"Of course, it was different. Moreover, even at today’s lower oil prices, Venezuelan oil sells for two to three times as much as in 1999 adjusting for inflation. Socialism has destroyed Venezuela. Welfare programs that were supposed to help the poor actually increased the cost of living. One goal of the scheme was to reduce inflation by overvaluing the currency, subsidizing imported products. Unlike the radical left, I will ALWAYS stand against socialism and with the people of Venezuela. One of the reasons the protests are growing, despite the government’s brutal repression, is that the country is quickly becoming unlivable and many Venezuelans think that they have nothing to lose. My Admin has always stood on the side of FREEDOM and LIBERTY and against the oppressive Maduro regime! As Venezuelans have learned over the past 20 years of socialism, “free things” come at a high price. Today, socialism has turned Venezuela into an authoritarian basket case that thousands try to escape every year. ... after 14 years of socialist government, Venezuela — the country with the world’s largest oil reserves — is currently importing gasoline. Submitted by escamp on August 31, 2015 - 3:04pm. © 2020 The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., A nonprofit 501 (c)(3) Charitable Organization. And, if they get to the government, they'll do it. I would only meet with Maduro to discuss one thing: a peaceful exit from power! The first time I couldn’t buy food at the grocery store, I was 15 years old. "You guys think it can't happen to you...I've heard this so many times, but always be on guard," she added. But, at this point, they're trying to change the national identity and they're trying to destroy the system. Copyright © 2020 Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, Inc. All rights reserved. Nationalization destroyed production in affected industries because no government has the capacity to run thousands of businesses or the profit motive to run them efficiently. Instead of benefiting the poor, price ceilings predictably resulted in shortages that forced them to stand in lines for hours, while supermarket employees and the well-connected obtained the products they needed. Socialism has turned Venezuela into an authoritarian basket case that thousands try to escape every year. No wonder that, after 14 years of socialist government, Venezuela — the country with the world’s largest oil reserves — is currently importing gasoline. Driving the unrest is a large segment of the population that is fed up with the country’s rapidly deteriorating economy. Somehow, toilet paper is now more valuable than paper money. The country is now one of the most dangerous places in the world, with almost 25,000 homicides in 2013 — a murder rate of 79 killings per 100,000 inhabitants. Economics21 (E21) is a project of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research (MI), a leading free-market think tank. There are three main policies implemented by Chavez since 1999 that produced the current crisis: Widespread nationalization of private industry, currency and price controls, and the fiscally irresponsible expansion of welfare programs. In a tweet, President Trump indicated that he stands against oppression and supports the people of Venezuela. International networks have been blocked from cable. On many parameters, Venezuela does not appear particularly socialist in an international comparison. “Before I die, I want socialism gone from Venezuela,” said Yessid Merlano, a 50-year-old waiter. Socialism run rampant—not cronyism, corruption, falling oil prices, or U.S. sanctions—caused the crisis in Venezuela. For many years, it was also a remarkable democracy in a region where most nations were ruled by military dictatorships. "Founding Fathers are going to be attacked," she said. In 2003, Chavez implemented a foreign currency control scheme where the government set an overvalued exchange rate between the Venezuelan currency and the U.S. dollar. Sign up for the e21 Morning eBrief. "It's an attempt to change the identity of the country. This was a recipe for shortages and economic disaster. At artificially low prices, more people were willing to buy these products but the few private factories left—not nationalized—could not profit at the government-capped price, so they reduced or halted their production. If you just let the first ones come down, then there are no limits to what's next.". ", "We didn't believe it could happen to us. And nationalizations that should have given “power” to workers only left them unemployed and hungry. One of Chavez’s first actions was to start nationalizing the agriculture sector, supposedly reducing poverty and inequality by taking from rich landowners to give to poor workers. that accent is )pic.twitter.com/UJSjmfDXCo. ", Venezuelans recognize signs of a communist takeover better than almost anyone, (p.s. The productive sector has been decimated after hundreds of nationalisations and expropriations. 