US-Led Economic War, Not Socialism, Is Tearing Venezuela Apart

[Judi Lynn]

US-Led Economic War, Not Socialism, Is Tearing Venezuela Apart

Americans have been trained by decades of Cold War propaganda to look for any confirmation that ‘socialism means poverty.’ But in the case of Venezuela and other states not governed by the free market, this cliche simply doesn’t ring true.

By Caleb T. Maupin | July 12, 2016

WASHINGTON — (ANALYSIS) The political and economic crisis facing Venezuela is being endlessly pointed to as proof of the superiority of the free market.

Images and portrayals of Venezuelans rioting in the streets over high food costs, empty grocery stores, medicine shortages, and overflowing garbage bins are the headlines, and the reporting points to socialism as the cause.

The Chicago Tribune published a Commentary piece titled: “A socialist revolution can ruin almost any country.” A headline on Reason’s Hit and Run blog proclaims: “Venezuelan socialism still a complete disaster.” The Week’s U.S. edition says: “Authoritarian socialism caused Venezuela’s collapse.”

Indeed, corporate-owned, mainstream media advises Americans to look at the inflation and food lines in Venezuela, and then repeat to themselves clichés they heard in elementary school about how “Communism just doesn’t work.”

More:
http://www.mintpressnews.com/us-led-economic-war-not-socialism-tearing-venezuela-apart/218335/

[DetlefK]

1. The author chose to ignore A WHOLE LOT of facts to make this leftist propaganda-piece work.

Starting in 2014, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia flooded the market with cheap oil. This is not a mere business decision, but a calculated move coordinated with U.S. and Israeli foreign policy goals. Despite not just losing money, but even falling deep into debt, the Saudi monarchy continues to expand its oil production apparatus.

Hey, you know what else happened in 2014 with respect to oil? The fracking-boom started and Saudi-Arabia was trying to kill that upcoming industry.
Why would Saudi-Arabia do the bidding of Wall Street?
Why would Saudi-Arabia threaten the stability of its own economy to do the bidding of the US and ISRAEL???



At the same time, private food processing and importing corporations have launched a coordinated campaign of sabotage. This, coupled with the weakening of a vitally important state sector of the economy, has resulted in inflation and food shortages.

Those bastards are sabotaging the venezuelan economy by refusing to sell in exchange for bolivian money that isn't worth the paper it's printed on.
By the way, does the article mention Venezuela's complicated currency-structure which those very same traders are blaming for the import-problems???




Big oil revenues enabled Chavez and the United Socialist Party to bring millions of Venezuelans out of poverty. Between 1995 and 2009, poverty and unemployment in Venezuela were both cut in half.

After the death of Chavez, Nicolas Maduro has continued the Bolivarian program. “Housing Missions” have been built across the country, providing low-income families in Venezuela with places to live. The Venezuelan government reports that over 1 million modern apartment buildings had been constructed by the end of 2015.

Does the article mention that Venezuela failed to create monetary reserves during the era of this spending-bonanza?



Russia, Venezuela, Ecuador, and the Islamic Republic of Iran all have economies centered around state-owned oil companies and oil exports, and each of these countries has suffered the sting of low oil prices.

Does the article mention that an international deal to raise oil-prices by cutting production failed because Saudi-Arabia and Iran refused to work together?




The leftist president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, has already been deposed due to scandal surrounding Petrobras

Does the article mention that the impeachment-charges were actually for budget-fudging with a practice that has been in place well before she entered office?



The son of President Ronald Reagan has argued that Obama is intentionally driving down oil prices

Imagine there being evidence that President Barack H. Obama is intentionally keeping the price of oil artificially low and thereby depriving the oil-industry of profit. If such evidence existed, how long would it take for a Republican to discover it and publish it in the hopes of damaging Obama?




By 1936, after the completion of the Five-Year Plan, it was a world industrial power, surpassing every other country on the globe in terms of steel and tractor production. The barren Soviet countryside was lit up with electricity. The children of illiterate peasants across the Soviet Union grew up to be the scientists and engineers who first conquered outer space. The planned economy of the Soviet Union drastically improved the living standards of millions of people, bringing them running water, modern housing, guaranteed employment, and free education.

That and a dictatorial Führer-cult, terror against its own people, death for anyone who didn't toe the party-line, dispossession of farmers, millions of people dead in the russian famines of 1922-1923...




Today, more than half of all the world’s steel is produced in China’s government-controlled steel industry.

Collapsing the price of steel so hard that China has leftover steel it cannot sell, but it has to keep producing steel to keep the people in employment to prevent civil unrest.






It is only because these facts are simply off-limits in the American media and its discussions of socialism and capitalism that the distorted narrative about Venezuela’s current hardships are believed.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

The author complains that other people are ignoring facts!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!



It is odd that the mainstream press blames “socialism” for the food problems in Venezuela, when the food distributors remain in the hands of private corporations. As Venezuelan political analyst Jesus Silva told me recently: “Most food in Venezuela is imported by private companies, they ask for dollars subsidized by the government oil sales to do that; they rarely produce anything or invest their own money.”

The gall of traders demanding to not lose money when buying food with expensive foreign currency and selling food for worthless bolivian currency. They are so selfish!!!



The United Socialist Party is currently engaging in a massive re-orientation, hoping to sharpen its response to economic sabotage and strengthen the socialist direction of the revolution. There is also talk of massive reform in the way the government operates, in order to prevent the extreme examples of corruption and mismanagement that are causing frustration among the population.

Translation: After years of doing nothing and refusing to consider that the economic policies could need an overhaul and blaming the economic problems on the corruption of scape-goats, the government is finally moving to do something about the corruption of these scape-goats.

[JayhawkSD]

2. Much wrong with this article.

"Starting in 2014, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia flooded the market with cheap oil." Actually, they increased their production in 2013, peaked in that year, and reduced production slightly in 2014. Further, prices are set by the market, not by Saudi Arabia.

The article claims that was a "a calculated move coordinated with U.S. and Israeli foreign policy goals." Quite the opposite. The US was producing more that SA for the first time in decades, and SA wanted to regain primacy, and to suggest that SA is coordinating with Israel on foreign policy is hilarious.

To suggest that there were any "Saudi efforts to drive down oil prices" is absurd. SA depends on oil revenue and is suffering badly from decreased revenue caused by the low price of oil caused by reduced demand in a slumping world economy. They are maintaining high output because they are in desperate need of the revenue.

[Blue_Tires]

3. ...Says the dude from RT and Iran's Press TV

Yeah, this dude is a real peach: https://twitter.com/calebmaupin/with_replies

[geek tragedy]

4. Heaven forbid the government be held accountable for the consequences of its own policies

Socialism can work, but what's going on in Venezuela is quite clearly an epic fustercluck of a failure.