I never expected to witness the slow suicide of a country, a civilization. I suppose nobody does.
Let me tell you, there’s nothing epic about it. We who have the privilege of travel often look down in satisfaction at the ruins of ancient Greece; the Parthenon lit up in blues and greens. The acropolis. The Colosseum in Rome. We walk through the dusty streets of Timbuktu and gaze in wonder at the old mud mosques as we reflect on when these places had energy and purpose. They are not sad musings, for those of us who are tourists. Time has polished over the disaster. Now all that is left are great old buildings that tell a story of when things were remarkable – not of how they quietly fell away. “There was no reason, not really,” we tell each other as we disembark our air-conditioned buses. “These things just happen. Nothing is forever; and nobody is at fault. It’s just the way of the world,” our plastic wine glass in hand. Time ebbs and flows, slowly wearing away the foundations of a civilization until it collapses in upon itself – at least that’s what we say to comfort ourselves. There’s nothing to do about it. These things can’t be stopped. They just are.
This is what people will say in a hundred years, a thousand years about Caracas, Venezuela. Or Maracay, or Valencia, or Maracaibo. Those great sweltering South American cities with their malls and super-highways and skyscrapers and colossal stadiums. When the archeologists of the future dredge the waters of the Caribbean and find the remains of sunken boats; putting them on display in futuristic museums to tell of the time when this place had hosted a civilization. Ruins of great malls filled with water and crocodiles – maybe the ancient anaconda will have retaken their valleys; maybe the giant rats that wander the plains will have made their abodes in the once-opulent homes of the oligarchs – covering the tiles and marble with their excrement. “There was nothing that could have been done,” the futuristic tourists will also say. “The country declined – and vanished – it’s the way things go.”
We tourists are wrong.
I know, because I have watched the suicide of a nation; and I know now how it happens. Venezuela is slowly, and very publically, dying; an act that has spanned more than fifteen years. To watch a country kill itself is not something that happens often. In ignorance, one presumes it would be fast and brutal and striking – like the Rwandan genocide or Vesuvius covering Pompeii. You expect to see bodies of mothers clutching protectively their young; carbonized by the force or preserved on the glossy side of pictures. But those aren’t the occasions that promote national suicide. After those events countries recover – people recover. They rebuild, they reconcile. They forgive.
No, national suicide is a much longer process – not product of any one moment. But instead one bad idea, upon another, upon another and another and another and another and the wheels that move the country began to grind slower and slower; rust covering their once shiny facades. Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips, filling the buckets of a successive line of bureaucrats before they are destroyed, only to be replaced time and again. This is what is remarkable for me about Venezuela. In my defense – weak though it may be – I tried to fight the suicide the whole time; in one way or another. I suppose I still do, my writing as a last line of resistance. But like Dagny Taggert I found there was nothing to push against – it was all a gooey mess of resentment and excuses. “You shouldn’t do that.” I have said. And again, “That law will not work,” and “this election will bring no freedom,” while also, “what you plan will not bring prosperity – and the only equality you will find will be in the bread line.” And I was not alone; an army of people smarter than me pointed out publically in journals and discussion forums and on the televisions screens and community meetings and in political campaigns that the result would only be collective national suicide. Nobody was listening.
So I wandered off. I helped Uganda recover after a 25 year civil war – emptying out the camps and getting people back living again. I helped return democracy to Mali, and cemented a national peace process. I wrote three novels. I moved, and moved, and moved again. I loved my wife; we took vacations. We visited Marrakesh, and Cairo, and Zanzibar and Portugal and the Grand Canyon. We had surgeries. I had a son. We taught our son to sit up, to crawl, to walk and to run; to sing and scream and say words like “chlorophyll” and “photosynthesis”. To name the planets one by one, to write his name.
All the while the agonizingly slow suicide continued.
And always, in the early morning over coffee I open my computer to document, if only for myself, the next cut in Venezuela’s long, tragic suicide. I chat with my friends, who continue to try and explain to the mindless why their misery is a direct result of one bad idea built upon the last in a great edifice of stupidity. Good men and women who are stuck in a two-decade old debate from which there is no escape. I say silent prayers for the next in the long line of political prisoners. I look at photographs of places that I knew – beaches where I went and restaurants that I frequented; covered in garbage or boarded up and stinking. I watch the videos of the nightly sacking of supermarkets that are fortuitous enough to have had a supply of something.
Tonight there are no lights. Like the New York City of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged”, the eyes of the country were plucked out to feed the starving beggars in abandoned occupied buildings which were once luxury apartments. They blame the weather – the government does – like the tribal shamans of old who made sacrifices to the gods in the hopes of an intervention. There is no food either; they tell the people to hold on, to raise chickens on the terraces of their once-glamorous apartments. There is no water – and they give lessons on state TV of how to wash with a cup of water. The money is worthless; people now pay with potatoes, if they can find them. Doctors operate using the light of their smart phones; when there is power enough to charge them. Without anesthesia, of course – or antibiotics, like the days before the advent of modern medicine. The phone service has been cut – soon the internet will go and an all-pervading darkness will fall over a feral land.
The marathon of destruction is almost finished; the lifeblood of the nation is almost gone. No, there is nothing heroic or epic here; ruins in the making are sad affairs – bereft of the comforting mantle of time which lends intrigue and inevitability. And watching it has, for me, been one of life’s great tragedies.
Joel D. Hirst's Blog 
Joel, your writing and reflections of cities/people at a certain place in time is something special to read. So very sad to witness through your words, and so clear ~ “Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips” Powerful.
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Thank you. Its an unimaginable tragedy.
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It was a fantastic and touching written story about your country of birth. I´m from Sweden and i must admit that I or we neber hear so much about Venezuela and its disintegration. Really sad to here. Sometimes lately I feel the rest of our world will go the sam way. ❤
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APOCALYPSE!
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Joel, there, but for the passage of time, goes Canada and the halfway-there United States of America. The voices of dissent threatened with censure…or imprisonment…or worse. Offered Autocratic tomes like the Leap Manifesto from wan-faced toadies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The scolding ramblings of Christiana Figueres, a poor little rich girl. Bleated upon by the breathy vacuity of Trudeau Junior. And profited upon by the sallow-faced George Soros, destroyer of Nations.
Spectacular in its Phanerozoic splendor, and doted on by millennials craving their safe places.
You article surges forth with a clarion call, not a plaintive whimper. Nobody can hear it.
Who is John Galt.
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This comment is an excellent example of how, if the echoes inside your head are loud enough, you can’t hear anything else.
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Hear, hear, Señor Bromley!
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Hear, hear, Señor Hirst and Señor Bromly!!
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Obama is our Chavez, and he has us on exactly the same suicidal path.
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Joel, there, but for the passage of time, goes Canada and the halfway-there United States of America. The voices of dissent threatened with censure…or imprisonment…or worse. Offered Autocratic tomes like the Leap Manifesto from wan-faced toadies. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The scolding ramblings of Christiana Figueres, a poor little rich girl. Bleated upon by the breathy vacuity of Trudeau Junior. And profited upon by the sallow-faced George Soros, destroyer of Nations.
Spectacular in its Phanerozoic splendor, and doted on by millennials craving their safe places.
You article surges forth with a clarion call, not a plaintive whimper. Nobody can hear it.
Who is John Galt?
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Who is John Galt indeed.
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Sorry about the repeat post!
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Bob Grandpa. I am a 77 years old Venezuela who knows very well the hell that my dear country has become in, but I can´t avoid craing blod tears after reading your article. I wish I was only 40 so I could do something to try to change this situation, but…
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We all cry Roberto. You will see a free Venezuela!
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As you I am a retired 77 years old professional, who saw the birth of a new prosperous and new country, Venezuela in the 50 ‘n decade became the most reach ideal country among the best in the world. But the most evil and dirty political place……and became the mos tragic decay of the life…and no return point..
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I wish for a free Venezuela, as we have taken in members of a Venezuelan family here in the U.S. Still as a first generation American, my parents fled Cuba. Today its a hot spot and many disregard the same tragedy that once hit the island in the early 90’s. I hope to god that Venezuela pulls out of it quickly so that it does not follow the island of Cuba which it mimics more and more.
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Well written and ‘to the point’. You clearly convey the frustration of watching a developed country sink into the self imposed destruction while those living through it cannot point to any one thing causing the downfall; it’s an undefinable combination in a nearly infinite number of poorly thought out decisions and actions by the ‘pillars’ of the society and government that have combined to bring on this national death. As it has been written: “Those who forget the mistakes of the past are doomed to repeat them.” Take a look around the U.S. How far behind Venezuela can we be?
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And those who remember the mistakes of the past are doomed to sit around and watch others repeat them.
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Yes Joel, Dalo 2013 picked out the passage which struck me and will stay with me. I am reminded of 2 Chronicles.
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Kind of reminds me of Lamentations … Waiting for the 70 years to end.
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2 Chronicles made me think of “Two Corinthians” which then made me think of 1 Samuel 8:5-22, especially v. 7 and 22.
7 And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them. […]
22 And the Lord said to Samuel, Hearken unto their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said unto the men of Israel, Go ye every man unto his city.
When a society crumbles, it’s usually through the majorities ignorance and/or apathy. We get what we want in the end.
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I think of this verse so often these days, I wonder if the Spirit of God is giving us hope through it.
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Political campaigns do not pay themselves… the problem in Venezuela was the elite’s fear of freedom.
A guy like Chavez was the mantuano’s wet dream. They imagined a nationlist in power who would treat the country and its oil revenue as his hacienda, who would protect local investments from foreign competition, increase commercial barriers and, of course, give them cheap money through subsidies, cheap credits, “fomento a la industria” and yes, preferential exchange rates.
That’s what Chavez did, bu he chose other partners: Cubans, Chinese, Brazilians, Iranians, etc. and treated mantuanos the way they imagined a nationalist, protectionist government would treat foreign investments.
Masses are ignorant and stupid. Alwayds. Their stupid decisions are an act of god, a natural phenomenon. Educated people, particularly the wealthy elites, should know better. They should have known that the model they wanted was doomed. But they insisted until the end. They have absolutely no excuses.
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Those of us who not so long ago came from the Dark Side, clearly recognize the proverbial writing on the wall, predicting the unimaginable for our new and still prosperous motherland – the USA.
Former USSR State Slave
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Well and rightly done. Thanks.
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Pingback: O socialismo real e o suicídio da Venezuela – O Insurgente
Reblogged this on Order From Chaos and commented:
Just when I think I cannot get more depressed about the situation in Venezuela, I read something like this.
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What great writing.
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Reblogged this on Conservative-Libertarian Fiction Alliance and commented:
A must-read! A haunting eyewitness account of national declined Venezuela. Here at CLFA, it make us feel like we’ve just seen the ghost of Christmas Future!
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Stunning depiction. Bravo!
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I visited Caracas in 1989 and loved it but it brings tears now!
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What a sad picture you paint. One of our grandsons is married to a beautiful girl from that country’ Her father is a wealthy business man there but. Has roots and property here so comes and goes! But his life is always in jeoperdy as I I stand . But things in the world are sad so we are happy to have a Heavenly Father in charge of all things including us! We feel you passion and send greetings. Marion for us two
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Joel…I’m curious if this is an experiment by regional (South American) leaders to see how far the fall can occur so as to avoid a civil war but instead cause a jump to capitulation and surrender….thoughts?
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I think its just a case that people don’t want to get involved, using “sovereignty” as an excuse to do nothing.
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Isn’t that case.. The situation is depraved corruption and a stupid men as president .. Venezuela have Tirany not dictator leader counting back Chavez to now this days. And these people don’t care at all about the life of the citizens.
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I spent some of the happiest days of my adult life in Caracas in the early 80’s. Yes, this is truly one of “life’s great tragedies.” Almost unimaginable. Your words cut to the heart of my sadness.
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Venezuela is now the dominant tone, with most other countries vibrating in sympathy, foretelling of a simlar fate.
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Reblogged this on diplomatickid and commented:
I haven’t been back to Venezuela in over 15 years, it was already in decline when I lived there, and to see what it is like now, I just can’t imagine. This is truly worth a read.
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Wow I had no idea. I suppose we Americans don’t have enough economic interest to care.
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Reblogged this on Food for Thought.
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I was born there and can’t still realize how it will end, although you wrote what I feel is going to happen, and wouldn’t like to see. Thanks.
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Save this article for 20 years, and re-title it, “The Suicide of the USA.”
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Meanwhile, the left thinks: “If only the revolution had been more pure… if only there had been less crimethink and fewer saboteurs and subversive enemies of the people. Clearly, this is just more proof that communism has never REALLY been tried. I’m sure that next time, when a government cracks down hard on the capitalists in the beginning… THAT will be the time when communism finally works!”
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Best comment of them all, Odkin. Exactly how they think.
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silliest comment of them all.
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Joel… you only have to visit Cuba, and will have a clear picture on how Venezuela will look in a few years. Sad misery everywhere. And the way out, must share the same path in both countries.
H Aranguren
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Keep the faith! Jamaica went through the exact sequence of events but has recovered. Price controls, exchange controls, nationalisation, budget deficits to support populist and redistribution goals, dual currency exchange rates, shortages, outages, blaming foreign intervention, anti democratic practices in the name of democratic socialism, corruption, state apparatus terror tactics, airlines not being paid and pulling out…on and on. The population put a stop to it in an election after 10 years of it, the last 4 being like Venezuela’s though through the first 6 there was sufficient momentum to cushion the effect. Now Jamaica has a free market and free enterprise consensus along with fiscal prudence and is slowly coming back, slowly yes because the middle class was wiped out and skills and capital fled in the 1970s and education is still not good and the civil service is not up to the job anymore. But the cycle has been broken and Jamaica learned its lesson. Are the people of Venezuela smart enough to see through the fog of populist nonsense and avoid a coup by exercising their vote appropriately?
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Its a good question Jim. Only time will tell.
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My fear is that America is slowing moving toward a similar Bethlehem to be born, and it’s sad beyond belief.
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Reblogged this on Right Reason and commented:
Another once thriving country self destructs under the control of democratic socialism. America still has time, although very little, to throw out this corrupt regime and restore our republic. This is what should be read in our schools, the warnings and accounts of those who have lived or are living through it.
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Your article could easily describe America as it will be in a few years if people continue to believe the government is their provider and caretaker. With a foolish man pretending to lead, we are headed down the Venezuela path. Venezuela believed and followed a fool; America has, too. The bills have to be paid; no one can live life for free.
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Pingback: Le suicide du Venezuela | LE CLOWN ALAIN SORAL
What a sad story. I lived in Venezuela during the late 50’s and 60’s when it was a country worth visiting. I have wonderful memories as a student and as a journalist . I published my first short stories there, worked in public relations and advertising, and now it seems like a dream. I have not been there in 20 years. Thank you for taking the time to write about a country very close to my heart. What a tragedy.
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“Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips, filling the buckets of a successive line of bureaucrats before they are destroyed, only to be replaced time and again.” Tragic for Venezuela. Much the same can be said of the left in the U.S., and the current administration. I Hope we wake up before we go as far down that same road.
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Sean Penncould not be reached for comment.
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A slow, painful death. Sad indeed. But slow: “There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”, said Adam Smith.
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And yet, there are those that want to push these bad ideas on other people. The world goes round and round.
