This article by Andrew Cawthorne is more balanced and thoughtful than the headline and opening few paragraphs would lead one to believe. The headline could just as easily have been “Government supporters and opponents trade allegations regarding shortages”. The arguments and counter-arguments regarding the oppositions’ role in the shortages and long line-ups are explored. Evidence is mentioned regarding profiteering and panic shopping driven by opposition-spread rumors. The substance of the debate could easily have been moved to the beginning where it would have been much more likely to be read. Cawthorne states “Nationalizations have crimped private production”. It is not quite clear if he is summarizing the opposition’s position or making that claim himself. The private sector experienced years of extremely strong growth in the Chavista era. See Table 1 in this paper. The worst years for the private sector – by far – were the result of the private sector sabotaging itself (and the rest of the economy along with it) during the 2002-2003 period. No two-year period since 1980 produced that severe a downturn in the economy. The present recession is very mild compared to that one – especially in its impact on the poor. Agricultural production, as I explained in this article, has increased in the Chavista era though it has generally failed to keep up with increased demand that’s been driven by poverty reduction. Smuggling aggravates the problem by transferring what is produced locally out of Venezuela. Recessions, like the one Venezuela is going through, reduce production and productivity, but there is scant evidence that nationalizations have caused the recent downturn. UPDATE: A reader made the point that “Black person in USA shot by police, security guards and vigilantes every 36 hours” would be as accurate a headline. If most people learned about the USA from constant exposure to headlines like that, how well informed would they be about the USA?
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