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Nicolás Maduro’s mismanagement may have brought dark days for Venezuela, but there’s a Bitcoin-shaped light at the end of the tunnel.

Between hyperinflation, stalled oil operations, and deepening tensions with the United States, it is safe to say that Venezuela is in crisis and it is ordinary Venezuelans who are hurting the most.

Hyperinflation means that many Venezuelans are forced to use black-market dollars in order to purchase goods. However, there is hope on the horizon. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin could help Venezuelans break out of their government’s self-made crisis and thrive.

A Crashing Bolivar Has Caused Economic Disaster

Crypto use in Venezuela has been driven by a catastrophic economic collapse. Since 2013 the value of the Venezuelan Bolivar has lost more than 200,000 percent in value compared to the US dollar. This has led to skyrocketing prices. This situation has been significantly worsened by tightening US sanctions and increased unemployment.

This has led to a surge in emigration and thus a surge in remittances sent back to the nation. Ecoanalítica estimated that in 2019 around $4 billion flowed back into Venezuela from abroad and that there were another $1.5 billion in withdrawals from foreign bank accounts. However, these remittances often lose a lot of value if sent using traditional means, and every dollar counts in a country experiencing shortages of just about every necessity.

Venezuelans Have Turned to Cryptocurrency to Survive

In the face of these troubles, Venezuelans have turned to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Unlike US dollars, Bitcoin (BTC) can be purchased digitally and directly by using Peer2Peer (P2P) exchanges. It is an asset that can be purchased anywhere in the world.

This has enabled Venezuelans to digitally convert remittances or foreign bank accounts into cryptocurrency. This has the advantage of being more stable than the local Bolivar. In fact, recently, the value of the major cryptocurrencies have been rising.

Venezuela is one of the most rapid adopters of cryptocurrency in the world. Typically, Venezuelans aren’t holding cryptocurrency as a long-term hedge against inflation. Instead, they are using it to buy food, medical supplies, and day-to-day purchases.

In order to accommodate this, merchants in Venezuela have started to directly accept BTC payments. A deal between Panamanian-based cryptocurrency exchange Cryptobuyer and Venezuelan payments processor Mega Soft has created around 20,000 point-of-sale terminals in the South American nation.

However, even with these services, Bitcoin can be difficult to use and many Venezuelans have instead turned to custodial solutions like AirTM. This wallet allows Venezuelans to spend their Bitcoin within a network, making it easier to send and receive cryptocurrency.

This is particularly useful for freelancers and makes it easier for Venezuelans to make purchases abroad. Without Bitcoin and the private companies offering related services, it would be exceedingly difficult for many Venezuelans to function.

The Venezuelan Government Is Trying to Wrest Control of the Crypto Revolution

Cryptocurrency is a lifeline for many Venezuelans but it is a headache for Nicolás Maduro's government. One of the key positives of Bitcoin is that it provides a way for citizens to engage in commerce and trade without government interference. This enables a black market to form outside of the government’s control, which could weaken its grip over the populace.

In order to combat this, the government has taken steps to create a nationalized cryptocurrency. The first attempt was to create the Petro in 2018. This coin was tied to Venezuelan oil and provided a state-approved alternative to other cryptocurrencies. The government eagerly pushed the cryptocurrency and made payments for passports and other government services in Petro mandatory.

Despite this backing, the Petro fell flat. Many were concerned about reports that the Venezuelan oil that supposedly backed the coin didn’t exist and that the true backer was the debt-ridden state oil operator PDVSA. Additionally, the Petro saw limited external support from Venezuela’s allies. Since Venezuelans were reluctant to adopt the cryptocurrency, the Petro is all but dead.

Venezuelan Government Gets Behind Crypto

However, the Venezuelan government hasn’t abandoned its cryptocurrency ambitions. It has realized that it can take advantage of the private nature of cryptocurrencies to circumvent international sanctions.

In September, Maduro announced that his government would begin using cryptocurrencies for domestic and international trade. It appears that the government plans to experiment with holding Bitcoin and Ethereum to help replace its static oil reserves.

On the back of this announcement, the Venezuelan government has introduced a new DeFi platform called BDVE that will supposedly allow Venezuelan citizens to swap ERC20 tokens in a noncustodial manner. However, many observers are skeptical about the government’s claims that it is decentralized, and the registration process requires users to reveal their identities.

Could Crypto Herald the End of Socialism in Venezuela?

While these do seem like the desperate attempts of a government to claw back control, the embrace of cryptocurrency by the Venezuelan government could be a sign of positive change. If it pushes through with attempts to build state-backed platforms, this will introduce more Venezuelans to the idea of cryptocurrency, and could add a further boost to cryptocurrency use.

Glasnost and Perestroika bought freedoms that eventually triggered the collapse of the Soviet Union. We could be witnessing the beginning of a similar phenomenon in Venezuela. It is entirely plausible that state-backed economic freedoms in the form of cryptocurrency will help weaken government control over its citizens and inadvertently usher in more libertarian economic policies by weakening the control of the state.

In any case, increased access to cryptocurrency can only be positive for Venezuelans. A more liquid and stable means of payment and transfer would go some distance to mitigating the disastrous decisions of the socialist government in the South American nation.

With some luck, decentralized currencies could help to break down the grip of the state and let Venezuelans finally breathe free.

https://fee.org/articles/how-bitcoin-could-smash-socialism-in-venezuela/

My main issue is the tendency many have to attribute policy in venezuela solely to Nicolas Maduro. Circumstances in venezuela appear to be determined partly by international support venezuela receives from special interests and communist/socialist regimes like cuba and china. Donald Trump proposed forcibly removing Maduro from power when he was President 2016-2020. This proposal was met with considerable opposition from various factions. For various reasons. The USA doesn't have the best record of liberating oppressed nations from tyrannical dictators. Iraq which was "liberated" more than a decade ago may still be struggling. The united states itself expending trillions of dollars in the effort, due to its lack of planning and exit strategy.

Venezuela's situation could closely resemble nigeria's. In the future we may see nigeria's central bank roll out its own cryptocurrency identical to venezuela rolling out their ill fated petro years ago.

Venezuela's situation could closely resemble nigeria's. In the future we may see nigeria's central bank roll out its own cryptocurrency identical to venezuela rolling out their ill fated petro years ago.

There isn't much of an economy outside oil, that's the main issue. The government based all its policies (which weren't all bad) on oil revenue, while at the same time putting friends and family in charge of the oil company, instead of competent people.

I'm not sure how you come back from that, and I doubt "libertarianism" is a good idea. Social democracy would make more sense.

