midas, my views have changed regarding what hugo wants in the mining industry.

i believe hugo wants the status quo....illegal miners cost him very little and leave lots of room for graft/corruption. he can get his cut and hide it while still blaming the illegals for any environmental concerns...basically, if he keeps it illegal there is no paper trail...if mining is done legally then hugo wont get near as much of the pie. it would be reported and the money would have to be accounted for....

until the illegals have tapped every oz they can i dont see any changes under hugo...the only thing that would help with regard to hugo changing his views is a big fat check....and that wont happen because everyone in the world knows hugo will take a check then screw you six months later.

eventially (as gold gets harder to find/process) ven will have to accept transnationals..they talk a good game of (technology, blah blah blah) but the fact is that ven cant even pick up the garbage in caracas...how the hell are they gonna handle new technology?