March of the Red Shirts
The world waits expectantly for the culmination of history. “A different world is possible!” Well, at least a different world is possible in Venezuela, but only if voters approve the reforms that will make Hugo Chavez dictator-for-life. Yes, it does seem like this “different world” is not so different from all the other dictatorships we can recall from the history of socialism.
In comments after a summit meeting of Latin American leaders this month in Chile, Chávez laid out his project in simple language: “Capitalist Venezuela is entering its grave and socialist Venezuela is being born.”
Indeed, socialist imagery is pervasive throughout this country, from the red shirts worn by Chávez and his followers to the chant of “Fatherland, socialism or death!” repeated at the end of his rallies. But walking into a grocery store here offers a different view of the changes washing over Venezuela.
Combined with price controls that keep farmers from profitably producing some basic foods, climbing incomes of the poorest Venezuelans have stripped supermarket aisles bare of items like milk and eggs. Meanwhile, foreign-exchange controls create bottlenecks for importers seeking to meet rising demand for many products.
Such imbalances plague oil economies elsewhere, with oil revenues often making it cheaper to import goods than produce them at home. But the system Chávez is creating is perhaps unique: a hybrid of state-supported enterprises and no-holds-barred capitalism in which 500,000 automobiles are expected to be sold this year. ~iht.com
Price controls. Democrats like Price controls too.
