The History of Rock - The 60's

Enjoy reading while listening to this playlist with the songs and 
artists mentioned in the article: CSA - History of Rock - 60's

While the rock declined in its country of origin, on the other side of the Atlantic, in England, mainly in the port cities (because it had easier access to the songs that came from the American continent), there was growing interest in rock and roll.

Billy Fury

Billy Fury was the first English rock artist to have an impact in the United States, still based on the commercial concepts of the original rock, with songs on demand. In the city of Liverpool, a cultural movement that took the name of a local music magazine, Mersey Beat, was taking shape. Among the local bands the Beatles already stood out.

In opposition to the youthful and innocent rock of the 50's, artists more concerned with passing important messages through music began to emerge in the United States. Based on folk music and playing in bars, artists such as Bob Dylan and Joan Baez emerged, who in a very short time would change the face of rock.

Joan Baez & Bob Dylan

The intellectual movement called Beatnik was of great importance in the formation of this new style. The Beat was characterized by the valorization of individuality, free will, experimentation and change, in contradiction to the maintenance of the old values ​​considered important by the bourgeoisie.


In 1963 Bob Dylan was already a star of relative impact and his intelligent lyrics caught the attention of the public and critics, unprecedented until then in pop music. In April he made his first big show in New York, and had a performance on Ed Sullivan's television show cancelled due to the "revolutionary" content of his lyrics. Rapidly folk music and mainly Bob Dylan would be taxed by communists and degenerates, which obviously attracted the attention of the young audience and increased the appeal of the new style.

The Beach Boys

From the rock to the old style perhaps the only great novelty at the beginning of the decade of the 60's were The Beach Boys, band of beginning directed basically to the community of surfists but that ended up having an unexpected repercussion with the hit "Surfin 'Usa" (a cheeky plagiarism" Sweet Little Sixteen "by Chuck Berry, for whom they would be prosecuted that same year). Other artists with surf themes, such as Jan & Dean, would appear on its trail.

In England, hired by George Martin of EMI, after having been despised by the label Decca, in 1963 the Beatles were already an unprecedented success using the formula of bringing the easy appeal of captivating songs to great presence, good humor and some cynicism in interviews, which caught the attention of the press. It was strange also for the time that the own members of the band were responsible for great part of their compositions. 

Rolling Stones

With a cover of "Come On" (music by Chuck Berry) he also debuted in England, still without much impact, the band Rolling Stones.

Herman's Hermits

The news did not take so long to spread to other countries. Bob Dylan and other folk artists from the United States finally penetrated the English market while at the same time the Beatles conquered America. Interestingly, in April 1964 Bob Dylan was number one in England with the music "The Times They Are A Changin" while the Beatles occupied the top five positions in the US charts (with "Can't Buy Me Love" in first place) . There was no friction or dispute between the opposing musical styles, the lyrics and the political stance of Bob Dylan were always openly praised by the Beatles.

The Kinks

The Rolling Stones became a great worldwide success with their trip to the United States shortly after the Beatles (the irreverent attitude of the Stones, with their frequent scandals, was the perfect antithesis to the education and good looks of the Beatles, conquering the most rebellious part of the public). Other English bands like Herman's Hermits, The Kinks and The Animals also emerged.

The Animals

As of 1965, with the band Yardbirds (of so short career as influential, that had among its members to Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck) and The Who, the rock began to gain an unpublished aggressiveness, with guitars more distorted and more amplification.

                         The Yardbirds

The Who

In 1966, with the single "Substitute" The Who finally brought hard rock for the first time to the top of the charts, while Eric Clapton formed the power trio Cream. In the United States the novelties were less aggressive: the definitive fusion between the folk and the rock of the band The Byrds and Simon & Garfunkel and the vocal harmonies of the band The Mammas and The Pappas.

Cream

The Byrds

The drugs were no longer consumed to eliminate fatigue, but to seek pleasure and altered states of perception. The music of the time was strongly influenced by drugs like LSD. The new type of music was called psychedelic.

Simon & Garfunkel

The Mammas and the Pappas

On the LSD effect the Beatles recorded what was possibly the most revolutionary album in the history of rock, "Sgt. Peppers' Lonely Hearts Club Band", in 1967. For the first time a rock band definitively broke with the extremely commercial format of hit music, releasing a work in which each song was only part of the whole. After spending more than 700 hours and six months of recording, it was an instigating album from its cover (a collage of personalities admired by the Beatles) to the last groove of the album (a cycle without end).