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Joel, I’m from Venezuela and I would like to tell you that ALL the countries around the world pass through circles and crisis and we just need to check this on history, good examples are:
1) Chile with Allende, at that time the socialism implemented by the president generated scarcity of products, the same as Venezuela and now tell me how is Chile
2) Spain after the Civil War and after Franco was a country in ruins, where most of the people moved to other countries and a lot of them went to Venezuela by the way
3) Panama at the end of the 80’s, Noriega was the president and he was a militar with a poor speech that hypnotized the masses and then, he took the power by weapons until US invaded Panama
4) Germany after the rise of Hitler was destroyed by the Second World War and it took years to repaired the internal problems. In addition with that, a Wall divided Berlin in two, one country split in 2 for mindset until 1989, now tell me how is Germany…
European countries pass through World War I and II and Civil War and a lot of dictators and they have more history as a republic than Venezuela, my country is really young if you compared us with them, we are a republic since 1811. Now, my question for you is:
1) What is worse: See someone doing a crime and DON’T DO SOMETHING TO STOP IT or MAKE THE CRIME ?
A lot of countries / organizations took advantage of Venezuela with Chavez knowing that he was a dictator and he doesn’t care Human Rights, they made agreements or accepted gifts from him. Examples are: Brasil, Argentina, all Latin America, Germany, China, Russia, Cuba, FAO, Unasur, OEA….All these countries/organizations knew that something was wrong with Venezuela and they don’t care at all… Chavez bought concious around the world with oil for geopolitics… and they were witness in silence of dying people and violence. Did you know that on February 2014, Brasil and Germany sold tear gas to my government?
2) Did you know that Venezuela protested against the following countries and tried to help them?
a) Chile with Pinochet?
b) Peru with Fujimori and Sendero Luminoso?
c) Panama with Noriega?
d) Brasil with their dictator?
e) Colombia with ELN and FARN? we received tons of colombians
What are these countries doing for us today? do they care Venezuela?
3) Finally, did you know that my country was a bless for people from: Portugal, Spain, Italy, Colombia, Chile and more when they had problems in their countries?
So, before speak bad about the situation in Venezuela, please remember that oil and money are capable to buy concious around the world and the world don’t run with ethics as they don’t care what others are facing… and don’t remember the importance of help others
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I agree, always important to help others!
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Joel,
I’ve read all 666 responses to your article and people who don’t know Venezuela or who have only known Venezuela in the distant past (i.e. pre-1998) are rightly aghast. Those who know her well say there is still hope for a democtratic way out of the morasse.
You say “The marathon of destruction is almost finished”, but it isn’t, is it? It’s relentlessly ongoing. Democracy is dead in the water; there will be another mass but useless protest on Wednesday; there will be no referendum; there will be no support from our neighbours; there will be no general – and permanent – strike; the poor will get poorer; the middle class, who can, will leave; the rich will still be rich; the borders will be closed and Venezuela will be left to rot away forever.
Isn’t a very violent ‘desenlace’ the only way out?
John
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Thanks John for your message. Going through all those responses must have been hard 😦 It is so, so sad what has happened and I’m with you, I don’t know how this ends. So many interests, so many people trying to live better lives. So many others trying to keep the ill-gotten gains of the last 18 years. I don’t know, but I do continue to hope for a brighter future. You may like this recent article I just published, after the cancellation of the last election https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2016/10/22/the-end-of-the-story-of-venezuelas-self-government/
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You should add the U.S. to that list. For over ten years, Chavez/Citgo/Joe Kennedy bought all kinds of sympathy in the US, by giving away oil. Bush may have complained a bit about Chavez…..but only a bit. Just everybody else took the free oil and yawned.
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Pingback: Le suicide du Venezuela – ANTI-MONDIALISATION
Holy moley. Your writing is so evocative – and yet? words fail.
You are the rockN canary….
…and more’s the pity
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Pingback: The Suicide of Venezuela | The Authentic Male
I never imagined, in my wildest dreams, that my country could be destroyed with so much hatred and animosity. Your article is a true, sad reflection of the bitter reality. It hurts beyond words.
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Reblogged this on SiriusCoffee and commented:
And you Americans say you want a glorious Democratic Socialist future, where entitlement ushers in a new equality and “social justice”. Here’s the story of what happens when it goes badly.
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It always goes badly.
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beautiful, inspired and thick writing. This Margariteño salutes you
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I have been living in Venezuela my entire life (24 years old) and is so sad that as a young man I see no future here..
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Dind my post show up?
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Reblogged this on Foodforthethinkers's Blog and commented:
This has been happening in America for decades. It all started long before anyone heard of Obama.
However, in our hubris, we refuse to learn from other nations. We persist in thinking that “it can’t happen here.” Oh yes it can!
“Pride goeth before destruction,
and an haughty spirit before a fall.” – Proverbs 16:18
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Thank you for writing what I’ve been feeling all these years…the country where I grew up doesn’t exist anymore.
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This is so well written, I wanted you to know I have to find more of your work.
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Thank you! here you go! http://www.amazon.com/Joel-D.-Hirst/e/B00J5YPT2Q/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1462042341&sr=8-1
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I often wonder, How soon till we read this story about America…. which used to be so wonderful unit the people voted for socialism….. the death knell…
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It is so true and very, very sad.
Ignorance combined with, hate, resentment, greed and impudence it is an explosive force capable of destroying a whole country. You need a lot of complicity, indolence and apathy…
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Joel, I had the good fortune to live in Caracas ’75-78. I was a young teenager and I certainly had an idealist view, but Venezuela was paradise. Violent crime was relatively low, there was opportunity and overall people seemed to be enjoying life and liberty. They nationalized the oil industry in ’75 and although it seemed justified and a good thing at the time – the big oil companies did appear to be collaborating and exploiting the resources and “palanca” (sp?) bought on the cheap – I look back at it as the first domino in the fall. Since it was a largely looted ready made pump shooting money out of the ground – and thru the hands of government – eventually it attracted nuisance thieving pest and then leaches and eventually life threatening parasitic strait up thugs like Chavez.
I’ve come to believe the worst thing that can happen to any society is to have readily available wealth there to be picked up – or stolen, or seized – with disproportionate effort to honest means of obtaining the same wealth.
What a waste…
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Trinidad, Venezuela’s immediate neighbour to the east is screaming in that direction. its only a matter of time unless it is fixed now.
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I can see the United States going down that same path. Sad, but true.
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This must have been similar to what the old timers saw (that is the ones who chose to stay behind) in Havana and other Cuban cities in the 70s or 80s. Of course at least in those years Castro still had USSR pumping in several million a year to keep his regime propped up. The Venezuelans have at long last decided they gain nada by giving free or subsidized oil to Raul and “el hermano grande”
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The worse of this suicide is that is happening in front of all international community who are just taking advantage in many cases of the situation. Is a really sad reality, but is true and many of us doesn’t know if is better wait to rebuilt or try to fight now, but the fight is a very unfair fight and can’t be thru normal ways…
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Pingback: The Suicide of Venezuela | The Wentworth Report
Powerful imagery. Thank you
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😥
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Wow. Your words convey so much emotion. I fear America is heading down the same path.
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Joel, your chronicle is very accurate. If witness it from without is sad, you cannot imagine how painful it is to live it from within. I feel so great pity for my people, my poor people. This “socialism” has led society to be reduced to slag, top-down and almost completely. Sometimes I wonder if the good people of Venezuela is gone, or if those of us who still stay here are so resigned to the catastrophe that we have become useless for the purpose of doing something to reverse this degradation…
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Places like Venezuela confirm that the “human condition” is here for as long as the human race lasts. Why, oh why, can’t people learn? Just returned from Haiti a few weeks ago. It is where Venezuela is headed. It ain’t pretty. I am pretty sure i’ll be dead before the U.S, gets there, but I’m equally sure that’s the direction we’re gradually turning.
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I am Venezuelan; my heart hurts. My mother and two brothers and many friends and some family still live there. I cry often; i pray and visualize healing. Your words hit a chord and bring on the tears again. My hope is that in all that i have known historically and otherwise, the darkness is always followed by the light..and I pray that the light will come sooner than we expect. I love to quote Ben Gurion who says, “Those who do not believe in miracles are not realists.” I pray for a miracle.
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Is there is something that can be done to stop the suicide and rescue Venezuela ?
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Is there something that can be done to stop the suicide and rescue Venezuela ?
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Thank you Joel for your chilling and heartbreaking story of the demise of Venezuela. I was taken back to Atlas Schrugged and all of the Peoples Republics that Ayn Rand described. So sad. When will the world learn? Kirsten
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Hola Joel, me gustaría leer este interesante artículo en español, soy venezolano y pienso que Ud. tiene razón, es lamentable como Venezuela se está muriendo, gracias.
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Alguna gente lo esta traduciendo – busca en mi blog, creo que lo encontraras por ahi pronto.
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Mr. Hirst: Those here in the US who think socialism is wonderful point to Scandinavia rather than Venuzela. Do you have an opinion on why the Scandinavian countries are at least appearing to be successful with socialism while it destroyed Venuzela so rapidly and thoroughly?
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Not being an expert on the scandinavian countries – I’d say probably things like small population numbers, etc. There is something interesting though, it is indeed “socialized” but most of the taxes (more than 70%) go to the municipalities – which compete with each other as people “vote with their feet”. So decentralization doesn’t allow an authority at the top to take control of the money and the power.
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Venezuela lacks the infrastructure to deal effectively with the corruption that has been ingrained since the beginning and has thrived since the return to democracy in 1958. Chavez was elected as a response to this in the hope that he’d bring about the very necessary social and political changes, but he got carried away by his own importance and the rest is history. Or is that a naive interpretation?
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Chavez had the wrong ideas, unfortunately. Had he come to office with a copy of Henry Hazlitt and not Marx, Venezuela would be right now the greatest country in the world.
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It was also, until recently, very homogenous, like a big family. That’s breaking down now.
Also consider the Arab oil states: somehow they have nationalized their oil but are still stable. Their culture is very different, and not something most people would care for, but maybe the citizens sense that, though not perfect, what they have is a lot better than Venezuela (or more likely, Syria). There are sporadic protests in Saudi Arabia but they never catch on.
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Watch this video of the prime minister of Denmark: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgrJnXZ_WGo
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Corruption. Simple as that.
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This is happening in the USA too. Hillary refused the endorsement of the Koch brothers. She’s polishing the hate.
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Your description of the combined result of the bad ideas, one by one, would serve the US as the perfect 5-minute end of game warning
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Periplaneta Americana. That is the scientific name of common cockroaches. They have survived every major cataclysm for hundreds of milions of years. The difference with Century XXI Socialists is they adapted, whilst chavistas ( a contemporary human mutation) destroy every existing vestige of civilization, culture, humanity and decency. As they loot the country and after finishing with every wealth producing resource and cultural heritage they migrate to first world countries, shed wings, antennas, legs and transform into law abbiding citizens where they live happily everafter…. under the accomodating eyes of rapidly deteriorating democracies.
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Renamed the USA?
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Never have I described the condition of my homeland as gloriously as you have done it in this occasion. To read about the agony of a country screaming for help while all its foundations are being shattered to the ground, it tortures me, as it should everyone that lives here. What a tremendous thing it is a writer’s empathy, that without experiencing the conflict personally, he can put in such marvelous words how the dying of a revolution can still destroy a Nation. A young venezuelan guy thanks you. We do not need our voice to reach far, we only need it to reach near for someone to want to listen. I just hope we don’t extinguish ourselves trying to put up a show.
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One can quickly pick up that you’ve absorbed Ayn Rand’s works. The article which you so eloquently wrote also describes South Africa’s state, just at an earlier stage. Can an individual, or a family unit do anything more than flee?
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The same thing is happening in the USA yet it is being ignored just like it was in Venezuela. They are not alone.
I can see this because of decades of living in this country and watching it’s slow fall from a world leader to a joke among other nations.
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Thank you for your passion. No one seems to care beyond the cartoonish understanding of 10 second blips on CNN or Fox.
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I have witnessed the death of single industry towns in America. Now a nation built on one industry.
Many of mankind’s greatest human disasters have begun with the best of intensions.
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Very strong article. The sad thing is we are at the beginning of this process in the US. It has been going on for a few decades because of the combination of a lazy electorate and pandering politicians willing to promise anything for votes. We have lost a moral compass and sense of direction. Take a look at Venezuela today and you see the US of tomorrow. We Texans see it and more and more of us are getting behind the idea of separating from the US to once again become our own republic.
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the truly sad thing is most people just dont have a clue — they will say oh this is horrible and then make the same decisions as was done here — I think this will happen in north america before too long —- Detroit has suffered hugely –what is the next city?
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Yes, you paint the feelings and thoughts that many of us share with you.
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Is there any hope? Not just for Venezuela, but for the rest of us? The bad ideas of socialism seem to be on the rise again even here in America.
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What struck me at first when I lived there was the lack of Venezuelans: I’m Gallego; I’m Italian etc. and these were second or third generation born in the country… In my naivety I would discuss enthusiastically with my neighbors at the beach about how with a few minor tweeks the country could be a powerhouse. They would look at me and shake their heads…
Meeting the son of an acquaintance, recently graduated from Harvard and already committing fraud…
Chávez represented for some a clean break, for others a horse to be ridden though he was no pushover as more than a few found to their cost.
Perez Jimenez built more infrastructure in his short period than the subsequent regimes. I mourn for Venezuela.
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Pingback: Never Yet Melted » Venezuela’s Suicide
My name is Ozymandias, king of kings.Look upon my works, ye Mighty and despair. Nothing beside remains, round the decay. Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare. The lone and level sands stretch far way.
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So sad. Twenty years ago I spent a month in Venezuela. It’s hard to imagine what it must be like now.
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Reblogged this on The Arts Mechanical and commented:
Watching a country commit suicide is not fun. Living in one is worse. I will note that the US has been also going down the road of bad decisions and that those bad decisions come from the beliefs of a small group of graduates from Ivy C0vered Snob Factories. At every step Chavez and Maduro had advisors from those august institution, highly credentialed “experts” making recommendations. They are nowhere to be found in Venezuela now, having run back to their comfortable classrooms and think tanks, looking for the next victim.
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I am afraid one day one of your books will be about the decline of the United States. The idea of personal responsibility and accountability is being strangled by liberal idiots that cannot understand those simple phrases. When a group ( city, state or country) gets used to the idea that everything is going to be done for you , at that point, you have lost your incentive to being a free person. You have become a slave to the one’s feeding you.
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Harrowing depiction, like the frog in the slow boiling pan. Unfortunately, the sad side is that most Venezuelans in 2010 still denied that this was going to happen. I lived a long time there, over 30 years, but as an immigrant from former Yugoslavia, well-versed in world history and communism. when Chavez was elected I could see it coming!! I spoke to and warned people–even offered to give speeches and lectures– that this “socialism” was going to be worst that any of the ones in the former Iron Wall countries. Many laughed, others said: “What the hell are you talking about?”, others didn’t want someone to know more that the local political leaders, Indeed, there have always been hidden agendas, the money from oil revenues can truly buy any conscience As you say “nobody was listening”. In my opinion this happened because Venezuela hasn’t been through difficult situations and political turmoil in the last 4 decades, although there was and is whole layer cake of poverty problems and economy issues. (in fact, Chavez was elected to solve this). With a population largely under 40, the general mindset is very short term, teenage-like. There has been no interest in changing things to the core, though you could say that Chavez did it, but in a totally opposite direction. It’s a very happy-go-lucky idiosyncrasy, nice for socialization but terrible for dealing with hard-core, seasoned communism imposed by Fidel Castro, Chavez’s mentor… it is definitely very though for them. I see this as a wake-up call for most Venezuelans, that there no easy way out but rather a growing up, maturing, I apologize for the length of my comment. Grateful for the article..
