And when the OAS under a very bold secretary basic, Luis Almagro, attempts to bring the organization toward acknowledging that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the full assistance of the hemisphere, and certainly much of the Caribbean Basin has actually not accompanied that. And if you line up the votes, who enacted favor and who abstained, you can do a quite easy one for one contrast based on who belongs to Petrocaribe. And so the ramification of your question I think is area on, you know, which is why I believe when we talk about the Caribbean in Washington, usually we consider it in the context of, you know, island nations or programs or social advancement, and all of these are really, very important concerns.
And the dividends pay off down the roadway when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight of the worldwide neighborhood. Then they have pals that they can count on and it pays dividends for them - What happened to household finance corporation. So I think that at the end of the day that is chuck mcdowell wikipedia a lesson honestly that we can discover, and I believe we can develop toward reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I concur 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela stepped in at a time that was extremely essential for much of the area and now the area is quite paying the cost, whether it is in financial obligation or other locations connected to votes and other requirements that they do as a result of the-- Mr.
Increased costs in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Visit website Mr. Sires. A boost in the cost of energy likewise. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, definitely, absolutely. And so I think to the point, we are at a crucial point now with the expense of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply increasing and the area taking a look at methods to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through gas or getting the region less based on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to new types of energy is going to make a huge distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I don't think things happen by mishap.
The other issue that I have is the considerable increase of China in this area. You know, we seem to be put to a lull of sleep or something due to the fact that everyone seems to relocate and after that we react. And we do not seem to capture these things till something like this takes place, you know, like Venezuela. So sadly, you know, considering that I have actually been here we have been pushing-- and I understand Mr. Meeks and timeshares com the other members that are here, you know, this is a crucial area for us. It is an important area for America and we actually must focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they come in and they throw cash, you know, at these little nations, which in truth they can't manage not to accept the cash. So how much of influence exists now of the Chinese? And I understand it is growing, but-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is really really interesting to enjoy the method China has kind of entered the region and the types of tasks. Sometimes it is a sports stadium - How to owner finance a home. I believe the recent, the Baha Mar ordeal in the Bahamas, you have seen the Chinese Federal government come in in a way that the U.S.
If a Chinese designer enters into a nation in the area they have the Chinese funding and the Chinese Federal government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the workers. Ms. Yearwood. And the staff members. Therefore you have actually effectively got a plan that the U.S - The trend in campaign finance law over time has been toward which the following?. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other factors, the U.S. can not complete in regards to the types of investment that they are able to take in without kind of needing to do the due diligence behind it. And it is really welcome in a lot of locations, but what Baha Mar has shown us is that it can produce a very tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I believe Sally raises a truly intriguing and essential point in this context. What is a note in finance. You understand, the Chinese or Venezuelan design is a state-led model, so the capital of the country, the leaders in the nation can say this is what we are going to do. We are going to develop Petrocaribe or we are going to develop a sports stadium or we are going to declare that we are going to establish these projects, whereas the U.S. model is personal sector-led model. And the disconnect here is that we are handling smaller economies, island countries, and in comparison of other financial investment opportunities in other countries in Latin America, much less around the world, these are economies that typically aren't going to draw that large investment other than in a couple sectors like tourism like we have been talking about. What the onus has to be is to discover ways to clear and establish a smooth economic area in between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that private sector capital can work. There are chances. Lastly, I would say that the Caribbean is becoming a much more complex location because of the changes in policy toward Cuba, the cross-cutting trade agreements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we have to think about the Caribbean now in a wider sense. In regard to Haiti, I think really crucial is its continued combination with the English-speaking Caribbean, since these are well established democracies and it is a financial location which holds opportunities for Haiti and there is now rather a lot of Caribbean financial investment going into Haiti and vice versa.