For many Sgt. Peppers is considered the birth of progressive rock (which does not follow any predefined concept, based on experimentation and originality). The band became one of the most successful bands of the decade and most successful in the history of pop music.

Jimi Hendrix

Discovered and taken to England by the ancient Animals, Jimi Hendrix would be another great revelation of 1967. With his second single, Purple Haze (the first was Hey Joe, a year earlier) Hendrix caught the attention not only of the Public, but of stars as Eric Clapton and Mick Jagger, creating a new sound and definitely expanding the role and resources of the electric guitar in rock.

Grateful Dead

Jefferson Airplane

Based on the aggression to the establishment and freedom (sexual and experimentation) inherited from beat thinking, the United States appeared in the hippie movement, concentrated mainly in San Francisco, and having as exponents bands as Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane (clearly influenced by drugs ) and The Doors (with their first single, Light My Fire) and artists derived from folk music like Janis Joplin.

The Doors

It is the time of the flowers in the hair (hence the term flower power), the long hair and alternative communities. The three-pointed symbol related to the slogan "peace and love" was taken from the military signage that meant "cease bombing". Nothing more appropriate in the Vietnam war era. 

The great event of the year 1967 would be the Monterey Pop Festival that brought together in California Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Animals, Simon and Garfunkel, Buffalo Springfield, among others.

In 1968 with the end of the band Yardbirds, Jimmy Page formed the New Yardbirds soon renamed as Led Zeppelin, at the same time that Cream achieved a deserved success. Another hard rock band, Steppenwolf, with the song "Born To Be Wild", coined the term 'heavy metal' for the first time. The sound of Led Zeppelin was unprecedented, and although very based on the blues, more aggressive than any previous song. Virtuous instruments, solos and indefinite time improvisations began to stand out. Hard rock began its heyday at the same time that the classics like the Beatles and Pink Floyd, went through increasing problems of coexistence (although the Beatles still had their career ahead for almost two years, Pink Floyd underwent a great change with the exit of Syd Barret).

Led Zeppelin

Steppenwolf

Pink Floyd

1969 was the year of the great festivals. The death of a fan during a Rolling Stones show during a free presentation at the Altamond, California, festival was the negative frame of the year. But even this bad impression would not be able to stifle the realization of what was possibly the biggest music event of all time, between August 15th and 17th, at Woodstock, interpreted by many as the framework of the beginning of a new era of peace and love, with presentations among others by Joe Cocker, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jefferson Airplane and The Who.

Joe Cocker

Woodstock Festival

In the Newport Jazz Festival, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, John Mayall, Ten Years After, Jeff Beck, James Brown, Johnny Winter, among others. With bands of virtuoso musicians such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Cream, Jethro Tull and Deep Purple, and Frank Zappa's super-experimental Mothers of Invention, associated with the increasingly elaborate works of old bands like The Beatles and The Who (which had launched the rock opera Tommy, definitely elevating rock to the category of art) the characteristic simplicity of early rock had disappeared.

Jethro Tull

John Mayall

Ten Years After

Jeff Beck

* You might also be interested in: The History of Rock - The 50's

James Brown

Johnny Winter

Mothers of Invention

* You might also be interested in: The History of Rock - The Beginnings

Venezuela: Military support Juan Guaido and release Leopoldo Lopez

Juan Guaidó launched the "final phase of Freedom Operation" surrounded by soldiers and the Venezuelans defy the repression of the regime.

The president in charge of Venezuela, accompanied by the opposition leader Leopoldo López, gave a message to the country. "We are going to the street. National Armed Force continue the deployment until we consolidate the end of the usurpation, which is already irreversible," he said.

The Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo López, released today by related military, was sentenced in September 2015 to almost 14 years in prison for crimes related to an opposition march convened on February 12th, 2014 and which resulted in three deaths.

He remained for more than three years in the military prison of Ramo Verde and since mid-2017 he was under house arrest.

Today, April 30th, López is released by opposition forces and transferred to the La Carlota military base in Caracas.