Imo, this countries are 'firing at the wrong target', both the Nigerian and Venezuelan economy has definitely seen better days, thus I don't see why their governments should stand as an opposition to decentralized cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin acts like a sort of panacea to the problems of quite a lot of citizens from this nations, and the thing is, it could also positively affect the general economic situation, when citizens make 'extra' funds, they could start small-scale businesses which invariably becomes a plus to the nations microeconomics, and also, basically just having more money to spend (which Bitcoin provides) is economically beneficial, and that's the same reason why some countries give out stimulus bonuses.

Having said that, I think it's a really counterproductive decision for a country that's battling with inflation, hyperinflation or a comatose economy like that of Venezuela to work on launching CBDC's, cause it's still going to be controlled by them, and backed by either their constantly devaluing fiat, or whatever resource the country has, that's still already affected by the said inflation. It's a misplaced priority if you ask me, the Nigerian/Venezuelan government should basically just allow Bitcoin thrive in their shores as they seek ways to awaken their near-dead economy.

Want opinions & commentary on this.

Bump.

...What appears to be good information on how cryptocurrencies can help the poor and provide economic opportunities and options in nations under siege as Venezuela is atm.

My main issue is the tendency many have to attribute policy in venezuela solely to Nicolas Maduro. Circumstances in venezuela appear to be determined partly by international support venezuela receives from special interests and communist/socialist regimes like cuba and china.

Brazil released R $ 2.2 billion for Odebrecht subways in Venezuela; after 10 years, works are half done.
...
However, ten years after the beginning of the construction work performed by the Brazilian contractor Odebrecht with financing from BNDES (Brazil National Bank for Economic and Social Development), the 1.5 km stretch between the Bello Monte and Zona Rental stations (which connects with other subway lines in the Venezuelan capital) is the only one still functioning today.

...On Tuesday (20), UOL revealed that Venezuela stopped paying R $ 901 million, referring to part of the loans made with BNDES and other private banks due in January. US $ 130.9 million was contracted directly with BNDES and US $ 143.7 million with private creditors.

You know ..... trying to circumvent international sanctions with whatever currency will not change their Socialism mindset and that is where the real problem is. The penalties for the countries that are doing this, will also be severe... so I think they must re-think their strategies.

It is not the sanctions that are killing them, it is piss poor political agendas ...and we saw the same thing happening with countries like Zimbabwe in Africa. (They live in that country, but it is actually economically owned by foreign capital from the East)  ::)

Venezuela is one of the most rapid adopters of cryptocurrency in the world. Typically, Venezuelans aren’t holding cryptocurrency as a long-term hedge against inflation. Instead, they are using it to buy food, medical supplies, and day-to-day purchases.

It's my opinion, and you can see that in some of my comments! Venezuela is just one of the "bad" examples of what this traditional economy is doing for centuries... It's too corrupted, and believe it or not powerful countries and their big banks are pretty much responsible for all that shit around that last for too long..

The last transaction that would have been confirmed as I speak would have had to pay 102sat/b which's almost 8$ for the smallest tx.
You're telling me that people in Venezuela will pay 240$ a month, more than their median wage to buy stuff with bitcoin?
Get real, nobody is using bitcoin there to buy food with, and if somebody does he isn't using on-chain transaction.

Hence stop attacking socialism, it is Madura that made Venezuela like this, not socialism.

This is a write up by someone who doesn't understand the fact that crypto IS socialist, and it is against dictatorship, Venezuela is most definitely 100% not a socialist nation, just because they "call" it that doesn't mean that it is a socialist one. What is socialism? It is the idea that everyone should be equal right? Well if there is a dictator at the top doing whatever he wants, how come everyone could be equal?

It means any nation with even one powerful position means that it is not a socialist nation, it is very very easily refutable, soviet union? Has Lenin and Stalin, Cuba? has Castro, north Korea? Has that fat dude whatever his name. If there is one dictator that means it is not a socialist nation and just putting socialism in the title doesn't make it socialist, it can't be socialist as long as people are not 100% all equal no matter what they are. Hence stop attacking socialism, it is Madura that made Venezuela like this, not socialism.

As the article states, they're said to be using Airtm for off-chain transactions.

According to an AirTM user survey, only 57% of recipients engaged with the funds. For some, even converting crypto to AirTM credits (AirUSD) inside a custodial user account was too much hassle.
For those who did access the funds, more than 2,000 Venezuelans said it was helpful for buying food. They typically did this by using AirTM to cash out bolivars as needed, using the digital wallet provider like a bank.

This is a write up by someone who doesn't understand the fact that crypto IS socialist,

It means any nation with even one powerful position means that it is not a socialist nation, it is very very easily refutable, soviet union? Has Lenin and Stalin, Cuba? has Castro, north Korea?

Crypto is not socialist, crypto is pure capitalism.
Those that had money to invest have made more money, the ones that have zero to invest have zero.
There is nothing that resembles socialism in crypto in any way, no matter how much you try to twist reality.


Oh, we know it, socialism hasn't failed one hundred times before because it wasn't the real socialism, the ones we're building now in our basements is the real deal.

I have no doubts bitcoin can help common citizens with their daily needs in Venezuela, but I totally disagree it can smash socialism there. In fact, crypto currencies are making the socialism maintenance in Venezuela, because a big part of the citizens' income is going to pay taxes that fund the government and all its employees, the *system*.
You know there are fast foods and probably other stores there accepting crypto as payment method without any interference from the government, what means it is not a threat to Maduro. Actually socialists have nothing to complain about bitcoin or crypto, because that is the way people are bringing money from outside to their country.

LOL.. couldn't put it any better than this. On a serious note, I would have never expected socialists to appear here in Bitcointalk, but I guess times are changing.

Is Josef Stalin a real socialist? He just killed 60 million.. not up to the mark. What about Mao Zedong? 40 million deaths is a bit lower than what I would have expected? Pol Pot? Just 2 million murders? No.. with that small number he can't be a real socialist. Perhaps Kim Jong Un? He is still there, and may be able to beat the record of Stalin..

Quite possible, especially when the upper echelons in the government aren't using their very own currencies as well, so there's not much more that bitcoin can do.

I think the focus should be more on if and how the average Venezuelan is changing his habits and his way of life because of Bitcoin, but I doubt there is a serious impact, as I said before, in order to use money you need money, and that's what the average citizen there lacks.

The fact is that the US has never properly done its job in liberating the country.  Venezuela is also on a bad note.  It seems that crypto is the best solution in solving the economy, as long as society accepts crypto policies it will run well.  But unfortunately the government in that country also doesn't have a good GCG.  Their fate is not even clear with it all.  They need leaders who really love their country to save their people.

