-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money."
Latin America's Red Tide Washing Away Fast
It's easy to get lost in the weeds of Brazil's, Venezuela's, or other Latin countries' internal political strife. But there's a broad, unmistakable trend out there: The region's socialist rule is collapsing as the cash runs out.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
Chavez issued a set of 49 decrees in 2001 that gave him vast power over the economy. He used this power to seize private factories and expropriate foreign owners of Venezuelan firms—ensuring that no foreign investors would want to put a single dollar into the country for the foreseeable future.
When it all started to go wrong, the regime doubled down, blaming private retailers for “hoarding” and “speculation” and prosecuting them for waging an “economic war” against the people. Their solution was to impose price controls, which naturally made things worse, leading Venezuelans to protest by flooding the Internet with photos of empty store shelves.
All of it reads like a vast experiment designed to find out what happens to an economy when you put it under the control of crazy people. But it’s actually what happens when you hand over the economy to people with a fervent belief that government decrees can change the laws of economics and coerce everyone into prosperity.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
With no hope for the future and no faith in the country’s leadership, many fear that the humanitarian crisis will provoke a social explosion.
Maduro’s future is shackled to a collapsing economy, wrought by two decades of socialism, mismanagement, and corruption that has squandered $1.5 trillion in oil revenue. Anxious Venezuelans pass their days in long lines to buy food, medicine, and other necessities. Crime and insecurity stir rage in a society polarized by decades of class warfare, which is used by Maduro — like Chávez before him — to consolidate his base among Venezuela’s poor majority.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
Chavez issued a set of 49 decrees in 2001 that gave him vast power over the economy. He used this power to seize private factories and expropriate foreign owners of Venezuelan firms—ensuring that no foreign investors would want to put a single dollar into the country for the foreseeable future.
All of it reads like a vast experiment designed to find out what happens to an economy when you put it under the control of crazy people.
An Old Tweet From Michael Moore Underscores That Socialism Doesn't Work — Ever
In 2013, Moore celebrated the nationalization of Venezuela's oil company, PDVSA:
"Hugo Chavez declared the oil belonged 2 the ppl. He used the oil $ 2 eliminate 75% of extreme poverty, provide free health & education 4 all," Moore tweeted nearly four years ago.
Today, Venezuela suffers from endemic corruption, 800% inflation, a -19% annual GDP growth rate, and interest rates of over 20%. Rampant food shortages are causing malnutrition, and all the diseases that come from that. One area of improvement: Income inequality. Now, most of the country is equally poor, with the exception of those in power.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.
Recent Wave of Looting Shows Extent of Hunger in Venezuela
The situation has led many ranchers and businessmen to pay armed groups to secure their properties.
“The desperation, impunity and serious humanitarian crisis that we are experiencing in Venezuela continues to deepen and is leading people to commit this type of crime,” Coordinator of the Venezuelan Conflict Observatory, Marco Antonio Ponce, said.
-- - Defenders of the status quo are always stronger than reformers seeking change, UNTIL the status quo self-destructs from its own corruption, and the reformers are free to build on its ashes.