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The ugly reality is, Chavez's Castro-inspired socialist model, far from helping the poor, left them worse off than ever even as Venezuela's neighbors in Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama and Chile have risen by embracing free markets. Chavez's currency devaluation and capital controls made everything from toilet paper to tires expensive and scarce in Venezuela, harming the poor — who spend 80% of their income on necessities — most. His wretched Cuban education and health care starved public institutions and chased competent doctors and educators abroad. His farm and business expropriations killed jobs. And he turned Venezuela into a crime hellhole, which the poor suffered from most.
His harm to the poor went beyond Venezuela. Starting in 2002, he worked to drive oil prices skyward by cutting production and monopolizing resources.
Higher oil prices hurt the world's poor at the pump. But they also raise the cost of food, and lead to factories being shut down. And this helps the poor?
The only proven way to lift the poor from poverty is to embrace free markets. Yet those who praise this odious, now-dead dictator don't seem to get that they served as Chavez's "useful idiots," as Vladimir Lenin called those naive Western socialists who aided his totalitarian rule.
Hopefully, Chavez's death will mean his Chavista model of socialist failure will be buried along with him.
What makes you so more knowledgeable than millions of local Venezuelans?
Millions of what? Dirt poor people who toss their garbage out of their windows and down the cliff they live on? Dirt poor people who have nothing else but to revere some guy who is going to feed them cake while he eats lobster, and they think they're lucky?
Have you ever BEEN to Venezuela? Outside of touristy destination points, where the truth is hidden? It's a beautiful country, but it's **** poor and a local Chavista (who probably took to the streets to mourn the idiot Chavez) would as soon rob you blind as look at you.
exactly whose side do you think investors.com is going to be on anyway?
it's a pathetic and pointless link - please go away.
Your just ignoring facts.....now thats something to yawn about. If the progressive news had a true story about the people I would've gladly given the link to you.
Is there a reason you choose to live in America and not Venezuela or Cuba????
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