IN VENEZUELA: STARVING IN THE DARK

Waiting for a bus, metro out of action

Walking home, after work

The Chavez revolution is ending in the manner predicted by political scientists for populist leaders, in anomie. What started ten years ago as a promise of change for the better has been converted into a nightmare. $600 billion later Venezuelans are as poor and as ignorant as when Chavez arrived in power. But now, afflicted with an additional plague: class and racial hatred, something we did not suffer before. More so than financial collapse and lack of infrestructure, this will be the most tragic legacy of the Chavez regime. A few days ago, on top of the long lines Venezuelans have to make to buy food, there was a blackout in half of the country. It was blamed on forest fires but the real reason is the lack of maintenance in the electrical generation and distribution systems in the country. The minister responsible for the electrical sector is the same one responsible for the petroleum sector

Medical attention at the University Hospital, in Caracas.

but he is now too busy importing food. Is it a wonder that Venezuelans are starving in the dark?