While Venezuela Releases Ex-Presidential Candidate Rosales, Student Activists (Rosales will remain under house arrest), David Paulin writes about Nicolás Maduro’s fantasy Christmas,
Maduro, the True Believer, puts political ideology above grim reality. He is thus clueless about the fact that his rosy television spot shows holiday scenes that no longer exist in Venezuela — not after decades of bread-and-circuses populism culminating in what the late Hugo Chávez, the firebrand socialist and Maduro’s mentor, called “21st century socialism.” Now as in communist Cuba, Venezuela has achieved true social equality: everybody is poor. Cuba and Venezuela are close allies.
We can see #Venezuela has experienced a peak in #inflation. #MarxistMaduro pic.twitter.com/eLcaOhpeAH
— Prof. Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) January 2, 2017
Caracas Chronicles has the roundups:
End-of-the-year Social Conflict Map Update
A stroll down the festering crack-den that was Venezuela in 2016, as seen through Caracas Chronicles. Courtesy of Eddy, who wishes you a Happy 2017.
Presenting the Golden Tropical Mierda Awards
And here’s Venezuela News and View’s vision of 2017.
Venezuela’s own security forces are to blame for escalating violence and repression https://t.co/FLHST32BwS
— Prof. Steve Hanke (@steve_hanke) December 31, 2016
The military, however, makes money by trafficking food as the people continue to go hungry. Cue Venezuela’s Ration Cards:
So there we have it, the infamous ‘ration card’ – the end result in every communist country. China, Cuba, Nicaragua, the Soviet Union, Angola and Mozambique.
Venezuelans are fleeing to Brazil for medical care, overwhelming its hospitals and morgues.
Venezuelans Hawk Snacks on Dominican Streets as Revolution Dies (video below the fold)
The only surprise about the pathetic situation in Venezuela is that Maduro did not ask for help from Cuba to learn how to not let the patently obvious socialist policies, which produced the fiasco, deteriorate so quickly the “quality of life,” that is, eating–rather, NOT eating, or if he asked for that Cuban help, he was not considered worthy for that Cuban help by Fidelito and Raulito, the Cubans being the unnamed winners of the eternal Pulitzer Prize and the Nobel award for literature.
God help the Venezuelans who know that Maduro is a common pilferer, a thief, and a champion wh 0re, but who suffer from basic human problems, that is eating. Oremus–that is, we pray for the folks in Rio Linda.
Cuba doesn’t give a damn, barbaro