Real Time Socialist Train Wreck (again) Happening Now in Venezuela

[Wilikon]

Oil is cheap now, making the title of this thread created so long ago even more accurate.

Iran is planning to increase its output very significantly in the next 2-3 years. It is quite possible that the oil prices can plunge below $20 per barrel, a price at which only a select few countries can afford producing crude oil. Venezuela will disintegrate if anything like this happens, as the government revenue will be reduced to ZERO.

The Venezuelan government could always fall back on their amazing Miss Universe output for revenue...

 

[1713981891]

1713981891

[1713981891]

1713981891

[Wilikon]

'Christmas is dead' in Venezuela, and 2016 looks grim


Caracas (AFP) - "Christmas is dead," says Elise Belisario, who, like many Venezuelans, can't afford to hang decorations or make a traditional holiday meal this year.

And 2016 augurs bleak times too in this staggering oil giant, where the new year looks set to bring political power struggles and little respite from a crippling economic crisis.

Belisario lives in the sprawling slum of Petare, on the outskirts of Caracas, which is suffering this holiday season from the shortages and triple-digit inflation gripping Venezuela -- the twin tribulations of the once high-flying economy's demise.

Where Christmases past brought exuberant decorations and balconies drenched in lights, this year Petare's streets are drab and dark.

"There's just not enough money. We've switched off Christmas," said Belisario, a 28-year-old with two kids who recently lost her job.

When the oil money was flowing, Christmas was a consumer bonanza in Venezuela, a predominantly Catholic country with a flair for celebrations.

But that has changed as oil prices have plunged, and the opulent days under late leftist firebrand Hugo Chavez (1999-2013) have given way to the malaise plaguing his less charmed successor, Nicolas Maduro.

"We were rich and we didn't even know it," said Belisario.

At a nearby shop, cashier Olga Gonzalez, 50, dejectedly picks up the nearly empty piggy bank she has dressed up in a little Santa Claus suit in hopes of getting some traditional Christmas tips.

But there are no customers to leave them.

"People are more worried about buying food than giving gifts this year," she said.

Exasperated with empty supermarket shelves, runaway prices and violent crime, Venezuelans gave the opposition a landslide victory in legislative elections this month, ending the Chavez movement's 16-year monopoly on power.

But Maduro's term runs until 2019, and the power struggles of divided government mean things are likely to get worse before they get better, some political analysts warn.




http://news.yahoo.com/christmas-dead-venezuela-2016-looks-grim-111456110.html

[bryant.coleman]

The Venezuelan government could always fall back on their amazing Miss Universe output for revenue...

Brazil and Colombia have overtaken Venezuela as the preferred destination of Western sex tourists. That said, the things could change, as a pro-Western government have been elected last month, with more than two-thirds majority. Now they are planning to export the women directly to the United States and the other Western nations.

[Wilikon]

Socialism Works: Venezuela to Pass 700% Inflation

 If the whole "trying to become president" thing doesn't work out for Bernie Sanders, maybe he can head over to Venezuela. Socialism worked so well over there that basic staples are missing from stores, the army occupied toilet paper factories and the money has become worthless.

    The International Monetary Fund says Venezuela inflation will blow past 700 percent this year.

    In a note published Friday, IMF Western Hemisphere Director Alejandro Werner said inflation would more than double in the economically struggling South American country in 2016, reaching 720 percent.

    Venezuela already suffers from the world's highest inflation rate. The IMF estimates that inflation here was running at 275 percent last year.

This is your country. This is your country on Socialism. The Bolivarian revolution has destroyed Venezuela. So Maduro, despite just getting whomped in legislative election, is running his emergency economic decree backed by a Supreme Court that his party packed. The newly free market legislature is defying him. Think Obama vs. Republicans all over again.

    Venezuela's opposition said on Friday it would not approve President Nicolas Maduro's "economic emergency" decree in congress as it did not offer solutions for the OPEC nation's increasingly disastrous recession.

    Maduro's decree, issued a week ago, would give the socialist government wider powers to control the budget, companies and currency.

    But the opposition says he already has sufficient powers and insists he is the real problem.

Sound familiar?

http://www.frontpagemag.com/point/261563/socialism-works-venezuela-pass-700-inflation-daniel-greenfield

[salinizm]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/venezuela-seizes-stores/3486581/

Venezuelan military seizes major retail chain

Thousands of Venezuelans lined up outside the country's equivalent of Best Buy, a chain of electronics stores known as Daka, hoping for a bargain after the socialist government forced the company to charge customers "fair" prices.

