Societal Collapse in Venezuela

[i1afli]

Came across this article in USAToday...pretty interesting firsthand account of societal collapse.  I found it interesting how it happened rather slowly and they didn't realize the severity of it for awhile.

Voices: Shotguns trigger exit from Venezuela

Peter Wilson, Special for USA TODAY7:01 a.m. EDT October 16, 2016

Having two shotguns knocking  against the back of my head led me to do something last month that 1.5 million Venezuelans have done since the late Hugo Chávez started his so-called socialist revolution in 1999: I left the country.

It was a difficult decision, one I spent months agonizing over.

I spent 24 years in Venezuela, working initially as an English teacher,  then as a journalist. Ten years ago, I moved to Tasajera, a village nearly 1 mile high in the foothills of the Andes, where I raised coffee and vegetables while writing on a part-time basis.

Living in Tasajera immersed me in a different Venezuela, one that I sometimes failed to see while working full-time in the capital and frequenting the presidential palace.

I volunteered at the  elementary schools and participated in all of Chávez’s social experiments including our commune. I witnessed firsthand the impact of the revolution on everyday life, both the successes and failures.

Shortages began shortly after I moved to Tasajera. They began inconspicuously at first: Instead of three brands of margarine, there were suddenly two. Sugar was sometimes missing for a day or two. Slowly, more and more products — toilet tissue, soap, coffee, milk, flour — went missing.

My car dealership suddenly had no spare parts. The pharmacies ran out of most drugs. Dog food disappeared, as did chicken feed. Our newspapers shed pages as they ran out of newsprint. Government offices stopped issuing permits as they ran out of paper.

I and my neighbors initially laughed about the shortages.  After all, we were all losing weight on the “Maduro diet,” named after Chávez’s successor, Nicolas Maduro. Then the shortages became critical as oil prices remained weak and the government no longer had the money to pay the bills to import basic foodstuffs.

The errors of the past — Chávez’s expropriations of hundreds of national companies — meant that Venezuela, which has the world’s largest oil reserves and had more than $700 billion dollars in revenue the past decade, no longer produces much of anything. We rely instead on imports.

This summer, gaunt city dwellers started coming to the village, walking around to see what they could steal to eat. Hunger stalked Tasajera as well: One elderly man, abandoned by his family,  died of malnutrition in his hovel.

Food wasn’t our only challenge. We were treated to constant blackouts and a collapse in government services such as health care and education.

The biggest problem was the breakdown in values and the upsurge in crime. After a coup attempt against him in 2002, Chávez “took over” many police forces to ensure their loyalty.  Even worse, he armed many of his followers. Many of them are little more than thugs; not surprisingly, Venezuela’s murder total soared from almost 5,000 in 1999 to this year’s forecast of 30,000.

We weren’t spared. Tasajera was rent by an unprecedented wave of violence. A gang of  teenagers armed with guns they had stolen from their parents or “rented” from rogue policemen began terrorizing the village.

Their modus operandi was the same: They would wait in ambush outside a victim’s house in the early morning hours, then jump him when he went outside to start his workday. The victim and his family would  be tied up and their house emptied. Some victims were held for ransom.

Several people resisted; one of my friends nearly died when the thieves shot him and left him bleeding on the floor.

The police did nothing, pleading that they didn’t have the necessary arms to protect us. Many of my neighbors suspect the police were involved in the 50-odd robberies.

When I was robbed at gunpoint, my captors — all skinny teenagers with their faces covered — held me for three hours before they let me go, so I could raise a ransom to buy my car back. I heard them bicker over the meager cash they found on me, and realized they were just kids who saw no future for themselves in Venezuela, where the monthly minimum wage is the equivalent of $20.

They have paid the price.

Two of the four are dead: killed by rival gangs or in a government anti-crime initiative that relies on army death squads to exterminate criminals who don’t have the connections or money to buy immunity.

Venezuela is a broken society, moving inexorably to a protracted political struggle between Maduro and his supporters and his opponents that could lead to civil war. I hope that’s not the case; I fear it is.

Having two old shotguns against my head made me realize that I — like my neighbors — was likely to be collateral damage in whatever follows. It was time to move to Ohio. Unlike my friends, I could leave. They can’t.

