The Maduro Diet is Killing Venezuela.
I’ve read a lot of nonsense regarding Venezuela lately and especially -but not only- from a section of the left who seems to believe that Nicolas Maduro is some sort of an anti-imperialist hero. Mind you, these people also consider Iran as a democracy.
However, if you were a Venezuelan it is likely that you will be supporting the downfall of Maduro’s broken regime. I know I would..
Why? It’s simple.
These four charts below show you why the regime is failing. People are poorer than 4 years ago, are starving (they call it the Maduro diet) and are fleeing their country.
But I can already hear some people telling me that these figures are the consequences of an international blocus imposed by the USA.
Yes, the US Government has done its best to get rid of Maduro and before him of Hugo Chavez. However, the current economic mess is mainly down to two factors. A lack of investment in the economy which rely solely on the money made from the export of Oil, and the corruption that is endemic in Maduro’s regime. In other words, it is the Chavist regime that is mainly responsible for the economic decline of Venezuela.
As a result Venezuela is experiencing hyperinflation which means its currency is now basically worthless. That’s a problem considering the country is heavily dependent on imports of food and medicine.
The country’s health care system improved in the early years of the Chavez regime. It was the main success of his regime. However it has more recently been plagued by a lack of staff and supplies. In 2017, more babies died per capita than in war-torn Syria.
More than 87 per cent of Venezuelans now live in poverty, according to the government’s own statistics. Riots over food are becoming commonplace. People are starving. This is what the Venezuelans called the Maduro Diet.
An estimated 2.3 million Venezuelans have fled, mostly to the neighbouring countries of Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru. Venezuelan have to chose between starving to death in their own country or leaving everything behind them.
So what Maduro is doing to help his people? Well, not much. However he does have a good life though. Here it’s him eating at Istanbul’s famous Nusr-Et steakhouse run by Turkish chef Nusret Gökçe, better known as ‘Salt Bae’. Maduro visited the restaurant on his way back from China through Turkey at a time when many in Venezuela are short of food.
Friends, when people are starving, it is our duty to listen to their concerns and show some form of solidarity.