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Joel, your writing is powerful enough to be heartbreaking. That is a gift, and one that you use wonderfully. What I would like to get at is that as a Venezuelan citizen, one out of the country since she was 5 years old, it has been one of the greatest tragedies to see my family through the small screen of a smartphone only to hear updates on how bad their lives have become. You’re right, the suicide of a nation is messy and slow and never clear-cut. The 2014 protests gave people hope, but as you said, as is public knowledge, Leopoldo Lopez was incarcerated like many other political prisoners were. Hope is fading, and now all people can do is sit in shock and continue surviving. The government has truly done a horrifying number on this country, a country that had so much potential. It’s good to hear the opinion of another person who not only feels sympathy for the country and its people, but who is familiar with it. Thank you for the article.
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Thank you.
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Someone needs to MAKE Bernie Sanders read this, COMMUNISM DOESN’T WORK!
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Come on, Tom Simmons. Bernie Sanders is not a communist. He is a socialist and democrat and badly needed in the USA. The lack of misunderstanding of political and social philosophy is what causes a country to fall prey to psychos like Chavez, Maduro and their ilk. We should search for liberty followed by well being. Remember that the wide capitalist gap between the mega-rich and the have nots is what is destroying the USA. And be careful with following the ideas of Ayn Rand; she is a clever, dangerous, crazy thinking nut.
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https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2014/06/12/atlas-shrugged-a-book-review-part-1/ https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2014/06/30/atlas-shrugged-a-book-review-part-2/
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I am sorry to read all this sadness.
I am deeply sorry to know that thousands of Venezuelans are not seeing it. They just find a way to survive and they are used to it because their survival is not the same struggle of the millions that don’t have their same luck!
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Joel! Thanks for helping me understand that I am not imagining things, as I see the US beginning this slow decline into suicide. And as each successive little piece takes place, in my mind I am seeing the real live Atlas Shrugged taking place right before me. And it seems as you said, that nothing can stop it. I am thankful I will not live to see the final breath.
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this is an exsquisite elegy for a dying culture. so poetic and sad. It seems as if the patient is already in a coma with no life support. your descriptions are haunting and memorable, the image used to illiustrate certainly evokes the tone of the text. I sometimes fear that stupidity and greed will be the ruin of the United States, where we are slowly sinking into oligarchy, and that bloated useless bureacracy you describe so well. Let us hop something will stir your nation out of its slumber. best wishes.
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A miracle is coming
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Reblogged this on The Behrg and commented:
Far too many are unaware of what’s occurring beneath the level of public interest. This is reality for millions of innocent people.
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Joel, i loved it. I would like (if you want it) to write about the last 12 years in my country (Argentina), with similar facts as you describe it. Luckly there is a new goverment, with another vision of life.
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Thanks Julian. Maybe I will, I’m so thrilled that Macri is there. Maybe I’ll write a positive one 🙂
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I too spent several years living in Venezuela, surrounded by some of the most genuine and caring people I’ve ever met. This is a tragedy of epic proportion, and while it has been a gradual slide into chaos I’m shocked by how little coverage the media devotes to this. I’m plagued by wanting to help and not knowing how.
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First went to Venezuela in the 1980s at the time of the great devaluation. Hotels and restaurants were empty, all building had stopped. It was good for us, living on a boat, and finding everything ridiculously cheap compared to the rest of the Caribbean. Economically, on the surface it recovered, but we learned some sad truths. Nobody it seemed, paid taxes, no matter their level of business. The rich spent foolishly. As one scion of big industry we met on a beach in one of the offshore islands he’d flown his plane to for a day of play, told us, when they wanted something, like the flippers we had with us, they never just bought one, they bought many. On our return to the states, we read the most expensive apartment in NYC was owned by a Venezuelan. In the next few years a boating friend who had lived there many years told us it was time to get out, and moved to St. Martin. It became dangerous to leave a boat at anchor, or anchor in remote places. We heard of more attacks on boats and murders than in any other countries in the Caribbean and finally in 1991, we left what was the most beautiful and interesting country, and of course the largest, in all of the Caribbean. By, the way, every part of government we ran into still seemed corrupt, money was fleeing the ciountry, and still no one payed taxes.. Blessed with a beautiful and fertile and mineral rich land, the people have never seemed to get it all together.
I loved your article, you write so elequently, and my husband did also, since he spent almost an hour finding it again for me to read.
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Thank you.
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Excellent write up Joel. we find ourselves in the same situation, morning ritual of checking from afar…
hear my only suggestion to your narrative, rather than suicide I see it as a siege. The foreign oppressor still being successful in subduing the “beautiful” people of Venezuela.
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Amazing and heartfelt. Saludos hermano venezolano.
Una voz que clama libertad es una luz entre las tinieblas. Te felicito por tu articulo, excelente y lleno de inteligencia.
De un análisis profundo y sentido.
It is like that, people that have stayed behind holding on to hope, do it because they are afraid of recognizing a sinking ship.
And when i think about it, i guess that the passengers on the Titanic, stranded at the sea, always held on to hope. That someone would find them before the freezing death, that someone was going to come.
But no one did. Until it was too late.
Its the same for Venezuela.
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Saludos!
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Very well written article. It is a sad thing to hear about. I only have seen this through the media.
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Hello, Joel. I just want to say to you: thanks, because I live in Venezuela, and, all you wrote is exactly what it’s happening here. “Revolución” is just a damnation for my country.
Take care.
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Beautiful post. I live in Venezuela, and am sad to agree with your view. It is devastating. We need people like you to give voice to this tragedy. Thank you.
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Hi Joel
I wanted to find out a bit more about what’s happening in venezuela and stumbled upon your blog. This article is so beatifully horrible it shook me. Thank you for writing something not only informing me but educating my feelings. You mentioned novels. Could you give me the names of them im interested in reading more from you.
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Thank you! You can find them here http://www.amazon.com/Joel-D.-Hirst/e/B00J5YPT2Q/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1462042341&sr=8-1
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Suburb writing, I agree with everyone, that passage stood out like a flashing red beacon. For me, it’s impossible not to see the parallels in America. I truly fear for my beloved country.
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Yes, I must share this onward, as a warning “Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips” — since this same tragedy is playing out across a number of countries, mine included. But it doesn’t have to be.
Take, as an example, Germany after WWII. Destruction nearly complete. The paralysis of the old Nazi economic regulations (not, I suspect unlike what’s destroying Venezuela or California…) preventing the rebuilding. Finally, one politician (a crypto-libertarian named Erhard) simply abolished all the old regulations in one fell swoop.
“What caused the so-called miracle? The two main factors were currency reform and the elimination of price controls, both of which happened over a period of weeks in 1948. A further factor was the reduction of marginal tax rates later in 1948 and in 1949.” http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/GermanEconomicMiracle.html
There is a radical demand that must be raised in every country: “The only way to restore prosperity is to abolish taxes, bureaus and programs…” as they once said in Germany.
Venezuela can then have its own economic miracle.
Here is an interview we did last week with a young Venezuelan who left the country — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49fuWHcGcas
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Joel, I had the good fortune to live in Caracas ’75-78. I was a young teenager and I certainly had an idealist view, but Venezuela was paradise. Violent crime was relatively low, there was opportunity and overall people seemed to be enjoying life and liberty. They nationalized the oil industry in ’75 and although it seemed justified and a good thing at the time – the big oil companies did appear to be collaborating and exploiting the resources and “palanca” (sp?) bought on the cheap – I look back at it as the first domino in the fall. Since it was a largely looted ready made pump shooting money out of the ground – and thru the hands of government – eventually it attracted nuisance thieving pest and then leaches and eventually life threatening parasitic strait up thugs like Chavez.
I’ve come to believe the worst thing that can happen to any society is to have readily available wealth there to be picked up – or stolen, or seized – with disproportionate effort to honest means of obtaining the same wealth.
What a waste…
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This was totally predictable before Hugo Chavez. We were there in ’78. The oil companies, such as Shell, had recently been nationalized. OPEC was feeling it’s oats. The building projects, high rise concrete cubicles were mushrooming around beautiful Caracas. Excitement and confidence were in the air along with an arrogant socialism. The city was. Ringed with terraces of cardboard shacks. People from the country lived in them awaiting their turn to get a cubicle. But there was a looming problem, the median age of the population was 23 years. It was called, at that time, the revolution if rising expectations. Venezuela could not pump enough stolen oil fast enough to satisfy the expectations of its young and burgeoning population. It was doomed.
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This could happen on a global scale. We are hearing the likes of Bill Gates, George Soros and the Pope calling for “Socialist Global Government.” A Socialist (with close ties to both revolutionary Communists and the Military Industrial Establishment) is a candidate for the US Presidency. The worst part is that, before the noose tightens and the descent into ruination begins, things will get better. People will be fed. Goods (the wealth of the “capitalist” society being looted) will be distributed. Then comes the darkness…
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A Facebook friend posted this, and I’m grateful for the introduction. Bought the San Porfirio novels and am looking forward to reading them.
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Thank you! I hope you enjoy them!
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Imagine how it is for those of us without a foreign passport, an extraordinary career or talent, with a chronic disease… Those of us who are just trapped here, well aware of what’s coming and without a way out.
On the other hand Joel… this might be a very sad spectacle for people like you and me, who appreciated the achievements and saw the opportunities despite the difficulties and shortcomings. However – and I’ll use your metaphor of the ruins- do you think the Christians or the Turks who slowly destroyed the acropolis ever felt any remorse? No, for them, it was a celebration… what reminds me of the most serious quote ever written for a pop-corn movie: “So this is how liberty dies… with thunderous applause” (Senator Amidala in the Revenge of the Sith, Star Wars III)
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I´m living it every day. A sad and horrible end.
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This situation is not new. The only new, its is worsing, because is many hours more and all over the country. But, is also in shortage of medicine n foods. We the people in Venezuela, are deadly going. I can see solutions in the short time.
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What amaze me the most is how people is getting used to serfdom. People is not longer upset for food shortages and lines (produced by prize controls), they are because they have to wait next to “bachaqueros” who came from another zones. They are not mad for electric service interruptions, they now demand government to respect rationing schedule. A little bit of socialism has brought a whole bunch of it. We are living the perfect example of “The road to serfdom”: 40 years of social democracy has brought us 17 of communism and misery.
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Mr. Hirst, thank you for caring and writing about this!
If you think what is happening in my country is a great tragedy, can you imagine what it is like for us who live here and feel helpless? who saw this coming and warned people about it? I can only be grateful that I was lucky to live in a different Venezuela since I was born in 1939.
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Isn’t Venezuela communist? Did he not mention that?
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yes, it is. And no, I didn’t use the word. On purpose. Instead I described it.
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Joel, thanks for putting in powerful words my own thoughts. My country is in shambles. It hurts me to see it happen. I was there three years ago, and I cried at the sight of a place I could not recognize. Once a prosperous country, with friendly and marvelous people, now, what have they become, what happened to them?
A decrepit ideology manipulated by two corrupt “mummies” (for almost 60 years) has been used to transfer the cuban franchise to Venezuela. No more no less. The worse part is that they are succeeding, the communist, populist recipe is working…..Venezuela is dying……
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Reblogged this on pastorwardclinton.
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as with your prose Ven. has too many ‘I’s’, all concentrated at the top.
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Joel. do you see others in So America trending in the same direction?
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Bolivia and Ecuador. More slowly, less radically. I would have said Argentina but they saw the light and Macri is doing the right things.
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Cronica de Una Muerte Anunciada
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The excellence of a nation is due entirely to the quality of it’s people. Venezuela experienced something it could not handle, a bonanza of what is essentially unearned wealth. Our defects are enlarged and our virtues are shrunk. This is true with more exceptional populations no less but the degrading process is accelerated in second world populations.
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Socialism is the original lie. The lie of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, if you eat of this fruit you will be like a god. When your eyes open and you realize you’ve been screwed, it’s too late.
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Joel, I am a Venezuelan citizen, living in the USA; I WONDER if I can get your autorization to translate this article to Spanish. If you allow me, please let me know at: aledgardo@hotmail.com. I would like my people to be able to read this.
Thanks.
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of course Alejandro. thank you.
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Pingback: Política Brasileira » O Suicídio da Venezuela
I just pray we are not on the same path. Jefferson said that democracy would survive until the people realized they can vote themselves a income from the general treasury. I think we are on the verge of that happening.
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Leí su articulo, y lloro. Lloro por que vivo en este país sobre el cual ud escribe. lloro por que he visto y he vivido en carne propia los estrategos de una política basada en el odio, en la división, en la alimentación de las mas bajas miserias. Lloro por que aun no concibo que el país en el cual me crié y me forme como profesional , donde podía viajar con tranquilidad, comprar lo que quisiera, y tener esperanza de un futuro mejor ya no existe y yo no pude hacer nada para evitarlo, mas allá de jamás haberle dado mi voto a Chavez, razón por la cual tengo mi conciencia tranquila. A la mayoría el miedo le ha atrapado como una nube negra y espesa que no les deja ver , que inmoviliza, que adormece, que apaga el fuego . Vivimos desesperanzados, frustrados, con el corazón apabullado de hastío ,de tristeza, de dolor, pensando en la hora en la que tendremos que despedir a nuestros hijos por que ya estamos pensando en que se tienen que ir de su tierra, a echar raíces en otra parte por que aquí ya no hay esperanza. Lloro por que el odio que sembró Hugo Chavez prosperó y aun estando en la adversidad no hay unión para salir de este cuento de horror, cada quien vela por sus propios intereses sin importarle nada más. La vida no vale nada, la deshumanizacion de una sociedad otrora solidaria es impactante. Los políticos son como aves de rapiña que viven de los despojos humanos que van quedando en el camino, no hay ley, no hay justicia y la impunidad reina sobre todo lo demás. Los venezolanos estamos divididos, entre los que queremos una vida digna y los que se han acostumbrado a vivir con miedo. lloro por que me siento impotente, por que no concibo que haya gente en este pais que recen a delincuentes como si fueran santos, que vivan de la necesidad de los demas revendiendo los pocos productos basicos que se consiguen con el 2000% de sobreprecio, peor aun , lloro por que hay gente que los compra y se acostumbra a vivir mal, a vivir en la mediocridad, a vivir sin libertad, sin sueños, sin proyectos de vida. Cuando leo escritos como este sobre mi lastimado pais Venezuela , lloro, por que no acepto que nos este pasando esta tragedia llamada Revolucion Socialista. Naci libre y quiero que mis hijos vivan en un pais libre, no se que nos depare el futuro mediato , pero si se que mis hijos seran libres como lo fuimos los venezolanos antes de que llegara Hugo Chavez al poder. Lloro…
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Yes, you are right, “there’s nothing epic about it” but you then mention countries all over the world, think about thousands of years in the future… and you are wrapping everything in that epic. It would be better to say “Venezuela is fucked up” and just copy and paste tweets like “Una señora quería comprar mayonesa.Pero no era su día y no hubo ruego posible. Entonces abrió el pote, la escupió y tuvieron que vendérsela” or “Just walked two blocks carrying a plastic bag of toilet paper. Three people stopped me to ask where I got it” or “Caracas public school teacher tells me thugs snuck into the school today and robbed a bunch of 14 year-olds at gunpoint” or “El sujeto que intentaron linchar ayer en Los Ruices que le echan gasolina y lo queman no había robado a nadie, estaba discutiendo”… and many more like that.
Venezuela is rotten to the core and there is nothing epic about it, only writers in search of those epic events who focused their attention on the wrong place.