Brief summary of the facts

06:00 hrs: The interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, affirmed on Twitter that he began the final phase of Operation Libertad "with the main units of the Armed Forces" and summoned the people of Venezuela to the La Carlota air base.

07:20 hrs: The American senator Marco Rubio stated on twitter: "The Maduro regime called for armed groups to take the streets, which is a clear sign that they have lost faith in the military."

11:00 hrs: Juan Guaidó once again expressed on Twitter: "The streets of Venezuela are still filled with people and more people!" All the Venezuelans who are taking to the streets, Brothers, we are making history, the cessation of the usurpation is irreversible. #TodaVenezuelaALaCalle ".

11:04 hrs: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left a message on Twitter: "Brazil stands in solidarity with the long-suffering Venezuelan people enslaved by a dictator supported by the PT, the PSOL and ideological allies." We support the freedom of this sister nation to finally live a true democracy. "

11:55 hrs: Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero informed that today at 15:30 hrs there will be a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Lima Group by teleconference to analyze the situation in Venezuela.

12:15 hrs: Juan Guaidó spoke again on Twitter: "We have talked with our allies in the international community and we have their strong support for this irreversible process of change in our country, Operation Libertad began and we will resist until we achieve a free Venezuela #TodaVenezuelaALaCalle ".

"The dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro has done a giant, immeasurable damage to the life of Venezuela and also to the quality of life of Venezuelans and I am convinced that this dictatorship sooner rather than later must end," said Chilean President Sebastian Piñera.

Source: 

Infobae

Emol

Que es el TPP-11 ?

El TPP-11 (Trans-Pacific Partnership) es el tratado plurilateral más grande de la región Asia Pacífico, y está formado por 11 países con un mercado de 498 millones de personas equivalentes al 12% del PIB global. Su objetivo es profundizar los lazos comerciales mediante el fomento y la liberalización del flujo de bienes, servicios e inversiones.

El TPP-11 (CCTPP - Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) o Tratado Integral y Progresista de Asociación Transpacífico se inicia el año 2010 y ha requerido muchas negociaciones hasta el año 2015, el cual se firma en Febrero del año 2016. El año 2017 Estados Unidos decide retirarse del tratado y Chile convoca y lidera el proceso para buscar alternativas que permitan seguir adelante con un TPP sin EE.UU. Finalmente se firma el nuevo acuerdo en Marzo del año 2018.

Luego del retiro de Estados Unidos (del TPP-12) los 11 países restantes (Brunei, Chile, Nueva Zelandia, Singapur, Australia, Perú, Malasia, Vietnam, México, Canada y Japón) deciden continuar con este tratado por considerarlo positivo y beneficioso para sus economías y porque era necesario dar una señal de integración y libre comercio contra las medidas proteccionistas de algunos países.

Este tratado se inserta en la política comercial del país que se mantiene durante los últimos 30 años mediante la apertura de nuestra economía al mundo. 

Poner en vigencia este acuerdo reforzaría los buenos resultados que han generado los 26 tratados comerciales que mantenemos con diversas economías del mundo, por lo que en la práctica su implementación no debiera significar grandes cambios o efectos negativos.

Uno de los mitos que actualmente existen es en relación a la industria farmacéutica por lo que es necesario aclarar que no hay ninguna disposición en el TPP que pueda alterar el acceso o tener un impacto en el precio de los medicamentos en nuestro país.

También es necesario destacar que en este acuerdo se ha buscado salvaguardar los intereses de Chile contemplando avanzar en normas de genero, medioambientales y de PYMES.

Este acuerdo es importante para Chile porque a través de todos los Gobiernos de Chile, que han participado en la negociación del Tratado desde el año 2010 a la fecha (Sebastian Piñera y Michelle Bachelet), hemos compartido nuestra convicción por una política exterior de estado, con visión de futuro, que resguarda y protege los intereses del país.

  

Por qué es importante para Chile la aprobación del TPP11 ?

Fuente: 

DIRECON Gobierno de Chile

Senado de Chile

Apuntes del autor

Jair Bolsonaro will consult Congress about Brazil role if there is an invasion to Venezuela

Brazilian President said that at the moment his country and the United States intend to create fissures in the Venezuelan Army to undermine the support of the military to the dictator Nicolás Maduro and evaluated that deepening the "economic embargo" can pressure the regime "to fall"

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that if there is a military intervention in Venezuela led by the United States, he will consult the National Defense Council and Congress to decide how Brazil should proceed.

