It remains a mystery why so many people continue to believe in the fairy-tale fantasy of socialism, given its inevitable failure everywhere it is put into place, but as we can see from the current situation in Venezuela it is not from a lack of trying. This story from The L.A. Times informs us that US intelligence agencies are warning of the immanent collapse of Venezuela under the burden of the glorious worker’s paradise. It seems they have run out of other people’s money and the situation is dire.
Venezuela has been under the control of the left since 1999 when Hugo Chavez came to power. After his passing the office of the presidency went to his hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro whose qualifications for the office are that he is also a Marxist and he drove a bus. And apparently he is doing a bang up job with unemployment, violence and inflation running wild. Add to that the shortages of pretty much everything and you have one snappy utopian dream.
So just remember, socialism is so simple that anyone can do it. Even a 74-year-old from Vermont.
Recent polls have shown Maduro’s approval ratings have dropped as low as 15%, with a majority of Venezuelans blaming him for the country’s crisis and wanting to see his term truncated.
But the opposition has shown itself to be fragmented and unable to agree on a single strategy to oust the Maduro administration.
In addition to the recall movement, street protests spurred by both political and economic anger have besieged the Maduro government, which sent state security forces into neighborhoods this week to put down demonstrations.
Venezuela’s heavily armed population staggers under the world’s highest inflation rate. Maduro may also be worried about potential threats within his own inner circle and in the military, as the country deteriorates.