President Nicolás Maduro ordered a military "occupation" of the company's five stores as he continues the government's crackdown on an "economic war" it says is being waged against the country, with the help of Washington.

Members of Venezuela's National Guard, some of whom carried assault rifles, kept order at the stores as bargain hunters rushed to get inside.

"I want a Sony plasma television for the house," said Amanda Lisboa, 34, a business administrator, who had waited seven hours already outside one Caracas store. "It's going to be so cheap!"

Televisions were the most in-demand item in the line outside one Caracas store, though people waited more than eight hours for fridges, washing machines, sewing machines and other imported appliances.

Water and snacks were being sold outside the store by savvy Venezuelans keen to profit from the commotion. Happy customers weaved giant television screens and other items back to their cars through the crowds.

Images circulating online as well as reports by local media appeared to show one Daka store in the country's central city of Valencia being looted.

"I have no love for this government," said Gabriela Campo, 33, a businesswoman, hoping to take home a cut-price television and fridge. "They're doing this for nothing but political reasons, in time for December's elections."

Maduro faces municipal elections on Dec. 8. His popularity has dropped significantly in recent months, with shortages of basic items such as chicken, milk and toilet paper as well as soaring inflation, at 54.3% over the past 12 months.

Economists are expecting a devaluation soon after the election, likely leading to even higher inflation.

The opposition, which has long struggled to gain ground against the country's socialist government, is hoping that the elections will be seen as a referendum against Maduro.

The president, who took over from Hugo Chávez in April 2013, appeared on state television Friday calling for the "occupation" of the chain, which employs some 500 staff.

"This is for the good of the nation," Maduro said. "Leave nothing on the shelves, nothing in the warehouses … Let nothing remain in stock!"

The president was accompanied on television by images of officials checking prices of 32-inch plasma televisions.

Daka's store managers, according to Maduro, have been arrested and are being held by the country's security services. Neither Daka nor the government responded to requests for comment.

Maduro has long blamed the opposition for waging an economic war on the country though critics are adamant that government price controls, enacted by Chávez a decade ago, are the real cause for the dire state of the economy.

With such a shortage of hard currency for importers and regular citizens, dollars sell on the black market for nine times their official, government-set value. Prices, at shops such as Daka, are set according to this black market, hence the government's crackdown.

Chávez often theatrically expropriated or seized assets from more than 1,000 companies during his 14-year tenure. This, among other difficulties for foreign firms, led to a severe lack of foreign investment in the country which, according to OPEC, has the world's largest oil reserves.

"This is more like government-sanctioned looting," said 42-year-old Caracas-based engineer Carlos Rivero. "What stops them going into pharmacies, supermarkets and shopping malls?"

Not all were for the bargain hunting. One taxi driver screamed at the waiting crowds as he went past a Caracas branch of Daka, accusing them of "abusing" the system.

this is so ridiculous.. in this capitalist world, these store can easily find a new marketing place...

[Wilikon]

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/11/09/venezuela-seizes-stores/3486581/

Venezuelan military seizes major retail chain

Thousands of Venezuelans lined up outside the country's equivalent of Best Buy, a chain of electronics stores known as Daka, hoping for a bargain after the socialist government forced the company to charge customers "fair" prices.

President Nicolás Maduro ordered a military "occupation" of the company's five stores as he continues the government's crackdown on an "economic war" it says is being waged against the country, with the help of Washington.

Members of Venezuela's National Guard, some of whom carried assault rifles, kept order at the stores as bargain hunters rushed to get inside.

"I want a Sony plasma television for the house," said Amanda Lisboa, 34, a business administrator, who had waited seven hours already outside one Caracas store. "It's going to be so cheap!"

Televisions were the most in-demand item in the line outside one Caracas store, though people waited more than eight hours for fridges, washing machines, sewing machines and other imported appliances.

Water and snacks were being sold outside the store by savvy Venezuelans keen to profit from the commotion. Happy customers weaved giant television screens and other items back to their cars through the crowds.

Images circulating online as well as reports by local media appeared to show one Daka store in the country's central city of Valencia being looted.

