can be counted as the shortage quantity.

Today's Venezuela has become a textbook example of this Microeconomics axiom. A while ago at the supermarket I was unable to find any sugar or eggs. There is still some coffee on the shelves, but exogenous factors such as the lack of sufficient rain during 2009 and the unseasonably high producer cost of Colombian coffee beans, are only accelerating the alarm. Venezuela, the world's leading coffee exporter during the 19th century, will soon be importing coffee for domestic consumption.

There is a long list of items whose sales price is regulated by the government, often below manufacturer's input costs. Besides coffee, eggs, and sugar, the regulation mandates a maximum sales price for raw milk, powder milk, chicken, meat, rice, pork, corn and wheat flour, toilet paper and several other items. Most of the aforementioned goods have been on and off the shelves for extended periods of time, and the government has tried to solve the situation through urgent, isolated one-time operatives consisting of state-managed imports to be sold at a huge loss for taxpayers and for the state oil company. These imported goods are often of lower quality and even rotten at times. Such imports are often carried by ocean on containers from their source country without strictly following the usual procedure standards internationally set for such transportation. They are sold to the public later on, in non-hygienic conditions at state-owned stores. Customers there must spend hours waiting in queues to be serviced.

Many retail stores have been forced to close for a few days for attempting to sell domestically-produced goods above the regulation price. These retail stores claim that if they comply with the regulations they would be forced to sell at a loss. Many food processing factories are on their way of becoming nationalized, on the accusation of hoarding, as they refuse to sell their products to wholesalers below their input costs. This has resulted in many suppliers closing down production altogether and transfering it to neighboring countries. As a result, Venezuela's industrial capacity has shrunk by a significant percentage whose quantitative estimation widely varies among various sources. As capacity becomes structurally reduced, the classic textbook leftward shift of the aggregate supply curve for the Venezuelan economy takes place. This results in even less quantity supplied at a higher price, assuming aggregate demand is fixed. However, aggregate demand actually shifts simultaneously to the right (but perhaps to a lesser extent than the aggregate supply curve's leftward shift) due to extensive government transfer payments and due to the natural population rate of increase. The end result is one of the world's highest rates of inflation (though not as much as Zimbabwe's) in the twenty-first century so far.

It is in this context that those of us who still believe in our country's potential must deal on a daily basis to create and improve business conditions.

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. rroopstr

La gasolina más barata del mundo 21julio09

Rubén — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 14:19:00 GMT

Cuesta menos de 2 centavos de dólar por litro, o menos de medio centavo de dólar de dólar por galón a la tasa de cambio paralela; o alrededor de 4 centavos de dólar por litro, o alrededor de 1 centavo de dólar por galón a la tasa de cambio oficial. Los precios de la gasolina expedida en Venezuela durante décadas se han mantenido indiscutiblemente como los más baratos a nivel mundial. Ningún otro país de la OPEP vende la gasolina tan irrisoriamente para el consumo interno. La tasa de inflación venezolana durante los últimos doce años se ha mantenido en dos cifras medias, pero el precio de la gasolina sigue fijado en el mismo valor nominal que tenía durante el gobierno de Rafael Caldera en los años 90. La gasolina en este país se vende casi de gratis, y este precio de venta ni siquiera compensa los costos fijos para operar una estación de servicio o gasolinera. Si consideramos que la cuota de mercado venezolana respecto a las ventas petroleras de la OPEP se ha desmoronado debido al estancamiento de los niveles de producción y los problemas financieros experimentados por PDVSA, la cual fue una vez la envidia de la industria petrolera, y que el número de automóviles que ruedan en las calles del país se ha incrementado conjuntamente con la población, es muy fácil cocluir que esta situación es insostenible.

En muchos de mis artículos anteriores he mantenido un tono con cierto exceso de optimismo. Pero no es éste el caso. No veo solución a este problema. Más bien lo veo emperorar mientras pasa el tiempo. En 1989, la primera vez que se tomó la decisión de incrementar significativamente los precios del petróleo, la población produjo disturbios y la crisis evolucionó hacia la revocación del mandato del entonces presidente Pérez en 1993 y hacia la elección de Chávez en 1998. El gobierno está consciente que si eleva los precios de la gasolina, nuevos disturbios iguales o peores pudieran ocurrir de nuevo. La oferta de estaciones de servicio o gasolineras ha disminuido ya que no es negocio operarlas. Nadie ha propuesto ningún procedimiento para aumentar los precios de la gasolina a un nivel realista. Simplemente pareciera que los precios actuales se mantendrán excesivamente subsidiados indefidamente o hasta que ocurra una enorme catástrofe. Cabe destacar que los automóviles son caros debido a los aranceles, las carreteras no presentan un adecuado mantenimiento, los repuestos son caros y difíciles de conseguir. Por ello el poco dinero que se ahorra surtiendo los vehículos con gasolina se gasta muchas veces más en otros productos y servicios automotrices, debido a este desajuste económico estructural crónico.

