Venezuela In Turmoil For Lack Of Flour, Milk And Diapers

[hack89]

Student-led demonstrations have been roiling Venezuela for more than a month. At least 28 people have been killed and dozens wounded in confrontations between security forces and those who have taken to the streets. The list of grievances — rising crime, inflation — is long, but the main one for many is the scarcity of basic foodstuffs.

As with everything in Venezuela, the reasons given for the food shortages depend on political affiliation. The government says it's the result of unscrupulous businessmen waging an economic war and hoarding by regular people afraid of shortages.

Those in the opposition blame a system that imposes price controls, the lack of money to buy imports and problems in the supply chain after the expropriation of farms and factories by the socialist government.

Inside the market, the manager, Roger Escorihuela, takes me around and points out that the shelves are not bare. There are cereals, eggs and pastas and fancy jams, but the staples that are subject to price controls — black beans, butter, corn meal, the list goes on — are missing, he says.

http://www.npr.org/2014/03/16/290516431/venezuela-in-turmoil-for-lack-of-flour-milk-and-diapers

Price controls and draconian currency regulations are a bad combination for a country dependent on imports.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Or, there's a capital strike going on

just as there was in Chile in 1973. The producers of staples are miffed at the price controls and have decided not to produce, no matter how much ordinary people suffer.

Some of us are old enough to remember the first edition of this movie.

[hack89]

3. It is the lack of dollars that is the bigger issue

companies need dollars to buy foreign goods and they simply can't get them.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

10. They need to buy foreign beans and corn meal?

Who knew?

Are the prices below sustainability for the growers or just below profiteering levels?

[hack89]

13. Venezula imports about two thirds of their food needs

Venezuela imports about two-thirds of its food needs. In 2009, U.S. firms exported $967 million worth of agricultural products, including wheat, corn, soybeans, soybean meal, cotton, animal fats, vegetable oils, fruits, nuts, dairy products, processed fruits and vegetables, and other items to make Venezuela one of the top two U.S. markets in South America. The United States supplies roughly one-quarter of Venezuela's food imports.

http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/venezuela/economy

[geek tragedy]

5. That's what happens when you impose price controls--basic economics dictate

that if people can't make money producing something for sale, they'll stop producing it for sale. It's not a matter of being 'miffed' it's about government policy driving producers out of business

[Demo_Chris]

19. Funny how so many people don't understand this. nt

[geek tragedy]

2. the protestors are a political benefit to Maduro at this point.

stop breaking shit, settle down for a while, and let the government and the results of its policies regain center stage.

and, I dunno, maybe win an election before stating that they speak on behalf of the people.

Maduro is a thug and an economic illiterate, but his opponents are doing their best to prop him up

[hack89]

4. He will eventually declare a state of emergency

and extend his emergency decree powers indefinitely. I suspect we have seen the last election in VZ for a long time.

[geek tragedy]

6. they shouldn't give him the pretext. nt

[hack89]

7. If the desperation continues to grow

I am not sure it is within the power of the students to put a damper on the protests.

[geek tragedy]

16. so long as it's primarily middle class and upper class faces

associated with those protests, they're not going to succeed and they're going to lack legitimacy.

take that outrage and channel it into good old fashioned coalition building.

[NobodyHere]

8. So....

The protesters should just shut up and smile while Maduro runs their country into the ground?

What should the protesters be doing?

[geek tragedy]

9. building alliances with Venezuela's poor

make the case to Venezuela's poor that there's a better way to make sure they don't starve to death than Maduro's failing policies

and then win elections

[brooklynite]

11. Novel idea...too bad OCCUPY didn't try it.

[geek tragedy]

14. some local occupies did try it, problem with not having leadership

is that a movement thus has no direction, and then begins to lack a purpose that justifies its continuance

[Zorra]

12. Venezuela imports 50% of their food. 10/25/13

Officials argue that current economic problems are the result of an “economic war” being waged against the government by wealthy allies of the conservative opposition, who they say are seeking to attack the country’s currency and cause discontent in the population by disrupting food supply.

“The president [Nicolas Maduro] instructed [the purchase of] more food because that’s where they [the opposition] are playing dirty with the whole country. They’re deviating the food supply, they take it as contraband or they hoard it,” said Rafael Ramirez while explaining the motives behind the food import plan on Wednesday.

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/10122

Right Wingers/Capitalists will do anything, even start completely unwarranted wars, such as the war and conquest of Iraq, to get access to a sovereign nation's oil.

[hack89]

15. You need dollars to import food

VZ doesn't have the dollars.

[Zorra]

17. Like the article in my post said

10/25/13

"...they are seeking to attack the country’s currency and cause discontent in the population by disrupting food supply."

http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/10122

[hack89]

18. No one is attacking their currency

they are simply not bringing in enough dollars to meet demand. They are hemorrhaging dollars because the public is looking to protect their money from inflation.

VZ has devalued their currency seven times since 2003

[geek tragedy]

21. how does one attack another country's currency?

if anyone--anyone--on the planet thought the VN bolivar was a safe investment, they'd be buying them up.

when literally no one on the planet is willing to trade dollars for your currency, time to look in the mirror

[FreeJoe]

20. Good article comparing Venezuela to Bolivia

Chavez was a disaster for Venezuela. Yes, the prior regime was also terrible.

http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-venezeulas-middle-class-is-taking-to-the-streets/