Enslaved by socialism, Venezuelans now dig through waste to avoid starving to death

Wednesday, August 24, 2016 by: J. D. Heyes
Tags: mass starvation, economic failure, Venezuela

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(NaturalNews) The slow but inevitable collapse of a major and formerly wealthy South American nation is at hand, and the cause of its demise is a familiar one: political opportunism.

The slow, sad death of Venezuela has been chronicled now for years, ever since far-Left leaders took over the reins of power, promising the people the same thing Democrats in the U.S. promise: a utopia, where all are equal (except the ruling class), no one has any more than anyone else (except the ruling class), and economic benefits are spread equally, regardless of level of skill, education or training (except the ruling class; they get more because they are more important).

Only, in this Left-wing utopia, equality means everyone is equally destitute, wanting and miserable because all of the incentives for creating wealth and opportunity have been forcibly removed from the economy via Marxist/socialist ideology.

Ordinary Venezuelans who have increasingly been deprived of even life's most basic provisions are now reduced to digging through trash just to get something – anything – to eat on a daily basis.

As reported by the Panama Post, people around the country are looking to garbage dumps for scraps and food that can either be exchanged or sold for more food. The situation has become particularly dire – and common – in Los Puertos de Altagracia, the capital of the municipality of Miranda, in the state of Zulia. In that place, Venezuelans comb through the debris of scraps tossed out by bakeries and other businesses in the hopes of being able to sustain themselves through the week.

Govt. policies only making food shortages worse

One citizen who refused to be named said that others are coming from the neighboring areas of Mother Mary of St. Joseph, Punta de Leiva, Punta de Piedras and La Guardarraya suburbs. The citizen said that parents are arriving with children in tow, in a desperate bid to find whatever they can to sustain themselves.

Others say that their strategy involves arriving early and positioning themselves to be in the best possible place when garbage trucks arrive. That way, they get dibs on finding the best food.

"Surviving is what we do. Here we get bread, flour or wheat dough disposed in bakeries, with which to make arepas or bread. We also pull out vegetables and fruits. Of course, they are not very good," said one, Henry Quintero. "We have six people in the family — my four children, my wife and me. Nowadays we rely only on what we get here."

As for President Nicolas Maduro, he blames his failed socialist policies – and those of his predecessor, the late Hugo Chavez – on wild conspiracy theories. A favorite is to blame the United States for incidents like food riots, as if Washington had any influence whatsoever over Maduro's self-destructive economic policies. The government has encouraged citizens to grow their own foods, and by all means, everyone should do that to the extent possible. But government policies are not helping.

'We will starve'

Such assignments of blame, however, only exacerbate Venezuela's food crisis. By blaming others and refusing to relinquish government control over markets and the economy, Maduro is dooming his country to suicide; at some point ordinary citizens – tired of the deprivation and chronic hunger – will rebel.

In the meantime, they continue to eke out a living as best they can, with many parents saying that large decreases in the weight of their children has forced them to consider extreme measures in order to feed them.

One 25-year-old mother said her 5-year-old child has lost about 12 pounds already, while her oldest has lost nearly double that. She herself used to weight about 160 pounds but has lost more than 45 pounds.

Jessica Gonzalez, who doesn't have a job and is a mother of three, said that finding several scraps of meat or raw chicken is considered quite the treasure, but in order to tolerate digging in garbage she has to cover her mouth and nose with a rag. She added that she tries not to see what others are eating, and to get to the dump early for fresher food.

Others are not so lucky. Their children are in danger of dying from malnutrition.

Sources:

PanamPost.com

Breitbart.com

NaturalNews.com