How bad have things gotten in socialist Venezuela? So bad that Venezuelans feel less secure than Syrians:
Venezuelans feel less safe in their home country than civilians living in war-torn Syria, according to a new Gallup poll.
Just 14 percent of Venezuelans said they feel safe in the country, compared with 32 percent of Syrian respondents who feel safe, according to the 2016 Global Law and Order Report.
“Venezuela has become a society that is just breaking down,” said Eric Farnsworth, vice president of the Washington-based Council of the Americas.
Skyrocketing crime is just one of the many manifestations of socialism in Venezuela. Naturally, poverty, starvation and a complete lack of medical care get most of the headlines.
Many reporters are confused about how to report on events in Venezuela. Isn’t socialism supposed to be good? That is what they were taught in college. And isn’t Bernie Sanders a socialist? Surely there must be some other explanation for Venezuela’s humiliation, like a decline in the price of oil. The Associated Press gives us two news stories in one. The subject is the re-opening of the border between Colombia and Venezuela:
Presidents Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela and Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia agreed Thursday to the gradual reopening of their 1,380-mile (2,200-kilometer) border after the Venezuelan government nearly a year ago closed crossings to crack down on smuggling.
Smuggling of scarce goods into Venezuela? No:
Officials alleged that speculators were causing shortages in Venezuela by buying up subsidized food and gasoline and taking them to Colombia, where they could be sold for far higher prices.
Actually, shortages are caused by the government’s price controls. But Venezuela’s socialists can’t admit that. So, now that the border is open, are Venezuelans streaming into Colombia laden with goods for re-sale?
Just kidding:
Thousands of Venezuelans on Saturday crossed into Colombia to buy food and medicine under the first step of a controlled, gradual reopening of the border. …
Venezuelans have been desperate to cross into Colombia to buy basics as shortages worsen in their economically struggling country, an OPEC member that has been hit hard by…
Wait for it!
,,,the fall in oil prices.
Hundreds of Venezuelans stormed a border checkpoint in July and illegally crossed into Colombia for the day to go grocery shopping.
If the AP reporter noticed the contradiction between the Venezuelan government’s line and what was actually happening, she didn’t let on.
For a surprisingly realistic account of how socialism has destroyed Venezuela, see this Los Angeles Times article.
Finally, socialist Bernie Sanders has taken some abuse for buying a third home after dropping out of the presidential race. Let’s be fair: as a hypocrite, Sanders is a piker. As we have noted before, Hugo Chavez’s daughter and his former treasury minister are both multi-billionaires. Since their stolen money is in Swiss bank accounts, they haven’t been hurt by the 700% inflation now ravaging their country. Socialists aren’t stupid, they are just evil.
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