It's not the job of the USA to "liberate" Venezuela. What they have done is hurting not helping, they started imposing sanctions under Chavez for no good reason. At the time Venezuela was much better than say Saudi Arabia with human rights etc., yet Venezuela gets sanctions, Saudi Arabia gets weapons, that's ridiculous.

Washington was waiting for such a situation including america they tightened the latest blockade this caused great damage to venezuela's foreign trade. Foreign exchange supply further declined many skilled professionals leave the country as a result oil extraction capacity is also reduced more than half of the people are facing new poverty in the face of adverse circumstances, the decision making process of the government also becomes over centralized. A major aspect of the country's current situation is the crisis of centralized governance culture. If development is considered an alternative to democracy such a crisis may occur in other countries as well.

Washington was waiting for such a situation including america they tightened the latest blockade this caused great damage to venezuela's foreign trade. Foreign exchange supply further declined many skilled professionals leave the country as a result oil extraction capacity is also reduced more than half of the people are facing new poverty in the face of adverse circumstances, the decision making process of the government also becomes over centralized. A major aspect of the country's current situation is the crisis of centralized governance culture. If development is considered an alternative to democracy such a crisis may occur in other countries as well.

Oh yeah, we're responsible for all the crap that their leaders have done so!
When they were nationalizing everything they could get their hands on and giving it away they were heroes, now when we don't want to give them more money to spend on useless garbage we're at fault! It's always somebody else to blame, not their stupid politics and of course not socialism! Blame the US, blame the banks but not the morons cheering when their own leaders were setting up programs that were going to ruin the country.

If this traditional economy is this bad why are some countries doing so good compared to Venezuela without a single drop of oil?

My main issue is the tendency many have to attribute policy in venezuela solely to Nicolas Maduro. Circumstances in venezuela appear to be determined partly by international support venezuela receives from special interests and communist/socialist regimes like cuba and china. Donald Trump proposed forcibly removing Maduro from power when he was President 2016-2020. This proposal was met with considerable opposition from various factions. For various reasons. The USA doesn't have the best record of liberating oppressed nations from tyrannical dictators. Iraq which was "liberated" more than a decade ago may still be struggling. The united states itself expending trillions of dollars in the effort, due to its lack of planning and exit strategy.

Venezuela's situation could closely resemble nigeria's. In the future we may see nigeria's central bank roll out its own cryptocurrency identical to venezuela rolling out their ill fated petro years ago.

snip

Want opinions & commentary on this.

Bump.

This is a write up by someone who doesn't understand the fact that crypto IS socialist, and it is against dictatorship, Venezuela is most definitely 100% not a socialist nation, just because they "call" it that doesn't mean that it is a socialist one. What is socialism? It is the idea that everyone should be equal right? Well if there is a dictator at the top doing whatever he wants, how come everyone could be equal?

It means any nation with even one powerful position means that it is not a socialist nation, it is very very easily refutable, soviet union? Has Lenin and Stalin, Cuba? has Castro, north Korea? Has that fat dude whatever his name. If there is one dictator that means it is not a socialist nation and just putting socialism in the title doesn't make it socialist, it can't be socialist as long as people are not 100% all equal no matter what they are. Hence stop attacking socialism, it is Madura that made Venezuela like this, not socialism.

Socialism means taking away wealth from the successful people (the so called "rich") and distributing it among the so called "poor". All the businesses will be owned by the state and the regime will decide when you should eat, when you take a dump and when and whom you should marry. Socialism can't be implemented by democratic means and that's why we have authoritarian regimes such as the ones in Cuba and North Korea. Those who support socialism are always people who have no experience of living in a socialist country. Ask someone in Cuba or North Korea their opinion about socialism and you will be much surprised.

this is good writing, i like it.
discussing Venezuela emmm there will be no end.  The problems that stick around Venezuela are politics and corruption.  I idly typed "Venezuela's wealth potential" on google and was surprised at the results I got, Venezuela is not a poor country, actually just a corrupt country (complicated bureaucracy and corrupt government).
talking about whether Bitcoin will save Venezuela, I don't think it will be if CORRUPTION is still a disease there.  In general, Bitcoin is indeed more suitable for individual or corporate investment, but if a country invests in Bitcoin it's not difficult either, it's just that any profits created are shared with citizens for education and health costs because that's the most important thing.
socialist ideology in Venezuela seems ineffective because of the corruption and low levels of human and government resources there.

This article says that BTC and cryptocurrencies are more stable than local Venezuela’s Bolivar. This is a huge problem of inflation of their currency. They have to provide government regulations to stop inflation or to make a reset of their money.

I haven't seen any capitalism that successfully helped the poor people, they help the rich for sure but they always fail and starve and kill all their poor people, look at USA, look at UK, people starve and freeze to death there, look at Norway, they do not have that. All things you have listed about socialism are fake propaganda that could be proven otherwise very very very easily.

It is great that people mock socialism while we live in a world of capitalism that failed all of us. I mean sure go ahead and do whatever you want but the governments of capitalist nations have people with 200+ billion dollar billionaires with 10+ million unemployed and yet for some reason it is socialism that managed to hurt people, and all the super smart incredibly wise people here name communist countries instead of socialist ones which is very very normal too, after all socialism equals communism right, that is a great education people got there, oh by the way of course education costs so much that people spend 20 years paying their college loans in capitalist countries, because they are free to do that!! that is awesome to be able to own 20 year loan on your education of course!...

You guys are not making any sense if you think socialism with free healthcare, free education and basically higher life quality with nearly same amount of taxes is bad.

It is great that people mock socialism while we live in a world of capitalism that failed all of us. I mean sure go ahead and do whatever you want but the governments of capitalist nations have people with 200+ billion dollar billionaires with 10+ million unemployed and yet for some reason it is socialism that managed to hurt people, and all the super smart incredibly wise people here name communist countries instead of socialist ones which is very very normal too, after all socialism equals communism right, that is a great education people got there, oh by the way of course education costs so much that people spend 20 years paying their college loans in capitalist countries, because they are free to do that!! that is awesome to be able to own 20 year loan on your education of course!...

You guys are not making any sense if you think socialism with free healthcare, free education and basically higher life quality with nearly same amount of taxes is bad.

