Viva Socialismo!
Wasn’t that what Chavez used to say? Seems to be working out great.
Confiscating private property
Shooting dissidents
Democratic socialism
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I don’t know what made them think it would be any different than when the Venezuelan govt. confiscated a newly built BP refinery some years back.
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People who want this just like the idea of equality but don’t know that in practice it is a horrible horrible philosophy. Madness.
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Just unreal. This was once the wealthiest country in Latin America, now starving.
I was looking at Catholic charities, wondering what’s going on. Apparently it’s been very limited as Maduro continues to refuse international food aid. Donated medical supplies refused, groups unable to bring them into the country. Hard to imagine.
http://fusion.kinja.com/venezuela-blocks-humanitarian-aid-as-crisis-gets-crazie-1793857192
https://panampost.com/sabrina-martin/2017/03/16/venezuelan-regime-rejects-humanitarian-aid-un-recommendations/
Just stunning. Emaciated children everywhere now. These two articles were open to non-subscribers, but please let me know if you run into a paywall.
"Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation—estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 720% this year—making it nearly impossible for families to make ends meet. Since 2013, the economy has shrunk 27%, according to local investment bank Torino Capital; imports of food have plunged 70%.
Hordes of people, many with children in tow, rummage through garbage…
Absolutely heartrending. It’s mindblowing to thin that this was the richest country on the continent until a few years ago.
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I’m not a scholar of Venezuelan history, but it does seem like a very rapid decline. It’s amazing to think what a few decades of policy can do to ruin a nation. I’m just hope the warning isn’t falling on blind eyes.
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@Alrightmiami19c, it’s astounding to me that Maduro would rather see people starve than let groups like Catholic charities in with food. Pallets of shrink wrapped medical supplies sitting on the border while the hospitals there have nothing. You feel very helpless.
That WSJ article about starvation talks about the percentages of children who are literally starving now. Eleven-year-old boy who was 75 pounds, but now weighs only 50 pounds. Can you imagine? I remember seeing the fallout of the Romanian orphan crisis in the early 1990s, as some of those “lucky” kids were adopted by families here, but ended up in my office with long lasting disabilities. This could effect a generation of Venezuelan kids. In a country rich in natural resources, that once had the best economy in the region. Unreal.
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Only when it’s done wrong, which is every time it’s been tried. Next time, it’ll be done correctly.
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That’s a good one. If socialists learned from socialism’s failures there wouldn’t be any socialists left by now.
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It’s a very fortunate arguing position when you can claim that any failure of socialism is as a result of it not being socialist enough. It always turns what little capitalism is left into the fall man. Mind you, the same observation could be made of any political fundamentalist, it just so happens that socialism remains the most popular bad idea on earth.
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They always look to Europe, and specifically Scandinavia for success. The UK’s medical system is bankrupt and unsustainable in it’s current form. France is being crushed under the weight of it’s liberal social programs, and finding it very hard to convince people to vote against their own pretty pensions and part-time work weeks. Greece? Spain?
This could never happen here in the US, right? Because we’ll do it right. Because… Sweden.
Remember, if you don’t want to do this, it’s because you don’t care about helping people. Trust me, my lack of compassion for the poor, elderly and disabled is very freeing. I’ve been caring for a sick child all month and it’s wonderful to have a heart devoid of natural human emotion.
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Seriously, please read the BBC article above.
Let’s do that.
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Hey Puff, you’ll probably know this, isn’t Italy in pretty bad shape along the same lines as France? IIRC, they have a debt to GDP ratio of like 130% and pretty high levels of unemployment. If either of those countries goes bankrupt the EU is in serious trouble.
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Thanks, Pat. Sorry. I’m having a little pity party this morning. We’ve been in and out of the GI specialist and hospital for tests. Things will be better soon, and I’ll go back to my normal self. Edited to add - I should probably refrain from reading about starving kids when I’m in this state of mind. Haha.
I didn’t know that, regarding Italy. Wow. Yeah, and the economies of some of the so called “model” countries in Scandinavia are quite small. It’s hard to imagine a countries like Finland with 5.4 million people being able to keep the EU afloat.
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Ya, it’s not good.
Italy has always been fucked-upper than a football bat.
Good news is that if you found the right Farmacia, you never needed a dr. It was real hit and miss. But there was one that had liquid xanax. Literally, liquid sublingual Xanax. One bottle would last forever. Nadralone if they had it, tamoxifen, etc. Tylenol 3 for headaches, no scripts needed.
I am sorry about your sick child. Nothing is more miserable because you feel so helpless. I will say a prayer for you and yours.