File this under "No man (or nation) is an island" (and this is just one example):

Venezuela Faces $1.5 Billion Y2K Computer Problem Thursday, May 27, 1999

CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela needs to spend $1.5 billion in an effort to prevent possible computer chaos coinciding with the change to the year 2000, with the nation's electrical system particularly vulnerable, senior officials said Wednesday.

Presidential Chief of Staff Alfredo Pena said the previous government, which left office in February, made absolutely no preparations for a problem that requires urgent attention.

``We are very behind and it is very, very serious. We need $1.5 billion for this, which was not approved by the previous government,'' Pena told journalists at the Miraflores presidential palace.

The government of President Hugo Chavez already is struggling to deal with a $5 billion fiscal deficit, equivalent to about 5 percent of gross domestic product.

State-run oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, the world's third-largest oil exporter, was aware of the so-called Y2K bug, Pena added, and made progress in preparing its computers for possible errors caused by the date change. But Pena said the electricity sector was very vulnerable. ``Public services could be paralyzed, mainly because of problems with electricity,'' he said.

The head of the government Central Office of Statistics and Computing, Gustavo Mendez, said Venezuela was one of the least well-prepared countries in the world.

The World Bank and InterAmerican Development Bank have just $200 million in loans available worldwide to help solve the problem, Mendez added.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 1999

Answers

Ted - this particular article has had some good comments in this thread:

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000s OA

I think everyone (inside and outside the industry) needs to consider the implications. You are right: no nation, particularly one that imports more than 50% of its oil, is an island.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 1999

Is it possible to spend 1.5 billion dollars to fix anything in seven months (oops I mean six) even if it were available? It does't seem possible to me.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 1999

Is it possible to spend 1.5 billion dollars to fix anything in seven months (oops I mean six) even if it were available?

That's a very good question. Factors to consider: one can infer from the article that the Venezuelan gov't has basically done nothing yet -- and the US federal gov't budget on Y2K has done nothing but gone up, and up, and up and....

Can we extrapolate from the latter situation to the former?

-- Anonymous, May 27, 1999

No I do not think it's possible, at this late date to fix the entire country of Venezuela. I think Lane is correct in his assumption that NOTHING has been done thus far.

I think that even if you could somehow come up with $1.5 billion dollars to throw at the problem, you would be hard pressed to find the programmers to fix it. And even if you could get the money and the programmers, they would be way, way behind. People need to wake up and smell the coffee. This is a huge problem. I'm actually glad to see the story breaking this early in the game, because it's confirmation that there are going to be really big systemic, supply chain problems all over the globe. How many other Venezuela's are out there? My guess is quite a few.

-- Anonymous, May 27, 1999

Sounds like a good way for a new government, in deep financial trouble, to "cry wolf" and get another $1.5 billion added to their line of credit. Should help with their debt service on the other $5 billion in debt....there are many ways to look at these statements.

Jim

-- Anonymous, June 02, 1999

Yes, there are many ways to look at these statements. Here's mine:

$1.5 billion seems like a bargain considering Venezuala is the world's third-largest oil exporter. To paraphrase Billy Joel's song, "we didn't start the fire..."

Who built and sold the defective systems and software that require remediation, and testing? The products were defective and let's not lose sight of that simple fact.

If your unable to grasp the concept that nations other than the U.S. (most of whom also did not manufacture and sell these defective products) rely upon Venezuela for a share of their oil, then consider the self-centered view that Venezuala provides about 17% of your oil - if you live in America.

-- Anonymous, June 04, 1999