Fausta's Blog

American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture

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Venezuela: Hungry for more?

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Venezuelan Opposition Leader Assassinated Days After 1.8 Million Sign Petition To Oust Maduro

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Red Cross Curaçao is prepared for possible Venezuelan refugees.

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NY Times editorial board condemns populist socialism…in Venezuela

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Mary O’Grady,

Among the many stupidities that socialism promotes is the idea that by imposing price controls and forbidding profits, government can make food both cheap and widely available.

The opposite is true, and Venezuela proves the rule. An August-September 2015 survey by the multi-university, Caracas-based social and economic research project Encovi found that 87% of those polled reported that they did not have sufficient income for food. Their privation is a result of artificially holding down prices, which creates shortages. Consumers are forced to scurry about black markets looking for what they need and then pay dearly for it—if they can. They face killer inflation which, according to the central bank, was 180.9% on an annual basis in the fourth quarter of 2015, up from 82.4% in the first quarter of last year.

Hunger is only a symptom of a broader economic collapse, all along the production chain, brought on by state diktat.

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