1000 Massachusetts Ave. NW After agriculture, the regime nationalized electricity, water, oil, banks, supermarkets, construction, and other crucial sectors. Want to stay ahead of the competition? Slowly, it will destroy America, too. From 1999 to 2016, his regime robbed more than 6 million hectares of land from its rightful owners. Protesters tried to topple a statue of President Andrew Jackson across from the White House, June 22, 2020, in Washington (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik). Cubans warned us, yet it happened. Help us continue to be a voice for truth in the media by supporting CBN News for as little as $1. Maduro’s main challenge is that he doesn’t command the same level of loyalty, much less adoration, as his predecessor Hugo Chávez. Expansive welfare programs and massive public-works projects provided ever-growing opportunities for still greater corruption. More detailed message would go here to provide context for the user and how to proceed, By clicking subscribe, you agree to the terms of use as outlined in our. They certainly will do it.". That’s why we view every news story through the lens of faith. As economic theory predicted, as state control of the agricultural industry increased, Venezuela’s food production fell 75% in two decades while the country’s population increased by 33%. And, that's what they did to us," she said. He even said recently that he doesn’t mind being called a dictator. Venezuela was my home, and socialism destroyed it. You need to guard your country and your society or it will be destroyed. Some movies couldn't be shown on TV channels and so on and so forth. We encourage readers who wish to comment on our material to do so through our Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram accounts. Yet corruption and mismanagement were the direct result of increased government control of the economy—socialism—and in reality, lower oil prices and U.S. sanctions have little to do with the crisis. Daniel Di Martino (@DanielDiMartino) is a Young Voices contributor and Venezuelan expatriate studying economics in Indianapolis, Indiana. Compare that to the UK, where several years of ‘austerity’ has brought state spending down just below 40% or Germany, where the state spends 43% of GDP. Venezuela is now witnessing its largest protests in a decade. "I mean, anything can be attacked if you just let it happen. "Why do I even worry about some silly statues coming down. During an interview on Fox News Channel's "The Ingraham Angle," the activist reportedly told host Laura Ingraham that all historical and religious symbols are in danger of defacement. At that point, they already had taken the government. Dozens of opposition radio stations have seen their licenses revoked, and the newspapers, the last bastion of the free press in Venezuela, are weeks away from shutting down because the government denies them the hard currency they need to buy print paper. But the currency control meant the regime had to ration available U.S. dollars to importers since, at an overvalued (cheap) exchange rate, there was more demand for U.S. dollars than supply. Printing money to pay for endless state programs unsurprisingly led to high rates of inflation. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter As economic theory predicted, as state control of the agricultural industry increased, Venezuela’s food production fell 75% in two decades while the country’s population increased by 33% . Socialism run rampant—not cronyism, corruption, falling oil prices, or U.S. sanctions—caused the crisis in Venezuela. Worker's paradise When Chávez first rose to power in … As a result, there are widespread shortages of food and medicines, and people have to endure hour‐​long lines in supermarkets. Receive periodic updates on Cato research, events, Activist Elizabeth Rogliani shared her warning online, pointing out that she experienced a similar situation as a teenager growing up in Venezuela. So do not make excuses. The statues came down...Chavez didn't want all that history displayed and then he changed the street names, then came the school curriculum. This fact highlights Venezuela’s painful descent into chaos, as the economy crumbles and the nation’s social fabric unravels. Corrupt regimes can certainly cause many problems, but without socialism, hyperinflation and widespread shortages are not usually among them. The government of President Nicolas Maduro has cracked down on demonstrations with unprecedented force, using the National Guard and armed paramilitary gangs. The economic hardship faced by Venezuelans is compounded by a horrific rise in crime. Thirty-year-old lessons of the massive Caracazo protest can point to Venezuela’s real policy failure. "Religious symbols are going to be attacked. Click Here Get the App with Special Alerts on Breaking News and Live Events! The result is the highest inflation rate in the world: officially 56 per cent last year, although according to calculations by Steve Hanke of Johns Hopkins University, the implied annual inflation rate is actually 330 per cent. Many in the media have blamed Venezuela’s worsening humanitarian crisis on corruption, mismanagement, falling oil prices, or U.S sanctions—anything but the rise of socialism in what was once the wealthiest country in South America. The government reacted to skyrocketing inflation by following the typical socialist script: it imposed draconian price controls and has been raiding businesses it accuses of hoarding. That's my opinion. 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But perhaps the most harmful part of the Venezuelan socialist project is the part that the international media and leftist figures used to praise most frequently: welfare programs. Cato Institute Interested in real economic insights? Venezuela was once South America’s richest country, taking in immigrants from all over the world. A Venezuelan activist is warning Americans that the torching and toppling of historical statues could be a sign of what lies ahead - loss of our country to a devastating idea like socialism. With no diplomatic pressure coming from other Latin American nations or regional groupings such as the Organisation of American States, the Venezuelan government has a free hand to repress its people.

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