Posted on 05/18/2016 10:55:31 AM PDT by Red Badger
It was around noon when a food truck rolled up to a Venezuelan state-subsidized supermarket in the town of Guarenas just east of the capital.
But, to the fury of the long line of people waiting out front, the cargo wasn't unloaded. Instead soldiers took it away.
"We want food!" the crowd roared in protest, to no avail. Some tried to run after the truck.
Under the state of emergency imposed by President Nicolas Maduro, the military, along with government-organized civilian committees, ensures that food packets are delivered door-to-door in order to -- as officials say -- cut out black market operators.
Haydee Teran, a 48-year-old housewife who had been lining up for hours at the supermarket hoping to buy some scarce essentials, said Guarenas officials ordered that half of the food deliveries heading to shops and markets be instead diverted for local distribution.
"This decree isn't solving anything," Teran told AFP, showing a video of the incident she posted on Twitter.
"What the people want is food. There hasn't been looting, but we are closing the streets to protest," she said.
- Anger at Maduro -
Yanina Diaz, a friend waiting with Teran in front of a bakery, said authorities were especially on guard over events in Guarenas. The town was among the first to see violence in riots that broke out in Venezuela in 1989 over a gasoline price hike.
Many frustrated Venezuelans blame the government for the hardship they are enduring.
The president however says he is fighting an "economic war" being waged by Venezuela's "fascist" right supported by the "imperialist" United States.
Since Maduro decreed the state of emergency, political tensions in the country have ratcheted up.
The opposition, which controls the National Assembly and is aiming to oust the president through a recall referendum, was leading nationwide protests on Wednesday.
But in the ever-longer lines in front of many supermarkets, the mood was of resignation and criticism of Maduro.
"What is he going to do with the emergency decree? What he needs to do is get food in," said Migdalia Lopez, 51.
She had been in the street protesting, but had to take a break to line up and wait to buy bread.
Unlike Teran and Diaz, Lopez described herself as a former partisan of the socialist "revolution" started by late leader Hugo Chavez and continued by Maduro.
"Here in Guarenas there were revolutionary supporters. But now the people no longer want revolution -- what they want is food," she said.
"The people are going hungry. We are tired of lining up, of killing ourselves for just a carton of eggs or some bread," she said.
- Hundreds of protests -
The path the Venezuelan government has taken promises no respite.
Although blessed with the biggest proven oil reserves in the world, the South American nation is becoming an economic wasteland.
Last year, Venezuela's gross domestic product shrank 5.7 percent, and this year the GDP is expected to contract eight percent.
Uncontrolled inflation is decimating the value of local bolivares every day. After climbing to 180 percent in 2015, this year inflation is expected to soar to as much as 700 percent, the highest on the planet.
The government insists on an official exchange rate of 10 bolivares per dollar. But the black market rate -- the one companies use to buy and sell goods -- is 1,000 per dollar.
Some incidents of looting have been reported around Venezuela, but most people are enduring the spiral into chaos with bitterness.
Protests mostly take the form of blocking roads and spreading videos and photos of discontent online.
The head of the Venezuelan Observatory for Social Conflict, Marco Ponce, told AFP that his non-governmental organization had counted 107 instances of looting and attempted looting in the first three months of the year. There have been hundreds of small street protests, he said.
Seventy percent of Venezuelans want a change of government, according to a poll by the firm Datanalisis.
Lopez is among them, but she doesn't want to see current opposition figures take over, remembering some of them as greedy and arrogant when they held the reins before Chavez's rule.
"It's best that others step in to govern -- but not those squalid bastards, not them either," she said.
A man in line yells out sardonically that "the socialist bread is coming," provoking a ripple of comments and grumbles from others in the long bread line.
"They are going to fall! They are going to fall!" residents chant from windows above the bakery.
Prayers up for the Venezuelans.
How long before they ask the Ametica they despise for assistance?
Or, has Bambam already offered that?
I meant "us" as in most of America.
It won't be me. Or my wife and daughter.