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Not so fast. From everything I’ve read (I’ve never been to Venezuela), poverty was dramatically reduced in Venezuela over the past 15 years and overall living standards went way up.
The current problems seem to have resulted in from a mix of unexpected events:
1) The rapid decline in the price of oil
2) A massive drought that is effecting Venezuela’s hydro-electric energy production (which accounts for 25% of energy production in Venezuela)
3) The success of Venezuela’s economic policies surpassed forecasts, and resulted in an explosion of consumption by the rapidly growing middle-class, which then caused a collapse as demand ramped up faster than supply could keep pace.
That is not at all what you describe, which sounds like a slow steady decline, but clearly what happened in Venezuela was actually a rapid improvement, but then at the peak of the improvement the country was hit be two crises in both the rapid decline of oil prices and the drought.
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Not really true. What happened was the expensive oil covered a multitude of sins that were made public when it collapsed.
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It’s really curious and out of the norm reading about this situation from the other side of the “glass”.
I don’t even know how I’m gonna structure my reply, but here it goes.
I’m a victim of this whole situation.
Born just a few years prior to the first election of mr. Chávez.
If there’s something outstanding about the people of this country, is how quickly they surrendered, how fast they gave up their wrists to be shackled for a few scraps of food.
Whatever had us preocuppied seven, or ten years ago, is trivial today.
Today’s worries are:
I hope I don’t get mugged today, and if by any chance someone robs me, I hope they don’t murder me.
I hope a cop doesn’t murder me today.
I hope a national guard doesn’t murder me today.
I don’t wanna get kidnapped.
I hope no one tries to rob my house while i’m sleeping.
I hope i don’t get sick with dengue fever or something.
It’s starting to rain, I hope there isn’t a flood or something.
Or in my special case:
I hope cancer doesn’t come back.
Greetings, nice article.
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“Or in my special case:
I hope cancer doesn’t come back.” – I will pray for you!
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Payers for you from the UK – that you will remain cancer free and safe.
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Hello Joel,
I’m still here, yet spending a good part of my waking hours wondering what to do, leave or stay, both alternatives bearing great sacrifices. It is amazing how somwhere in the back of our minds hope survives. Thank you for your words, I still believe every piece, big or small, of attention drawn to our situation might help.
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I hope you find the answer.
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And not say that we were not told… But preferred to eat shit…
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Found you randomly from a facebook post of a friend.
I am an Objectivist who breaks with Rand over race and IQ, because I have read the research literature. I believe you will gain great insight into the genetic underpinning of the mindless masses you refer to if you spend 500 hours reading the psychometric literature. Some names to get you started: Helmuth Nyborg, Philippe Rushton, Richard Lynn, Linda Gottfredson. These are all the most highly regarded researchers in their fields.
I have been following Venezuala’s collapse for 12 years and you captured the grief it inspires brilliantly in your prose.
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Your writing is breathtakingly vivid and Venezuela is just the beginning of a worldwide suicide of Nations due to extreme overpopulation, glaring ignorance and corruption. It is devastating to see.
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If you mentioned it I missed it. Why haven’t you spoken about socialism??
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No need to name it, I described it.
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I know it is a matter of time till the fear I feel from your observations are enlisted here in the west along with our fake sense of security.
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El colapso de las civilizaciones ha sido tema de interés para historiadores como Toynbee y Paul Kennedy, por mencionar solo a dos. Las causas son diversas pero generalmente la guerra y la expansión de los imperios, con el costo que esto representa, han sido algunas de las principales responsables. Pero nada tan vergonzoso como el colapso de Venezuela,representado por la corrupción y la traición a la patria mediante el despilfarro de los recursos en pos del cumplimiento de un sueño de unos ancianos degenerados nacidos en Cuba. Grandes hombres han construido imperios como Ciro y Gengis Khan, y grandes criminales como Lenin y Hitler los han destruido, habrá que incluir a Chávez en esa lista, guardando la distancia.
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The United States is next. Everything you described is happening here, it’s scary.
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Eu nunca imaginei que assistiria ao suicídio lento de um país, de uma civilização. Eu acho que ninguém tem essa expectativa.
Quero dizer, não tem nada de épico nisso. Nós, que temos o privilégio de viajar bastante, olhamos com orgulho para as ruínas da Grécia antiga; o destruído Partenon em verdes e azuis. A Acrópole. O Coliseu em Roma. Andamos pelas ruas empoeiradas de Tombuctu, fitando maravilhados o velho templo cheio de musgo, enquanto refletimos o quanto esses locais tiveram energia e propósito. Não são apenas meditações tristes, para nós, turistas. O tempo traz uma sensação mágica para onde havia apenas desastre. Tudo o que resta, hoje, são enormes construções antigas que contam a história de quando as coisas eram memoráveis – não a história de como, lentamente, elas ruiram. “Não havia motivo, não havia”, nós dizemos uns aos outros enquanto desembarcamos de nossos ônibus equipados com ar-condicionado. “Essas coisas acontecem. Nada é para sempre; não é culpa de ninguém. São assim os caminhos do mundo”, enquanto degustamos vinho, copos de plástico na mão. O tempo passa e tudo muda, vagarosamente gastando as fundações de uma civilização, até ela colapsar – são as palavras de conforto que dizemos para nós mesmos. Não há nada que possamos fazer. Essas coisas não podem ser interrompido. Elas acontecem.
Isso é o que dirão em uma centena de anos, em milhares de anos sobre Caracas, Venezuela. Ou Maracay, ou Valencia, ou Maracaibo. Essas grandes e suadas cidades sulamericanas com seus shoppings e avenidas e arranha-céus e estádios colossais. Quando os arqueólogos do futuro escavarem as águas do Caribe e encontrarem os remanescentes de barcos afundados, colocarem-nos nas vitrines de museus futurísticos para contar a história de quando esse local abrigou uma civilização. Ruínas de grandes lojas cheias de água e crocodilos – talvez a antiga anaconda tenha retomado seu habitat, talvez gigantes roedores que costumavam vagar pelas planícies terão feito de casa as uma vez opulentas casas dos oligarcas – cobrindo os pisos e o mármore com seu excremento. “Não havia nada que pudesse ser feito”, os turistas do futuro diriam. “O país entrou em declínio – e desapareceu – é o curso natural das coisas.”
Nós, turistas, estamos errados.
Eu sei, porque eu assisti ao suicídio de uma nação, e eu sei que ele está acontecendo. Venezuela está lentamente, e abertamente, morrendo; um ato que tem durado já mais de quinze anos. Assistir um país a suicidar-se não é algo que acontece com frequência. Na ignorância, podemos presumir que isso seria um golpe rápido e mortal – como o genocídio da Ruanda ou como o Vesúvio cobrindo Pompéia. Esperamos ver corpos de mães debruçando-se protetivamente sobre seus filhos, carbonizados pela força ou preservados brilhantemente em obras de arte póstumas. Mas aquelas não são as ocasiões que promovem o suicídio nacional. Depois desses eventos os países se recuperam – o povo se recupera. Eles reconstroem, se reconciliam. Eles perdoam.
Não, o suicídio nacional é um processo muito mais longo – não o produto de um momento qualquer. Em vez de rapidamente, surge uma má ideia, depois outra, depois outra e outra e outra e outra e as rodas que movem o país começam a atolar lenta, lentamente, ferrugem cobrindo suas outrora brilhantes estruturas. Revolução – fria e raivosa. Ódio, como estratégia política. Lei, usada para dividir e conquistas. Regulação usada para punir. Eleições usadas para pavimentar a ditadura. Corrupção sangrando a vida em pequenas gotas, enchendo os baldes de uma sucessiva linha de burocratas antes deles perecerem, somente para serem substituídos mais uma vez e de novo. Isso é o que é memorável acerca da Venezuela. Em minha defesa – fraca como pode ser – eu sempre tentei lutar contra o suicídio, de uma forma ou de outra. Eu ainda penso que o estou fazendo, sendo minha pena a última forma de resistência. Mas como Dagny Taggart, descobri que não havia mais nada para lutar contra – tudo era uma confusão gosmenta de ressentimento e desculpas. “Você não deveria fazê-lo.” Eu disse. E novamente, “Essa lei não vai pegar”, e “essa eleição não vai trazer liberdade”, enquanto, também, “o que você está planejando não vai trazer prosperidade – e a única igualdade que você vai encontrar será na fila do pão”. E eu não estava sozinho; um exército de pessoas mais espertas que eu apontaram publicamente em jornais e em fóruns de discussão e nas telas da televisão e nos encontros comunitários e nas campanhas políticas que o resultado seria somente o suicídio nacional, coletivo. Ninguém estava escutando.
Então eu me afastei. Fui ajudar Uganda a se recuperar depois de uma guerra civil de 25 anos – esvaziando os acampamentos e ajudando o povo a recuperar sua vida novamente. Eu ajudei na recuperação da democracia no Mali e ajudei a pavimentar um processo de paz nacional. Eu escrevi três novelas. Eu me mudei, e mudei, e mudei de novo. Eu amei minha esposa; nós tiramos férias. Visitamos Marrakesh, e Cairo, e Zanzibar e Portugal e o Grand Canyon. Fizemos cirurgias. Eu tive um filho. Ensinamos nosso filho a sentar, engatinhar, andar e correr; a cantar e a gritar e a falar palavras como “clorofila” e “fotossíntese”. A nomear os planetas um a um, a escrever seu nome.
E tudo enquanto o lento e agonizante suicídio continuava.
E sempre, nas manhãs, enquanto tomava café eu abria o meu computador para documentar, pelo menos para mim mesmo, o próximo incidente no longo e trágico suicídio venezuelano. Eu conversava com meus amigos, que continuavam tentar a explicar aos inconsequentes porque sua miséria é um resultado direto de uma má ideia construída sobre o último pavimento de um edifício de estupidez. Bons homens e mulheres que presos num debate de duas décadas do qual não há escapatória. Eu rezava silenciosamente para o próximo numa longa fila de presos políticos. Eu olhava para as fotografias de lugares que eu conhecera – praias onde eu fora e restaurantes que eu já frequentara, cobertos por lixo ou fechados e fedendo. Eu assistia os vídeos dos saques noturnos aos supermercados que fossem afortunados o bastante para terem algum estoque de qualquer coisa.
Hoje à noite não há luzes. Como Nova Iorque do romance “A Revolta de Atlas”, de Ayn Rand, os olhos do país foram retirados para alimentar os mendigos famintos em ocupações de prédios abandonados onde outrora foram luxuosos apartamentos. Eles culpam o clima – o governo culpa – como os pajés de antigamente que faziam sacrifícios para os deuses da natureza na esperança de uma intervenção. Não há comida também, eles dizem às pessoas para racionarem, para criarem galinhas nos terraços de seus outrora glamourosos apartamentos. Não tem água – e eles dão lições na TV estatal de como lavar um copo de água. O dinheiro não vale nada, o povo agora paga com batatas, se as puderem encontrar. Doutores operam iluminados pela lanterna de seus smartphones, quando há energia suficiente para recarregá-los. Sem anestesia, claro – ou antibióticos, como nos dias antes da invenção da medicina moderna. Os serviços de telefonia foram cortados – logo será também a internet e haverá toda aquela aspersão de trevas, que cairá sobre uma terra selvagem.
A maratona da destruição está quase terminada, o sangue vital da nação quase já se foi. Não, não há nada de heroico ou épico aqui, ruínas acontecendo são um triste assunto – enviuva-se com o confortável manto do tempo, que empresta-lhe o fascínio e a inevitabilidade. E assistir a tudo isso foi, para mim, uma das maiores tragédias da vida.
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Joel, I am ex-Pdvsa and Gente del Petroleo. Your article has moved me to tears. La verdad como un templo.
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Saludos Michelle.
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Thanks! Thank you so much for take your time and write about my country. Thank you for become the voice of many of us who can no speak loud! #FreedomForVenezuela! 💛💙💔 😢
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Watching your once-great-nation commit suicide and not being able to do anything is heartbroken. The massive emigration wave of Venezuelans abandoning the country in search of better opportunities and quality of life is overwhelming. Our country is bleeding, starving, drowning… is dying slowly.
Great article Joel, thank you.
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Pingback: The Suicide of Venezuela | Joel D. Hirst’s Blog | Dano Dare Speak
Your post is one of the best things I’ve read about my country. Many radicals might say this isn’t true and they will rely on insults just to make their point (because the government brainwashed them into hating capitalist countries and people who doesn’t support their ideas, for no reason). Sadly my country IS dying, and we’re running in a dead-end alley.
I’ll share your words with everyone. You earned my attention and you won a new follower.
Best regards!
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Thank you Ivan. Yes, I’ve been insulted quite a bit. No worries. I pray for Venezuela!
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Thank you for your reflections. Complicity of international banks say that this tragedy was not exactly “Made in Venezuela”. Hope to reaad your analysis on the countries involved, and how they did it.
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This is so sad, and it reads as tho it could have been prevented by the same people who caused it. Not the citizens trapped by the decay, but by the politicians and beurocrats that purposed and lied, clawing their way to the top of the heap. Only to flee as the pile of rot began to flee, leaving only the helpless citizenry to wallow in their filth. In a way it seems to precursor our own sad state of affairs in the good old US of A. Think it can’t happen here? Look around at what is happening to our country … Where we were just 50 years ago and where we are at now. If you are honest about what you see, it will alarm you. It should cause you to stop & think how can our fate be averted? Is it all in vain?
What about our government, democracy?
What about our ideals, our sense of national pride? Wake up America … we see the writing on the wall.
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As a Venezuelan who has fled the country looking for a life, I tell you, you couldn’t have depicted it clearer. I read it and feel so bad for the family that I still have left in the country, knowing that their only future is that of the cubans in the 1960’s who didn’t see it coming.
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Thanks for this acute assessment of the tragedy we venezuelans are enduring as I write this note. Please keep writing about this subject, it will help us make a recovery. The suicide of Venezuela will certainly be a study subject in the future, the way-not-go when a nation wants a change; and the confirmation that socialism badly applied, is the fastest way to arrive at hell here on earth.
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Very cruel and very sad to read your lines, but they reflect a reality that I still can’t understand how we came to this… What only we have left is hope… I still hang to the idea that we don’ lose it !
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If you have ever wondered why people, even with good intentions, keep piling up one bad decision upon the others, consider reading this analysis: On Problem Solving and Design. http://sifter.org/~simon/journal/20121123.h.html
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I wonder Joel if the leftists in control of Venezuela imagined that their policies would somehow result in a different outcome “this time” than where they have been tried and failed in so many other ruined societies. I even wonder sometimes if they do know what their policies are going to produce ( a collapsed and ruined society) and don’t have some ulterior motive for going ahead and doing it anyway. Weird, I know and still I wonder.
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Its a constant wondering of mine as well.
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How’s that Socialist government working out? They should have voted for the Jew! But the Jew probably would have been assassinated by Maduro’s malandros! Henrique Capriles Radonski, is it too late to save Venezuela?!! #PrayersForVenezuela. A political, economic and spiritual tragedy has slowly unfolded before our eyes. Thank you Joel for this sensitive and powerful article. I was brought to tears.
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So tragic and it seems people are deaf and dumb to the cause of this—–
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Yes, we do not understand but corruption always brings destruction…..may the people call on the living God and repent, than God will be merciful, we believe sol
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Can i translate your article to spanish and share it somehow?
