Massive Protests in Venezuela Against Socialist Rule


The socialist government of Nicolas Maduro is in trouble. That this is the case should surprise no one who has a grasp on economic history. Even countries with great national wealth will fail when government policies promote a socialist utopia (which cannot exist), as opposed to pro-growth, pro-freedom strageties.

And so it goes in Venezuela.

Opponents of President Nicolas Maduro flooded Venezuela’s capital on Thursday in one of the biggest mass protests against socialist rule for more than a decade.

Dressed in white and chanting “this government will fall,” hundreds of thousands rallied across Caracas to demand a recall referendum against Maduro and decry a deep economic crisis in the South American OPEC nation.

No surprises there.  What fruits of socialism are the people of Venezuela experiencing?  Just the usual.

Triple-digit inflation, a third year of recession, shortages of basics, and long lines at shops have exasperated many of Venezuela’s 30 million people.

Again, those results are no surprise, but are the typical results of socialist policies.  As protests spread, the government is forced to crack down as it refuses to hold the plebiscite as allowed by the constitution.

Extra police and troops were positioned around Caracas, and there were roadblocks on most major routes into the capital from the provinces, with buses being blocked and traffic crawling.

“All they are interested in is staying in power,” said construction worker Luis Palacios, 59, from the poor Caracas neighborhood of Petare. “We want change, we are hungry.”

Ignorance of economic history brings untold suffering to people around the world. Socialism does not work because it is built on faulty premises and an erroneous view of human nature. People will learn that — either by studying history, or by personal experience as is the case with the hapless people of Venezuela.

Source:  Reuters



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