I have written a lot about Venezuela’s descent into a Cuba-like disaster area. So this time I’ll let the folks at AFP (Agence France Presse) do the talking, via this excerpt from a just-published article. The bold print is mine:
Venezuela’s money, the bolivar, is sinking faster and faster under an intensifying political and economic crisis that has left citizens destitute and increasingly desperate.
Its depreciation accelerated this week, after a disputed vote electing an all-powerful “Constituent Assembly” filled with allies of President Nicolas Maduro, which the opposition and dozens of countries have called illegitimate.
On Thursday alone, the bolivar slumped nearly 15 percent on the black market, to be worth 17,000 to one US dollar.
In a year, the currency has lost 94 percent.
The decline has been dizzying — yet largely ignored by the government, which uses an official rate fixed weekly that is currently 2,870 to the dollar.
Ordinary Venezuelans, however, refer only to the black market rate they have access to, which they call the “dolar negro,” or “black dollar.”
“Every time the black dollar goes up, you’re poorer,” resignedly said Juan Zabala, an executive in a reinsurance business in Caracas.
– Salaries decimated –
His salary is 800,000 bolivares per month. On Thursday, that was worth $47 at the parallel rate. A year ago, it was $200.
That, folks, is not a disaster in the making. That is a disaster in its end stage.
It wasn’t so long ago that some of our riper politicians – and some of our more vocal Hollywood “deep-thinkers” – were singing the praises of Venezuela’s descent into socialism under hugo chavez, and now his protegé, nicolas maduro.
Sean Penn immediately comes to mind.
And then there is Danny Glover, who, just this past March, visited Venezuela and said:
“Today we are here to support relations that will promote our objectives to transform our countries. I am an ambassador for Black people [in the United States]. As the decade for Afro-descendants, this is a very important moment for us to pay attention to your struggles [in Venezuela].
“We have millions of Afro-descendents in this region [the Americas] and we’re here to discuss and debate these issues as well as in defense of Venezuela and its right to move and create its relationship with its citizens. It’s important for Venezuelan citizens and government officials to come together and find solutions.”
How do you like the solutions you just read about, Danny? How about moving your personal net worth – estimated at $40 MILLION dollars – into Venezuela’s economy. It should make you a billionaire in no time.
Maybe, just maybe, it’s time for a rethink.
The expected outcome of a kleptocracy.
Venezuela, before Chavez, was an economic powerhouse – educated citizenry, massive oil reserves.
Chavez and sucessor Nicolas Maduro bought support by providing free or very low cost food, fuel, etc. The country has been living off its capital for nearly 20 years. With no foreign exchange reserves, infrastructure maintenance, medicine, machinery, vehicles, etc are distant memories.
Basic everyday items, like toilet paper, are not available.
Another example of socialism impoverishing a previously thriving nation is Zimbabwe – once the bread basket of central Africa. The Zimbabwe dollar was last issued in 15 Trillion (yes, 15,000,000,000,000) Zimbabwe Dollar denominations. Presently, the currency is totally worthless, except as a gag item.
It is time for the leftists and Hollywood stars to shut up. They want socialism so badly here in the USA, first they should move to Venezuela and go live under it.