 

[MacGyver]

After Maduro shut down the recall election two weeks ago the consensus is that Venezuela is now officially a dictatorship. 

Unfortunately, Maduro doesn't have the charisma that Chavez had. And, as a former bus driver he doesn't have the skills to run a country either.  

They'll kill him before it's done.  

I pray for the people there.  Hard to believe that only 30 years ago they were more or less a first world economy.  

It ought to be a cautionary tale of how quickly a strongman can screw stuff up with the support of public willing to turn their heads because they're getting promised what they think they want. 

[Erik88]

Brazil isn't doing a whole lot better, at least not from a crime standpoint.

[Scorpion Equalizer]

On ‎11‎/‎3‎/‎2016 at 7:08 PM, MacGyver said:

 

It ought to be a cautionary tale of how quickly a strongman can screw stuff up with the support of public willing to turn their heads because they're getting promised what they think they want. 

Wake up America.

[Ugly]

those that are dumb enough to want the same things don't know, they aren't getting it from our media. 

[Sunfish]

We should sentence BLM looters and destructive protesters to 6 months in Venezuela and find their own transportation back. They would renew their vows of allegiance to this fine country if they lived.   

[i1afli]

Looks like things are only going to get worse in Venezuala.  Maduro pushed through an election, in which only about 7% of the population voted, that basically allows him to create an autocratic governance (dictatorship)...then he immediately had the opposition candidates arrested. 

People tried protesting but Maduro-sponsored thugs kept that in check. 

It only takes one deranged man, a few zealous supporters, and a disarmed citizenry to enslave everyone. 

[Chucktshoes]

On 11/3/2016 at 8:08 PM, MacGyver said:

After Maduro shut down the recall election two weeks ago the consensus is that Venezuela is now officially a dictatorship. 

Unfortunately, Maduro doesn't have the charisma that Chavez had. And, as a former bus driver he doesn't have the skills to run a country either.  

They'll kill him before it's done.  

I pray for the people there.  Hard to believe that only 30 years ago they were more or less a first world economy.  

It ought to be a cautionary tale of how quickly a strongman can screw stuff up with the support of public willing to turn their heads because they're getting promised what they think they want. 

Can you hear the whooshing sound of your comments flying over the heads of folks? I can. 

[Links2k]

On 11/6/2016 at 4:55 AM, Sunfish said:

We should sentence BLM looters and destructive protesters to 6 months in Venezuela and find their own transportation back. They would renew their vows of allegiance to this fine country if they lived.   

Where did this come from? Big,big stretch!

[gregintenn]

On 11/3/2016 at 7:08 PM, MacGyver said:

After Maduro shut down the recall election two weeks ago the consensus is that Venezuela is now officially a dictatorship. 

Unfortunately, Maduro doesn't have the charisma that Chavez had. And, as a former bus driver he doesn't have the skills to run a country either.  

They'll kill him before it's done.  

I pray for the people there.  Hard to believe that only 30 years ago they were more or less a first world economy.  

It ought to be a cautionary tale of how quickly a strongman can screw stuff up with the support of public willing to turn their heads because they're getting promised what they think they want. 

You, sir, are wise beyond your years.

[MacGyver]

I fear we're entering a dark time for democracy the world over.  

Y'all pay attention. This stuff matters.  

[mikegideon]

On 11/3/2016 at 7:08 PM, MacGyver said:

After Maduro shut down the recall election two weeks ago the consensus is that Venezuela is now officially a dictatorship. 

Unfortunately, Maduro doesn't have the charisma that Chavez had. And, as a former bus driver he doesn't have the skills to run a country either.  

They'll kill him before it's done.  

I pray for the people there.  Hard to believe that only 30 years ago they were more or less a first world economy.  

It ought to be a cautionary tale of how quickly a strongman can screw stuff up with the support of public willing to turn their heads because they're getting promised what they think they want. 

Hindsight is 20/20. This happens over and over again. There are smart folks that allow it. I guess that one thing good about our big old turd of a system. It moves way too slow to get past the quick folks. Now, if we can just find somebody that doesn't need to be kicked out.