El hecho más preocupante es que no existen esfuerzos para educar a la población acerca de estas contradicciones, y los venezolanos sienten que es su derecho otorgado por Dios para seguir disfrutando de los precios de la gasolina más irrisorios por siempre. El país parece estar a merced de continuar con gasolina gratis o experimentar enormes disturbios por parte de la población durante los años venideros.

RROOPSTR Rivero & Cooper, Inc.

The cheapest gasoline in the world 21Jul09

Rubén — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 01:05:00 GMT

At about less than 2 US cents a liter, or about less than one half of a cent per gallon at the parallel market rate; or at about 4 US cents a liter, or about 1 penny a gallon at the official exchange rate, Venezuelan gasoline prices have for decades remained the cheapest in the world. No other OPEC country sells gasoline so cheaply to its domestic market. Venezuelan inflation rate in the last twelve years has consistently ranged within the mid 2 figures, but the gasoline prices are still set at the same rate they were during Rafael Caldera's government in the mid 1990s. Gasoline in this country is sold almost for free, and this sales price does not even compensate for the fixed cost of operating a gasoline station. If we consider that Venezuela's market share within all OPEC sales has plumetted due to a stagnant production and the financial problems experienced by PDVSA, which was once the envy of the petroleum industry, and that the amount of cars used in the country have increased along with the population, it is very easy to conclude that this situation is unsustainable.

In many of my previous articles I have held a somewhat overoptimistic tone. Not in this case at all. I see no solution to this problem, I actually see it getting worse over time. In 1989, the first time when there was a decision to significantly increase oil prices, the population rioted and the crisis evolved to the impeachment of then President Pérez in 1993 and to the election of Chávez in 1998. The government is scared that if the gasoline prices are increased, a similar or worse popular riot could occur again. The supply of gasoline stations has dwindled as it is not much of a business to operate one anymore. Nobody has proposed a procedure to lift the gasoline prices to a realistic level. It just seems that the current prices will be maintained indefinitely or until some sort of major catastrophe gets into scene. It is interesting to note that cars are expensive because of tariffs, roads are not well maintained, spare parts are expensive and difficult to find, so that the little amount of money that is saved in gasoline prices is spent several times more in other car related products and services due to this chronic structural economic imbalance.

The most worrisome fact is that there are no attempts to educate the population on these contradictions, and Venezuelans feel it is their god given right to continue enjoying their cheapest gasoline price forever. The country seems at a ransom of either free gasoline or major population upheavals for many years to come.

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. RROOPSTR

On Foreign Minister Maduro's reaction to Hillary's Globovisión interview

Rubén — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 20:14:00 GMT

Dear Minister of the Popular Power for Foreign Relations of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro:

I would like first of all to thank you for having favorably received, toward the end of last year, my opinions regarding the restablishment of diplomatic relations with the United States of America, as also did the team of the then President elect of that country, Barack Obama. On behalf of many Venezuelans and of many U.S. citizens of both Hispanic and Anglo descent, I sincerely value your efforts to improve the relationship between both governments.

In the United States there has certainly been a misunderstanding not only about the Venezuelan reality, but also about the reality in the rest of the planet until quite recently. The acceleration of globalization during the last two decades; however, has already started reversing their unawareness for all things foreign. Every time more U.S. citizens learn languages such as Spanish or Chinese and submit their passport applications in order to travel to foreign countries. The most recent example of this learning process can actually be seen on the Globovisión news network interview to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who documented herself before the interview, learn the exact date of our independence and congratulated us for our most important national holiday at the beginning of her interview. I consider this detail as friendly toward our country.

The U.S. Secretary of State explicitly acknowledges the right that Venezuela and other countries have to maintain relations with other nations, particularly with Iran and Cuba. What she clarifies is that there are issues on Venezuelan foreign policy that the United States do not agree with. Similarly, the Venezuelan government emits opinions against or in favor of specific actions regarding U.S. foreign policy. Both nations sovereignly have spaces to emit either their support or opposition toward a number of issues in foreign policy. Furthermore, in the United States they could argue that in Venezuela continues the generations old practice of discrediting anything that may come from the United States democracy.

I agree with all of you that is is quite difficult to believe in the sincerity of the intentions to restore any bilateral relationship as so many previous misunderstandings persist. However, as the legitimate diplomats representing all Venezuelans, including those who openly sympathize with the U.S. institutions and economic and technological achievements, and also those who amply question them, you at the Ministry of the Popular Power for the External Relations of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela have the duty of not being afraid to the negotiations that you are undertaking with the U.S. authorities. You have the duty to clarify which kinds of future signals from the United States would not be qualified as awkward and aggressive towards Venezuela, Latin America and the Caribbean.

We maintain the hope that once more frequent clarifications and amendments are proactively established among both parties, we will approach the common objective that you seek: “for the good of the relationship bewteen the government of the United States and the Bolivarian government of Venezuela.”

