And when the OAS under a very courageous secretary general, Luis Almagro, attempts to bring the institution towards acknowledging that Venezuela is no longer in compliance with the Inter-American Democratic Charter, he is not getting the full support of the hemisphere, and indeed much of the Caribbean Basin has not gone along with that. And if you line up the votes, who voted in favor and who abstained, you can do a pretty easy one for one contrast based upon who is a member of Petrocaribe. And so the implication of your concern I believe is area on, you know, and that is why I believe when we talk about the Caribbean in Washington, usually we think of it in the context of, you understand, island nations or programs or social advancement, and all of these are very, really crucial issues.
And the dividends pay off down the road when Venezuela itself is in the spotlight get rid of your timeshare of the international community. Then they have pals that they can count on and it pays dividends for them - How to finance a private car sale. So I think that at the end of the day that is a lesson frankly that we can learn, and I believe we can construct toward reversing that course. Ms. Yearwood. I agree 100 percent with Eric. Venezuela actioned in at a time that was extremely essential for much of the area and now the region is quite paying the cost, whether it is in financial obligation or other areas related to votes and other requirements that they do as an outcome of the-- Mr.
Increased expenses in energy too now. Ms. Yearwood. Sorry? Mr. Sires. An increase in the expense of energy likewise. Ms. Yearwood. Oh, definitely, definitely. And so I believe to the point, we are at an important juncture now with the expense of energy being what it is with the U.S. energy supply increasing and the region taking a look at ways to increase sustainable energy, whether it is through gas or getting the region less depending on Petrocaribe and able to make these switches to brand-new kinds of energy is going to make a big distinction. Mr. Sires. See, I don't think things happen by accident.
The other issue that timeshare full movie I have is the considerable increase of China in this region. You understand, we appear to be put to a lull of sleep or something because everyone appears to relocate and after that we respond. And we don't seem to capture these things until something like this happens, you understand, like Venezuela. So sadly, you understand, because I have been here we have been pressing-- and I know Mr. Meeks and the other members that are here, you understand, this is a crucial region for us. It is a crucial region for America and we actually must focus.
They are going to go through the Panama Canal and they are available in and they throw cash, you know, at these little countries, which in truth they can't afford not to accept the cash. So just how much of influence exists now of the Chinese? And I understand it is growing, but-- Ms. Yearwood. The Chinese impact, it is really very interesting to see the method China has kind of entered the region and the types of projects. Sometimes it is a sports stadium - How many years can you finance a boat. I think the recent, the Baha Mar fiasco in the Bahamas, you have seen the Chinese Government come in in a manner that the U.S.
If a Chinese developer enters a nation in the area they have the Chinese financing and the Chinese Government behind them. Mr. Sires. And the workers. Ms. Yearwood. And the workers. Therefore you have actually effectively got a package that the U.S - How to finance a franchise with no money. can not-- the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and all sorts of other reasons, the U.S. can not complete in terms of the types of financial investment that they are able to take in without type of needing to do the due diligence behind it. And it is extremely welcome in a great deal of locations, however what Baha Mar has actually shown us is that it can develop a really tight spot for the countries where they go.
Farnsworth. I believe Sally raises an actually interesting and crucial point in this context. What is internal rate of return in finance. You understand, the Chinese or Venezuelan model is a state-led design, so the capital of the country, the leaders in the country can say this is what we are going to do. We are going to develop Petrocaribe or we are going to construct a sports arena or we are going to state that we are going to establish these projects, whereas the U.S. design is private sector-led design. And the detach here is that we are dealing with smaller sized economies, island countries, and in contrast of other investment chances in other countries in Latin America, much less around the world, these are economies that normally what to know about timeshares aren't going to draw that big investment other than in a couple sectors like tourism like we have actually been discussing. What the onus has to be is to discover methods to clear and establish a seamless economic space between the U.S. and the Caribbean so that economic sector capital can work. There are chances. Last but not least, I would say that the Caribbean is becoming a much more complicated location due to the fact that of the changes in policy towards Cuba, the cross-cutting trade agreements such as CAFTA, et cetera, and we have to consider the Caribbean now in a wider sense. In regard to Haiti, I believe very crucial is its ongoing combination with the English-speaking Caribbean, because these are well developed democracies and it is an economic area which holds opportunities for Haiti and there is now quite a great deal of Caribbean financial investment going into Haiti and vice versa.