[Peace-discuss] Leaked Audio Reveals Venezuelan Opposition In Secret Talks With IMF

[David Johnson]

Leaked Audio Reveals Venezuelan Opposition In Secret Talks With IMF

Description: imf1


By Rachael Boothroyd Rojas,  <http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/11581>
venezuelanalysis.com
October 23rd, 2015

Above Photo: From PopularResistance.org.

Caracas, October 19th 2015 ( <http://venezuelanalysis.com/>
venezuelanalysis.com) - A leaked audio of a conversation between Venezuelan
businessman, Lorenzo Mendoza, and former politician, Ricardo Hausman, has
revealed Venezuela's political and business opposition to be seeking
collaboration with the IMF (International Monetary Fund) ahead of the
country's parliamentary elections on December 6th.

In the phone conversation, leaked in Venezuela last Wednesday, both men
speak about the possibility of IMF intervention in the Venezuelan economy
and frequently refer to each other as "mate".

Mendoza currently ranks as one the wealthiest businessmen in the world and
controls key areas of the Venezuelan economy, such as the production of
cornflour, beer and other household staples. Government supporters hold him
responsible for the widespread shortage of key products, which they say is
an attempt to destabilise the administration of current leftwing President
Nicolas Maduro.

Hausman was formerly Planning Minister (1992-1993) to disgraced
ex-Venezuelan President president, Carlos Andres Perez. He currently resides
in the US where he is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at
Harvard University.

In the audio, which is dominated by Hausman, the ex-minister reveals that he
is a longterm friend of the IMF's Vice-president for the Western Hemisphere,
who has asked him to go to the organisation to "talk about Venezuela". He
explains that the fund is "worried" that it will have to "intervene" in the
country.

"The condition is that we have a small committee meeting to speak, gloves
off, about what the hell we can do to see. Or, if you were to receive a call
from Obama or Holland, or whoever and they say. Hell, mate, for us it's
really important that they get involved in Venezuela," says Hausman.

The economist also assures Mendoza that he is committed to the "war in
Venezuela" despite his absence, stating that "there is no exit for Venezuela
without substantial international help," appearing to reference the
opposition's violent street campaign to unseat the government last year,
entitled La Salida (the exit).

Specifically Hausman recommends a 40-50 billion dollar loan from the IMF,
which he says will entail a significant restructure of the country's "debt
profile" and "what they euphemistically term, private sector involvement".
The two men also reference a group of Hausman's students in the US, who
appear to have been pinned by both men to carry out the economic
restructuring in a post-Chavista government.

The conversation finishes with Hausman revealing that he has "projects" in
Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Albania, and confirming that the time is right
for "carrying out an adjustment plan in Venezuela".

IMF: Venezuela's Dirty Word

The recording has caused shockwaves amongst Venezuela's citizens, who have
widely rejected any IMF involvement in the country's economics. The fund is
largely held responsible by citizens for the country's debt crisis in the
1980s, the economic turmoil of the 1990s, as well as for the riots known as
the Caracazo in 1989 which led to widespread police repression and thousands
of killings.

The IMF's poisonous legacy in the country has led the country's political
opposition to distance itself publicly from the organisation. Nonetheless,
its spokespeople have been consistently linked to the ill reputed fund over
the past fifteen years of leftist government.

Earlier in February 2015, the political opposition led by Leopoldo Lopez,
Maria Corina Machado and Antonio Ledezma, released a "Call for a National
Transition Agreement" just days before the national government reported that
it had uncovered plans for an attempted coup amongst the airforce.

"The Call for a National Transition" contained a number of points
orientating the politics of a transitional regime in Venezuela, including
selling off national public enterprises and the input of "international
financial organisations".

After the government publicly released the recording between Hausman and
Mendoza last week, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro accused the
opposition of once again seeking financial support from the IMF in order to
promote "insurrectionary violence" in the country.

"I have proof that the IMF has received a visit from a group of technocrats.
who have requested 60 billion dollars in order to put their plan into
action, and the fund has told them that they will give them [the money] if
they unseat the government," stated the president on his weekly television
show, In Contact with Maduro.

Although Maduro has yet to reveal evidence, Mendoza at least seems to have
corroborated the authenticity of the phone conversation, which he has
slammed as an "illegal" recording of a "private talk" that he had with
Hausman.

Maduro has called for Mendoza to be prosecuted.

"I hope the judicial bodies react," he stated.

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20151024/1a7da24a/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 39484 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/attachments/20151024/1a7da24a/attachment-0001.jpg>