Professor Lee Salter might call this another instance of BBC propaganda, but, like all news coming from Chávez’s Venezuela these days, what global media report is generally a closer reflection of reality than what Chávez or his dwindling list of sycophants are willing to admit.
After 11 years of extraordinary income from soaring oil prices, Chávez has had to devalue the currency. The insatiable appetite of his completely corrupt socialist regime simply devours the funds generated by the capitalist market. Crucial legislative elections are just around the corner, and the caudillo needs to ensure there are enough funds available off the books for his representatives to ‘win’ enough seats in Congress.
As expressed by the WSJ: “The devaluation is a humiliating setback for Chávez, who two years ago celebrated with fanfare the renaming of the currency to the ‘strong’ bolívar. It has become unsustainable as inflation accumulated over the past five years skyrocketed to a staggering 160%.” How does this outcome demonstrate the economic success of 21st-century socialism?