In an interview with local radio station Jovem Pan, Bolsonaro stated that a military action in Venezuela can lead to guerrilla actions and take too much time.

"In the weakness of Maduro is the strength of the dictatorship," the president said, referring to the Armed Forces, when asked about what he intends to do to resolve the deep crisis suffered by Venezuela.

Bolsonaro, who recognizes, like another fifty countries, the head of the Venezuelan Parliament, Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate president of that country, assessed that deepening the "economic embargo" may pressure the Maduro government "to fall".

"We can not let Venezuela become a new Cuba or even a North Korea," said the head of state, in power since January 1st.

He also reiterated that the United States is at the "vanguard" in relation to the measures that must be adopted in Venezuela and commented that the president of that country, Donald Trump, told him during his meeting in the White House that "all the possibilities are on the table", including that of a military intervention.

"What can Brazil do? Let's suppose there is a military invasion there, the decision (to support or not) will be mine, but I will listen to the National Defense Council and then the Brazilian Parliament to make a decision on that issue," he said.

However, the Brazilian president questioned that option because he would not know the duration of this operation, among other factors, and therefore, opted to deepen the "economic embargo" and expect a "fissure in the Army."

"The intention that exists in the US and ours is also that there is a split in the Venezuelan Army, there is no other way because who decides, as I said a long time ago and I was criticized, if a country is in a democracy or dictatorship are the Armed Forces, "he declared.

On the other hand, he affirmed that the plan to try to introduce humanitarian aid across the borders of Brazil and Colombia, "achieved a large part of the objective" because it caused the indigenous to turn against the Maduro Government last February, as well as "part of the population"

"Venezuela can not continue as it is, with the people suffering and with a large part of them fleeing for Colombia or Brazil, we must put an end to that," he said.

Source: Infobae - with information from Reuters and EFE.

Juan Guaidó willing to invoke foreign military missions in Venezuela

The opposition parliamentary leader Juan Guaidó, recognized as President in charge of Venezuela for more than fifty countries, said on Saturday that he could request military intervention in Venezuela in the presence of Russian and Cuban military without permission from Parliament.

The interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, announced on Saturday to be willing to invoke an article of the Constitution that allows to summon foreign military missions in the country. However, under the framework of cooperation, EFE reported.

The statements of the head of the Parliament were made in front of a group of followers gathered in the state of Miranda. In the present day simultaneous protests were developed throughout the country, called by the opposition and in rejection of the electric power cut suffered by a good part of the Bolivarian nation since last Monday.

"When we speak for example of 187 and we said, of course we are going to invoke it, now, in the framework of cooperation because it is also part of what our allies can do or not, not us," he said.

"We are going to insist on cooperation," he added.

According to news agency reports, the constitutional regulation "187.11" authorizes the use of "Venezuelan military missions abroad or foreign in the country." Some sectors of the opposition had asked, in the last days, to put into practice this legislature.

The Government of the United States has been, to date, the administration that has put in greater evidence its interest in supporting the Venezuelan opposition through a military intervention.

In a recent press conference, held after the meeting between the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and Donald Trump, the president of the White House said that "all options" were on the table regarding the political crisis in Venezuela.

On the other hand, the Brazilian representative has said that his country has no interest in carrying out an interference of this type in the Latin American nation.

This, however, contradicts the statements of his son, the federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro. In an interview with the Chilean media, La Tercera, the official warned that "in some way" the use of force "will be necessary against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

Most Venezuelan cities have suffered power cuts

Last Wednesday, Guaidó announced the beginning of the preparatory phase of "Operation Libertad". The operation seeks to remove, definitively, Chavismo and Maduro from power.

This week the "Committees of Aid and Freedom" will be set up in different states, with a view to future mobilizations. These actions also seek to involve the officers of the Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), whom they requested to be attentive to the call of the National Assembly.

During his speech, the interim president once again encouraged Venezuelans to mount a protest whenever there are shortages of supplies, after a week of constant blackouts across the country.

At the same time, he asked those present to organize to express their dissatisfaction with the Maduro government, to which he once again took responsibility for the problems in the electricity grid.

