The regime the US government is trying to replace in Venezuela hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory. It deserves to be replaced, although preferably by the actions of the Venezuelans themselves, not the usual US spooks and goons. From Bill Bonner at bonnerandpartners.com:
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND – “Soldiers revolt…”
“Millions on verge of starvation…”
“Biggest mass exodus in history of the Americas…”
What a glorious show! Right before our eyes… a real-life, real-time experiment…
…all the conceits… the pretensions… the balderdash… the claptrap…
…all laid out for the world to see. And now, stretched out in front of us like a drug dealer in the morgue, is a Great Dream busted up so thoroughly that there can be no doubt – it was a scam from the get-go.
You put a pot on the burner. Eventually, it boils. And Caracas was boiling last night. Earlier in the day, a direct challenge to Nicolás Maduro’s presidency. Juan Guaidó – president of Venezuela’s National Assembly – declared himself the legitimate president of the country.
Larcenous Programs
Government is always a way for the few to exploit the many. But it’s not always the same few.
The background: Hugo Chávez won the popular vote in 1998. Venezuela was a rich country then, buoyed by what seemed to be an inexhaustible inflow of oil revenues.
Mr. Chávez combined some of the worst features of AOC and DJT. He was a “strongman” know-it-all claiming to represent the little guy. And he had all the popular delusions – that deficits don’t matter… that the feds should give free education and free medical care… and that you can “stimulate” the economy and “grow your way out of debt” by spending money you don’t have.
Mr. Chávez realized, like Mr. Trump, that there were a lot more poor voters, than rich voters and that they were fed up with corrupt, crony capitalism.
He proposed, like Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, various larcenous programs of the socialist genre, designed to shore up his support among the masses. Among the programs: land seizures, price controls, and nationalizing major industries.
These were a big hit. His approval rating rose to 80%. But inevitably, there were some who were jealous of his power… others who were afraid of it… and a few who saw that his policies would destroy the country.
They rose up against Chávez in 2002. But the revolt fizzled and Chávez was soon back in power.
In 2006, he won a third term, again with a substantial majority, and further consolidated his power until he died in 2013. From there, Nicolás Maduro, an ally of Chávez, took control and continued in the same doomed direction as his predecessor.
Then, oil was still trading over $100 a barrel. But no amount of money is so great that it can’t be wasted and stolen. And when the price of a barrel of oil fell under $50 in 2015, the EZ money wasn’t so EZ anymore and the country pitched over and headed for the rocks.