You're focusing on the fact that capitalism doesn't eliminate all poverty and ignoring the fact that capitalism far and away has done more to eliminate poverty than any other economic system in the history of the world. Furthermore, the Scandinavian countries you referred to have strong social safety nets that are made possible by healthy capitalist systems and high taxes.  The tax system couldn't be supported if not for the largely capitalist underpinnings of the economy.  I think the US would be better off overall under such a system, but that doesn't mean that capitalism in the US is a failure of a system.

Well, first of all North Korea is a dictatorship, whereas Cuba is not like that, in Cuba you could take up any job you want, or you could even not work if you do not want to, the life is cheap even though not high quality, but it is nowhere near levels of North Korea, those are very very highly different levels of socialism.

Also why do people think of North Korea when they think about socialism? North Korea is nowhere near socialist at all, not even remotely close, I would understand Soviet Union which is a failed state and you could say that "socialism is bad, look at what happened to soviet union" and I would totally understand that, but North Korea? That is not even remotely close.

Socialism (https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/081514/socialist-economies-how-china-cuba-and-north-korea-work.asp), the main alternative economic system that has emerged in modern times, requires that the means of production, distribution, and exchange be owned and regulated by the community as a whole. A prominent characteristic of the socialist economy is that the goods and services are produced based on usage value. This usage value is subject to the needs of the society, hence preventing underproduction and overproduction.

Plus you are mistaking communism and socialism, look at Scandinavian countries, they have mcdonalds, they have private ownership, they have capitalism, but they are social democrats as well, high taxes that help the public, why not see a good example there?

“I know that some people in the US associate the Nordic model with some sort of socialism. Therefore I would like to make one thing clear. Denmark is far from a socialist planned economy. Denmark is a market economy,” Rasmussen said.

All things you have listed about socialism are fake propaganda that could be proven otherwise very very very easily.

Almost the same mate, Venezuela is already known as a fragile enocomic country in the world. Their had natural resources like Oil but they couldn't use it in a proper way so that their economy became destructive. In this time, crypto can help them to store their money by them where government can't do anything. The country is still struggling with their fragile economy.

Venezuela didn't try to go "full socialism", nationalizing oil companies for example isn't an issue in itself, if you consider how that resource is important for the country. However, it should have been managed well, and it wasn't. There are still rich people in Venezuela, and I'm not just talking about Maduro and his cronies, so clearly, Venezuela is no Soviet Union.

Socialism is more like an implemented political current, where even the main protagonists of socialism in Venezuela must own cryptocurrencies and bitcoin, because the government has mining machines to generate Bitcoin.

Actually Iran tried with Bitcoin mining, as a way to get around the embargoes and sanctions that were imposed by the United States. Venezuela can also do the same, as it will be impossible for the Americans to prevent Bitcoin transactions. But then there are major questions. How cheap is the electricity in Venezuela? Bitcoin is highly energy intensive and they need cheap electricity if they want to mine Bitcoins at a profit. And the most important question is whether they have access to mining hardware or not. Aren't these covered under the sanctions?

I don't know if it's just a matters of time, but this "crypto" revolution is lasting from few years in Venezuela.
Probably the problem of the country isn't just a monetary issue but it's also related to the whole management of the situation.
For sure this is an huge success for crypto currencies since we are seeing a "real world" use case that has really helped some people.

Crypto is not socialist, crypto is pure capitalism.
Those that had money to invest have made more money, the ones that have zero to invest have zero.
There is nothing that resembles socialism in crypto in any way, no matter how much you try to twist reality.

Money itself doesn't mean much, even if it's a cryptocurrency. The social order is not changed by currency, but by people. If people want, they will take down any power over themselves. President Maduro even began to pay pensions in bitcoins. However, this does not improve the economic situation in the country, since, first of all, it is necessary to properly organize the management of the country's economy.

The problem with the socialism in Venezuela is that they don't really focused on the well-being of the community but the well-being of the individuals which is evident because a lot of people during their high times were prosperous but they didn't invest in social aspect like health, education and other institutions that will help them when the down times happen and then the down times happened and the economy crashed, I don't think that bitcoin is enough to smash socialism because of how large the scale that bitcoin has to fill in.

Well, crypto IS socialist in the sense that it doesn't give the rich people power to change bitcoins situation

I have named scandanavia as great social democracy example, can you name me one nation that is capitalist and as good as that? I doubt so.

Crypto doesn't separate, poor or rich everyone is same on blockchain level.

And yes there were obviously failed socialist states there is no denying that, but I do want to ask, provide me with ONE nation that was managed by socialism that didn't have dictatorship and failed. You will have a hard time because all those dictators you see on "socialist" nations do name their country socialist since quite frankly they do screw every citizen equally to be honest.

Chavez distributed the oil money better and you can't fault him for that. Where he got it wrong is that part of the money should have been used for a long term plan that didn't rely so much on oil money. Education is a start and a good thing, but it will only give results after decades. Developing tourism might have been a good idea.

And instead of nationalizing outright foreign companies' assets, renegotiate the deals, force them to invest more in infrastructure for example.

Well, crypto IS socialist in the sense that it doesn't give the rich people power to change bitcoins situation, in capitalist nations like USA and UK we see how rich people get away with whatever they want because they are rich, hell banks who gave mortgages to people got bailed out when people failed to pay their mortgages but the people who couldn't pay weren't bailed out, why? Because someone with a home is not important to capitalism, but rich people are important.

Crypto doesn't separate, poor or rich everyone is same on blockchain level. And yes there were obviously failed socialist states there is no denying that, but I do want to ask, provide me with ONE nation that was managed by socialism that didn't have dictatorship and failed. You will have hard time because all those dictators you see on "socialist" nations do name their country socialist since quite frankly they do screw every citizen equally to be honest.

I have named scandanavia as great social democracy example, can you name me one nation that is capitalist and as good as that? I doubt so.

Chavez distributed the oil money better and you can't fault him for that. Where he got it wrong is that part of the money should have been used for a long term plan that didn't rely so much on oil money. Education is a start and a good thing, but it will only give results after decades. Developing tourism might have been a good idea.

And instead of nationalizing outright foreign companies' assets, renegotiate the deals, force them to invest more in infrastructure for example.

You are contradicting yourself. If Chavez distributed oil money best as possible, long term investments would have been done, but in fact they weren't, as you said.
If he can't be faulted for that, who should be then?

Not entirely his fault because it isn't within his control that the prices of oil dramatically reduced, yes it is his fault that the way he distributed the money towards the country is real bad but there are some that are not within his control, not to mention that his successor Maduro is incompetent. I don't think that bitcoin alone is enough to do a dent in the problem in Venezuela because if the government is so bad then the problem persists.

