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Queuing For the Rumor of Diapers – Maracaibo, Venezuela
Last month, this was the view a few blocks away from where I teach: Venezuelans wait all day for the chance to get into a price-controlled, government grocery store within Centro Comercial Costa Verde in Maracaibo, Venezuela.
It was rumored that diapers would be available.
[Editors’ Note: A previous version of this post indicated that the picture was taken today; the fault was entirely our own and has been corrected]
Published in Foreign Policy
Be careful, you are channeling John Derbyshire. You might lose your establishment card.
Can you offer any advice or words of encouragement for those poor people? All I can do is pray for them.
Romanians did not improve their situation by astuteness or perseverance; there was an oligarchic intra-party coup after Gorbachev let the USSR crumble. & he didn’t get violent because there was no way to do that with Reagan’s America still strong under Mr. Bush. That kind of luck is not part of the political art, but it recalls an old Romanian conservative’s line about the Great War & the Versailles peace: Romania does not need politics–luck does the work…
Probably, the right lessons to learn come from the Czechs & the Poles: The Catholics might help; labor unions might help; these are about the only organizations that have a way to appeal to people & to stand up to the regime. I hope dearly that they’ve got such chances. I fear the shame of it all & the crimes will worsen.
Not least, it’s a country where Cuba is more influential than America. It’s just the last catastrophe to blame on JFK’s marvelous courage, by which he lost Cuba to the Soviets.
I avoid that. Gives me gas. </snark>
Look around the world and compare countries on the stretches of time sans totalitarian rule. The Anglosphere rules the way. Chile, not so much. It wasn’t that long ago under both Allende and Pinochet that that country was a basket case, too, despite the fact that those “gentlemen” were political opposites.
I think Pinochet is the cause or condition of Chile’s recent success. But in the nineteenth century, Chile was probably the most reasonable & stable regime in Latin America.
Are you saying that The Federalist and National Review will be not calling me with even less frequency?
The Bern already covered this issue years ago: Breadlines prove that the people are getting bread and that all the bread is not being stashed in the pantries of the rich. So lines for diapers demonstrate the fairness in the system. I am surprised this is not obvious.
Obama should claim that Maduro is right and this is all the result of a US war on his regime. If he sells it, it would be Obama’s only successful foreign policy initiative. But at least there would be one.
Chile and Argentina. Before it fell apart, Buenos Aires was the only city on Earth other than London to have a Harrod’s department store.
You might get a call from Taki or Vdare though.
Or not get any calls, but with way more frequency than the calls you don’t get from the Federalist or NR.
Is Timothy in any danger from government reprisals for being on Ricochet?
I still want to be Mark Steyn when I grow up.
You are clearly all mistaken. I was just watching BBC World News and they informed me that this is all due to low oil prices and would have happened regardless of who was in authority in Venezuela. I consider that authoritative because the newsreader said it with that high-class English accent.
Don’t we all.
Not me. Steyn works too hard for my tastes.
I don’t want to spend that much time in court for writing a couple hundred words.
Enough about me (and Steyn).
I contend that there are cultural barriers that prevent economic and political success and further contend that the current generation of Americans are squandering their advantage. We can scoff at Venezuela but we’re heading there ourselves.
Not lately.
If you expect an argument, I doubt you will get it from anyone here on Ricochet.
Daniel Hannan said something about the cultural differences between Anglo America and Spanish America in his book, Inventing Freedom.
Gee, maybe it could make the rounds on Faceboo… never mind.
From blurbrain.com:
Venezuela is a textbook example of what happens when Communist ‘central planners’ take it upon themselves to manage the means of production, supply and distribution.
Our Socialist Democrats here in the US should take note that it all starts with raising the minimum wage.
Who needs diapers? There probably isn’t enough baby food in Venezuala for the babies to take a decent sized {CoC} anyway.
Would you please provide the link? I went to blurbrain but which article is it?
http://blurbrain.com/venezuelas-dictator-orders-brewery-make-beer-thin-air/
Even Jesus needed water to make wine.
Thank you so much for this link.
Haha. It’s hilarious because the reason they closed down in April was because they can no longer import barley thanks to the central planners’ bungling.
Don’t you mean that they can no longer import barley because of the White Imperialists hoarding all the barley for themselves?
Oh er, yes sir, that’s it.