Socialist Venezuela has the highest inflation rate in the world at a whopping 68.5 percent, with a Reuters report noting this week that “Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell 4.0 percent in 2014, the worst performance around Latin America.” Their economy is failing miserably – with empty shelves in supermarkets, a shortage in currency. But apparently they do have enough money to pay multiple Public Relations firms to spin for the nation.
On March 9, 2015, President Obama issued a Presidential order declaring Venezuela a threat to America’s national security, and issued sanctions against seven top government officials from the Latin American nation. President Nicolas Madero has repressed political opponents, authorized the use of deadly force against protestors – and this week America unsealed indictments against top former Venezuelan police officers for drug trafficking. Hostility against our country continues.
While Madero claims a “little talking bird” communicates former Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez’s words to him, and he has a “spy” in the White House, the reality is that the country doesn’t have money readily available in banks – but pays FitzGibbon Media $150,000 for a 6-month period, and Rasky Baerlein Strategic Communications also works for Venezuela for $420K annually. In the UK, Petroleos de Venezuela SA, the state-owned oil producer which generates 97 percent of the nations’ dollars hired London-based Public Relations firm Bell Pottinger.
Unfortunately, it is par for the course for public relations firms to work for unfriendly nations – PR giant Burson Marsteller rejected Israel as a client, yet accepted Tunisian Muslim Brotherhood, Brown Lloyd James was paid $5000 a month by the Syrian Government to work for the Assad family (they also were paid $1.2 Million by Libya’s dictator, Muammar Gaddafi), Fenton Communications worked with Qatar to orchestrate an international anti-Israel campaign, the Raben Group worked for Islamic Relief Worldwide this year, and there are many more like these.
This writer agrees with the owner of the world’s largest PR firm, Richard Edelman who said “PR is not like the law – Not everyone deserves representation.” I wonder if one of my colleagues is consulting ISIS and being paid handsomely in blood money.
Clearly, Venezuela is hoping to polish its image to deflect attention from its socialist failure – and the truth is, good PR people will influence the media. And good PR is much better than “talking birds” communicating with socialist Presidents.
5WPR CEO Ronn Torossian founded one of the 20 largest PR firms in America, which employs over 135 employees. He’s author of best-selling PR Book “For Immediate Release.”