Greets, from Venezuela with no electricity for the next 4 hours, 2 hours of water each 2 days, mosquitoes rounding my head and no insecticide to fight them, and a mobile internet that peaks 1Mbps, if i have luck… this is disgrace.
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Can i translate your article to spanish and share it somehow?
Greets, from Venezuela with no electricity for the next 4 hours, 2 hours of water each 2 days, mosquitoes rounding my head and no insecticide to fight them, and a mobile internet that peaks 1Mbps, if i have luck… this is disgrace…
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Of course, thank you.
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Very nice article, exactly what I was looking for.
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Wonderful writing, a terrible tragedy. Where can I find more info to substantiate this significant sounding decline. The United States is also being led down a destructive path and friends say England’s local politics are a sham.
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Reblogueó esto en Carlosmixares's Blogy comentado:
HUELGA NACIONAL O ERES COMPLICE O COLOMBIANO
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sadly Brazil is taking the same road…
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very descriptive, lavish in fact..But what is going on there..? What brought all this on?
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I lived with my wife and children in Caracas in the mid 90s. We loved it in spite of the dangers at that time. But I have watched in disbelief everything that has transpired since. Thanks for the great article. You are a fantastic wordsmith.
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Thank you.
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Excellent article. I lived and worked in Caracas during 30 years and left in 2003. I foresaw the incoming tsunami and warned people as much as I could. To no avail. But this wonderful country will survive !!
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On the dot, but not entirely. The suicide will bring the renaissance of a fruitful Venezuela that, if it all goes as planned, will bring back its “riquezas” not only spiritually for the wonderful people of Venezuela but also for the generations to come. This is suicide is the needed evil the country needs for the better.
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From your lips to God’s ears.
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Robert Y. Stebbings. I correctly identified Chavez at the very beginning for what he was. I was wrong in assuming that the nightmare would have ended and been fixed by now. I still have hope for my beloved Venezuela and for my many Venezuelan friends.
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More than 15,years ago, I saw Venezuela while on business travels there. Horrible to compare my good memories to those conditions you accurately describe exist now. And am starting to get impressions that America may have also started on a similar downhill slide. God help us.
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We had guests from that country ride here with us in South Africa last year – young guys who told us all about it. Very sad. thanks for the insightful feature. Very sad…
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I still get sad when I read every day about my born country Venezuela, it is even worse when people you know tell you directly about it, you don’t need to read it anywhere. Thank you for your words, despite very little number of people care about what you’ve described, not even some of those living the situation seem to care, they are so blinded by 20 years of brainwashing Socialism, after ~40 more years of other kind of the same Socialism.
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Reblogueó esto en How to s..t on humansy comentado:
This summarizes perfectly what has been going on in Venezuela. It’s heartbreaking, because I saw it coming, but all these years I kept hoping I was wrong.
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There should be a way to stop this tragedy !
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Phones have been cut, people pay with potatoes? One of the factors that degrade Venezuela is this grossly exagerated story telling agains´t the country that scares tourists and investors. Yes Joel, it is a disaster but that no reason to blow it out of proportion. Thanks for that.
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Have to agree with Dalo 2013 Joel, your writing has a certain intensity. I’m not experienced in Venezuela but I’ve seen elsewhere the early stages of the malaise you describe. It’s agonizing.
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Overseas Venezuelans and those who lived in that hospitable, generous and rich country have watched from far its descent into Dantesque hell. It is very frustrating not to be able to remedy the situation- actually inimaginable for us to think of Venezuela as a hopeless country. Thank you for your words
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So sad. Thank you.
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Sounds a lot like cities in the Rust Belt as well, Detroit in particular. Wonderful perspective. Thank you for sharing.
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Mr. Hirst. Thank you for the article and a clear description of the death of a country. You use the word ‘suicide’. I was not there to see it as you were, but based on what I have read, I think Venezuela’s death was a homicide. Venezuela was murdered. Its intellectuals were the killers and their murder weapon was socialism. You mention the novel Atlas Shrugged and its central character, Dagny Taggart. For me, that novel carefully elucidates errors which, if continued unabated, could lead to something very similar here in America. When you see a socialist like Bernie Sanders telling us that we ‘don’t need 23 kinds of deodorant’, I think he’s dealing out the very same socialist poison which, when fully implemented politically, socially, and culturally, with the then inevitable grinding poverty and unrelenting tyranny, eventually murdered Venezuela.
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Joel, in the late 80’s I had the great fortune to work on a ship that docked in La Guaira every week. We would stay for a full day. Often we would make the 45 min. van taxi ride to Caracas. It was such a fun place and full of lovely people. I made many friends in the port and just loved the place. Then one day we were not allowed to dock due to protesting in the streets. We could see buildings and cars on fire and people on the docks waving for help. All we could do was sail away. I never got to see any of my friends as our port of call was changed and we never went back to L.G.. I wrote to all of them, over 20 people, but never got a single reply back. It is so sad what has happened to such a lovely place. 😦
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Sadder still are the American Leftists in denial, claiming all the while that nothing is wrong, despite evidence to the contrary.
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I was married to a Venezuelan for 31 years until his death in 2006. I lived there for 25 years in Caracas, Cabimas and finally 22 years in Merida. I still have many friends and frozen property there. You write eloquently of the crumbling of this beloved second country of mine.
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very handsome way to describe the situation, props for you to be able to recap almost everything in such way. thanks
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El problema es que esa enfermedad que lleva a Venezuela al exterminio se tomo sudamerica, hasta el momento solo Argentina ha logrado sacudírsela, pero Brasil, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, la joya de la corona Colombia, se han hundido hasta las fauces y habrá que tomar mucho impulso para lograr salir de este marasmo que nos trajo H. Ch., con sus petro-dolares y sus compras de consciencias
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I left a comment, yesterday, on the article, but it was not published. What happened?
Olga Lavieri
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Dear Mr Hirst, unfortunately I have to agree in the fact that my country is being destroy or committing suicide as you very well put it. I wish you could have seen the kind of country we had in the 60″s, 70’s, 80’s and even early 90’s. It is certainly shameful for us venezuelans to witness all of this, but that is what happens when a society irresponsibly elect individuals such as Hugo Chavez, a military satrap that jumped to the political arena of my country during a failed coup attempt in 1992.
Since then, or even before that, this “destruction” process is being carried out by “manu military” with the sole intention of ransack the national treasure and perpetuate themselves in power.
Our countries will prosper and reach a respectable level as civilized nations, the day we as citizens decide to abolish the military, as they did in Costa Rica, and invest all that money in the education system of our youth.
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Simon, I actually did live in there in the 1990s. It was a lovely country. I hope it will be again!
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Excellent article. You don’t mention the rampant crime and murders that happen daily. Venezuela is a very scary place. My daughter was there with her boyfriend 2 years ago when he played winter baseball. When they traveled the countryside they had to be escorted with their own bodyguards all of whom carried automatic weapons.
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Born ans raised in Venezuela, lived through the 70s, 80s and 90s when this country was one of the most attractive to be living on, not only due to its economic growth but also for its espectacular sights, its really sad to have witness how the last 17 years of “Revolution” has been able to destroy so much in this relative small time frame. Few people have so well expressed what this beautiful country has been going through as Mr. Hirst.
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thank you
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I am a venezuelan citizen, I still live here in Venezuela, I am trying to escape from here ( getting my papers ready), trying to make it on time before it is just impossible (“too” late, it is, already). Some how I`ll manage. It is sad to recognize that the reason of this colapse is simple stupidity, chronically mantained. No war, not a natural disaster, just a failed society; one that was cheerful, modern and “part of the world” not long ago… A medical professional, with two postgrades and more than 15 years of experience can’t afford one plane ticket abroad; but that’s not the problem; problem is that the airlines don’t want to stop here anymore. I am glad to know that people from other countries understand what is going on here in Venezuela. Thank you for your sympathy towards our people. Best wishes.
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One of the most intelligent (though heartbreaking) analysis I’ve read about Venezuela. The harsh reality in every sentence.
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While I was reading, I though for a moment that you were writing about Greece. You see the current goverment of Greece (a left wind party) was very very font of the Venezuael model just a few moths ago…
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A current lesson to be added to those ancient. Yet, in the US and elsewhere, we are sliding towards the same. This was a great read and one I will share.
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thank you
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Your writing in this piece elicits such powerful images and emotions in my heart and mind. And yet, it is the way things seem to go. Then they are gone. What a travesty, and what a tragedy.
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Thank you, it is sad!
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As a person that once believed in the promise of this revolution, I´d ike to answer back to this blog in anger and rage…
But you know…
You’re damn right.
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Sorry Eduardo. In this case, being right brings me no joy 😦
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Reblogged this on budbromley and commented:
Artfully said description of the suicide of Venezuela. The trend is underway in America too.
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Once a very beautiful country. Destroyed by little evil minds, supported by a mob of clueless unfortunates.
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Very artfully said. Another collectivist society is biting the dust. This sad tale has been dripping off the economic cliff since before the 1983 Pan American Games in Caracas. They couldn’t finish the facilities due to the incessant negotiations for bribes. Then they devalued the currency 30% immediately after the games. But as elsewhere, Venezuela’s oligarchy was all along enabled and re-enabled by big bankers, really supranational slavers, with their giant loans for which they received big bonuses and were guaranteed against sovereign risk. The super-rich are still there in their guarded, walled enclaves, with their yachts and private planes, between trips to Miami, the Bahamas and Switzerland. And the U.S. is not far behind.
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Beautiful and poignant essay on the successful socialization of a country.
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Yes is massive suicide of a whole society. There is no better word to describe what is happenning.
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Totally true,Joel,i lived in that country and whitnesses all that you said,and a lot of more bizarre things,promoted and allowed by the mojority of the people,i dont want to be harsh or rude but the people of that country are a case for study anthropological,intelectual,social,and more,sorry but its very hard to understand how stupid,manipulatable,ingenous and ignorant some people could be,that its their own fault,there are so much to talk about this theme but i cant say it,and lees in public media,thanks for your article its very good.
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Joel, your writing is excellent; the subject matter painful though it is. Thanks for putting into (English) words what my Venezuelan wife and I have been trying to communicate to others for years. I’m sorry you have had to watch this, but you are correct about how a civilization ends itself – I pray I’m not seeing it happen to my own country as we speak.
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Thank you – it was not easy to write
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Joel: Perhaps you’d like to visit Puerto Rico before the same destiny befalls us.
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i would love to visit puerto rico! best of luck in your fight for fiscal sanity.
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Reblogged this on Chaos Theory and Pharmacology.
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Venezuela has been declining since early 1980’s maybe longer.
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sadly….all true…..thank you…from venezuela
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It is not easy to evaluate Venezuela. Yes, oil has been a factor of growth, prosperity, modernization, as well as corruption. However, the country also mas educated a small partt of the population which is eager to obtain growth and development through a mode4rnization of the country. The problem facing Venezuela today is that through a democratic process, the general pospulation elected the wroung candidate and for the last 17 years this group of left wing military and communist politicians hace ruled the country by having absolute power and by discounting the democratic process and its institutions. Many have rationalized that this 17 year period, which will extend itself to the year 2019, is a transitional period necessary in Venezuela´s history because those in government before became soft, corrupt and ignored the fundamental problems of the co7untry, including, a very large poor population. The future of Venezuela will depend on those courageous Venezuelans willing to correct what went wroung and making sure that the country get on track as soon as possible. It is possible that agricultute, tourismj, fishing and ming cash flows in Venezuela will never substitute the cash that comes from exporting oil. However, oil will continue to contribute to Venezuela´sgrowth. Maybe not as much as before but yes in a less prominent fashion. Countries have their ups and downs. However, Venezuela is not a small country, has natural resources in abundance and is well situated. What it needs to stress is the rule of law, technological education and values. The subject is one for debate and analysis. In retrospect, no one really knows how to foresse the future. True, life is Venezuela today is not an example for any country to follow. Sincerely, it is sad not to say discouraging.
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Self government will not work without self disciple. In a democratic society, when the ignorant, indolent and morally bankrupt, outnumber the educated, industrious, and principled, dictatorial socialism is inevitable.
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I’m from Venezuela, I live here. I do not know how to write in English, excuse me please for doing so. I see my country die day after day and you describe it in clear and crudely. Your words made me cry, these are sad, these are hard, they are all true. Thanks for being a non-silent witness.
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Thank you and God Bless! We will see better days!
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Interesting that you should quote Ayn Rand. Would you consider yourself a follower of her political beliefs?
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I am not an objectivist per say. But I do have a lot of sympathy for lots of her philosophical beliefs.
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“No, national suicide is a much longer process – not product of any one moment. But instead one bad idea, upon another, upon another and another and another and another and the wheels that move the country began to grind slower and slower; rust covering their once shiny facades. Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips, filling the buckets of a successive line of bureaucrats before they are destroyed, only to be replaced time and again.”
When you describe the national suicide of Venezuela, it makes me wonder. Could that happen here in the US? Is it happening now?
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As a Venezuelan I found this heartbreaking as I’m living it and you got close to what our reality is like here… on top of what you’ve said I’d add the fact that life is worthless since almost 90% go unpunished and that’s why we’ve got one of the highest murder rates in the world even though we’re not at war with any other country 😦
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Yes it does sound horrid. What we in the US will become. Too much money going from working people to those who choose not to work. Trying to hold poverty at bay in countries other than our own. Borrowing money from other governments to shore up the farce we are in. I only hope I will expire before the true suffering going on in Venezuela comes closer to my life.
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Joel, he llorado al leer su relato. Soy venezolana, vivo en mi país; y experimento con gran dolor la desintegración de mi entorno todos los días. Es muy duro.
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Gracias! Lo siento por lo que estan pasando! Tengo confianza que pronto encontraran la libertad!
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I think suriname that is also in south america is at the beginning stages of this same phenomenon
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My childhood in Ciudad Piar, Estado Bolivar, during the late 60s and early 70s when Venezuela was becoming the crown jewel of Latin America, was wonderful. I will always be thankful to my parents who took the risk of moving us a small town at the end of the (rail)road. The demise of Venezuela is heartbreaking to Venezuelans and to two generations of gringo-criollo kids with Venezuelan hearts. We weep.
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Yes we do
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The message, sad. The execution of your message, inspirational. You are a gifted writer, and apparently one with heart.
Family members are stuck there. I hope it improves, but just wish I could help them out.
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Thank you Joan!! I hope your family is safe.
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I have been to Venezuela twice, and love the people there. I never would have believed that Chavez and his continuing policies with Maduro could damage the country the way they have. It is truly heartbreaking. Your description is vivid and real. I’m just hoping that better management of the sale of oil will be enough to turn things around.
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Cormac McCarthy, watch out! Ya know, this makes The Road sound uplifting…”A play in two acts”, that’s trite, try “An act in two plays”, for a change…
Ok, having put those musings out of the way, I agree with most of what you say here…but the future is unwritten…I think Venezuela can pull out of the deadly tailspin…shit, Zimbabwe could, partially…Chavez is dead and Maduro clearly on his way out…as an optimist I will say: Venezuela is not Cambodia, yet…but not for lack of trying…something in our national character resisted, has resited and will resist, the full-on descent into “Killing Fields” madness Maduro and Chavez tried to precipitate…or at least, I hope so…
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The leftist murderers of civilization may be dead or going, but their poisonous ideals live on. Theirs is a philosophy of envy, hate, and grudges, a blind, grasping spiteful savagery that is based on pulling others down instead of lifting them up.
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So where is Ragnar Danneskjold? If there was a time for this individual I would love to see him emerge…
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Sad state of affairs indeed, Joel. It is inevitably happening slowly elsewere. I can relate everything you said to South Africa. Very, very interesting. Thank you Sir.