You are contradicting yourself. If Chavez distributed oil money best as possible, long term investments would have been done, but in fact they weren't, as you said.
If he can't be faulted for that, who should be then?

Not entirely his fault because it isn't within his control that the prices of oil dramatically reduced, yes it is his fault that the way he distributed the money towards the country is real bad but there are some that are not within his control, not to mention that his successor Maduro is incompetent. I don't think that bitcoin alone is enough to do a dent in the problem in Venezuela because if the government is so bad then the problem persists.

Not entirely his fault because it isn't within his control that the prices of oil dramatically reduced, yes it is his fault that the way he distributed the money towards the country is real bad but there are some that are not within his control, not to mention that his successor Maduro is incompetent. I don't think that bitcoin alone is enough to do a dent in the problem in Venezuela because if the government is so bad then the problem persists.

You are contradicting yourself. If Chavez distributed oil money best as possible, long term investments would have been done, but in fact they weren't, as you said.
If he can't be faulted for that, who should be then?

It will be wrong to say that the government didn't made any investment in Medicare, education and infrastructure. Because I remember when Hugo Chavez was the president, he had a deal with Cuba to bring in Cuban doctors to Venezuela. They provided free and quality medical care to the Venezuelan citizens. Also, he undertook a lot of development and relief work in the slum areas, and reduced the poverty by a great amount.

But the government made a serious miscalculation. They thought that the high oil prices are going to last forever, so never bothered to set up a rainy day fund. And when the oil prices crashed, the treasury got empty in very quick time.

But their investment wasn't enough in the end as you have already said. Another problem as you have also mentioned is that they are so reliant on oil that they didn't try to invest in other products. And the blunder of choosing Maduro as the successor added to that problem.

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

Venezuela's problem is not socialism. It is unlikely that this authoritarian country can now be attributed to the socialist form of government. As many here correctly point out, Venezuela needs a proper organization of economic management. Global reforms are needed to eliminate the policy of simply eating up what is earned from oil production.
Due to the forced transition of states to renewable energy sources, oil will lose demand and fall in price. Therefore, the economy of this state needs to be reoriented from a simple distribution of produced oil to something that will bring real profit in the long term.

They need a proper and inspiring leader, not just a proper organization of the economy. On the other hand, they have to balance the country's income instead of focusing only on oil. Because of this fact, the country was vulnerable and they cant withstand the crisis when oil price droped sharply

I think Bitcoin can't do much alone, but Bitcoin with alts (cryptocurrencies) can do a lot!
It's my opinion, and you can see that in some of my comments! Venezuela is just one of the "bad" examples of what this traditional economy is doing for centuries... It's too corrupted, and believe it or not powerful countries and their big banks are pretty much responsible for all that shit around that last for too long..
Crypto can be very transparent, easy to use... crypto is a tool that can be used for many good things! Of course, if it's used in the right way! People can have a vote that will count, and politicians together with banks will not be able to interfere and change everything in their favor! They will not be able to change the chain whenever they like it!

From the beginning of cryptocurrencies bitcoin started alone before adoption or introduction of other cryptocurrencies which is alternative coins, so it happened that without bitcoin the images of alternative coin will not come out as expected, so in summary bitcoin can exist without the support of alt coins but mean while alt coins can't exist without the support of bitcoin.

Of course, given that Bitcoin affects the entire cryptocurrency market, no altcoin can exist in isolation. But nevertheless, given the versatility of the cryptocurrency industry and the corresponding demand in the society, Bitcoin will not be able to satisfy all the demand on its own. Therefore, many altcoins complement bitcoin very effectively.

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

I think the key problem in Venezuela is corruption. If we had a way to detect all the bad politicians and put them in prison than that would be the best action. I am not sure if bitcoins can help here. Venezuela has a lot of resources they can export,so there shouldn't be any economic hardship to be honest.It is just that the money is getting misused and not used for the country. Large infrastructure projects could help as well.

Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

Governments must have the power to make their own currency and run their own economies on their own terms. Bitcoin, the cryptocurrency, naturally went along and served the people. People want to use cryptocurrencies because they do not believe in the leadership of the government. That is the weakness in the management mechanism of Venezuela.
Bitcoin is really undermining this country because the money flows away from the banks. The government will not receive any tax or service fees.

Government should have the power and Marudo I believe had tried that $Petro but there is just political instability in the country besides its a threat to USD. The country isn't that ready, its card is just the petro production and it couldn't sustain economically for the country.

Venezuela had a big community for Dash users and Bitcoin Cash, not just Bitcoin actually.

Venezuelan living in Venezuela.


We have corruption, crime and inflation and Bitcoin and other crypto-assets help our situation.
Politicians and criminals here are always looking for a way to steal whatever we have left, one needs to be careful and having some crypto allow us to have some money in a discreet way.

It is not even completely safe to safe in USD here, because that's what common and in uniform criminals seek the most, a friend of my family got her appartment raided by some crooks because they knew she had some USD in cash.

And of course, the small savings are better in crypto than local currency which goes down between one and two percent everyday in comparison to the USD.

If the government fully legalize the usage of USD, then there will be no need to store all the cash at home, and robberies such as the one mentioned above could be avoided. This is one of the disadvantages with fiat cash. It is very difficult to store the money anonymously, which makes it vulnerable to seizures and robberies. But for smaller transactions, Bitcoin is not very suitable. So in case you want to purchase a can of coke, or a packet of sunflower oil, I don't expect you to pay with BTC. You need USD in such occasions.

If the government fully legalize the usage of USD, then there will be no need to store all the cash at home, and robberies such as the one mentioned above could be avoided. This is one of the disadvantages with fiat cash. It is very difficult to store the money anonymously, which makes it vulnerable to seizures and robberies. But for smaller transactions, Bitcoin is not very suitable. So in case you want to purchase a can of coke, or a packet of sunflower oil, I don't expect you to pay with BTC. You need USD in such occasions.

I think the key problem in Venezuela is corruption. If we had a way to detect all the bad politicians and put them in prison than that would be the best action. I am not sure if bitcoins can help here. Venezuela has a lot of resources they can export,so there shouldn't be any economic hardship to be honest.It is just that the money is getting misused and not used for the country. Large infrastructure projects could help as well.

Not just corruption because there are a lot of countries that corrupt but they aren't socialist, to me, the reason that Venezuela is suffering is not because of socialism but because of incompetence of the government and they invested in the wrong socialism which prioritizes the individual instead of the society and its institutions.

Tell me, for what reasons did you decide that there is "socialism" in Venezuela? Hugo Chavez headed the Socialist Party, but did not build socialism.

they invested in the wrong socialism which prioritizes the individual instead of the society and its institutions.

