Venezuela and the failure of socialism
It’s no surprise that Hugo Chavez’s socialist state of Venezuela has fallen on hard times. They are well-deserved; Chavez had to work hard to achieve the decline in a nation that has rich natural resources on which to draw.
The following are perhaps the most important sentences in the article:
The reason Venezuela is contracting is because private activity is contracting,” Augusto de la Torre, the World Bank’s chief economist for Latin America, said in Washington last week. “What we’re seeing in Venezuela is a phenomenon where productivity, private activity and private business is falling.”…
Ché¡vez’s popularity has fallen below 50 percent, rare during his tenure and problematic for his followers as they gear up for parliamentary elections in September. Analysts say opposition could carve out space for itself in a Congress once wholly controlled by the president’s allies.
Socialism is an economic disaster, sometimes working its destruction slowly and sometimes quickly. But, as Margaret Thatcher once said, sooner or later you run out of other people’s money. The welfare states of Europe are suffering from the same thing in more attenuated form, and our own economic troubles are being exacerbated by Obama’s desire to have us morph more and more into a European-style welfare state or even perhaps a Chavez-like socialist one.
Chavez consolidated his power in Venezuela partly because of a perception by the opposition that elections would be rigged, and a subsequent boycott in 2005. This allowed him to control the legislature so completely that he has had free reign to impose especially ruinous and restrictive policies in a country that once flourished compared to others in Latin America.
Now the opposition has realized what a enormous mistake their boycott was, and are feeling energized:
Foes of President Hugo Chavez have largely put their differences aside and come up with a unified lineup of candidates, hoping to win control of a congress that has done the socialist leader’s bidding for years.
Pro-democracy activists, jailed government opponents, journalists, businessmen and union leaders are among the diverse cast of opposition candidates who hope to increase their influence in the Sept. 26 voting for 165 seats in the National Assembly…
Jose Vicente Carrasquero, a political science professor at Simon Bolivar University, said the opposition’s chances have improved because they appear to be more united than ever before.
But he said the opposition’s cash-strapped parties have limited funds for campaigning while candidates backed by Chavez have “much more financial capacity than all of the opposition put together.”
Money is not everything, although it’s important. The outcome of the September elections really depends on two things: how much popular opposition there really is to Chavez, and how much he will be able to rig the elections to counter it if he needs to do so. I wish the people of Venezuela well in overthrowing him—and in resisting whatever moves Obama may make in an attempt to keep his buddy Chavez in power, as he tried in Honduras. It is particularly ironic that, as the failure of socialism is increasingly revealed, our own country is sliding into it.
The world is upside down.
Money isn’t just useful to buy advertising. Its primary use in a political campaign is to encourage people to stick together in supporting a single leader rather than voting for any random person who isn’t Chavez. Otherwise, Chavez can win with only 1/(number of candidates) of the vote.
I keep saying that socialism isn’t a failure, as long as you are a member of the nomenklatura, or intend to be. That probably explains its enduring attraction. So what if it all collapses after you’re dead?
“It is particularly ironic that, as the failure of socialism is increasingly revealed, our own
country is sliding into itPresident is doing his darndest to portray socialist regimes as “morally equivalent” to our own.” -FIFYI visit this country on business two to three times a year. What is now particularly bad is the level of violence combining with the level of corruption in all areas.
From Venezuela News and Views ( Google Daniel Venezuela):Violence as Virtue.
You may think that this blogger on occasion goes slightly over the edge, or that even he had no business putting up the post of early this morning about Ovidio Morales position. But look at what I found at Gustavo’s blog! That is right, Richard Peé±alver, of a political track record who jumped to fame as being on of the Llaguno would be assassins, who went on to become a Caracas local legislator now wants to become a PSUV representative next September.
So, what does he use as his electoral platform? His picture in a red shirt, the smile of a goon about to forgive your life and his picture at Llaguno shooting at the opposition on April 11 2002. That is right, 8 years after Llaguno, in spite of him having occupied elected office for some of these years, Richard Peé±alver cannot find anything in his record to support his ambition than showing his murdering abilities.
The PSUV? A picture is worth a thousand words.
Go the link and see the picture. That photo features Richard Peé±alver with a pistol trained on unarmed demonstrators from April 2002. And he is using it in a campaign ad. Please vote for me. I am a Chavista thug.
Let’s hope Obama continues his love making with Chavez. The world is not duped. And all the U.S. public needs is a tad more “recovery” like Chavez promised his country and November is going to be sweet victory.
Why is anybody talking about an “election” in Venezuela as though the outcome has not already been decided. Unless the opposition has a well trained, well equipped army in its back pocket Chavez is President for life.
Replace Chavez with Obama and Venesuela with the U.S. and this story still fits.
I do not want to defend socialism — I have long thought it is a failed political system that is responsible for much misery in this world. But in it’s defense, Chavez is a thug and if he were the leader of the most democratic government in the world they would still be in trouble. F
“I wish the people of Venezuela well in overthrowing him–and in resisting whatever moves Obama may make in an attempt to keep his buddy Chavez in power, as he tried in Honduras.”
Amen, neo. . . . And may his fall take Somoza (in Nicaragua) and the Castro brothers (in Cuba) with him.