While chavez was being royally slapped down in Santiago, Chile by the Spanish King, the wonders of his “socialist revolution” continue to wreak havoc on the Venezuelan public. A nation that is awash in petrodollars cannot even supply its people with such staples as milk. We’re not talking about providing free milk here—we’re talking about just having milk on the store shelves for people to purchase.
Women wait in line outside a state-run market in Caracas October 30, 2007. Venezuelans are increasingly facing periodic shortages of basic food products, despite record revenues from an oil boom, prompting comparisons by opponents with Cuba and complaints even among Chavez’s natural supporters, the poor.
It is not a coincidence, neither is it the workings of some vast, right-wing conspiracy, that these problems are becoming part of everyday Venezuelan life. Communism/Socialism has a long history of providing little to the majority and providing large amounts of wealth to its ruling elite. Like the old cold-war joke went: If the Soviets were to ever take over the Sahara desert, there would be a shortage of sand within 10 years.
Whenever prices are artificially manipulated, it wreaks havoc in the supply chain. Market prices send valuable information to producers, suppliers, and customers. You take away that information and the market goes to hell. Oldest lesson in the world.
The poor are not so much “natural” Chavez supporters as they are the most easily manipulated. This is partly due to ignorance and partly due to being especially susceptible to pretty promises.
The billions of petrodollars Chavez is spending OUTSIDE Venezuela to further his own, PERSONAL agenda obviously represent money that belongs to the people of Venezuela, but which they are not receiving and will NEVER be recovered. In effect, Chavez is shamelessly robbing his own country on a massive scale. What a deal.