Government should have the power and Marudo I believe had tried that $Petro but there is just political instability in the country besides its a threat to USD.

Let me check:
- nationalization of land
- nationalization of all electricity/oil/banks and construction companies
- redistribution of wealth at whim, choosing random houses in visits and giving them to the "poor"
- controlled prices combined with subsidies that make no economic sense

What did I miss from the list?
What was not socialism in ANY of Chavez-Maduro decisions?

This is getting old, every time a socialist country goes down the drain, it wasn't socialist, whenever people see a capitalist country with welfare programs they claim it as socialist, not even funny right now, is disgusting.



There is no such thing as wrong socialism and good socialism. Socialism is cancer by definition.
Again, as in the previous reply, do not mistake a social welfare program with socialism, they have zero in common.
All the richest capitalist free-market countries have social welfare programs, not a single socialist country is a free market economy.


Yeah, the currency backed by a country that can't afford toilet paper and its economy is the size of Montana is a threat to the US.

Let me check:
- nationalization of land
- nationalization of all electricity/oil/banks and construction companies
- redistribution of wealth at whim, choosing random houses in visits and giving them to the "poor"
- controlled prices combined with subsidies that make no economic sense

What did I miss from the list?
What was not socialism in ANY of Chavez-Maduro decisions?

This is getting old, every time a socialist country goes down the drain, it wasn't socialist, whenever people see a capitalist country with welfare programs they claim it as socialist, not even funny right now, is disgusting.

Let me check:
- nationalization of land
- nationalization of all electricity/oil/banks and construction companies
- redistribution of wealth at whim, choosing random houses in visits and giving them to the "poor"
- controlled prices combined with subsidies that make no economic sense

What did I miss from the list?
What was not socialism in ANY of Chavez-Maduro decisions?

This is getting old, every time a socialist country goes down the drain, it wasn't socialist, whenever people see a capitalist country with welfare programs they claim it as socialist, not even funny right now, is disgusting.

You have to realize that there are some of the things you list that happens in any nation in the world, not common of course but it does happen, USA for example

Look at France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, UK they are all mix nature nations, not fully capitalist not fully communist and it is amazing work they are doing compared to other nations.

And now - we take socialist slogans / ideas, combine them with Maduro, look at the result! What's the bottom line? There is no socialism as such. the goal of "achieving universal equality and social justice" has not been achieved. Ie he is just a populist or a "crooked fool". In fact, the result of his rule is the final destruction of the economy, total impoverishment of the population, and the destruction of industry.

Do you agree with me regarding the assessment of Maduro's abilities, his competencies as a president, or even a manager, and the results of his rule? If not, your arguments!

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

Do you really believe that someone other than Maduro could have resolved this issue? Venezuela is like a single-commodity economy, which is over-reliant on petroleum. The majority of the population is left-leaning similar to the other Latin American nations and they want the governments to make huge welfare spending. If the right-wing parties were in power, then I don't know whether the situation could have been any good. They would have privatized the oil fields, which would cause losses to the economy once the crude oil prices increase.

It is possible that if you show the majority of the people a common-sense economic model that works they wouldn't reject it. The problem with certain national economies is partly due to pressure to apply extreme economic models rather than something that works, is safe and sustainable.
I would be surprised if they reject a safe economic model that combines both socialism, capitalism and other models that are suitable to their way of life.

^^^ It is not correct to label Nordic countries such as Sweden and Denmark as socialist nations. The governments may be run by Social Democrats, but whatever wealth they are enjoying right now comes from capitalist economies. If they had socialist economies, then they would have ended up like Ukraine or Moldova. Norway is the perfect example. They are rich in petroleum resources and thanks to the capitalist policies they became one of the richest countries in the world. Neighboring Russia is even more abundant in natural resources. But they had socialist system until 1992, and as a result most of the wealth was stolen.

That is not easy. Even the public in the United States have gone for a governing model that is in favor of higher taxes and higher government spending, after dumping the low-tax, low-government spending model. The problem with this model is that it incentivizes the non-productive population and punishes the successful people who are creating wealth. This is a global trend and the same is happening with Venezuela as well. Everyone want free money and subsidies from the government, although it means that the economy will be destroyed in the long term.

Right, Venezuela is slumped because the government provides a large subsidy facility, so that the people are lulled into a comfortable life, they seem to be lazy and do not develop other economic sectors besides oil. coupled with bad governance, so that a mental revolution must be enforced immediately

Right, Venezuela is slumped because the government provides a large subsidy facility, so that the people are lulled into a comfortable life, they seem to be lazy and do not develop other economic sectors besides oil. coupled with bad governance, so that a mental revolution must be enforced immediately

I bring you News:
The government of the  Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has officially increased the min wage to a total of 10 million Bolivars or about 3USD per month.
Source:
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/venezuela-raises-minimum-wage-fourth-year-hyperinflation-2021-05-01/
Populance is obviously offended by this increase and we are expecting for price of food and other basic services to sky-rocket by Monday.
 :'(

This is a breakthrough! A caring government has solved all the problems of the people, the United States is defeated, socialism has won! :)
This is a joke, of course, and most likely not funny. How can you treat your people like cattle? Why instead of real steps to stabilize the economy and its modernization (it was necessary to diversify the economy for a long time - it is stupid to focus only on oil). That one hundred now "raised" the minimum level of income - tomorrow it will turn into dust ... There is no point in "treating" the manifestations of the "disease", it is necessary to correct the cause of these manifestations!

The other funny part here is that Venezuela seems to be already running on US Dollar. They want to be a good socialist country but nobody has confidence in their currency anymore. Many stores don't accept any local money anymore and only deal in USD. While bitcoin could take the place as the preferred currency to be paid with, I don't think that this is very likely at the moment. Especially if people prefer to use cash.

Also: I have not been in a situation where I go to buy something and local currency is rejected.
This mostly happens when one is trying to make a big deal, like a house, a car or specific good and services where the local currency will be likely rejected as payment method, in general retailers will take it at the exchange rate of the day.

Being a shopkeeper might be really tough in Venezuela. With the currency devaluing every day, I don't know how they are managing the situation. Maybe they are taking an additional margin while accepting payments in the local currency. I really don't know why the government is not allowing USD as a legal tender. So many people are using it, and it makes no sense to ban it's usage (although the ban is not enforced). If they make it legal, at least it would reduce the suffering of ordinary people to some extent.

all I can say is that I find it amusing how somebody from the other side of the globe is teaching me how countries in Europe are, especially since you've mention two in which I've lived for more than 4 years :)Ever been to Europe?