"I have no love for this government," said Gabriela Campo, 33, a businesswoman, hoping to take home a cut-price television and fridge. "They're doing this for nothing but political reasons, in time for December's elections."

Maduro faces municipal elections on Dec. 8. His popularity has dropped significantly in recent months, with shortages of basic items such as chicken, milk and toilet paper as well as soaring inflation, at 54.3% over the past 12 months.

Economists are expecting a devaluation soon after the election, likely leading to even higher inflation.

The opposition, which has long struggled to gain ground against the country's socialist government, is hoping that the elections will be seen as a referendum against Maduro.

The president, who took over from Hugo Chávez in April 2013, appeared on state television Friday calling for the "occupation" of the chain, which employs some 500 staff.

"This is for the good of the nation," Maduro said. "Leave nothing on the shelves, nothing in the warehouses … Let nothing remain in stock!"

The president was accompanied on television by images of officials checking prices of 32-inch plasma televisions.

Daka's store managers, according to Maduro, have been arrested and are being held by the country's security services. Neither Daka nor the government responded to requests for comment.

Maduro has long blamed the opposition for waging an economic war on the country though critics are adamant that government price controls, enacted by Chávez a decade ago, are the real cause for the dire state of the economy.

With such a shortage of hard currency for importers and regular citizens, dollars sell on the black market for nine times their official, government-set value. Prices, at shops such as Daka, are set according to this black market, hence the government's crackdown.

Chávez often theatrically expropriated or seized assets from more than 1,000 companies during his 14-year tenure. This, among other difficulties for foreign firms, led to a severe lack of foreign investment in the country which, according to OPEC, has the world's largest oil reserves.

"This is more like government-sanctioned looting," said 42-year-old Caracas-based engineer Carlos Rivero. "What stops them going into pharmacies, supermarkets and shopping malls?"

Not all were for the bargain hunting. One taxi driver screamed at the waiting crowds as he went past a Caracas branch of Daka, accusing them of "abusing" the system.

this is so ridiculous.. in this capitalist world, these store can easily find a new marketing place...

Are you talking about the actual capitalist world of Venezuela?

[bitsmichel]

The daughter of Hugo Chavez, the former president who once declared ‘being rich is bad,’ may be the wealthiest woman in Venezuela, according to evidence reportedly in the hands of Venezuelan media outlets.

Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president’s second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports.

The figure would make Gabriela Chavez wealthier than media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, whom Forbes named the wealthiest Venezuelan earlier this year with $3.6billion in assets.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192933/Hugo-Chavez-s-ambassador-daughter-Venezuela-s-richest-woman-according-new-report.html

Real life animal farm. All people are equal, but some are more equal than others 

[Wilikon]

The daughter of Hugo Chavez, the former president who once declared ‘being rich is bad,’ may be the wealthiest woman in Venezuela, according to evidence reportedly in the hands of Venezuelan media outlets.

Maria Gabriela Chavez, 35, the late president’s second-oldest daughter, holds assets in American and Andorran banks totaling almost $4.2billion, Diario las Americas reports.

The figure would make Gabriela Chavez wealthier than media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, whom Forbes named the wealthiest Venezuelan earlier this year with $3.6billion in assets.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3192933/Hugo-Chavez-s-ambassador-daughter-Venezuela-s-richest-woman-according-new-report.html

Real life animal farm. All people are equal, but some are more equal than others 

Human corruption, the rusting away of a trusting, powerful centralized solution. Something elegantly solved by the founder of this forum...

 





 

[Wilikon]

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

The situation in hyperinflating socialist paradise Venezuela just moved one step closer to chaotic totalitarianism. With President Maduro clinging to power (thanks to his military 'assistance') amid growing social unrest (1.8 million signatures gathered seeking a referendum to remove him), FoxNews Latino reports German Mavare, leader of the opposition UNT party, died Friday after being shot in the head, asassinated in the western state of Lara, according to his organisation. Maduro has appeared on State TV tying Mavare to "armed groups" and suggested that more right-wing politicians are potential targets.

The Venezuelan people are growing increasingly angry at the nightmare of economic squallor Nicolas Maduro appears to have laid at their door (thanks in large part to an overly-generous socialist agenda runnining out of other people's petrodollars)...

    In less than a week, more than 1.8 million people in Venezuela signed petitions seeking a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro from office. That's nine times the required 200,000 signatures.