Another socialist utopian success story. Just think, the progressive youths that support Sanders want to bring this system to the US.
Putin says Stalin got it right...The rehab of commies continues which really is my point.
So, will this food be distributed to all residents, or just the party faithful?
Socialism is grand.
It basically seems to be becoming too much government, too few taxpayers.
All those people, being ruined by a poisonous ideology . . .
The link goes to the article.
The picture appears to be file picture to show what it could look like at this time.
Let it go.
She had been in the street protesting, but had to take a break to line up and wait to buy bread.
Unlike Teran and Diaz, Lopez described herself as a former partisan of the socialist "revolution" started by late leader Hugo Chavez and continued by Maduro...
...Lopez is among them, but she doesn't want to see current opposition figures take over, remembering some of them as greedy and arrogant when they held the reins before Chavez's rule.
"It's best that others step in to govern -- but not those squalid bastards, not them either," she said.
Yeah, they just need some different socialists. That's the problem. No fool like an old fool.
The promising sign will be when they blame themselves for putting the socialist government in power in the first place.
Tolerance Sucks Rocks :" So, will this food be distributed to all residents,
or just the party faithful?"
Sounds to me that the party faithful are considered 'all residents', but it's the party faithful and the military who have kept him in office.
The party faithful have seen the shine come off this administration , and they are not duped any further.
The former 'party faithful' will join those who are already in the streets rioting for food, especially when they run out of food
In the streets , the rioters will be met by a now well fed military whose main function will be crowd control .
Undoubtedly, that will give rise to even more crowd control issues, more rioting ,and probably violence.
That's not where the problems are likely to be. I'd bet there's an uptick in people watching when their neighbors leave to go stand in line for hours giving them the perfect opportunity to raid their pantries.
Thing is, sometimes you don’t even need to purchase seeds. Here, it’s called a trash garden. As you pointed out, those potatoes that are getting old and starting to sprout can be cut up and planted. Plant those lettuce bottoms that are purchased with the roots still attached. Plant the tops of carrots. Next time I need an onion, I’ll pull one from the garden that was once the root end of an onion I’d used. Save a handful of beans out of a bag of dried beans and plant them. Plant the seeds from inside the veggies and fruit you (the general “you”) just bought. Plant the seeds from dried chili peppers. The list goes on and on. Ever seen old style sewage waste with tomatoes and watermelons growing in it? Share seeds with neighbors for their gardens so they aren’t as likely to steal from yours. Ask for cuttings to start your own berry bushes.
Forage in clean areas for what most people think of as weeds. Be on the look out for plants putting on seeds.
When there is waste such as dried onion skins, egg shells, old coffee grounds, etc., put it in a compost pile for free fertilizer for the garden.
Don’t waste food. Don’t let anything go bad. Trade and barter. Learn to preserve - home canning, dehydrating, freezing and pickling. Watermelon rinds make great pickles. Zest citrus before eating it and you’ll have free dried zest for seasoning. Learn cooking ingredient substitutes. Maybe this week the store had eggs and cream cheese but there was no bread or flour, so make a bread substitute from them. Make corn cob jelly to sub for honey. When making jelly, turn the pulp into fruit butters. Eat the peels from fruits and vegs rather than discarding them. If kids are missing snacks, cut one piece of sliced cheese into 16 squares and nuke to make cheese crackers. You have a can of beets or sauerkraut but the family doesn’t like them, add them to a chocolate cake. Think soups and casseroles to use up little bits of leftovers. Save the liquid from canned goods and fresh cooked veg and meat for free broth or fruit liquid to add to beverages or baked goods. There is no excuse, even in wealthy countries, to waste food.
Learn how to make soap from meat fat. Use cloth diapers instead of disposable. Use rags instead of paper towels. In general, learn basic life skills and reuse, recycle and use up.
IT WILL WORK THIS TIME!!! THEY JUST DIDN’T DO IT RIGHT THE LAST 439 TIMES!!! :)
That’s pretty good, did you write it?
I guess they avoided all these complaints in Cuba by shooting people.
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