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Thank you
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I was in Caracas in June 2001–I was 17 and graduated a week before leaving for a short term mission trip. I still have the imprints of armed MP one most street corners of the city; spending time in the barrios; and seeing the very wealthy and very poor co-exist with no middle class in between them–no real infrastructure. Oh! And I can’t forget no water on Thursdays. Imagine 500 teenage girls and 100 teenage guys, and no ability to shower….gross! We managed, but what I saw and experienced there will forever be etched in my brain. Some good, some not so much. And the current path of the country of Venezuela is truly heart wrenching.
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As a Venezuelan who got so disappointed that lost all possible patriotism. As a Venezuelan that one day just could not bear it more and moved abroad because reality became so tight: the “country” or my mental health, the “country” or my life… That your appreciation touched me as almost cry. Venezuela is now a terminal patient from the most humble citizen to our majestic waterfall. Even if a miracle would happen, I wonder about post-traumatic stress which it is far more worst than re-build a building, and you well know that I am not at all exagerating because speaking just for myself it took a year to me to clean, to unplug, yet some reminiscent stay… I hope Venezuela will be like the Ave Fenix.
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Awesome. This could well be about Zimbabwe , South Africa etc. What is wrong with human beings – we never learn from each other
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What’s wrong is that too many people believe “it would work if the right people were in charge.” Repeated failures of this type of political system are blamed on the people running it, not the numerous faults of the system itself.
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The idealists and the idiots
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This is one of the saddest article i have ever encounter about my country. This is the reality putting in words. It makes me sad the fact nobody cares bout this. How a few brought Country down and how none of their citizen has done anything to stop this. Makes me cry to be honest.
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Why should anyone care? They have brought this upon themselves. When you vote to take what others have worked hard for to give it to those who have done nothing don’t be surprised when those who have anything left get up and leave. Reagan’s words ring true around the world “Gov’t is not the solution to your problems. Gov’t is the problem.”
While the People of Venezuela go to bed starving, I’m certain those in the gov’t have not missed a meal yet!
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Nope – they are indeed fat and happy.
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For those of the younger set and tragically too many who are old enough to know better, if you want to see what a Bernie Sanders (and Hilary) would do to THIS country, look no further than Venezuela. And Cuba, North Korea, Zimbabwe . . .
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This is one of the reasons why I don’t understand people who think Ayn Rand’s writing wasn’t realistic.
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Trudat!!
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Reblogged this on Jusd and commented:
De zelfmoord van Venezuela, een voetnoot in de Nederlandse media.
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I read this and see the same thing happening to some degree in the US, As soon as other nations decide there is an alternative to the $US and as we progress to no longer making things we will slowly start to see the US follow the same path as other great nations and civilizations.
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Yes USA and the USD will eventually
Implode as the American Dream becomes a nightmare.
To put a time scale of when would be
speculation…sooner the better !
Power returns to the old world
EU…some say it never left to go west.
Debt and corruption will destroy most
economies…politics a major contributory factor.
It’s not communism v capitalism v
socialism …,
More globalisation…too big to fail🇺🇸
We shall see
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Pingback: Outside in - Involvements with reality » Blog Archive » Moron bites (#12)
“,,,,,I never expected to witness the slow suicide of a country, a civilization. I suppose nobody does…….”
An incredibly naive remark and demonstrates ignorance (willful or otherwise) of history.
Just look at Cuba; they committed suicide in 1959. Venezuela, whose leadership worships Castro, are in the process of “Cuba-nizing” Venezuela. And do not for one minute think it is not totally intentional.
Recall that the destruction of the middle class is one of the basic tenets of the Marxist -Leninist religious ideology. (This ideology is the excuse, the fraud, the lie, that absolute dictators feed the gullible masses; you know, free this, free that, etc., while the very, very small group of ruling elites live like absolute royalty, wanting for nothing).
Other nations that not that long ago committed suicide (and some have since resurrected themselves, sort of ) are the former USSR; ALL of Eastern Europe betwixt 1945 and 1990; German and Italy from about 1933 (much earlier in Italy) to 1945.
Chile, long, long ago would be where Cuba is today, if Allende had not been killed; thank god he was. This act saved Chile from the “Cuban” fate. Its too bad the Germans had not done likewise in knocking off Hitler; imagine the misery that would have been avoided !
And here at home, we have the mass crowds shouting support for our own, home grown Marxist Leninist, who actually honeymooned in the USSR (about 40 years AFTER it was very well know that Lenin and Stalin had EXTERMINATED between 20 MILLION AND 50 MILLION SOULS). Little Hitlers like Sanders actually believe that all that is necessary to eradicate poverty and create his heaven on earth utopia here in the USA – despite the 100000% perfect record of its failure wherever and whenever it has been tried – is the application of HIS intellect to sort out the problems here in the USA.
Oh, don’t forget all the freebies we are all to obtain under his plan.
Yep, folks, something for nothing !!
The real danger in any representative democracy is that the people can vote for a national suicide; a la Venezuela. The demagogues have the skills to divide and conquer the citizenry; they know who to blame for a nation’s ills and, most of all, they promise the masses “heaven on earth.”
And of course, the demagogues oft times seem to have exceptional public speaking skills (e.g., Castro, Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Obama, Chavez, etc) that raise the emotions of the masses and move them to action (voting, rioting, demonstrating, etc).
To accomplish their goals the demagogues must rely on an ignorant citizenry who do not think beyond “Step 1;” (e.g., free stuff, wow !! but who is going to pay for it? why will anyone work if 90% of their wages are confiscated?) and greedy, arrogant, elitist politicians who worship the image they see when staring in a mirror.
A female Austrian, imprisoned in a Nazi prison during WWII for communist agitation said the following to a fellow prisoner ; ” communism is nothing more than the proper application of national socialism.”
Think about this comment. In an unguarded moment, a hard core communist revealed that in essence, there is zero difference betwixt fascism and communism. (Not a surprise of course; the top rungs of the Nazi leadership freely admitted they were socialists. They hated capitalism, defining it a “jewish” thing).
And to whom did this Austrian communist say this? To a fellow prisoner, an American, imprisoned for spying, who by some miracle of bureaucratic ineptitude, escaped the firing squad and survived the war.
Nations commit suicide ALL THE TIME !!! It is nothing new and it recurs frequently throughout history. Do not be surprised if Venezuela is joined by other nations – jumping off a cliff – well within all of our lifetimes.
You can count on it.
By the way, who is the wealthiest female in all of Venezuela??
The daughter of Hugo Chavez !!
You know Hugo Chavez, the ex-president and father of the Venezuelan “revolution.”
The guy who said, “being rich is bad;” (jeez, sounds like Bernie Sanders) .
Rest assured that Maduro and his fellow thugs are looting the Venezuelan treasury and have millions stashed away in Andorran or Swiss bank accounts, just like Ms. Chavez. Yep, they have plenty of toilet paper and never have to wait for HOURS on supermarket lines only to find empty store shelves.
But hey, it’s OK. You see they are revolutionaries, leftists, communists. So it’s OK they live like royalty; they want for nothing. Just like Castro.
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John
Wonderful writing..music to my ears.
Could not improve on the insightful
thinking of a visionary with purpose….
Re-write history which is too often
written by the victors…
Post WW2 the spoils of war were
divided by the victors. USA uk France
and Russia.
Stalin was Hitlers buddy until judas
betrayed Jesus …history repeats itself
Again and again …William S💤💤💤
Wonderful read
Thanks
Lord Kamtan aka Compton de Castro
BG-UK-Spain (EU flag of convenience)
Citizen of planet earth..(Rome?😈)
Salud
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Look no further than Detroit! Our own country is in many ways following suit. We even have a presidential candidate suggesting printing more money to hand out to the poor.
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So powerful this piece. I have tried for 15 years to explain what is happening to our neighbors, nobody is listening, I come off like a lunatic, too passionate, frustrated that we will not even try to learn from this excellent example of what not to do. Then the appealing message of Bernie Sanders to the young in America make it clear to me that all is indeed lost.
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Greetings:
Would I be wrong to assume that you haven’t been to the USofA lately ??? It seems to me that many of those pieces you mentioned are in place and moving forward in their detrimental way.
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Under the Democratic Socialist Agenda America is following next. Time to WAKE UP.
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So well-written.
My parents lived there, in Caracas, for some months in the 1980s. They were made of such tough stuff but could not handle the heat nor the daily riots of teachers not paid in a year. “Worst place on Earth” mum said. “Worse than Peru.”
So corrupt then and mired in hate now.
Chickens and potatoes.
My God, how sad.
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Bless you too!
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I was lucky enough to live in Caracas from 1997-2001 and absolutely loved every minute. Such a lush & vibrant city, beautiful, happy people who loved life. This makes me so very sad.
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When a thing like this happens so deliberately, over such a long period of time, you can only call the eventual outcome Justice. We hate to say it, and it is sad that so many poor people will suffer and die, but they are the same ones that were overjoyed to accept all the free goodies Chavez was passing out.
Venezuela, and Venezuelans, richly deserve every ounce of the misery being heaped on them. They asked for it, they worked for it, now they got it. The intelligent and driven ones will realize that it is long past time to leave, and that they can only look forward to a generation or two of servitude in a different country before they can ever hope for their descendants to live a more leisure life again.
I think Joel has realized that the situation has gone too far; there is no come back from this, there will be no recovery for Venezuela. It has become a failed state, and it will not be rebuilt – it is too far gone.
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Lino used the word that I wanted to use, agonizing, Venezuelan situation is sad, is like to watch a relative hurting himself, painful. Joel, if you write about Honduras, about the violence that kills thousands of humans, about the institution of corruption as the first form of government, about the “Non War” on drugs, probably we will be reading about another slow suicide, happening just now.
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Great article brilliantly written
Reality
Thank you people especially here in Trinidad need to read.
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Thank you
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I live in Venezuela. I’m an architect. I am 69 years, three children, two grandchildren and one on the way. I have not done an architectural project in 17 years. I have not built something important in 17 years. I see no other future for Venezuela beyond sadness, hunger and desolation. All this is the result of two Cuban dinosaurs who managed to buy the conscience of dozens of Venezuelans who wanted to possess envious what others had earned by the sweat of his brow … Today everyone steals everyone … and the country falls apart … we struggle to rescue him, but when we expelled the invaders and captured the corrupts will only have ashes and nothing to lift … it’s very sad, very sad …
Yo vivo en Venezuela. Soy arquitecto. Tengo 69 años, tres hijos, dos nietos y uno en camino. No he hecho un proyecto de arquitectura en 17 años. No he construido algo importante en 17 años. NO veo otro futuro para Venezuela más allá de la tristeza, el hambre y la desolación. Todo esto es producto de dos dinosaurios cubanos que lograron comprar la conciencia de decenas de venezolanos envidiosos que quería poseer lo que otros habían ganado con el sudor de su frente… Hoy todos roban a todos… y el páis se cae a pedazos… luchamos por rescatarlo, pero cuando hayamos expulsados a los invasores ya apresado a los corruptos solo habrá cenizas y nada que levantar… es muy triste, sumamente triste…
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Stay strong! Better days will come!
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Your writing is poetic, and powerfully moving. I beg to differ with your assessment of a “suicide”. In my humble opinion, It is a slow but continuous genocide. Not enough, I fear to wake the silent continent of complacent partners in crime. I shudder at the descriptives which really do not describe how deep the fissures are in a once thriving country, the fissures of a broken society in emotional and moral ruin. I never thought I would witness such destruction and devastation in a place with no bombs falling upon its civilians. I sincerely thank you for your care and interest, and also share your prayers in the hope that we may miraculously rise as the Phoenix from the ashes, perhaps in time for my granddaughter to witness.
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Dear Gents, the problem that most Venezuelans is the show and the bluff of themselves in particular if you are and Government Official , Military or not.. that provoke The envy of all against all .
We are from an Hard working family and very successful well know constructors and Business family,, as also I did work very hard to do a nice industrial complex with including the most strict emviromental concern politics that are now in place today I was making them 20 years ago and when the Revolutions arrived the corruption also did and as the real Organize Mafia came into power and destroy the Honest and working people first but no one did anything because every one was having a peace of the corruption to acquire dollars, which i never got not even for credit cards.. also is punish by Satan.. because there are many other cultures under cultures that practices Bodo and Black Magic using the name of God.. and is False these Sects are real Mafias that controls most Ministers and Institutions from Government.. ( perverse y pervertidos ) and finally the giants in the world as UK, EU, USA did nothing but gut distracted by some few Islamist instead of watching its Back Yard were is the real damage that will come to Develop Countries as is happening now in EU with North Africa, but also much worst because Venezuela have all the wealthiest commodities in the world no one have in an Country.. so they need lots more punishments until they find the need to regroup as teams to conquer the future and rebuild all as new.. but punishments have to come to all
that have abuse the law .
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Enjoyed your post. You should be thankful you have the mobility to escape and live elsewhere. My children now have tri-citizenship, and while it is possible they may never need the second or third citizenship, at the same time it is valuable to have an escape route when your home country commits suicide, or even to have the choice to live in a place whose collective values best matches your own values.
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I am thankful. We all hope for a better world for our children
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What about foreign governments investing in pro-western campaigns? Or Western backed coup d’etat? The forces at play in Venezuela are more than you describe.
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Reblogged this on 21 & Livin'.
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Thank you
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And yet, there are people who see this and refuse to learn. The real tragedy is that this has happened before, and that it will happen again, and that people will not learn from it.
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Imagine our pain, the ones who are watching from the distance our country dying. We left the country many years ago, but even far from there, we carry the pain and the suffering. Every day is something new that strikes our lives. Another crazy resolution, or decision, or crime. Our friends are dying for no reason; our families don’t have the essentials. It is painful.
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Joel I am very sorry but you are comparing civilisations despairing with a country living a political crisis. Venezuela is a country rich in many resources and it will take years, maybe decades, but for sure the socialistic government is going to fall. Is the way this things work, history is cyclical. Maybe you could compare the situation in Venezuela with how the war destroyed Europe in the last century… Countries like Poland, for instance, were devastated. It took time, but communism faded in Poland as it will sooner than later in Venezuela. Look at Cuba, the Castros won’t last forever either. A friend sent me this article and felt sorry for how bad informed people are in general. Venezuela is going throughout a political war, not an atomic war or something similar in order to talk about the suicide of the country. Very wrong to talk about the suicide of the Venezuelan civilisation… The latter doesn’t make any sense.
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Thank you Vanessa for your thoughts.
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I was fortunate enough to visit Caracas for 9 days in December 1992. Such a beautiful exciting place, so much to see and do, I visited the pantheon, Parque del Este, Simon Bolivar Square, his Birthplace, The gold building, The Cathedral etc etc, we stayed right in the heart of the City, such a wonderful and unique chance to see a part of the World that many people do not get to see, I grieve for everyone in that remarkable City and what it has become, I was hoping many years ago it would turn around and go back to how it was, such a sad state to let this truly wonderful City to crumble.
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Spent 18 years in Venezuela and it saddens me to see government fail such great people !!!
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Incredible descripition. Me, as a Venezuelan and an ESL teacher trying to find a way out of this disaster, I completely agree about what you’re telling. Even worse, I reaffirm everything you said as a living proof of what this 17 years of goverment has damaged. Thank you for opening people’s eyes through this.
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Thank you Francisco! God bless!
