Yes, except that oil prices are not the reason that Venezuela is collapsing. Venezuela was in collapse before oil prices tanked, and its oil production was only a fraction of its peak prior to the collapse of oil prices from a failure to reinvest into the infrastructure that supplied its oil. Second point, prior to…

Maldonado’s the last guy to blame. You should be hating your President who insisted with this shitshow in the first place, instead of tending to his citizens.

Oil prices were the catalyst. Socialism/communism is the cause. The post title is completely wrong.

incredibly sad this is happening to a beautiful country, with some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

Joest is the most correct. I live in Brazil, which is corroded by corruption and is very socialist in many aspects (the left wingers are doing their best to kill democracy here, while “defending democracy” lol). And I’d love to know why Americans love socialism in the first place. Why do you mix it with democracy and…

It happens throughout socialist South America. The systems allows people to take over and control everything and most of the time bad people end up in control.

This is what happens when socialism turns into totalitarianism. Full blown Socialism does not work. History has proven it over and over again.

Which always happens when government has control over people.

Leave it to some idiot to try and defend Socalism by pretending it’s not Socalism destroying that country.

You need to change the title of this post. - it’s socialism/communism that had reached the totalitarian phase that is the cause of Venezuela’s collapse - not oil prices. It amazes me that anyone would think that it was oil prices.

Same thing. Socialism is a totalitarian philosophy. It doesn't work with out violence.

I think that undersells the enormity of how bad things have gotten in Venezuela. There are a lot of petrostates or there and this is like nothing else we have ever seen.

The ironically funny thing (or is it ironically tragic) is that an avowed socialist like Chavez would be such a promoter and supporter of such am elitist sport as Formula 1. This asshole single-handedly destroyed Venezuela.

Nah, rentier states are generally shitty. The only reason the House of Saud is able to maintain control of that basket of crazies is because it never was predicated on democratic liberties in the first place, unlike Venezuela.

And this what all the Bernouts want to do to the US.... Pass...

It’s no use telling him. The Gawker stylebook prescribes both vilifying petroleum and ignoring the evils of centralized economic planning.

The problems are from socialism not oil prices.