The Venezuelan city where nothing works:
martin14 @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:44 am
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... empty.html
The Venezuelan city where nothing works: Running water comes once a month and cash machines are empty - as president Maduro finally admits his socialist economic policies have 'FAILED'
Food, medicines and sanitary products in short supply in San Juan de los Morros
Passengers describe 'kicking and punching' their way on to overcrowded buses
The city of 160,000 inhabitants is just 90 miles southwest of the capital Caracas
President Nicolas Maduro has now admitted his economic models have 'failed'
$1:
This came in the wake of food and medicine shortages and public service paralysis, such as Tuesday's power failure that affected 80 percent of Caracas.
'The production models we've tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours,' Maduro told his ruling PSUV party congress, as Venezuela looks to tackle chronic inflation the International Monetary Fund predicted would reach one million percent this year.
'Enough with the whining... we need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power,' he added, with the country grappling with a four-year long recession.
'No more whining, I want solutions comrades!'
The socialist government has over recent years nationalized various industry sectors such as cement and steel, expropriated hundreds of businesses, including supermarket chains, and lately brought in the army to control street markets to guard against rising prices.
It has also fixed prices on various goods and imposed a monopoly on foreign exchange.
'The production models we've tried so far have failed and the responsibility is ours, mine and yours,' Maduro told his ruling PSUV party congress, as Venezuela looks to tackle chronic inflation the International Monetary Fund predicted would reach one million percent this year.
'Enough with the whining... we need to produce with or without (outside) aggression, with or without blockades, we need to make Venezuela an economic power,' he added, with the country grappling with a four-year long recession.
'No more whining, I want solutions comrades!'
The socialist government has over recent years nationalized various industry sectors such as cement and steel, expropriated hundreds of businesses, including supermarket chains, and lately brought in the army to control street markets to guard against rising prices.
It has also fixed prices on various goods and imposed a monopoly on foreign exchange.
$1:
Maduro's economic recovery plan includes increasing oil production to 'six million barrels a day by 2025 or before.' Oil production has crashed from a high of 3.2 million barrels a day in 2008 to a 30-year low 1.5 million this year.
As well as the IMF's mind-boggling inflation prediction, it says Venezuela's GDP will plummet 18 percent this year, meaning a fourth consecutive year of double-digit falls.
The economic crisis has hit so hard that the public transport system has almost ground to a halt, with the government and local councils offering free rides in unsafe and uncomfortable pick-up trucks - branded 'kennels' by users - after many bus service providers couldn't afford to keep their vehicles on the road.
Maduro, who blames Venezuela's woes on an 'economic war' waged by the United States, called on PSUV supporters to help kick-start production and resist US 'aggression.'
As well as the IMF's mind-boggling inflation prediction, it says Venezuela's GDP will plummet 18 percent this year, meaning a fourth consecutive year of double-digit falls.
The economic crisis has hit so hard that the public transport system has almost ground to a halt, with the government and local councils offering free rides in unsafe and uncomfortable pick-up trucks - branded 'kennels' by users - after many bus service providers couldn't afford to keep their vehicles on the road.
Maduro, who blames Venezuela's woes on an 'economic war' waged by the United States, called on PSUV supporters to help kick-start production and resist US 'aggression.'
$1:
'Sometimes I get fed up with washing this way because I smell bad, so I treat myself, blowing 10,000 bolivars on the bus to go and wash at my mother's house,' he said.
It's luxury in a country where the currency is losing value at such an alarming rate that the largest denomination bank note, 100,000 bolivars, which once would buy five kilograms (11 pounds) of rice, is barely enough for a single cigarette.
Cash has practically vanished from circulation throughout the country, but in San Juan the cash machines don't work anyway and residents have to queue for hours at banks to withdraw money.
In any case, they are only allowed to withdraw a maximum of 100,000 bolivars, half the price of single egg.
