A few headlines on Venezuela:
Venezuela descends into serfdom and starvation
Venezuela’s doomed love affair with socialism continues
It’s hard to imagine now but just decades ago Venezuela was the richest country in South America. The late President Hugo Chávez’s social programs thrived on record oil revenues; Venezuelan industry was left underdeveloped but poverty was glitteringly – yet only temporarily – relieved. Now that the price of oil has plummeted, the country’s hollow economy isdependent on imports it does not have the cash to buy. Normally reliable Chinese lenders are having second thoughts. Inflation has hit triple digits. Venezuela’s economy is in utter recessionand is projected to contract eight per cent this year, making it officially the slowest-growing economy in the world.
The litany of consequent disasters is almost routine now.
Venezuela to Host “Anti-Imperialist” Summit in Desperate Attempt to Rally Support. Critics Claim Summit Lacks Prestige or Importance. That’s the Summit of Non-Aligned Countries; cheack out of the roster of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) countries and despair. The Summit will be held in Margarita Island where Maduro was recently run out of town,
Caracas Chronicles is bullish on cacerolazos; I am not. The cacerolazos throughout LatAm tend to serve as an outlet for releasing political outrage instead of leading to positive change, much as they do in France.
Children suffer from malnutrition and starvation. Video below the fold,
Cuba was once a beautiful prosperous place with a booming economy, a positive immigration flow, and a per capita income higher than France. Then you know who showed up with a stupid ideology and ruined it all. Then later on, the oil-rich Venezuelans elected a fat, pompous ass who liked to sing and talk to birds. And then you know who showed up with his stupid ideology and ruined it all again. Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.