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Caribbean-Latin America
Media Wars: The Role of the Left When Venezuela's Imperfect Revolution is Under Attack
2016-05-24
[Venezuelanalysis] Over the last week or so we've seen Dying Infants and No Medicine: Inside Venezuela's Failing Hospitals from the New York Times, Radical tourists have been deluded pimps for Venezuela from the Guardian, In Venezuela, God Does Not Provide from the New York Times, Congratulations to Bolivarian Socialism: Venezuela Is Now the Country with no Coke from Forbes (which doesn't seem like such a bad thing really, but the article of course blames the "idiot economic policy" of Chavismo), 'We are like a bomb': food riots show Venezuela crisis has gone beyond politics from the Guardian, and more.
You know you're really far on the Left when the NYT and al-Guardian are right-wing to you.
The articles blame it all on Chavismo, socialism and Maduro, without bothering to reference any context or to recognise that the rightwing have some power and therefore a level of responsibility in Venezuela now. Nor do they care to admit that like all countries, Venezuela's economic situation has structural, economic and historical causes. There's also the minor detail that things were consistently improving in Venezuela, right up until the time when Chavez got sick and the right wing went on the offensive. 

Then there are oil prices, what I see as some serious mistakes by Maduro, the role of the grassroots and workers (which of course the media is utterly oblivious to), and more. And the likes of Nick Casey working for the New York Times, going around finding dislocated sad stories, without noticing anything else, and without being aware of the politics behind the drama: for instance, that the hospital he wrote about as falling apart is actually run by the right wing.
Doesn't matter who you are when socialist policies cause shortages and you can't get medical supplies.
And socialist policies always cause shortages eventually. Ignoring economics will do that.
Posted by:Hupoper Spawn of the Hemps4540

#8  Captain Cashflow looketh over his flock, and says unto them,

"You blewith through your pouch of shekels with wild abandon. I am not thy sugar-father, and thou art not my prodigal son, so thou art excrementally out of good fortune."
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2016-05-24 20:38  

#7  Then why not try it again? Surely this time it'll be different.

They've been saying that ever since Joe Stalin.
Posted by: Abu Uluque   2016-05-24 17:55  

#6  And the little detail in the little detail is Mr. Chavez was running his country like his oil was selling for $137 each instead of $100.

Running out of other people's money is exactly what happened.
Posted by: DarthVader   2016-05-24 16:58  

#5  The articles blame it all on Chavismo, socialism and Maduro, without bothering to reference any context or to recognise that the rightwing have some power and therefore a level of responsibility in Venezuela now. Nor do they care to admit that like all countries, Venezuela's economic situation has structural, economic and historical causes. There's also the minor detail that things were consistently improving in Venezuela, right up until the time when Chavez got sick and the right wing went on the offensive.

Then why not try it again? Surely this time it'll be different.
Posted by: gorb   2016-05-24 15:42  

#4  Translation: Socialism is and always will be wonderful - we just need to work on the narrative.
Posted by: Pappy   2016-05-24 13:03  

#3  Because...all the hospitals run by left wing groups are closed?
Posted by: swksvolFF   2016-05-24 12:49  

#2  things were consistently improving in Venezuela, right up until the time when Chavez got sick and the right wing went on the offensive


no barking moonbat graphic?
Posted by: Frank G   2016-05-24 12:48  

#1  There's also the minor detail that things were consistently improving in Venezuela, right up until the time when Chavez got sick

The minor detail that things were going great until the credit cards maxed out and the bills started to come due.
Posted by: SteveS   2016-05-24 12:28  

00:00