Posted on 02/24/2018 10:26:29 AM PST by blam
Those who are unfamiliar with Venezuelas unprecedented economic collapse might be surprised to learn that the countrys oil production has only slowed, even as the price of a barrel of crude has risen in most international markets.
Unsurprisingly (its Venezuela), theres a macabre explanation for this phenomenon: The workers at PDVSA Venezuelas state-owned oil company, which once showered Venezuelans with oil wealth are literally collapsing due to hunger and exhaustion as workers defy their government handlers and flee their jobs in their desperation as the value of their pay has been completely erased.
Bloomberg spoke with several workers in Venezuelas oil industry about the harsh conditions they face on a daily basis.
Of course, oil workers arent the only ones suffering: The situation in Venezuela is getting so dire that ordinary Venezuelans are losing tons of body weight because of the food shortages. Many can no longer afford to buy meat.
One worker told Bloomberg about how his weekly salary barely pays for the corn flour he mixes with water and drinks every morning.
At 6:40 a.m., Pablo Ruiz squats at the gate of a decaying refinery in Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela, steeling himself for eight Sisyphean hours of brushing anti-rust paint onto pipes under a burning sun. For breakfast, the 55-year-old drank corn-flour water.
Ruizs weekly salary of 110,000 bolivares about 50 cents at the black-market exchange rate buys him less than a kilo of corn meal or rice. His only protein comes from 170 grams of canned tuna included in a food box the government provides to low-income families. It shows up every 45 days or so.
I havent eaten meat for two months, he said. The last time I did, I spent my whole weeks salary on a chicken meal.
(snip)
(Excerpt) Read more at shtfplan.com ...
Our little USA snowflakes need to learn what their favored socialism is all about.
Venezuela is only the first.
When the US economy craters, the rest of the world will follow like a house of cards.
Venezuela will occur here too.
When man builds his own Tower of Babel without God it will collapse!
I don't have the slightest sympathy
Back when gas prices were in the stratosphere and Hugo Chavez was able steal enough of other peoples money to buy votes, these guys were in the Chavista street battalions clubbing into a bloody pulp anyone who dared oppose Hugo Chavez and they cheered when Hugo humbled the “wealthy” professional class that kept the economy running.
Now they have run out of other people's money to steal and the once wealthy Venezuelan economy has been driven into the ground is literally grinding to a halt
People vigorously opposed Chavez when it could have made a difference but the Chavistas destroyed so much over the last 20 years things are so fun down that the Germans in post war Germany were better placed to rebuild
The Chavez and Maduro governments were so incredibly abusive to their capitalist neighbors that their foreign business partners abandoned their capability to refine the low quality, difficult to refine thick, high sulfur crude oil that Venezuela has in such huge reserves. Venezuela cannot even refine their own crude oil so it's of little value in today's fracking oil economy
Absent an American led Equivalent of the Marshall Plan, Venezuela is going to keep going further and further into collapse it has willfully defaulted on its debt, burned its bridges with the world economic community so as to have no access to foreign capitol, its industrial infrastructure is obsolete and completely worn out and it has destroyed the value of its single most exportable commodity, hi sulfur crude oil, because its hostility has forced the few (mostly American) refineries that could refine its oil products to retool their refineries for other grades of crude oil and abandon their capability to refine Venezuelan crude.
Venezuela can do little but act as a warning to others to avoid going down the same Marxist path Venezuela went
Surprised. No ‘enterprising’ minds, filling up a boat to take down and trade (just below the black-market costs) and corner the market...
No word yet on how much weight anyone in the elected/protected class(es) have lost /s
They did not vote for this - it was essentially a coup. Don’t fall for the MSM disinformation campaign that welcomed Hugo to the world stage. They fawned over him and glossed over the rotten underside as they usually do with socialist champions. Nary a whisper about Venezuela now nor do they ever express interest in those who have become incredibly wealthy since Hugo took over. The new guy is even worse if that is possible. A beautiful country with lots of potential and natural wealth and people are starving?
I suspect something momentous will happen there very soon if even half these news reports are true...... let’s hope they don’t latch on to another Chavez or find the next Fidel.
I wasn't aware Maduro got 100% of the vote.....
I would die killing their elitist ruling class.
I would eat them.
When a corrupt and immoral government seizes military control of a country, there's precious little the average person can do to stop it.
I hear that all the time living in the state of NY and many people, of callous heart, blame EVERYONE in the state for the condition it's in.
I'm sure it makes them feel all smug and superior to everyone else, but is really very indicative of the moral bankruptcy of a person's heart to make those kinds of broad brush statements.
I can see where it also makes them feel they can absolve themselves of any need to show mercy and compassion on those suffering under circumstances beyond their control.
No they shouldn't because I doubt they all voted for it.
Do you really think honest elections happen in those places?
http://www.meatlessmonday.com/about-us/
“Meatless Monday is a global movement with a simple message: Once a week, cut the meat.”
They’re just doing their part. /sarc
I’m in Colombia now and there’s an estmated 2 million refugees from Venezuela here....most are allowed to work and go about their lives in peace. When asked about the problems they will say it’s the older generation that voted for Chaves. They brought this on themselves.
Liberals point to that stat as one of the many benefits of socialism, the improved health from losing weight.
Why aren’t they protesting and having concerts and raising consciousness about the situation. Why aren’t we sending food aid, taking refugees?
Ain’t socialism grand?
Spit.
5.56mm
I wouldn’t worry, the food still tastes the same.
Any of the refugees offer any ideas on how to fix the situation?
If you study the history of communism, this starvation is pre-planned, and on purpose. Their goal is to destroy the will of the people, and make them all dependent on the government.
They bought into Socialism...
Venezuelan Commie/Socialist Speeches should be translated into English, compiled into a book w/pictures of starving Venezuelans on every other page - and used as a textbook for our idiot children who buy Commie lies.
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