"There are some people out there who are saying that this has gone off, do not laugh, the only thing that went out is a regime that left the streets of the country in darkness," he said. "Here we are not asking for patience, on the contrary, we are asking for organization and actions now."

                                    

Source:

Cybercuba

Potafolio

Chile signs Free Trade Agreement with Brazil

Main recipient of Chilean investment and largest trading partner in the region: The figures of the economic relationship with Brazil.

Last November, both countries signed a free trade agreement, which was negotiated in "record" time, and which must be ratified by Congress.

This agreement between both countries addresses issues as diverse as telecommunications, electronic commerce, services, environment, employment and gender, as well as economic cooperation.

"The agreement incorporates new chapters on technology, cybersecurity, in terms of Antarctic collaboration, in many fields that we have managed to advance, including the firm will of our countries to unite the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean, from Puerto Murtinho, going through Paraguay and Argentina, to the ports in the north of our country, "said President Sebastián Piñera, on that occasion.

Hence, the importance for both countries of maintaining solid commercial relations, whose commercial exchange last year amounted to USD 10,066 million. Brazil - a market of 208 million inhabitants - is Chile's first commercial partner in Latin America, and the main recipient of direct investment abroad, which stands out for its capacity to generate employment, which already reaches 159,000 people, according to Direcon figures.

The attractiveness of Brazil as a destination for Chilean investments has been evident during the sexennium between 2010 and 2017, when Chilean companies accumulated investments for USD 17,231 million, that is, the figure represents 36.2% of the total invested in the world in that period. "The agreement, negotiated and signed last year, due to the sense of urgency imposed by both governments, will enter into the Congress in the coming weeks.

But not only at the government level are constant efforts to expand political and economic relations. In fact, under this framework of Jair Bolsonaro's visit to Chile, a delegation of national businessmen met with the Brazilian President.

To see some of the most important figures of the commercial relations of Chile and Brazil check the infographic below:

Source: Emol.com 

https://www.emol.com/noticias/Economia/2019/03/23/942085/Las-cifras-que-marcan-las-relaciones-economicas-entre-Chile-y-Brasil.html

PROSUR - Chilean President calls on South American leaders to defend ideas of freedom and respect for human rights

Santiago de Chile - Chilean President Sebastian Piñera encourages the Latin American right and calls his supporters to be "warriors" in the face of 21st century socialism.

During his speech at the Santiago Forum, the President summoned the leaders of the sector to defend the ideas of freedom in each of their countries to "counteract" the influence of the left in the continent.

President Piñera made a clear call to the leaders and right-wing parties in Latin America to defend freedom and respect for human rights in their countries, with the aim of "counteracting" the ideas promoted by the socialism of the 21st century that led to failure in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

During his speech at the Forum of Santiago, organized by the Chilean conglomerate "Chile Vamos", in which they called representatives of different collectives and study centers of the sector at the regional level, the President underscored the need for everyone to act in a coordinated manner to defeat the ideas that the left has permeated in the countries of the continent.

After referring to the political crisis in Venezuela, Piñera recalled that "ten years ago virtually our entire continent was under the influence of misguided ideas of the Sao Paulo Forum, under the auspices of the Cuban Communist Party and the Brazilian Workers' Party, which preached ideas that have failed in the whole world. "

"The fall of the Soviet Union is the best expression of the failure of twentieth century socialism: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, are the best expressions of the failure of 21st century socialism and for that reason, because there is no evil that lasts 100 years, I am sure that the dictatorships and especially that of Venezuela has his days numbered", he said.

In this context, the head of state said that "today we are sowing a seed to counteract the bad teachings and bad ideas that unfortunately spread and dominated our Latin America from the Forum of Sao Paulo and replace them with the ideas of freedom, respect for people. "

"The State must be at the service of the common good and of the people, and not try to use them or manipulate them in causes that we all know have not only been wrong, but have only led to pain, suffering and death wherever they may have been applied", he said.

In his opinion, "we have to play the mission that corresponds to us: To be the warriors, the ideologists, those who defend our ideas with conviction, with will and with enthusiasm and in that way we will be able to build a Latin America and in each one from our countries more free, prosperous and just societies".