    The opposition said in a statement they delivered the petitions in 80 sealed boxes early Monday morning without notifying the media to avoid potential clashes with Maduro’s supporters.

    Ousting Maduro will not be an easy task despite his approval rating plummeting amid triple-digit inflation, widespread food shortages and near-daily power blackouts. Recent polls suggest two-thirds of Venezuelans want him out.

    If the National Electoral Council verifies the signatures in the coming days, it would trigger a second petition drive during which 20 percent of the electorate, almost 4 million people, would have to sign before a referendum could be scheduled on removing Maduro before his term ends in 2019.

    If a vote were held, the president would be removed only if the number of anti-Maduro votes exceeded the 7.6 million votes he received in the 2013 election. In December's parliamentary elections, opposition candidates mustered only 7.7 million even though they won control of the legislature by a landslide.

President Maduro has recently dug in against what he calls opposition attempts to destabilize Venezuela...



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-08/venezuelan-opposition-leader-assassinated-days-after-18-million-sign-petition-oust-m

[bryant.coleman]

The hyperinflation and other issues currently being faced by the Venezuelans are not just limited to that country. The situation is almost the same in the other Latin American nations as well. The real issue is that the general population expects the government to provide them everything for free. For example, gasoline in Venezuela costs just $0.015 per liter, which is far below the cost of production.

[Elwar]

The hyperinflation and other issues currently being faced by the Venezuelans are not just limited to that country. The situation is almost the same in the other Latin American nations as well. The real issue is that the general population expects the government to provide them everything for free. For example, gasoline in Venezuela costs just $0.015 per liter, which is far below the cost of production.

Most oil producing countries have very cheap gas. I recall being in Kuwait and gas was 50 cents per gallon when the US was up over $3.

[Wilikon]

Dystopia: Venezuelans Are Now Killing Cats, Dogs, and Birds For Food Because Socialism Can't Provide



So, you know Venezuela is on the verge of economic collapse. The price of oil has dropped precipitously over the past few years—that’s a budgetary nightmare for a nation dependent on its oil exports. As a result, basic necessities, like toilet paper, are being rationed. There’s limited access to television and long distance phone service. There are rolling blackouts due to energy shortages. And now the government is cutting back the workweek to just two days. This comes at a time when Venezuela’s citizens need government services the most. Supermarkets are not stocked regularly, so there’s a food shortage; people are starving. They’ve resorted to looting to survive. You would think that the government can’t really afford to print its own currency because it’s so broke would be the cherry on top of this socialist nightmare. Nope—the hunger games appear to have begun, as Venezuelans are now hunting stray dogs, cats, and pigeons for sustenance (via PanAm Post):

    Ramón Muchacho, Mayor of Chacao in Caracas, said the streets of the capital of Venezuela are filled with people killing animals for food.

    Through Twitter, Muchacho reported that in Venezuela, it is a “painful reality” that people “hunt cats, dogs and pigeons” to ease their hunger.

    People are also reportedly gathering vegetables from the ground and trash to eat as well.

    The crisis in Venezuela is worsening everyday due in part to shortages reaching 70 percent. This to go along with the world’s highest level of inflation.

    The population’s desperation has begun to show, with looting and robberies for food increasing all the time. This Sunday, May 1, six Venezuelan military officials were arrested for stealing goats to ease their hunger, as there was no food at the Fort Manaure military base.

    […]

    The Venezuelan Chamber of Food (Cavidea) said many businesses only have 15 days worth of inventory. Production has been effected as a result of a shortage of raw materials, as well as exhausted national and international supply resources.

Just when you thought this left wing dystopia couldn’t get any worse—it does.


http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/05/09/venezuelans-are-now-hunting-cats-dogs-and-birds-for-food-because-socialism-cant-provide-n2160036?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=

[Wilikon]

Venezuela Tense As Cops Block Protesters Demanding Maduro Recall

Caracas (AFP) – Riot cops fired tear gas to head off a protest march Wednesday by opponents of Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, who were demanding a referendum on removing him from office.

Political leaders and analysts warned tensions could erupt into unrest as the center-right opposition staged rallies across the crisis-hit South American country.

Protesters were demanding electoral authorities quickly approve their call for a vote on dumping the socialist leader.

Security forces blocked the street to keep demonstrators away from the headquarters of the National Electoral Board (CNE) in Caracas. A small number of tear gas canisters were fired.

