VenEconomy: Is the Big Bad Wolf Finally Coming to Venezuela? From the Editors of VenEconomy Latin American Herald Tribune August 3, 2015
Many voices have been warning that the serious shortages situation and high prices of food and medicines are pushing the patience of Venezuelans to the next level.
The long queues and quest for essential products throughout several distribution centers, which has intensified this year, have driven the population into a state of perpetual angst, fear, uncertainty, anger and impotence.
These voices are warning about the possibility of a new "Caracazo," or social upheaval that may be simply uncontrollable.
While the Government -- driven by the desire to impose the so-called "Plan for the Homeland " outlined by the late Hugo Chávez -- seems to be in a catatonic state that prevents it from taking the reins of the critical situation and correcting the course that is leading the country into the abyss, while at the same time blaming the private sector for the ills caused by the "socialism of the 21st century."
Now it seems that the "big bad wolf" they have been announcing may be coming after all.
According to Marco Antonio Ponce, head of the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, some 56 acts of looting and 502 demonstrations were recorded during the first half of the year due to the lack of food, medicines and hygiene products.
These figures illustrate what some privately-run media outlets that have survived the communicational hegemony imposed by the State, as much as the social networks, have been reporting lately.
The recent case of an overturned food truck that was looted by a crowd passing by, who didn’t care about the driver being helplessly stuck in the vehicle’s cockpit, was particularly horrible.
Also particularly horrible and violent were the acts of looting that took place in San Félix (Bolivar state) Friday that left one dead and several wounded. Several grocery stores and a warehouse allegedly supplying "bachaqueros" (or illegal resellers) with merchandise were emptied there.
In the face of these social outbursts (isolated for now), the Government continues with its unbelievable intemperance of blaming the U.S. "empire," the opposition, and the national business class for these acts of violence.
It also came up with another ridiculous and useless idea dubbed "Plan of Deep Replacement of Imports," claiming among other things that "this is about creating a planning model and immediately achieving early victories, thus demonstrating how we can already replace a set of imported things by perfectly manufacturing them right here in the country."
When will these people stop being so obstinate and recognize once and for all that the national productive sector was dismantled by them piece by piece through expropriations, theft of public property, incompetence from a monopolizing and centralist nation-state, strict laws for national and foreign investment, excessive control over the economy, the dismantlement of the Rule of Law & democratic institutions, and widespread corruption?
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