President Nicolas Maduro's government has announced it will try to ward off economic collapse by stripping five zeros off the currency, but a similar move by his predecessor Hugo Chavez 10 years ago - he knocked off three - didn't stop the country descending into today's crisis.
It's luxury in a country where the currency is losing value at such an alarming rate that the largest denomination bank note, 100,000 bolivars, which once would buy five kilograms (11 pounds) of rice, is barely enough for a single cigarette.
Cash has practically vanished from circulation throughout the country, but in San Juan the cash machines don't work anyway and residents have to queue for hours at banks to withdraw money.
In any case, they are only allowed to withdraw a maximum of 100,000 bolivars, half the price of single egg.
President Nicolas Maduro's government has announced it will try to ward off economic collapse by stripping five zeros off the currency, but a similar move by his predecessor Hugo Chavez 10 years ago - he knocked off three - didn't stop the country descending into today's crisis.
Zimbabwe, Latino style. Now with less tacos.
OMG Socialism failed ?
That's not possible, they must have done it wrong.
Next time it will be better, trust us... so sayeth the left.
llama66 @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:11 am
Sounds like a fun place. You can play games like, will there be water today? and Starvation! the game.
DrCaleb @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:18 am
We have TV a show like that. It's called 'Survivor".
llama66 @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:33 am
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
We have TV a show like that. It's called 'Survivor".
These shows will be less contrived, I'm aiming for a real authentic feel to them.
GreenTiger @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:40 am
llama66 llama66:
DrCaleb DrCaleb:
We have TV a show like that. It's called 'Survivor".
These shows will be less contrived, I'm aiming for a real authentic feel to them.
A glowing example of a socialist Bolivar Republic, Starvation and misery reign; Except for the Commie party leaders, the oil wealth is going somewhere.
xerxes @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 8:33 am
Yeah. Maduro and his cronies’ Swiss bank accounts.
N_Fiddledog @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 9:13 am
The Democratic Socialists of Europe lasted longer but they survived by setting themselves up like a parasitic boil on the butt of capitalism. In fact some of the Scandinavian countries reached a point where they had to flip and turn farther right back to the capitalist model to regain stability.
Globalism and open borders out of the EU will still finish the Democratic Socialists of Europe in the end though.
Freakinoldguy @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:12 pm
The fact that El Presidente for Life has admitted that the system doesn't work is wonderful news especially if you live in Venezuela. 
So, given that the socialist pariah's have fucked up Venezuela so badly it's now considered a defunct country, how do they propose to fix it because, like most of their ilk they're long on slogans but extremely short on real solutions?
GreenTiger @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 2:48 pm
Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:
The fact that El Presidente for Life has admitted that the system doesn't work is wonderful news especially if you live in Venezuela.
So, given that the socialist pariah's have fucked up Venezuela so badly it's now considered a defunct country, how do they propose to fix it because, like most of their ilk they're long on slogans but extremely short on real solutions?
So, given that the socialist pariah's have fucked up Venezuela so badly it's now considered a defunct country, how do they propose to fix it because, like most of their ilk they're long on slogans but extremely short on real solutions?
You have to look at the bright side from their point of view, they are free of yankee influence! Isn’t that worth poverty famine and misery while the party leaders siphon off the oil wealth into their Swiss bank accounts.
MeganC @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 3:36 pm
Hooray for socialism! Can't wait for someone to say it would work if the right people ran it.
GreenTiger @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 5:04 pm
MeganC MeganC:
Hooray for socialism! Can't wait for someone to say it would work if the right people ran it.
They will.
llama66 @ Wed Aug 01, 2018 6:14 pm
it would work if the right people ran it.
BartSimpson @ Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:52 pm
Asshole.
llama66 @ Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:58 pm
Lol. I can't help it.
raydan @ Thu Aug 02, 2018 3:59 pm
Human nature fucks up everything.
So even though it's true that it would work if the right people ran it, trouble is, there are no right people... the same can be said for capitalism. 