Emphasis in
bold is mine. ~CW
“It’s
nothing less than the collapse of a large, wealthy, seemingly modern, seemingly
democratic nation just a few hours’ flight from the United States.” ~Moisés Naím and Francisco
Toro, The Atlantic
The article
continues:
“In the last
two years Venezuela has experienced the kind of implosion that hardly ever
occurs in a middle-income country like it outside of war. Mortality rates are
skyrocketing; one public service after another is collapsing; triple-digit
inflation has left more than 70 percent of the population in poverty; an
unmanageable crime wave keeps people locked indoors at night; shoppers have to
stand in line for hours to buy food; babies die in large numbers for lack of
simple, inexpensive medicines and equipment in hospitals, as do the elderly and
those suffering from chronic illnesses.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/05/venezuela-is-falling-apart/481755/
Reporters
for the leftwing journal The Guardian paint a similar picture:
“Venezuela
is suffering the worst economic crisis in its history. Ordinary people in the
oil-rich country are regularly going without food. Three-quarter empty supermarkets
are being ransacked by angry, hungry mobs. The government has declared a state
of emergency, food is now being transported under armed guard, and basic
necessities are being rationed. People have to queue for hours and sometimes
overnight on their assigned days to receive staples like rice and cooking oil.”
“By IMF figures, it has the world’s worst
negative growth rate (-8%), and the worst inflation rate (482%). The
unemployment rate is 17% but is expected to climb to near 30% in the coming few
years.”
“The shadow of hunger, the desperation of the
crowds and the spread of unrest and criminality threaten the government of
Nicolás Maduro, three years after he was bequeathed power by the dying
revolutionary strongman, Hugo Chávez.”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/22/venezuela-economic-crisis-guardian-briefing
Venezuela’s
socialist government has also brought devastation to its healthcare system, as
reported by The Guardian:
“For years,
among the proudest boasts of the Bolivarian Socialist administration was that
it eradicated hunger, reduced poverty and improved healthcare for the poor.”
“But the
trend is now appears to be moving in the opposite direction at an alarming
speed. [That’s the funny thing about socialism]
Reliable data is hard to find. The government has acknowledged that
maternal mortality – a key healthcare indicator – has doubled in the past year.
The opposition says the deterioration is five fold – and that death of newborns
increased 100 fold.”
“We are
seeing a collapse in the public health system.” said Maritza Landaeta, a senior
member of the Health Observatory. “Venezuela is witnessing a miracle, a miracle
of destruction.”
“Earlier
this year, the president of the Venezuelan Association of Clinics and Hospitals
in the state of Carabobo, was detained by police and questioned for three hours
after he went on TV to complain about medical shortages.”
“Doctors
have also accused the government of downplaying the threat of the Zika virus.”
“Diphtheria
is making a comeback….”
““Nine
thousands doctors have left the country and the exodus is continuing,” says one
of those who stayed, Yamila Battaguni.”
“His hope is for political change. ‘We have
two options: leave or be part of the change,’ he said. ‘I hope this bad
stimulus can make us want something better.’”
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/19/venezuela-crisis-hospitals-shortages-barcelona-caracas
So what
happened that caused the citizens of Venezuela to be cast into hell on Earth?
Per The
Atlantic:
“The real
culprit is chavismo, the ruling philosophy named for Chavez and carried forward
by Maduro, and its truly breathtaking propensity for mismanagement (the
government plowed state money arbitrarily into foolish investments);
institutional destruction (as Chavez and then Maduro became more authoritarian
and crippled the country’s democratic institutions); nonsense policy-making
(like price and currency controls); and plain thievery (as corruption has
proliferated among unaccountable officials and their friends and families).”
In other
words, the socialist policies of Hugo Chavez and his successors brought this
ruination upon Venezuela, and though it’s not mentioned (it never is) the greed
and complacency of the Venezuelan people are also responsible.
Here’s how
The Guardian explains it:
“The
government’s tendency to subsidise many products below the cost of production is
a major reason why the economy is in such a mess. It is a habit formed by oil,
which warps price perceptions like a pyschotropic drug.”
Oil is the
culprit? I think not, but let’s read on:
“Historically,
abundant supplies have made Venezuelans regard cheap petrol as a birthright, so
for political reasons – and despite hyperinflation, collapsing government
revenues, global markets and climate change – the current price for a litre of
high-grade gasoline is just 6 bolivars (less than a penny or a cent) – more
than 100 times cheaper than the same volume of mineral water. This meant the
fuel bill for the entire 1,400km journey was less than a pound or dollar.”
“When Hugo Chávez came to power in 1999, he
took this way of thinking a step further and used petrol dollars to subsidise
essential products such as rice, sugar, toilet paper, sanitary towels and
medicine. His successor, Nicolás Maduro,
has tried to continue and even extend this policy, despite a 60% fall in crude
prices since 2014. Even in the midst of crisis, the government still hands out
free or massively discounted homes, cars, DVD players and microwave ovens.”
“It was an altruistic, populist move that
allowed the poor to finally share in the nation’s oil wealth. But it also
stifled incentives for producers and created a system of dependency and
black-marketing that was already causing economic problems before Chávez died
in 2013 and the global crude market collapsed the following year.”
Altruistic? There’s nothing altruistic about a power-hungry
socialist buying the loyalty of the public by squandering the country’s
resources, but there you go, folks.
Venezuela is on the verge of suicide by socialism, a consequence of
greed and stupidity. Over time the
country may survive if the adults can wrestle control back from the children
who’ve been in charge, but what of the people who are suffering today? I’m guessing the possibility of a turnaround
in the way distant future is not much consolation to the mother who is watching
her children go hungry today, or who is watching her child die for lack of
medicines that are readily available in other countries. How tragic is it that they did this to
themselves? Hugo Chavez, leftwing
socialist revolutionary and father of these destructive policies, was
democratically elected by Venezuelans and then re-elected multiple times, and
I’ll go out on a limb and guess that Venezuelans were attracted to his promises
of free stuff. Sound familiar? Those who propelled him to power are
responsible for the terrible suffering that is happening right now, though they
will never be made to answer to their children or their fellow citizens for
their part in this man-made disaster.
This is what happens to a society that allows itself to be enticed by
promises of something for nothing. Hope
those free DVD players were worth it.
Are you
listening, Hillary and Bernie supporters?
~CW
I invite your thoughts. Please leave a comment on this and other posts at The Pesky Truth.
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