My proposal for business between Venezuela and the United States

Rubén — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 19:31:00 GMT

Dear English-speaking reader: We are very interested in your comments, points of view and disagreements. Your replies and propositions might actually change the scope of this proposal to the benefit of both of our countries. Please find below my translation of my view on future business possibilities between Venezuela and the United States, as I view them today before getting your input.

We can be contacted at http://www.riverocooper.com

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. is a company incorporated in Florida, USA, specialized in meeting the needs of Venezuelan companies that are interested in locating specific products and services anywhere in the world. In the medium run we intend to open branch offices in Brazil and Colombia in order to increase our capability of locating automotive and textiles that are needed by the Venezuelan consumer, and also in order to offer to Venezuelan exporters a friendly platform to access our main commercial partners in South America. The import, nationalization and distribution in Venezuelan territory is performed by one of our Venezuelan business partners such as Packaging Supplier, C. A.

We export from Venezuela petroleum derivate products, jet fuel, D2. Sales of scrap iron and scrap aluminum from different alloys, including transformers, normal steel, navy steel and wires. Financial consulting services: swaps, placements, account openings. Representation services before CADIVI and MILCO government agencies. Quick obtaining of licenses. Export and import agents. Customs consulting services and product research.

We import into Venezuela, quickly per our customers's request, all kinds of auto parts: engines, brakes, transmission, body and spare parts in general. We also import computer and audio cabling, semiconductors, tools and electronic components. For exporters we offer security seals and polymer bags.

Today's Venezuelan market urgently requires a greater supply of auto parts for all kinds of vehicles, in order to reduce the repair time of so many automobiles that are stranded for during months inside repair garages. Since many of these parts are unavailable in the United States because many car models differ from country to country, we intend to incorporate branch companies at the Federative Republic of Brazil and at the Republic of Colombia.

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. also commercializes intermediate goods used by the Venezuelan exporting industry for an adequate protection and identification of containers, and so facilitate to these exporting companies compliance with the international regulations concerning illicit traffic prevention. We further offer logistical support to Venezuelan enterprises for their export procedures from Venezuela and to their subsequent import and nationalization at the world markets.

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. has a leading ability to research and establish new international contacts, geared to our clients' specific requests, in order to distribute any product or service that is difficult to find in today's Venezuela. We also have a fast ability to translate documents and technical specifications between the Spanish and English languages.

IMPORTING AUTO PARTS INTO VENEZUELA:

Rivero & Cooper, Inc. locates original spare parts through a number of wholesalers, mainly in the United States and Colombia. Due to the United States incorporation of this business, we have the ability to obtain U.S. dollar financing and we perform foreign exchange conversion from and into the bolívar fuerte. Therefore our transactions and shipments are distinguished by their speed.

We work with a number of spare part suppliers in the United States and our research department is constantly looking for additional providers in order to always obtain competing additional quotes for the same product, with the goal of translating the savings into our final clients in Venezuela, all of whom are invoiced in bolívares fuertes through one of our Venezuelan business partners.

We specialize in all brands of Asian vehicles (Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Hyundai, Honda, etc.) and American ones (Ford, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Jeep, etc.). We can locate parts for a number of requirements, including brakes, body parts, engine parts, filters, pumps, alternators, and in general any specific part that the client's vehicle may require. Once we become able to consolidate operations in Brazil and Colombia, we will also provide service to the demand of parts for European car makes.

We request clients to supply us a listing of the auto parts that they wish us to find and import for them, including the VIN number of the vehicle's chassis and other specific details that may help us locate that part more quickly. We then make our best effort to provide them a doo-to-door quote, expressed in Venezuelan bolívares fuertes, within two or three days.

For small deliveries we perform the imports through a courier system. We can also combine various orders to bring them into the country inside containers. We have developed a close relationship with a reputable Venezuelan customs agent who will then take charge of the quick nationalization of the company, always complying with the pertaining legal regulations

YOUR IMPORTS AND EXPORTS INTO AND FROM VENEZUELA:

If you represent a U.S. company that is interested in expanding your business by investing in Venezuela, by all means we would like you to contact us. We have already set a complex legal infrastructure in order to start operations immediately. We are actively seeking financing in order to expedite the incorporation of our branch offices in Brazil and Colombia, so that you as a North American investor will shortly count on a family of businesses spannning the Western Hemisphere.

We envision a long term scenario where Venezuela can reclaim the status it used to enjoy as an exporter of quality coffee, quality chocolate and selected quality manufactured goods.

We envision a short term scenario where North American exporters regain confidence in the ability of entrepreneurial Venezuelans who have not fled the country, and who are eager to seek new business opportunities regardless of anyone's political spectrum.

During times of crises such as today's, those of us who actually hold their entrepreneurial spirit, will set the standards that will be followed by competitors during a future recovery. Specific articles on our world vision for the decade of the teens of the twenty-first century may be found at http://www.rroopstr.com

Thank you for your supporting Rivero & Cooper, Inc.