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June 24, 2007

The odd alliance aiding Nicaragua

Thomas Lifson
Communism and shortages go together. When the price mechanism is tossed out and the planners take over, watch out!  That lesson is being re-learned in Nicaragua, which recently installed Daniel Ortega back in power, and is experiencing power shortages.

Prensa Latina is reporting that an odd group of friends is shipping power gerenration equipment to Nicaragua.

Managua, Jun 22 (Prensa Latina) Nicaragua´s energy service will stabilized by the first trimester of next year, President Daniel Ortega affirmed....  

According to the president, along with the generators to be supplied by Cuba, Venezuela, and Taiwan, the country is likely to receive others by Iran, where he traveled last week.

Cuba and Venezuela already provided 32 generators with capacity to produce 60 megabytes per hour, and promised to supply a similar amount early next year.

Power generation deficit in Nicaragua worsened in the last few days, after interruptions in several generating units, resulting in up to ten-hour blackouts.

Ortega denounced the energy crisis is due to lack of management in the last 16 years of neo-liberal governments which privatized the sector and cut off investments.

Aside from the translation problems (or maybe they have a lot of computers to power up?), this is a most interesting dispatch. Notice that the suppliers include the unlikely addition of Taiwan to the Islamo-commie alliance. Two possible explanations occur to me.

One, although virtually an unknown brand in the United States, Tatung of Taiwan is a respected producer of a very wide range of electrical and electronic goods, from HDTVs to electrical power generation and distribution equipment. Perhaps some of this equipment was the best available at the price. High quality, value-priced goods from Taiwan are no strangers in many catgories of manufactured goods.

Two, the government of Taiwan is desperate for international recognition. Only 24 countries have diplomatic relations, and many are small. Nicaragua is one of the lucky 24. No doubt this is a vestige of the anti-communist regime replaced by Ortega. Evidently, the Taiwanese are anxious to maintain this diplomatic tie, and seeing an economic benefit, Ortega is in no hurry to end the arrangement.

Politics does indeed make strange bedfellows. Few places on earth are more anti-communist than Taiwan.

Hat tip: Joseph Crowley and Douglas Hanson

Posted at 10:26 AM | Email |

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