Congratulations you have achieved level one in socialist-communist propaganda.
Your rank is novice whataboutist (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whataboutism)

Carrying USD and Euros is not illegal anymore, since 2018. But Government can't legalize USD as de jure currency because they don't want /cant pay the public workers in USD, which are the majority of the workers in this country, the state is the biggest employer and the worst payer.

The other funny part here is that Venezuela seems to be already running on US Dollar. They want to be a good socialist country but nobody has confidence in their currency anymore. Many stores don't accept any local money anymore and only deal in USD. While bitcoin could take the place as the preferred currency to be paid with, I don't think that this is very likely at the moment. Especially if people prefer to use cash.

Making ownership of US Dollar 100% legal is a good step. At least this will protect the ordinary people from corrupt cops. But as long as it is not de jure legal, people will face some difficulty in exchanging it to other currencies or to store the money in a bank account (I don't think that storing large amounts in the physical form is safe, especially in a country that is going through economic devastation). For storing larger amounts, I guess cryptocurrency may be a better option.

And this is the "normal" behavior of all "people's rulers" - the people are told tales about the terrible but decaying west, of course about how the USA / Britain / is about to collapse or another situational "enemy" is chosen. And of course, they tell the people what useless dollars and the Western format of life. BUT in reality, all the "top" of the socialist / communist parties - prefer Western products, keep their savings in Western banks in US currency or another, but not in their own, and even less in their own banks. Children of such "people's leaders" study and do business in the West, mistresses, wives - live in houses and villas in those very capitalist countries. But for a stupid people a "horror story" is needed - the wild west, the victory of socialism, the collapse of capitalism, be patient a little and everything will be fine, but for now you have to live a little in shit .... And this can last for decades.

Corrupt cops are always trying to screw us anyways, in anyway you can imagine.
There is also an initiative going on to created bank accounts in USD so people can pay easily with it when buying their stuff, because due to de lack of coins and 1$ and 5$ bills, it can be difficult to spend exactly what you want. I have been in the sitution I needed to spend 10$ with a 20$ but I could not.
However, many people people do not trust banks here anymare, and will likely do not put their few USD with them, because of how they have limited the access to your savings in the past, nowadays, for example, in order to withdraw 5 million Bolivares in cash (about 2-5$ ) one needs to get up at 7 am and spend 2-4 hours in a line outside the bank, together with 500 hundred people. I did this last week.

So people literally stuff their few dollars under the matress.

OK.. so even if people are permitted to hold USD in their bank accounts, you are saying that few people would do that, since the banks are not trusted by the people. I can't blame the ordinary citizens, because we have seen bank accounts being used for wealth confiscation before (check what happened in Cyprus). But then holding all the USD bills under the mattress can be extremely risky. And since these are banknotes and not coins, you need to store them with care. Banknotes can get spoilt easily.

....
I can relate, it is usual to see pictures of our "leaders" relatives of the Socialist Party of Venezuela in pictures during the stay in New York, Florida.. or while going collegue in France.
Also, technically my country is a western one. But I believe I know what you meant.

OK.. so even if people are permitted to hold USD in their bank accounts, you are saying that few people would do that, since the banks are not trusted by the people. I can't blame the ordinary citizens, because we have seen bank accounts being used for wealth confiscation before (check what happened in Cyprus). But then holding all the USD bills under the mattress can be extremely risky. And since these are banknotes and not coins, you need to store them with care. Banknotes can get spoilt easily.

and that is actually the function of a bank, rather than keeping it at home, of course it will be very risky, so I think a bank is safer to save money, even though we are subject to administrative burdens that do not match the interest given.

Very good description :)
Yes, I once lived in such a "socialist paradise moving towards a communist super paradise". In comparison with those countries that I visited, where I communicated with people, compared values, mentality, and so far I have not met a more bastard regime than in the USSR, from almost 40 countries that I have visited. I am sincerely glad that that country has ended its existence, although there are still "metastases" of that defective country.

I am afraid I will have to move as well some day, sad but not much I can do.
I don't like being treated like this as citizen.

.....
And for DrBeer, I have one question. Are you happy with what happened after the disintegration of the USSR in 1992? I don't know much about Ukraine, but in Russia they had the drunkard Boris Yeltsin in power. He destroyed the Russian people and allowed oligarchs to loot the natural resources. In just 7 years, Russia became one of the poorest countries in the world from the superpower status it held before 1992. On the other hand, communist Alexander Lukashenko remained in power in Belarus, and that country fared much better when compared to Russia.

^^^ Thanks for the very detailed answer. I could agree to most of what you posted. I don't know much about the state of USSR before it disintegrated in 1992. But a lot of people in India and the other developing nations believe that they were one of the two superpowers, in terms of economy, military, nuclear technology and medical science. Form your response, it looks as if the only region that actually benefitted from being a part of the USSR was Central Asia (Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.etc). The majority of the ethnic Tajiks live in Afghanistan, and those who live in the ex-USSR republic seems to be in a much better situation compared to those in Afghanistan.

Well.. since DrBeer is from the former USSR, he will be more knowledgeable about how the socialist system works. And for Hispo, I agree. At this point there is not much that you can do about it, other than fleeing to some other country where your skills can be better utilized. Now everyone may not be able to migrate to the United States or Canada. So why don't you try your luck in Colombia or Guyana?

And for DrBeer, I have one question. Are you happy with what happened after the disintegration of the USSR in 1992? I don't know much about Ukraine, but in Russia they had the drunkard Boris Yeltsin in power. He destroyed the Russian people and allowed oligarchs to loot the natural resources. In just 7 years, Russia became one of the poorest countries in the world from the superpower status it held before 1992. On the other hand, communist Alexander Lukashenko remained in power in Belarus, and that country fared much better when compared to Russia.

I can relate, it is usual to see pictures of our "leaders" relatives of the Socialist Party of Venezuela in pictures during the stay in New York, Florida.. or while going collegue in France.

Also, technically my country is a western one. But I believe I know what you meant.

I have not considered Colombia or Guyana because of some reasons. Firstly, I dont know anyone in those countries and I am afraid we have bad relations with Guyana and Colombia, many frictions.

We have a dispute with Guyana for a part of territory and Colombians and Venezuelans have some historical differences which are more strong nowadays due to policies of my government and theirs.

Here in France Jean-Luc Mélenchon was a big fan of Chavez, and still defends Venezuela, claiming all that is wrong is because of the big bad USA. He got 19% at the last presidential election and is running again next year...

In practice this love for Venezuela is probably losing him a few millions votes...