The opposition coalition MUD said in a statement that one of its top leaders, Henrique Capriles, was affected by the tear gas as he led the march.

“I am fine. We Venezuelans want a recall referendum and change,” Capriles wrote later on Twitter. “Maduro will not defeat the people!”

The Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) blames Maduro for an economic crisis in which Venezuelans are having to queue for hours for rations of basic food and other goods.


https://www.yahoo.com/news/venezuela-tense-protesters-march-against-president-165222298.html?ref=gs


------------------------------------------------
Socialist train wrecks are so predictable. They keep doing the same thing, killing their own, at the end. Every time. Then, you'll start hearing the left say "Hey! this is not socialism!". Every time.

Sad.

[xht]

we see the corruption is too deep to fix their economy is in the tank and they are broke and maybe China will buy the country for their oil and expand their Communist territory.

[Elwar]

Dystopia: Venezuelans Are Now Killing Cats, Dogs, and Birds For Food Because Socialism Can't Provide



So, you know Venezuela is on the verge of economic collapse. The price of oil has dropped precipitously over the past few years—that’s a budgetary nightmare for a nation dependent on its oil exports. As a result, basic necessities, like toilet paper, are being rationed. There’s limited access to television and long distance phone service. There are rolling blackouts due to energy shortages. And now the government is cutting back the workweek to just two days. This comes at a time when Venezuela’s citizens need government services the most. Supermarkets are not stocked regularly, so there’s a food shortage; people are starving. They’ve resorted to looting to survive. You would think that the government can’t really afford to print its own currency because it’s so broke would be the cherry on top of this socialist nightmare. Nope—the hunger games appear to have begun, as Venezuelans are now hunting stray dogs, cats, and pigeons for sustenance (via PanAm Post):

    Ramón Muchacho, Mayor of Chacao in Caracas, said the streets of the capital of Venezuela are filled with people killing animals for food.

    Through Twitter, Muchacho reported that in Venezuela, it is a “painful reality” that people “hunt cats, dogs and pigeons” to ease their hunger.

    People are also reportedly gathering vegetables from the ground and trash to eat as well.

    The crisis in Venezuela is worsening everyday due in part to shortages reaching 70 percent. This to go along with the world’s highest level of inflation.

    The population’s desperation has begun to show, with looting and robberies for food increasing all the time. This Sunday, May 1, six Venezuelan military officials were arrested for stealing goats to ease their hunger, as there was no food at the Fort Manaure military base.

    […]

    The Venezuelan Chamber of Food (Cavidea) said many businesses only have 15 days worth of inventory. Production has been effected as a result of a shortage of raw materials, as well as exhausted national and international supply resources.

Just when you thought this left wing dystopia couldn’t get any worse—it does.


http://townhall.com/tipsheet/mattvespa/2016/05/09/venezuelans-are-now-hunting-cats-dogs-and-birds-for-food-because-socialism-cant-provide-n2160036?utm_source=thdailypm&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nl_pm&newsletterad=

Socialism is a great remedy for an overcrowded pigeon problem. And no more worries about getting your dog or cat spayed or neutered.

Beat that capitalism!

[Wilikon]

Scenes From The Venezuela Apocalypse: “Countless Wounded” After 5,000 Loot Supermarket Looking For Food
As pure desperation has set in, crime has becomes inevitable




Over the last several years we have documented with clockwork regularity Venezuela's collapse into failed state status, which was cemented several weeks ago when news hit that "Venezuela had officially run out of money to print new money."  At that point the best one could do was merely to step back and watch as local society and civilization turned on itself, unleashing what would ultimately turn into Venezuela's own, sad apocalypse.

Last night we showed what Caracas, looks like this week:

As we wrote then these are simply hungry Venezuelans protesting that their children are dying from lack of food and medicine and that they do not have enough water or electricity. As AgainstCronyCapitalism added, this is a country with more oil than Saudi Arabia, and the government has stolen all the money and now they bottleneck peaceful protesters and threaten them with bombs (or haul them to prison and torture them).

As pure desperation has set in, crime has becomes inevitable. A man accused of mugging people in the streets of Caracas was surrounded by a mob of onlookers, beaten and set on fire, who published a pixeled-out but still graphic video of the man burning as mob justice is now the supreme arbiter of who lives and who dies:

"Roberto Fuentes Bernal, 42, was reportedly caught trying to mug passersby in the Venezuelan capital, and before police arrived at the scene, the crowd took the law into their own hands." The video can be seen here.

