Posted on 12/17/2011 3:22:43 PM PST by mandaladon
During a recent visit to Guaicaipuro, a traditional market in Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, a fresh meat refrigerator sat empty at a grocery. Many consumers looking for beef, poultry or fish had to go home empty-handed.
The produce section looked well stocked with plenty of fruits and vegetables. But consumers shopping at Guaicaipuro complained that prices, even for basic products, had skyrocketed.
Alba Varela, a housewife and resident of Caracas, went to the market looking for cornmeal to prepare hallacas, a traditional Venezuelan dish, especially this time of the year.
"It's fundamental, because other than pork it's the main dish for us during December," Varela said. "It seems there's a shortage."
Maria de Abreu, another Caracas resident doing her grocery shopping, complained that she couldn't find powdered milk. "It's regulated and you can only get a can per person. And so what people do is that they bring along a friend and another and yet another and that's how they get enough for their family," de Abreu said.
There's also a shortage of coffee. As soon as new supplies arrive, shoppers say, they have to run to the store to get some because it runs out very quickly. Venezuela has the highest annual inflation in Latin America. It soared to 27.6 percent in November. In an effort to curb this inflation, the government set price caps on as many as 15,000 goods in late November. The price of 18 products, including toothpaste, soap and diapers, which are considered "basic," was immediately frozen.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Another Socialist success story in the making!
I’m shocked the Craptor center isn’t blaming greedy capitalists.
Venezuela used to export coffee but thanks to the wisdom of Hugo Chavez, coffee is now being imported.
I’d say, “coming to a grocery store near you” but it already sounds like the local HEB groceries here.
This is what happens with price caps, nationalizations and funny money.
Coffee production was nationalized I think, so production fell and costs skyrocketed I bet.
Then as el Thugo got increased control, farms were nationalized and given, often to his relatives and other followers but sometimes to the peasants who had no idea how to manage them.
It's become a big mess and is likely to remain that way for the foreseeable future even if an opposition candidate should manage to replace Chavez. There is worse than an Augean stable to muck out, Hercules is gone and there are insufficient people talented in the use of pitchforks.
Should anyone be interested, here and here are the two best Venezuelan websites for keeping up with goings on there.
Iran Placing Medium-Range Missiles in Venezuela; Can Reach the U.S.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2640111/posts
‘Die Welt’: Iran building rocket bases in Venezuela
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2721122/posts
Nowhere in the article will you read that the inflation is caused by the government's printing money to pay its own deficits. It's always the case. It happened here in the seventies.
Inflation was rampant and Nixon, then Ford, then Carter all blamed greedy businessmen and irrational hoarding consumers for the price increases that were caused by the explosion in the money supply to pay for the Great Society and the Viet Nam War.
Inflation is evil and most people still don't realize how it's caused.
I’d say, “coming to a grocery store near you” but it already sounds like the local HEB groceries here.
Last year I could buy boneless ham for .99 cents a lb, as many as I wanted.
This year, a ‘semi’ boneless ham is on sale for .99 cents, limit ONE PER FAMILY...I bought one, wanted to pick one up for my spouse’s uncle, they wouldn’t let me pick one up for my spouse’s uncle, who can’t leave his home....
The boneless ham this year, on sale, is $1.99 lb. On sale.
$4.40 for a gallon of milk yesterday. Yeow!
Yep. A shortage doesn’t have to be a lack of abundance.
Viva la Chavez! man of the people, a##hats.
Huh, who’da thunk that socializing all the means of food production and distribution would result in food shortages?!?
I know! It’s just because they didn’t have the *RIGHT* socialists in charge! They just need a ‘do-over’.
:-|
Bump!
I guess they never heard of collective farms. Those really worked out well for the Soviets. Nothing like reinventing a broken wheel! /sarc
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