Rationing like in Cuba, once a week purchases

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.maduradas.com/como-en-cuba-racionamiento-en-pdval-solo-es-posible-comprar-una-vez-a-la-semana-uh-ah/


(people celebrating chavismo in line waiting for food)

The government food agency is putting in a system where people can only by food once per week to avoid shortages and hoarding says the government. People will have to register their national IDs before entering and will not be able to make purchases again for a week.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Is that at the ration shops ?

If so then make that clear.

[Bacchus4.0]

2. government food stores looks like. what's a ration shop? n/t

[Marksman_91]

3. Ration shops? In an oil-rich country like Venezuela, no such thing should exist n/t

[joshcryer]

5. They could provide free food for everyone, or guaranteed income.

But the latter would be too capitalistic and the former would not benefit the oligarchs.

Instead they maintain the class structure by giving free food to the poorest under Mercal, and by selling stuff under PDVAL at the controlled price rate, which forces competitors out of the market.

Certainly though no rationing is necessary in an oil rich country.

[joshcryer]

4. PDVAL is not a "ration shop."

It's a government run store that sells controlled products at the controlled price rate.

You may be mistaking for Mercal.

[Bacchus4.0]

6. and whether free, subsidized, or rationed, availability of the product is the overriding issue

If the shop doesn't have it, you ain't getting it.

[joshcryer]

7. The black market is real, however.

The shops will store cost controlled items but they and people associated with them will buy up all of the low cost goods, and sell them on the black market at the real price. Whether kickbacks are happening is unclear but it would be nearly impossible to prove. The same thing exists in Cuba, and many are jailed for it (though many many more get away with it).

This is why "Pearson" says it's "psychological" and if only the "community" would "enforce the controlled rate" by ... ostracizing other members of their community for reselling items just to get by...

It's the same thing as attacking people on foodstamps for sharing their foodstamps with someone for cash. Yes, it's illegal, but those people have their reasons, maybe they need to get their rent paid, light bill paid, who knows. But they're not profiting off of it because their food income is dropped and they ultimately are sacrificing their diet for it.

Likewise the people in the black market, transferring stuff to Colombia to resell or whatever, are risking very high penalties to get by. Yes there are some high level mob type actors, but they get away with it fairly easily by bribing the right people. It's the small folks who get shafted for it.