Now, in the latest shocking development, Venezuela saw a new wave of looting this week that resulted in at least two deaths, countless wounded, and millions of dollars in losses and damages.

According to Panampost, on Wednesday morning, a crowd sacked the Maracay Wholesale Market in the central region of Venezuela.  According to the testimonies of merchants, the endless food lines that Venezuelans have been enduring to do groceries could not be organized that day.

As time went by, desperate Venezuelans grew anxious over not being able to buy food. Then they started jumping over the gates and stormed the supermarket.

"They took milk, pasta, flour, oil, and milk powder. There were 5,000 people" one witness told Venezuela outlet El Estímulo.

People from across the entire state came to the supermarket because there were rumors that some products not found anywhere else would be sold there.

As a result of the massive crowd, the authorities were unable to preserve the peace. "There were 250 people for each National Guard officer… lots of people and few soldiers. At least one officer was beat up because he tried to stop the crowd,” another source told El Estímulo.

Other food dispensaries run by the government were also looted by the people.

Far from the promised socialist paradise, as the massive group of people moved, an entrance gate collapsed under the weight of the crowd, leaving several wounded.

The image below shows a human stampede over rice.

Over the last two weeks, several provinces have hosted scenes of looting in pharmacies, shopping malls, supermarkets, and food delivery trucks. In several markets, shouts of “we are hungry!” echoed. On April 27, the Venezuelan Chamber of Food (Cavidea) reported that the country’s food producers only had 15 days left of inventory.

PanamPost adds that lootings are becoming an increasingly common occurrence in Venezuela, as the country’s food shortage resulted in yet another reported incident of violence in a supermarket — this time in the Luvebras Automarket located in the La Florida Province of Caracas.

Videos posted to social media showed desperate people falling over each other trying to get bags of rice. One user claimed the looting occurred because it is difficult to get cereal, and so people “broke down the doors and damaged infrastructure.”

In the central province of Carabobo, residents ransacked a corn warehouse located in the coastal city of Puerto Cabello. They reportedly broke down the gate because workers were giving away small portions.

"There’s no rice, no pasta, no flour,” resident Glerimar Yohan told La Costa, “only hunger.”

* * *

Social Collapse Is Inevitable

With the economy dead, the only thing remaining is to watch as society implodes. To that end, Oscar Meza, Director of the Documentation Center for Social Analysis (Cendas-FVM), said that measurements of scarcity and inflation in May are going to be the worst to date. “We are officially declaring May as the month that [widespread] hunger began in Venezuela,” he told Web Noticias Venezuela. … “As for March, there was an increase in yearly prices due to inflation — a 582.9 percent increase for food, while the level of scarcity of basic products remains at 41.37 percent."

“We are officially declaring May as the month that hunger began
in Venezuela,” says an NGO that measures inflation and scarcity

Meza said the trigger for the crisis is the shortage of bread and other foods derived from wheat.

“Prices are so high that you can’t buy anything, so people don’t buy bread, they don’t buy flour. You get porridge, you see the price of chicken go up and families struggle … lunch is around 1,500 bolivars… People used to take food from home to work, but now you can’t anymore because you don’t have food at home."

The is why, Español Ramón Muchacho, Mayor of Chacao in Caracas, said the streets of the capital of Venezuela are filled with people killing animals for food. "Muchacho reported that in Venezuela, it is a “painful reality” that people “hunt cats, dogs and pigeons” to ease their hunger."

Subsquently, Muchacho warned that Caribbean islands and Colombia may suffer an influx of refugees from Venezuela if food shortages continue in the country.

“As hunger deepens, we could see more Venezuelans fleeing by land or sea to an island,” Muchacho said.

And that is how all socialist utopias always end.

* * *

Meanwhile, as civil war appears inevitable, as we reported last night there are factions vying to oust Maduro, but signs that he may hang on and force his population to endure more of this socialist nightmare. One can only hope that these shocking scenes remain relegated to the streets of offshore socialist paradises, although Americans should always prepare for the worst in case they eventually manage to make their way into the country.



http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-05-13/scenes-venezuela-apocalypse-countless-wounded-after-5000-loot-supermarket-looking-fo



--------------------------------------------
The title of this thread was based on facts, not magical predictions.