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Pingback: The Suicide of Venezuela – by Joel D. Hirst | Guyanese Online
It is scary how what happened in Venezuela seems to be in its early stages here in the USA. Formally known as the land of the free and the brave.
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It is very sad. It feels like you wrote this about my country South Africa! We are going down this same path.
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Chiiling …especially when red by a Greek.
Thank you
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Thank you
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Hi Joel, wow, well…
I am a brazilian, and I am afraid for some time now, watching Venezuela dying in the last decade, that I will see my country go through the same.
You made me sick in the stomach. Powerfull writing.
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Thank you Diego – best of luck with the Olympics and as you seek to protect your freedom!
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Corruption corruption corruption
My grandmother used to say
“The root of all evil”
She could not read or write English
her origins Maderia island colony of
Portugal. Arrived in BG with her
parents and siblings as indentured servants/labourers to replace slaves
after “freedom” !
Today slavery is ever present …
Wealth and power its replacement.
We forgive but should never forget..
only fools do.
Mans inhumanity to mankind.!
Sad fact.
Lord Kamtan
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I knew Venezuela in better days. A beautiful country rich in mineral resources and special wonderful people. What a waste!
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Pingback: Hobby in Bloomberg & Forbes, Korean Air Holds, Venezuela - TravelBloggerBuzz
fantastic, what a sense of reality you have!
i’m living in lisbon at this time as a photojournalist but i’m from a small town and i can find in your text exactly what’s happening there. all you write is in fact kiling my home town. in a smaller scale but what you write about a country happens to the towns too.
thanks
vitor
pswith your permission i will share your text among discussion groups. i still trying to believe i can invert the process
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Thank you – of course share away and translate if you wish.
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Dear Joel, Your article has touched me very deeply, but I really think there’s no perfect place in the world to live. And I’ve lived both in Europe and in the States. I can’t explain why a person in the US would enter a school, and HAVE a gun , and shoot kids. Or a michelin-stared chef suicide. Maybe they’ve lost they purpouse in life. We Venezuelans wake up every mornig with a huge purpouse
A Venezuelan woman
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Thank you Cristina. You are right – it is all our jobs to work where we are for a better world.
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Sad reality. Venezuela my country. And from a distance I can see your destruction. When you leave, 26 years ago, your clothing was different, today you are almost bare, ruined. i cry
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Overseas Venezuelans, and people who lived, or visited Venezuela cannot visualize its transformation into a society of citizens in the times of Lenin. This descent into a Dantesque hell so eloquently described by Dalo, is awful . To watch from far away the coming apart of our hospitable, rich country is sad and totally incredible.
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Dear Joel,
Thank you so much for this wonderful article.
Do you have a Spanish version?
Gracias
Manuel
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I don’t manuel but feel free to translate.
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As an infrequent visitor to Venezuela, I share your grief at what is happening. But at the same time, I have cause to hope. The wonderful people I work with deeply love their country, and they are doing everything they can to help their communities thrive. The Maduro government stands as a testament to human folly: “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men who cannot save” (Ps. 146:3).
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Amen
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i haven’t left, yet… and am suffering this slow, suicidal fall into death of a nation….
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Be careful!
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Currently living in Greece, it is hard to ignore the similarities between the two countries. It seems like we are heading down the same path.
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Mr. Joel, i am from this country you are talking about. It is sad to read what you wrote which is exactly what is happening. I had to leave the country with my family and left relatives and invent a new life in other civilization estrange to ours. This, i think, is also part of this suicide you could include in your analysis. A country who forever received immigrants with open arms, became a country of emigrants, and talented, young people are leaving “the veins” of this corpse to try to live a life somewhere else. Suicide indeed.
Thanks for your words. I hope there is an exit out somewhere, somehow. We deserve it.
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Thank you Jesus – may you find peace, if in a foreign land.
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It’s a long, long time I had not the opportunity to read a sooo powerful, exact, intelligent analysis of an implosion, offered in such a so high philosophical and outstanding literary terms. A lot of sentences aren’t only great but memorable and conjure up the high Mr. Hirst’s level of thinking : “…my friends, who continue to try and explain to the mindless why their misery is a direct result of one bad idea built upon the last in a great edifice of stupidity”. Brilliant !
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Thank you
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Powerful writing Joel. If we in South Africa are not careful we could end up the same way.
Me Malama and his EFF sprout the same nonsense
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Thank you
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You watch and you read and I ask myself did they not see or understand the what the end result would be? You ask how good people have been so stupid. Then you nervously look over the shoulder.
The riots should start soon as the temperature rises and food supplies run out.
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I often wonder about friends and people I worked with in Venezuela in the early to mid 90s. I have no way to track them down, no way to check on their well being. Maybe one day I can locate just one of them and get a means of checking on some of the rest. Surely some of them made their way to the U.S. during those years and can be located.
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What you seem to be chronicling is what is genetically preordained to happen to peoples. That we can only watch and write for future generations but can do little to halt the impending doom. I am not that fatalistic.
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I have become more fatalistic over time.
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Pingback: Venezuela doesn't have enough money to pay for its money - Marginal REVOLUTION
Suicide powered by Dolartoday and massive speculation on goods and services. And, let me guess, the ‘opposition’ is behind all of this. So this is how a country just go nuts. Like USSR; massive speculation, smuggling at borders with the goods taken from stores, monetary devaluation, etc.
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We are experiencing the same process in Greece and we are fast approaching the inevitable nightmarish end game. It’s sad. Really sad.
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I hope you find your way!
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Pingback: 1 – The Suicide of Venezuela
Just change some names and times and you are talking about Europe, my friend. Corruption, hate, one bad idea, upon another, upon another and another and another and another, ….
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Reblogged this on Everything Matters! and commented:
Venezuela, You Matter!
Venezuela, a country where some of my relatives live and I have yet to visit. This incredibly powerful descriptive and emotive writing by Joel D. Hirst, sheds light on the shadow beast that has taking a life form of its own and appears unstoppable.
My heart bleeds.
What corrupted seeds were sown so long ago into the minds of the ancestors, to have such a pestilential beast spread its DisEase and destroy all of its offsprings’ beauty perfection and purity of heart of soul?
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Thank you
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What an incredibly idiotic and alarmist piece. Venezuela is not killing itself nor is it in any way near death. Eventually, the price of oil will rise and GDP will bounce back. Goods will return to the shelves as the nation diversifies its industries and corrects its trade deficit. The Chavista faction is realizing they can’t build a stable industrialized economy on petrol money alone.
Every time a socialist nation experiences poverty people like you will be quick to pipe in saying, “Oh those poor ignorant peasants. If they had only listened to my sage advice and embraced free markets. Why can’t everyone be smart like me and read Atlas Shrugged?” Maybe stick to writing novels and leave the political and social issues to those more qualified, pal.
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Sorry you didn’t like it. All the best.
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Sad to read your comments, that socialist model doesn’t work, and that is all. Cuban or Venezuelan model , it is the same. Socialism or communism only find a place to grow when there is poverty around. In order to survive has to kill or expel smart minds. You can not be right and everybody else wrong.
Time to open you mind.
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John, while the nasty tone of your comments lead one to the conclusion that you are a bit defensive regarding your friend Señor Chavez’s kamikaze political experiment that he called socialist. Socialism works fine, as Maggie Thatcher said, until you run out of other people’s money. Or in Venezuela’s case petrol-dollars. You may want to pick up a history book before you chastise someone for telling the truth.
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I fail to catch the logic behind Steve’s comments/criticisms. Perhaps Steve could explain?
On the other hand, I love the Thatcher comment, thanks.
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What a tragedy. I think it’s the West punishing the impertinence of a socialist experiment.
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What you have written is so true, and we were here in Argentina so near, and we are yet not enough far away. “Revolution – cold and angry. Hate, as a political strategy. Law, used to divide and conquer. Regulation used to punish. Elections used to cement dictatorship. Corruption bleeding out the lifeblood in drips”. This was exactly the way we were walking until December 10th 2015, and that we are trying to retrace nowadays.
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Good luck saving your republic! You are an inspiration.
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Reblogged this on Michael Musgrove and commented:
This describes a future America, if things don’t change soon for the better. All of these conditions are Democrat talking points, however I wouldn’t expect any to be able to see that it describes their policies exactly. When you exist on “Hope” and violently yell “We can,” at everyone when reality and history clearly illustrate you can’t, of course you’re going to think the outcome will be different this time. (That is, if you’re even aware of possible consequences and what’s really going on in the world, which is pretty complex to say the least, so that’s a large set of assumptions.)
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Thank you – so true
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You can’t compare Venezuela’s problems to rule in the USA by a Democratic party.
The 8 years of Bill Clinton were the best years in several generations. The budget was balanced, the economy was good, unemployment was low, crime rates were low, businesses were flourishing, we weren’t fighting useless wars, and people were happy (all except the ones upset about his BJ). I agree that Obama has done nowhere near a similar job, but then he did inherit the mess left by Bush.
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I didn’t. I said the goals, methods and talking points are identical. Also, the state of the Union when Obama took office has nothing to do with his policies, tactics and shortcomings. Your statement has been on a loop now for almost 8 years anyway.
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Nowhere in my comments did I say that Obama did a great job, but at least we are in a far better condition than we were under either of the Bush leaders. Obviously even the majority of Republicans agree with that, resulting in a rapid exit for poor Jeb.
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Joel,
Your article depicts the deterioration as it is,-what a disturbing truth. Thank you for a well written article!
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Thank you loly
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Chavez was in power when I was there, and the decay was just beginning. This was on Margarita Island where tourism was still flourishing because of the beautiful beaches and low prices. Half constructed high-rises were starting to be occupied by squatters with some plywood, and electrical lines running out to a street power pole. They hauled water up in buckets and threw their garbage behind the building. The prices in the grocery store were really low because they were set by the government. We would argue about who got the privilege of filling up the gas tank because it was always less than two dollars.
Now the stores are empty, the tourists are gone, and crime is rampant. Sad to see.
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As a Venezuelan living abroad I express my admiration for your article Joel Hirst. Your words describe in a perfect manner the Apocalipsis of Venezuela. A very sad situation.
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Thank you Judith. God bless you
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Great article!
It reflects exactly what happened and is happenning in Venezuela
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Dear Mr Joel D. Hirst,
Congratulations for your excellent text.
I am a brazilian citizen. I would like to ask you permission for doing a portuguese translation of the text and use of this in social media like Facebook, always refering to the author and to the link of the original text in English, with the idea of preventing Brazil’s suicide!
I have a big concern that we brazilians are walking in the same route as Venezuela, although we are trying do avoid this tragedy.
Thank you very much!
Antonio LimaJr
(As in Facebook profile)
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Of course Antonio – I’m glad that you found it helpful.
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Thank you, very much! The Portuguese translation of your article is in https://antoniolimajr.wordpress.com/2016/04/29/o-suicidio-da-venezuela-autor-joel-d-hirst-traducao-do-artigo-the-suicide-of-venezuela/ and was shared in Facebook.
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Thanks. I’ll repost it to my Brazilian and Portuguese friends. Best wishes!
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That is a powerful bit of writing. I just found your site and am wondering if you would be willing to talk more about the exact things that are being done that are destroying the country. Thank you.
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Thank you. I can prepare that blog if you wish.
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Formal McCarthy: ” all progressions from a higher to a lower order contain ruins and mystery and a residue of nameless rage”
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Joel, your words are like a dagger to the heart, but so true. Everyday I wake up and wonder if at this stage in my life am I going to have to try and start over in another country. I grew up in Maracaibo since the late fifties and I cry when I see what is going on and how blind and stupid people can be. To watch the destruction of a country where I grew up is terrible. This is my home and somehow, it is not my home anymore.
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You’re so right Mr. Hirst.
The frog in the slowly boiling water.
One asks oneself time and time again how this could possibly happen. Will it, could it possibly, happen here (we moved out to Colombia)? I lived in Venezuela for 32 years and saw it all – the riches and then the slow decay and now this – post-decay! My wife, who’s Venezuelan, is in Venezuela now visiting her family. She went laden with food – staples like coffee, sugar, sardines, tuna, some rolls of toilet paper, medicines people here in Colombia gave her to take over. 30 kilos of food for Venezuela! An unimaginable nightmare.
Why oh why?
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I stumbled across this article from a friend on facebook and I shared as well. Eloquently written and a sad state of affairs. Thank you for sharing your observations. Over the past few years, I have grown apathetic to U.S. (where I live) politics as I often feel the general progression towards this end, as seen in Venezuela, is unstoppable–like an ebb and flow of a tide. Why does this happen? Not sure. Perhaps it is that we forget that individual freedoms are so very important and that government, while necessary for some basic reasons such as preserving individual freedoms, is a dangerous master that must be vigilantly and continuously restricted to its core functions. Unfortunately what I see today is America’s youth openly and enthusiastically supporting socialism and openly and enthusiastically bashing capitalism and I do not see any way to stop that.
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Nós, os brasileiros, estamos no mesmo processo destrutivo. Neste momento a esperança é um impeachment. que não sabemos se conseguiremos. É triste. É lamentável ver professores que foram doutrinados pelo ideal comunista doutrinando nossos jovens e crianças.
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You may ask: how could this have happened? The conditions that set the stage for Venezuela to slide from a reasonably prosperous democracy to the current mess was income inequality and the passage of laws favoring the wealthy elite at the expense of everyone else. Eventually poor people and the floundering middle class flocked to a loud-mouthed leader who made impossible promises. There’s a lesson here, America, if anyone’s listening.
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The ultimate truth that hurts ultimately.
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I’d approve your comment except for the cursing
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Sorry – no cursing on my blog
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Pingback: O Suicídio da Venezuela, Autor: Joel D. Hirst – Tradução do artigo “The Suicide of Venezuela” | Para ser sustentável!
You said you visited Cairo not sure when, but I just got back, I can surely replace “Vanisuela” to “Egypt” in you article and may be date it 5 years ago . Great and very touchy.
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Thank you. I was actually in Cairo before the spring – I’m sure it’s very different now.
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Corruption can infect any political system. When it infects capitalism, it is called fascism or corporatism. When it infects socialism, it is called Leninism or Stalinism. When people with good intentions make a government, no matter what economic principles they put behind that government, they often fail to put in place the safeguards that keep corruption out. Even if they do, those with an eye only for themselves will always try to break down or evade those safeguards. Laws get repealed. Loopholes get introduced. Hiring high-paid law firms allow offenders to escape conviction. Information manipulation keeps prosecution from happening in the first place.
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You brought democracy to Mali? This is so deluded I doubt the validity of your views on Venezuela.
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I believe I said “I helped”. Read that blog, I linked to it. It’s also an interesting story.
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Oh and incidentally, I did a good presentation at USIP about this – a few weeks ago you can watch it here on YouTube although it’s sort of long.
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How eloquently written. How utterly sad
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Scares the hell out of me …. feel it in my bones in the USA …. What to do …what to do …..shall I pray … shall I sigh … .. shall I live … shall I die . You struck a cord my brother . Brilliant solid gut wrenching and medicinal.
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Thank you John. “But by the grace of God”. As they say.
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A suicide perpetrated by the government but more accurately an homicide executed against the millions of people who didn’t ever agree to commit suicide and still fight it!
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The suicide of Hugo Chavez’s “permanent majority” perhaps.
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Actually, the Venezuelan people DID commit suicide voting for Chavez and Maduro. Their promise was “you are rich, don’t need to work”. The State will provide. Classic populist theme.
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Venezuela feels the Bern!!!
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Excellent description, sad to admit, but it is so.
Thanks to take some of your precious time to put in a poetic way this dramatic process.
