21 June 2010
Chavez's Socialist Venezuela Sees Food Rot in Government Warehouses
Food prices have risen by 41% in Venezuela during the last 12 months, despite the recession. Venezuela imports about 70% of its food. The socialist government of Hugo Chavez has taken over between 20 and 30% of the distribution of staple foods. Chavez is now threatening to take over Polar, the nation's largest private food processor, brewer, and miller. Government supermarkets offer discounts of up to 40%, but still the rise in food prices has generally continued. Chavez blames this on the black market and now has army soldiers raiding private groceries and confiscating food. This was brought on by the revelation that 80,000 tons of food, including meat and powdered milk, have rotted in government warehouses. Chavez is embarrassed, so he is making a show of blaming private sector businessmen for the food shortages and replacing the rotted food with stolen food.
Despite a huge oil income, socialist Venezuela is following the long string of socialist countries which cannot feed its people. The equality promised the poor will result in the mass starvation of the poor, and perhaps some of the wealthy also. There are widespread problems in most of Latin America, but socialism is not the path to their correction. One would think that lesson would have been learned by now. Ignorance and foolishness reign in socialist Venezuela.
Despite a huge oil income, socialist Venezuela is following the long string of socialist countries which cannot feed its people. The equality promised the poor will result in the mass starvation of the poor, and perhaps some of the wealthy also. There are widespread problems in most of Latin America, but socialism is not the path to their correction. One would think that lesson would have been learned by now. Ignorance and foolishness reign in socialist Venezuela.
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2 comments:
Stealing is stealing — Chavez the Expropriator
— see another article in MarketWatch today:
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/beware-of-rabid-dog-2010–06-28
Government stealing is particularly bad. It makes it much harder for a good, productive person to defend himself from the thief.
Your link did not work when I tried it.
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