[bryant.coleman]

^^^^ The predictions on refugee outflow can realize. Millions of Venezuelans may flee to Colombia and Brazil. However, I don't think that the neighboring nations will be happy to accept these people. The governments in both Colombia and Brazil are struggling to deal with poverty in their own nations, and they are not prepared to accept the Venezuelans. 

[Wilikon]

Flashback: Wednesday, Mar 6, 2013 12:30 PM UTC



Hugo Chavez’s economic miracle
The Venezuelan leader was often marginalized as a radical. But his brand of socialism achieved real economic gains



For the last decade in American politics, Hugo Chavez became a potent political weapon – within a few years of his ascent, he was transformed from just a leader of a neighboring nation into a boogeyman synonymous with extremism. Regularly invoked in over-the-top political rhetoric, Chavez’s name became a decontextualized epithet to try to attach to a political opponent so as to make that opponent look like a radical. Because of this, America barely flinched upon hearing the news that the Bush administration tried to orchestrate a coup against the democratically elected Venezuelan leader.
Just to get it out of the way, I’ll state the obvious: with respect to many policies, Chavez was no saint. He, for instance, amassed a troubling record when it came to protecting human rights and basic democratic freedoms (though as Mark Weisbrot of the Center for Economic and Policy notes, “Venezuela is recognized by many scholars to be more democratic than it was in the pre-Chávez era”). His rein also coincided with a boom in violent crime.

That said, these serious problems, while certainly worthy of harsh criticism, were not the primary reason Chavez became the favorite effigy of American politicians and pundits. In an age marked by America’s drone assaults, civil liberties abuses, and war on voting, it is not as if this nation’s political establishment sees an assault on democratic freedoms as deplorable. Likewise, that same political establishment is more than friendly with leaders of countries like Mexico and Colombia – countries which are also periodically hotbeds of violent crime.
No, Chavez became the bugaboo of American politics because his full-throated advocacy of socialism and redistributionism at once represented a fundamental critique of neoliberal economics, and also delivered some indisputably positive results. Indeed, as shown by some of the most significant indicators, Chavez racked up an economic record that a legacy-obsessed American president could only dream of achieving.


http://archive.is/v8NOo#selection-2799.0-2865.413


--------------------------------------------
Over and over and over again... Train wreck... Death.

[Elwar]

A good guide for figuring out what to do down the road if you live in the US or other nations that are turning socialist. I would imagine that those in the big cities are the worst off. Even if you're not in the big city, eventually those people will move into the countryside and seek out any food available, so even there you're not safe if you can't protect your food.


One plus of all this though is that when Venezuela collapses, if they are smart about scrapping the old system and put in property rights it would probably be a good investment to buy some land there.

Though it looks it could be more like Romania where the country collapses and the elderly cling onto their socialist past (it's all they know) and the youth embrace freedom. But it still takes a long time for any form of value to evolve in the country, leaving most people poor.

[Wilikon]

No electricity, no antibiotics, no beds, no soap: A devastating look inside Venezuela's crisis-hit hospitals where 7 babies die a day, bleeding patients lie strewn on the floor, and doctors try to operate without tools



    President Nicolas Maduro claims Venezuela has the best healthcare in the world after Cuba
    But death rates are soaring and hospitals are filthy as supplies run low and electricity is shut off
    The nation is in economic crisis after price of oil - their main monetary reserve - plummeted
    Images taken by the New York Times show patients lying on the floor covered in blood and babies dying

The impact of Venezuela's economic collapse on its people is almost impossible to put into words.

But these images inside calamity-hit hospitals go some way to communicating the devastation.

Since oil prices plummeted, all aspects of everyday life - electricity, food, paper - have been rationed.

Critically, medical centers are in crisis.

Without soap, antibiotics, power, gloves and x-rays, surgeons are struggling to keep patients alive.

Pictures taken by New York Times photographer Meridith Kohut offer a glimpse inside some of the most notorious centers - while President Nicolas Maduro claims the socialist nation has the best healthcare in the world.




http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3595946/No-electricity-no-antibiotics-no-beds-no-soap-devastating-look-inside-Venezuela-s-crisis-struck-hospitals-7-babies-die-day-bleeding-patients-lie-strewn-floor-doctors-try-operate-without-tools.html