Venezuela’s collapse under socialism – An American problem?
An article by the Beacon Staff entitled, “Here is What Happened When Venezuela Fell to Socialism”, explains how the steps taken by empowered politicians took a rich and democratic nation to one of the poorest countries on the planet. During the period 1958 through the 1980’s, Venezuela was the richest country in all of South America. Per capita income was the highest it had ever been, citizens prospered, and unemployment was at the lowest levels in decades. When Carolo Andres Perez was elected in 1973, a worldwide oil crisis began, and oil prices increased very quickly. Perez soon decided to nationalize the oil industry in 1976. The government, now the owners of the energy sectors, were acquiring a fortune. However, their federal government increased public spending on numerous programs and borrowed heavily to fund programs and expand oil exploration. The result was an unsustainable load of external debts, which came back to bite Venezuela in the 1980s when oil prices plummeted. Their currency was extremely devalued in 1983 and the standard of living began to plummet.
In 1997, Hugo Chavez founded the Fifth Republic Movement and then started the United Socialist Party of Venezuela in 2007.
This Movement was designed to:
- Install democracy
- Become economically independent
- Ensure equal distribution of revenue
- Put an end of political corruption
In 1998 Chavez was elected President and promptly set out to rewrite the Constitution. Venezuela at this point had become a model socialistic society – large government, social programs, and citizens reliant on government for basic needs.
Venezuela devalued its currency in February 2013 due to the rising shortages of milk, flour, and other necessities. This led to an increase in malnutrition, especially among children.
Beginning in 2014, the price of oil fell from over $100/barrel to $40/barrel and Venezuela was no longer able to afford its socialist programs. The country’s debt, volatile currency, and declining GNP made the country unattractive to foreign investors. Now things have reached an all-time low.
- Maduro’s political enemies (more than 700) have disappeared without a trace.
- There are reports of cannibalism in the prisons.
- People are eating family pets and zoo animals.
- Venezuelans who fled to Columbia and other countries could not find work or help.
- Some have returned and they have imported the coronavirus pandemic.
Can you see any recent policy changes in America following a roadmap of how to become a socialist nation? Maybe this will help. Under socialism, people basically give all their resources and rights to a centralized government that in turn guarantees to meet all their needs. But they don’t. Here are some additional hints:
- Ruling class seizes absolute control, (e.g., federalize voting laws, eliminates states’ rights)
- Rules with an iron fist (e.g., vaccine passports, mask mandates, mandated school curriculum)
- Pay everyone a “universal income”.
- Eliminate the Electoral College (New York, California, and Illinois decides President)
- Add justices to the Supreme Court to ensure their laws are not overturned.
- Tax the “rich,” to sustain social programs to ensure election wins.
- Acquire massive debt.
- Dump tons of money into the economy resulting in devaluation of currency and escalating inflation.
Does this sound like an attractive place to live? Of course, there are millions that will say, “yes, sign me up”, but there are millions of Venezuelans and Cubans that would say “no way”. If you are one of those Patriots who wants to preserve the America that was based on the principles defined by our “founding fathers”, we must stand for our beliefs and unite in our efforts.
The first step is to stay informed by continuing to visit https://newhanovergop.org
/. The second step is for you to become a member of our TEAM. You can do that by visiting our website and clicking on “Join our Team”.