Cuba and Venezuela are dictatorships

During his speech, the president stopped in the Venezuelan situation, saying that "today we have brutal dictatorships and that is something that for a long time the countries of Latin America did not know how to confront: 60 years in Cuba and more than two decades of a democracy that it was transformed into a dictatorship, as it is the case of Venezuela. "

"Because Venezuela and Cuba, let's say it with force and clarity, are dictatorships: there are no political freedoms, no human rights are respected, no separation of powers, no freedom of expression and today we have known sad news, which is the kidnapping of Roberto Marrero, who is the chief of the cabinet of President Juan Guaidó", he stressed.

The President stressed that "once again the Venezuelan dictatorship shows its most miserable and most perverse face to the whole world, I was in Cúcuta and many people ask what was achieved." Many things were achieved: unite, motivate and revive the opposition democracy in Venezuela"

"The world saw a President trying to get humanitarian aid in a peaceful way, medicine and food that the Venezuelan people needed urgently, and it saw, on the other hand, a dictator who brutally repressed his own people and who showed the ugliest and most miserable face of that dictatorship", he concluded.

Source: emol.com

The Collapse of the Venezuelan Economy and the Plan of the Inter-American Development Bank

Venezuela's economy depends mainly on the heavy oil it produces. This is processed in specialized refineries, concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico, in the state of Louisiana, although something is processed in China and India. By the year 2000, Venezuela was producing over three million barrels per day.

The strikes by PDVSA (Venezuelan oil company) in 2002 and 2003, organized by a front of businessmen, managers and engineers to stop Chavez's reforms, were followed by the massive dismissal of its administrators and technicians, which negatively affected production in more than half a million daily barrels. 

Putting loyal chavismo groups without adequate training, to manage a very complex business in itself was deteriorating the capacity of the state company, which was also milked to finance social gifts and subsidize the consumption of gasoline in the Caribbean countries.

When Maduro assumed power, in 2012, production was at 2.4 million barrels per day to deteriorate much more from then on: in 2017 it was 1.5 million daily and last year it was reduced to one million barrels, when it was handed over to the Bolivarian Guard to administer it. 

With the US financial boycott and the loss of control over its CITGO subsidiary in the United States, the prospects of the state company are darker. The collapse of the electrical system is associated with the same tendency to dismiss the technical and experienced body of the administration, with the consequent disorder and unpredictability in the maintenance of what was one of the most modern integral electrical systems in the world.

Under Chávez, inflation ranged between 20 and 40% per year, while imported products with oil at USD 130 a barrel abounded. In 2015, inflation was around 160%, the printing presses of the regime could not cope and millions of bills were imported, each time worth less. 

In 2018 inflation ended at approximately 1.3 million%, because nobody can measure it, rationing the few assets available to the militants, because they did not even reach for the supporters of Maduro, quite alienated from the original Chavism. Each Venezuelan citizen has lost about 11 kilos of weight.

The impact that Maduro's incompetent and corrupt administration has had, it has been the destruction of more than half of the Venezuelan economy. According to figures published by the BBC, the economy contracted 16% in each of the last three years, to which it is necessary to add another 10% of contraction in 2014 and 2015. 

The expropriations of the private sector that Chávez made from 2003, plus the terrible administration in the socialized sector, explain this enormous tragedy, marking one of the most acute economic contractions recorded in the history of mankind.

The consequences for public health have also been negative: it is estimated that there are more than 600,000 cases of malaria, when this disease was practically controlled in Venezuela. Diseases such as measles threaten to become endemic, with more than 3,500 cases reported in 2018.




The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has a plan to resuscitate Venezuela's economy when Maduro leaves

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is willing to work with the government of Juan Guaidó to recover the potential of the Venezuelan economy. It is estimated that USD 4 billion a year will be needed to relaunch the Venezuelan oil sector. But priorities are clear. First? Address the humanitarian problem. Second? "Restore the conditions so that the productive apparatus of the country works fairly well". 

Luis Alberto Moreno: The IDB has not had relations with Maduro for 15 months (Photo: WEF)

Although Venezuela remains officially a shareholder of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), it has been more than 15 months since Nicolás Maduro's regime paid the IDB the commitments it had acquired. In May 2018 the default reached such a point (212.4 million dollars) that this multilateral bank automatically suspended all relationship with the regime: disbursements on loans, missions to the country, donations for projects ... The relationship was frozen.