He was in South America a couple weeks ago, while ordinary French people were banned from leaving a 10Km circle around their homes...

edit : Hispo you can always go to France aka Guyane, if you don't mind some mild socialism :d

Well.. you posted that you wanted to migrate to another country (that's what I understood). I thought that Colombia was a good option, since millions of Venezuelans have already moved to that country. Also, there seems to be an economic recovery, ever since the civil war ended. Other options that can be considered are Brazil, Argentina or even Chile. I believe that it is relatively easy for Venezuelan citizens to migrate to these countries.

Honestly, just typing this things made me feel a bit down.

Hispo : I'm talking about the bit of France in your corner of the world, French Guiana. Some people speak Spanish there. It's mostly the Amazon jungle and the coast, I have no idea what you could do there, just saying it's relatively safe. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants already.

At least in case of Venezuela, socialism played a large role in its decline. The first thing the socialist party did after coming to power was to nationalize the petroleum deposits. They nationalized most of the important resources, such as factories. And once these institutions came under government control, corruption and incompetence increased by a magnitude of several times, which eventually resulted in their collapse. And this in turn, destroyed the economy.

That's why socialism and communism won't work because no matter how promising it is for the proletariat, the aristocrat/bourgeoisie is just going to change coats and still be in control of the top of the pyramid. If socialism truly prioritizes the people more than the interest of the government then it will be able to work.

Here I disagree a little - I have not seen a single example from real life, where the lumpenized masses, making a "socialist coup", as the "Internationale" bequeathed, put the former aristocrats / bourgeoisie at the top of the government. Always at the top were extremely cruel, sadists with a large number of complexes, who then realized them through their permissiveness, or the status of "gods on earth". There are plenty of examples - from Russia in 1917 to Pol-Pot and similar scum. The main problem is that the foundation of the idea of ​​building a "socialist paradise" is built on the concepts laid down in the "International" and the concept of "red terror" and "dictatorship of the proletariat", and there it is openly written: "kill the rich, divide their wealth among all the poor. No private property, no democracy, no right to choose, whoever doesn't like it is a traitor and an enemy and must be destroyed. " Take and compare this idea with what was implemented in the USSR, North Korea, North Vietnam, Cambodia, Pakistan, China ... - 100% "fulfillment of covenants." And as a result, tens of millions of destroyed people, their own population ..

The same methodology is used in all the countries. Here in India, there are left-wing guerilla groups such as People's War Group and the Maoist Communist Centre of India. The aim of these groups are the same. Kill the rich people, and then redistribute their land and other valuable articles to the poor people. Back in the 90s, everyday we would read reports of massacres carried out by these groups in newspapers (and also of retaliatory attacks by right-wing groups). It is very easy to manipulate the poor people, especially if they are illiterate. 90% of the poor have a deep seated hatred for the rich people. And then there are manipulative people who exploit this hatred for their own benefit.

This is very far from politics. In an absolutely positive direction, it is a bit like Robin Hood, a "positive villain" from British legends. But in fact - all this is terrorism and systemic banditry. You have these groups, but our whole country not so long ago lived with such principles ... And the main thing is that a noticeable number of people believed that this was a good, right thing! Therefore, they dropped to the level of cattle in everything ...

I can understand at least partially what is going through your mind. Bad times don't last forever. Even if things don't change much in your country in the near future, you have already chosen the right path by becoming a Bitcoiner. All you need to do is to keep your coins safe and secure. The next rally should make all of us insanely rich. And once you are rich, you don't need to worry about how people treat you. In the modern world, money means everything. Once you have the money, no one will ask for your nationality. 

Hispo : I'm talking about the bit of France in your corner of the world, French Guiana. Some people speak Spanish there. It's mostly the Amazon jungle and the coast, I have no idea what you could do there, just saying it's relatively safe. And there are plenty of illegal immigrants already.

I thought it was really difficult to get there since it is considered to be French territory and part of the EU.
I personally try to plan to move legally somewhere.

He was probably suggesting to migrate there illegally, which is not a good move IMO. Illegal immigrants are not treated with respect in any corner of the world, and on top of that I don't think that anyone there can get around without a knowledge of spoken French. When it is perfectly legal to migrate to Argentina or Brazil, that should be the first choice. Although it is a part of France in a political sense, French Guiana is no more developed when compared to the other countries and territories in South America.

I can understand at least partially what is going through your mind. Bad times don't last forever. Even if things don't change much in your country in the near future, you have already chosen the right path by becoming a Bitcoiner. All you need to do is to keep your coins safe and secure. The next rally should make all of us insanely rich. And once you are rich, you don't need to worry about how people treat you. In the modern world, money means everything. Once you have the money, no one will ask for your nationality. 

Yes, It is not my intention to move anywhere illegaly, unless my life is directly threated or something like that and Argentina is definetely an option but i am afraid they may be commiting the same mistakes we did here.

I would also consider Mexico, but I do not know anyone there, sadly.

Also, do you have an idea about I could make with  a lot of obsolete banknote?

Money is indeed the key to solving problems, as long as we can make a lot of money, we should be able to solve the various problems we face.
I agree when we have a lot of money, people won't care which country we are from. Therefore it is the right decision, if someone wants to be rich
they choose to invest in Bitcoin. Because it has been proven that Bitcoin has increased this year which is very significant, it has succeeded
in making several people rich. Therefore, it is better to start focusing on investing in Bitcoin from now on, before the Bitcoin price gets higher.

Argentina may be a better option IMO. At least when compared to Brazil and Mexico, the crime levels are low and the people are friendly. But you are right in saying that Argentina had economic issues in the past. They famously defaulted on federal debt in 2001, which led to debt restructuring (I read that in total, they have defaulted on debt a total of 9 times). But more recently, I am hearing encouraging things regarding that country.

And now coming to obsolete banknotes, there are a lot of banknote collectors who purchase them in bulk and you can find them in Ebay. But exporting these banknotes from one country to another is not very easy. There are a lot of customs formalities to be taken care of (especially in the country where these banknotes are being imported).

If it was easier to send banknote, I would have already auction some one mine on here for BTC or alts.

Sometimes life is hard.

As long as these banknotes are in circulation, they won't be in much demand. When Zimbabwe was printing out the hundred trillion Z$ banknotes, no one really wanted them back then. But after they replaced Zimbabwe Dollar with the US Dollar, the demand for these banknotes increased. A few years back, I purchased 10 of them for $50. So if you can afford, accumulate as many banknotes as you can. After 5-10 years, they will be in great demand and you can sell them at huge profit.