As Socialism Destroys Venezuela, Only Its People, Not U.S. Military, Can Restore Democracy

[Bacchus4.0]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/as-socialism-destroys-venezuela-only-its-people-not_us_599d81efe4b02289f7619153

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The economic disaster is almost complete. Venezuela has the world’s top “misery index” of combined inflation, interest, and unemployment rates. The crime rate also comes in first, while corruption levels are highest in Latin America. Kidnapping is common, but captors accept only dollars. Food is rationed, lines are pervasive, looting is common, people scavenge garbage for scraps, and city residents hunt birds, cats, and dogs.


Government can’t pay its debts, sustain the currency, keep its workers on the job, or maintain power and water. The inflation rate exceeds 700 percent and the regime has trouble introducing new money fast enough to keep up: indeed, reported Bloomberg, Venezuela “is now so broke that it may not have enough money to pay for its money,” which is printed abroad. The economy shrank by eight percent in 2016 and is on course for a more than ten percent reduction this year. Basic goods, such as aspirin, auto parts, diapers, and toilet paper are scarce. There is little foreign exchange, long distance phone service has been cut, and foreign airlines no longer serve Venezuela.


The medical system essentially no longer functions. Electricity is off, equipment doesn’t work, medicine isn’t available, and personnel are absent. Reported the New York Times last year: “Gloves and soap have vanished from some hospitals. Often, cancer medicines are found only on the black market. There is so little electricity that the government works only two days a week to save what energy is left. At the University of the Andes hospital in the mountain city of Merida, there was not enough water to wash blood from the operating table.” Infant mortality is higher in Venezuela than in Syria.


An astounding four of five families live in poverty. Tens of thousands of citizens have fled abroad, especially to neighboring Brazil and Columbia.

[COLGATE4]

1. Witness the marvel of the Bolivarian Revolution!

[GatoGordo]

2. The common complaint from disillusioned Chavistas...

...is that they were promised Swedish-style Socialism, and Chavismo instead delivered Cuban-style Communism. Which isn't unusual, since the Cubans are the puppet-masters behind the scenes, pulling the strings. My God, the leader of the imposed ANC, Delcy Rodriguez, cannot hide her Cuban accent!

There are an estimated 15,000+ Cuban infiltrators in all sectors of the economy/military/government, and the fear is that if they cannot control the wealth from Venezuela (Cuba gets oil at a HUGE discount), they will sabotage everything. Already, social media outlets are being brought to a crawl and telecommunications are failing on an epic scale. (Except for VTV, the "Chavista Channel")

[VMA131Marine]

3. I question the title of the OP

It's not socialism that's destroying Venezuela, it is rampant corruption and ineptitude among the ruling elite.

[GatoGordo]

4. Semantics

Venezuela was promised a Swedish-style Socialism, and Chavismo delivered Cuban-style Communism. The corruption isn't new, but the ineptitude of the Cuban-led Chavista sycophants is hard to compare to anything else. They literally believe their own BS.

FWIW, I have relatives living in Venezuela, and things are more desperate than even the MSM lets on.

[VMA131Marine]

5. So it's Communism destroying the country

Not socialism. Not only that but Cuba works far better than Venezuela does so it’s not really even Cuban style communism that's the problem. That all leads back to corruption and graft, which you'll admit is not a major feature of Swedish socialism (I've been to Sweden, it's awesome!). So peddle your right-wing talking points somewhere else why don't you!

[OBenario4]

6. Venezuela isn't communist or socialist.

No country in South America is or has ever been.

Venezuela has a State capitalism system.

[EX500rider]

7. "Venezuela has a State capitalism system."

If the State owns the means of production that is the very definition of socialism.

[OBenario4]

8. It doesn't.

You can't go to a street corner in Caracas without finding a McDonald's or Coca-Cola billboard.

[Marksman_91]

9. So you admit that the Bolivarian revolution is a failure that didn't deliver what it promised? N/t