Venezuela to Spend $631 Billion on Public Hospital Repairs

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Bloomberg News

Venezuela to Spend $631 Billion on Public Hospital Repairs

By Theresa Bradley

July 25 (Bloomberg) -- Venezuela will spend 1.4 trillion bolivars ($631 billion) to repair 62 public hospitals this year, more than matching cash earmarked for medical equipment and hospital improvements in 2006, Health Minister Jesus Mantilla said.

Repairs have begun at 54 clinics, Mantilla told state media at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new emergency room at Caracas's Perez Carreno Hospital tonight.

President Hugo Chavez, who inaugurated the 16 billion bolivar facility, announced additional state plans to build 15 public specialty hospitals, where technology and staff will offer ``the perfect combination of man and machine,'' he said.

Chavez, who this year nationalized key parts of the nation's energy and telecommunications industries as part of his self-titled socialist revolution, has threatened to take over private hospitals and clinics that violate price controls on health services. He also has brought more than 20,000 Cuban doctors to the country to provide free basic care at neighborhood clinics through his Barrio Adentro health-care program.



Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aENOJYmf24Xk&refer=latin_america

[Vidar]

1. Go Hugo!

[nebula]

2. ...$631 billion for healthcare?

That's amazing. I guess its time for an embargo right about now. :sarcasm:

What would normally be finding its way into the pockets of Exxon and Chevron, if
the US had its way, is instead diverted for the actual benefit of the people.

A revolution has truly taken place in South America. Bravo! :)

[denverbill]

3. Those numbers can't be right.

That's $10 billion per hospital. You could build 6000 brand new hospitals with $600 billion.

I obviously support his increased healthcare spending, but I think the numbers got messed up in translation or in currency conversion.

[endarkenment]

5. 1000 B = $0.47

$658,000,000

Bloomberg should be ashamed.

[burrowowl]

20. Isn't Bloomberg a

finacial journal? Scary they can't do simple arithmatic.

[endarkenment]

4. Stalin Mao Castro!

I just wanted to get that out of the way.
--

[conspirator]

6. Where are the critics now? n/t

[mark414]

7. whoops...they threw a few too many zeros in there...

1.4 trillion bolivars is only about 652 million US dollars...still a heavy chunk of change though

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

8. May have been a honest mistake. Or may have been a dishonest one. -nt

[indepat]

13. Hell, that would fund the Iraqi war for what, two days?

[Psephos]

9. Impressive, given that the entire Venezuelan economy is $186 billion

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/print/ve.html

[endarkenment]

10. 658,000,000 - bloomberg f*d up

[Flanker]

15. That was last year this year it is above 200 billion.

nm

[Psephos]

24. On oil profits, no doubt. n/t

[High Plains]

11. Ooh, I hate dictators!

[arcos]

12. "Billion" is a different thing in Spanish, so it IS a translation error...

Bloomberg should still be ashamed nonetheless. :)


They translated the Spanish word "millardo" to "trillion", when in English you would call it a "billion".

It is weird, because after "millardo" or "mil millones" (literally "a thousand millions") which is also used, we have "billón", "trillón", "cuatrillón", etc, meaning that our "billón" is actually your "trillion", and our "trillón" is your "quadrillion", etc.

[Flanker]

14. Actually quadrillion is a billard (thousand billion in longscale

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales#Comparison

[mikelgb]

16. latinofascist dictator!

[DutchLiberal]

17. Hugo Chávez is my hero.

It was sickening how he was put in the same row as Ahmadinejad and Kim Jong Il during the CNN/YouTube debate. And every Democrat who answered the question bought it. x(

[Pavulon]

18. That would be the whole power grab thing he is doing...

A quick search on the actions he is taking shed light on his true colors.

But , as long as people get better health care that is a good thing.

Hopefully he will stave off the urge to become the benevolant dictator.

[Warren Stupidity]

19. And there we have it: spending on public health is totalitarian.

Thank you for being so consistent.

[DutchLiberal]

27. Please, all those so-called 'power grabs' were approved by the democratically elected parliament

Can't say that about Bush. Bush is the true dictator, yet nobody in Western media is putting HIM in the same row with Kim and Ahmadinejad.

[ProudDad]

21. K&R

Gee, where can we get one of those there tin-pot, totalitarian dictators for ourselves???


These wonderful democracy lovers like bush just ain't workin' out for us, are they?

Viva Chavez! Viva el pueblo de Venezuela!!!

[dollie300]

22. This man must be stopped at all costs. The nerve of him wanting to help

poor people. What is the world coming to?:crazy:

[ohio2007]

23. As long as peak oil remains a myth, he can keep the people happy

Oil is a magic wand

[IndianaGreen]

26. Chavez held talks with Brazil to get a nuclear power program going

Chavez knows that oil is not a limitless resource.

[Doctor_J]

30. I would bet that when the oil revenues dry up, Hugo will have

something else ready to go. He's not as stupid as some other Western leaders.

[IndianaGreen]

25. Hillary won't talk to Chavez because he doesn't use oil profits to buy American weapons

Hillary prefers a privatized health care system for Venezuela, put everyone on an American style HMO.

[Doctor_J]

28. Dammit, Hugo! That money is supposed to go to CEO's!

Where are your priorities, man?

[rabidchickens]

29. Please edit your topic

I think your figures are off..

Chavez is building 15 more hospitals all new state-of-the-art and is repairing all these other hospitals, but i think the figure is 631 MILLION not BILLION