The IDB also criticizes the fact that Venezuela's fiscal deficit is 25%, that 56% of households do not have the capacity to buy food, and that the stock of flours and oils does not meet the demand of more than a week. "That is the kind of reality that President Guaidó is going to find," stresses the IDB president.

But there is an even more "impressive" fact, as Moreno describes it. And it is that "94% of Venezuelans are in poverty," he says. A harsh reality in an economy that today barely adds USD 100,000 million of GDP and with a debt of almost USD 145,000 million, according to IDB data.

To resuscitate the Venezuelan economy, this multilateral bank has clear priorities. The first, address the humanitarian problem. The second, to restore the conditions so that the productive apparatus of the country works fairly well. "In the case of electricity, almost 50% of the generation capacity that Venezuela has it is paralyzed for different reasons.

As for the plan to relaunch the oil sector, crucial in the Venezuelan economy, this is to invest "at least USD 4,000 million a year, to continue producing the same million barrels they currently have." "If you want to raise that production, you would have to significantly increase those investments."

And although the plan is designed, the slogan is clear: "You can not do everything at the same time, you have to start sector by sector. There has to be a stabilization process in the first year, and then gradually go on doing more things. 

Source:  UTADEO - University of Bogota El Espectador newspaper Alnavio.com

The History of Rock - The Beginnings

The Beginnings of Rock

The war economy and the development of industry had brought more people from the countryside to the city, forcing the relationship between whites and blacks and social and racial tension, but also favoring the mutual influence between black music (blues) and white music (mainly country and jazz).

Rhythm and blues emerged from the fusion of the original blues with the more danceable rhythms of whites, which brought black music to the knowledge of the consumer population.

In the early 1950s, with the end of World War II and the Korean War, the United States emerged as a great world power. More than at any other time in history, the enjoyment of life was encouraged, a way that society had to overcome the years of suffering of war. The population in general and even minorities for the first time had money to spend on superfluous items such as music.

With the announcement of the explosion of atomic bombs by the Soviet Union and a possible "end of the world" at any moment, the general order was to take advantage of each moment as if it were the last.

In full capitalist economic growth consumption was considered a prime factor for the generation of jobs and foreign exchange, as well as the best antidote against communism, and the search for new consumer markets was incessant.

Obviously the youngest part of the population quickly became more easily influential and for the first time the adolescent public was given the right to have products destined for their exclusive consumption, also as a power of choice. Strangely, the white youths largely refused to consume the music normally consumed by the white majority and began to look for something different in the music of the ghettos.

With the large record industry not ready to supply the consuming public with this type of music, small labels of black music have gained importance. The acceptance of this type of music by the public of greater purchasing power led the incipient record industry of the time to invest in the evolution of style and the search and hiring of new talents, mainly in the search for a young white man who could tame that style allying to him an image that could be sold more easily.

Re-releases of songs by blacks re-recorded by white artists became common, which ended up taking the true creators of the style from the top of the charts.

Another great revolution of manners was in progress. Sex was no longer taboo and was considered fun (both for men and women). The songs of love by pressure of the buying public happened to give rise to more vulgar letters, although many times it was necessary to create attenuated versions of more direct verses. The explosive mix of thrilling black music with teenage white consumerism had been created ... the explosion was a matter of time.

But who would have been the man who deserved to be crowned as responsible for the "creation" of rock and roll? Obviously such a complex musical style could not have its invention indisputably attributed to a single individual or group of individuals. But if someone deserved to have his name associated with the "creation" of rock as we know it, this would not be Elvis or Bill Haley or Chuck Berry or any other leading singer or band. The "inventor" of the term rock and roll and responsible for the dissemination of the style was the disk jokey Alan Freed, promoter of rhythm and blues programs in Cleveland, Ohio, who first captured and invested in the lack of the young consumer for a new type of music more energetic and first perceived the commercial potential of black music.

The term rock and roll was a slang for black Americans, referring to the sexual act, present even in many blues lyrics. Allan Freed was responsible for using the sound name to name the new musical style in which he was investing.

While young people adopt the new rhythm as their trademark, adults mainly from the most conservative sectors of society, blamed it as a cause of all juvenile delinquency... despite the exaggeration of the protests, they were not so wrong, the taste for rock was really part of the youth gang style.

Alan Freed on Spotify