Caracas
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thank you
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Your article put words to my tears…I was born and raised in a beautiful,loving and happy Venezuela,I was lucky enough or should I say, blessed enough to leave with my family ,just before Chavez took possession of the Government.I would like to think that it happened out of good intentions but lack of wisdom.But deep in my heart,I know that in any country,where there is no real possibility to reach your dreams if you are without any economic means not even with hard work or studies, there is no hope for the poor.In a country where the law could be bought by money in everyday life and any permission or document can be achieved by money,so there is no respect for the Law. Sooner or later it was expected to blow up.And Chavez had only to say the right words for a nation mostly unaware of History,mostly lacking of knowledge. Knowledge and respect to the Law could had prevented the terrible fate of my beloved Venezuela.
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Admirable! Thanks for it; as a Venezuelan, I must say it is almost ironic to find better articles on the subject outside my country. I hope you don’t mind I took the liberty to translate it: either way I give you your credits.
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Thank you Ricardo.
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This article made me feel very sad because it is so true, and yes my country is falling apart but it feels more like a very well planned murder than a suicide..
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Reblogged this on Oikonomika Blog.
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Thank you
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What the world needs is more
capitalism but with a conscience
…caring sharing one not fed by the
greed and averice of the human
species.
Animals kill to survive in the wild.
Humans kill for sport or whatever.
We are not instinctive animals
just greedy humans with an uncontrollable appetite for more,
Laws to control that weakness
of the species are essential in
“civilised” societies and rigorously
enforced to ensure a much fairer
society.
Alternative “anarchy”
The law is an ass unless it is
respected.
It’s not capitalism v communism
V socialism or any other ism s.
It’s survival of the most adaptable
of the species.
Darwin re-incarnate.
Lord kamtan
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One only hopes that Sean Penn will read your piece to the end.
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ha! hope springs eternal
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Your analysis is accurate in reflecting our reality but I think the picture is not complete. Chavez/Maduro not only bought the poor people in Venezuela but governments in the entire region. You can see in these times of scarcity, the government hasn’t stop giving away money (although a little less) to Cuba, the Caribbean countries, Bolivia, Uruguay and Nicaragua among others. The Caribbean countries are all of them democracies but any of them have risen a word for the blatant human rights violations in Venezuela. They have an opportunity to clean their shameful attitude voting in the Organization of American States for the application of the Democratic Letter to Maduro. It maybe won’t make Maduro’s government to fall but it may force him yo accept the constitutional Revocatorio referendum the opposition is trying to have this year.
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How do I get off the notification list? The link at the bottom of the hundreds of emails clogging up my inbox doesn’t work!
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not sure, sorry. let me see if I can find out.
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Thank you Joel for lending your talent to express Venezuela’s disgrace.
Coming from the heart, your article will most surely help to open everyone;s eyes to our tragedy.
I am still here and we fight everyday to end this, but the opponent is fierce, rich and corrupted and has no scruples. We will prevail thanks to the help of people like yourself.
Best.
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Thank you, I wish you freedom!
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Joel, your article was interesting but you did not mention that Cuba died before Venezuela and that the Castros were the ones guiding Chavez on how to kill Venezuela….
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That is true. Can’t fit everything in 1000 words.
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I visited Venezuela before Chavez regimen. A fantastic country with a strong industrial development at that time. People were fabulous all over the country. Caracas was unique. We are all to blame for allowing the madness that blasted Venezuela for so many years. And thank god people awakes in Brasil. They were about to follow Venezuela path.
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we are all to blame
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Man, I gather you have little or no emphaty whatsoever with the very idea of survival instinct and hope, coupled with a generous dose of enthusiasm; you’d have to be a venezuelan and be able to feel what people in their own country feel for their country. After this nightmare is over, and this WILL happen this year, I assure you that with a new brand of highly-formed, goal-minded politicians boosted with a respectable injection of fresh money (without going into detail) we, Mr.Hirst, the people of Venezuela, WILL get ahead.
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Amen dude!!!
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…idealistic kakistocracy will once again be the result of “leaders” so free and at large, credentialed with university degrees that focuses their minds solely into the power of man ; idealists with idealistic thinking without the reverence of the Most High Almighty GOD! These blind guides can, with the correct reasonings, armed with all the right reasonings and good intentions can do anything to another. Why? Because the end justifies the means.
IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME when a nation fails to remember the LORD IS GOD!
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Share the god sentiments with you my brother.
Now if I beg God to ‘help’
and he does not
Who do I turn to ?
His evil rival ‘satan’
Or do I despair and commit suicide so as to join him in his
kingdom ASAP…
Sorry think again…
God helps those who help themselves those who cannot
fail to become !
believer
Kamtan
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Wow! ….very well written!
As from the depths of the author’s heartfelt agony the reader cannot help but to feel the pains of generations past, and those to come—the very despair of the posterity. Sad! …Jesus wept.
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Dear Joel,
I’d like to start commenting on your blog by saying that I agree, Venezuela has commited political suicide. However, I disagree with your historical comparisons. I think the Venezuelan phenomenon is rather unique, with only (if any) a small handful of partial parallels in History. I’ll expand on this.
In order for a country to commit suicide such country has to have what we call a modern democracy, one in which its citizens directly elect their authorities. Otherwise they would not be in full control of the political destiny of the nation, therefore not being in principle able to commit suicide. This argument rules out the Romans, who saw their decadence during the imperial period, rather by loosing grip of their own Empire. As regards the Greek, the Greek system was although in theory democratic, in practice aristocratic, and saw their political demise, ultimately, at the hands of the Romans.
My point is that it wasn’t at the hands of their own people that these states decayed and ultimately collapsed, but at the hands of their aristocratic ruling elites (or at the hands of foreign invaders).
The Venezuelan case is quite diferent, in the sense of including an essential element of populism. Large segments of the Venezuelan society have played an active role in maintaining the status quo of the so called revolution in exchange for all sorts of favours. It is this what makes of it a real case of political suicide.
My favourite parallel for this phenomenon in History is the ascent of Nazis to power in Germany.
In a period of political fragmentation, with a barely nascent democracy, Germans voted the Nazis into parlament. Once in parlament an old, dying Hindemburg (the Caldera of our comparison) gives the fatal vote of confidence to the Nazis. Hitler moves fast, abolishing the office of President (thus concentraring all power under the figure of the Chancellor) and from there onwards ideology and opression become the name of the game. There are, however, two important caveats that place less responsability on Germans (relative to Venezuelans) for their respective national fate: 1) given their parliamentary system they had no direct control on the election of the Chancellor, which ultimately fell on a representative of a party they had not voted in in a majoritary proportion and, 2) their democracy was, at the time, less structured and of less tradition than the Venezuelan one was in 1998.
As a Venezuelan myself, I must admit the shameful but inescapable conclusion; we, Venezuelans, have participated in what is perhaps the single most pathetic example of political suicidal behaviour in the History of Mankind (unless there’s another one in Africa).
Please receive my sincerest simpathy for taking the time to reflect about the Venezuelan situation and count with a new folower in me.
Kind regards,
Rafael Linares
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Interesting comparisons. I’d tend to agree with you.
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Thank you Rafael.
You have hit the nail right on the head.
I too agree that the Venezuelan situation is unique – and that the Venezuelans brought it (originally) upon themselves. I also believe that power can be held onto in a relatively poor and pseudo-democratic system by handing out dadivas and receiving enough votes to remain democratically elected, meanwhile keeping the poor poor and the uneducated uneducated. Then come the changes in the Constitution, etc., etc.
This article may well interest you:
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/04/america-tyranny-donald-trump.html?ncid=newsltushpmg00000003
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Yeah, that’s the problem of letting a drought happen in your country and then letting oil prices fall.
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Not so sure we can blame nature and market for what is happening in Venezuela (and by journalistic extension, in the USA and elsewhere). Certainly it did seem that in the old (and never to be lamented, in the dustbin of history) USSR there were 75 years of drought and famine… but that must have been nature; couldn’t have been collectivism… nay. On the other hand, today’s Russia is just as dependent on the price of oil as Venezuela, but toilet paper is still on the shelves. Wasn’t like that in the old USSR. Hmm… maybe we have another historical experiment (you know, like the experiment known as West/East Germany) where we can compare a formerly socialist state like Russia with a currently socialist state like Venezuela. Is the jury still out?
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I think this suicide is more universal or global than we know. Why is it the most corrupt (or stupid) are in power?
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If you install Socialism in the Desert of Sahara
After 6 months you will see a shortage of Sand
Regards
Karlo
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true story
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Joel,
I am Venezuelan born & a naturalized US citizen. I came to attend high school and college here during the presidency of Perez Jimenez, and stayed after marriage. I’ve lived through much of what seems as an unraveling of a wonderful country.
Venezuela has always struggled with their governing leaders. However, the presidency of Romulo Betancourt between 1959 and 1964 brought great hope, and for awhile, Venezuela prospered. Chavez and this thug, Maduro, who calls himself a leader, have led the country to decline in a short two decades. Your article, difficult as it is for me to read, is an accurate reflection of a terrible new reality. Sean Penn & Oliver Stone brought attention to Chavez in a most irresponsible way, in my opinion. Thank you for writing this. I hope it is widely distributed & read.
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Thank you Lena – it is such a sad story indeed. A wonderful country, far from perfect but moving in the right direction; now people hunt dogs and cats on the streets for meat. Actions have consequences; and the actions of the socialist government have had serious consequences indeed.
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My two cents
When corruption is endemic in society
everyone suffers rich/middle/poor classes. Castros pro Russian dogma
is a solution that temporary reduces
corruption.,,but eventually it fails…
as per communism before Goberchovs
Russia.
We live in a rapidly changing world
where no system is “rigid” written in
stone.
Change we must
As die we must
Suggestion
Capitalism with a conscience
Communism with flexibility
Socialism somewhere between both
Venezuela will recover “eventually”
unfortunately it could take decades
Sad fact
Ways I see it
Forever the optimist
Lord kamtan
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Hope springs eternal. I’m sort of more of a classical liberal – that is to say the greater authority is placed on the individual to decide how to live their lives and invest their money; the closer government is to the people it is supposed to serve, and the strictly limited role of government to focus on resolution of conflict and the like – the better societies. Government doesn’t do well at fighting poverty – and they always abuse authority. They should get out of the business and leave it to those who have successfully done it in the past and have a track record.
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Joel
Agree partially but will say that
Liberalism leads to anarchy.
No such dream of power to individuals
for me.
However support the idea of Swiss
system of government…where power
remains in the cantons.
U r a citizen of canton before a
citizen of Switzerland…
Get my drift…
David Cameron touched on idea
but it will be difficult for him to
convince others…
Return more power to locally elected
government…NB it is also yearly unlike
central government which is 5 yearly.
A compromise somewhere in between
…maybe every third year for both
Local and national election saving tax
payers money…killing two birds with
one stone.
Am no politician or economist
Just a retired taxpayer…
Taxed from cradle to grave😈
Fairly so except when it is squandered
on some government white elephant.
Like another nuclear reactor for UK
energy needs over next decade.
But that’s another “white elephant”
What’s wrong with “solar wind wave”
as the future energy source highly subsidised.
Thanks for your quick response
Share your sentiments
Lord kamtan
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IT IS A SAD STORY INDEED…THE COUNTRY IS GOING WAY PAST THE DEEPEST LAYER OF THE EARTH….
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THE COUNTRY IS COMMITTING SUICIDE ALREADY…WHAT A CRISIS .
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Hii
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Interesting read but it feels like there is part of the narrative missing. It feels inadequate to comment until I have read the piece in it’s entirety.
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How strange. I make no claims about knowing what is happening but I get such a different viewpoint at http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/10511 when I started to investigate. I wonder what is going on.
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That newspaper is a bit of a rag, many of whose writers are on the payroll of the Venezuelan govt. They have quite a sophisticated propaganda apparatus.
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Thanks for your quick reply. It is a bit of a surprise that the Guardian, where the article originated could be subject to material that was so distorted. I looked at a couple of other sources and there was indication that the dumping of oil on the market by Saudi Arabia to counter the market invasion of fracking oil from the USA which caused a huge drop in the market value of oil was the fundamental blow which hit the Venezuelan economy. The current government still seems to be popular since former president Carter certified it was totally honest. It’s good to hear from someone deeply familiar with the country.
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Thanks. Guardian on Venezuela has always been sketchy. Carter also did a terrible job in Venezuela. Of course the drop in oil hit Venezuela hard – but it was oils “rise” that covered a multitude of sins – sins we are seeing now. Thank you for your interest.
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I didn’t know it was that bad , sounds like its to late . what should be done ??
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Esto es increíble. No se como llegue aquí o por qué. Pero quiero más. Saludos:)
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Gracias. Te invito a comprar mis novelas https://www.amazon.es/gp/product/B01BVHFAJQ/ref=s9_simh_gw_g351_i1_r?pf_rd_m=A1AT7YVPFBWXBL&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=E6MMBCEH6D7VHS0B8A8G&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=863574927&pf_rd_i=desktop y https://www.amazon.es/teniente-San-Porfirio-Joel-Hirst-ebook/dp/B00HOGERV6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463152708&sr=8-1&keywords=el+teniente+de+san
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igual otro que escribi sobre Venezuela https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2016/02/06/hunger-a-venezuela-story/
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Reblogged this on kbadamsonsfavoriteblogs.
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I lived in Venezuela for a year when Venezuela was doing so well in 1976 and my brother is still living there with his family. I worry about them everyday. It’s indeed a tragedy and your description truly brings the raw reality of the situation to our awareness… que podemos hacer? We feel so impotent as helpless observers…. Thank you for writing this! Amira
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Thank you – I suppose we pray. What else?
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This is an incredible story!
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This is just so sad. We have to come up with new ways of governance and societal alliance to make sure those most vulnerable don’t become unnecessary victims.
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What a tragic reality. I always thought of Venezuela as the home of beauty queens. My limited knowledge did’nt know that this beautiful country is in great pain.
I always thought my country Philippines has the worst corruption problem.
I symphatize with the people’s grief and praying for their healing.
And hoping that help from powerful countries will be sent to them.
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Joel, your words are poignant and powerful. They paint vividly a picture of harrowing destruction…I feel gutted for Venezuela.
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Listen to this woman. If you cannot understand, run the video to see her desperation and hear her hopelessness. She is a professional woman with no way to sufficiently feed her family. She tells of the theft of her car the night before and having no recourse. She tells of being able to buy only three chickens a month, of rampant crime and of the hopeless future she sees for her two year old. She begs the world to hear her.
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Reblogged this on KINGRAIZED and commented:
HOW EXACTLY HAS VENEZUELA CAME INTO SUCH DISPARITY. JUST 15 YEARS AGO VENEZUELA WAS HELPING AMERICANS WITH FREE HEATING OIL. EVEN AFTER READING THIS POST I AM STILL CONFUSED AS TO WHAT LED VENEZUELA TO SUCH ECONOMIC BREAKDOWN.
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One word – socialism
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We are confusing ideals with corruption. It was not socialism it was Chavez, corruption and brainwashing.
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Nope – it was socialism.
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I lived in Venezuela in the 80s and it is such beautiful country. I am so saddened to watch its decline over the years. Chavez was so bad for the country, and the downslide continues. Que lastima!
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It is very sad to see a loved one destroying their future. Detroit Michigan in the USA has also committed suicide. Looking at history critically, and learning, and applying it is not often done. “It can’t happen here”, you say. Cause death slowly creeps up sometimes and when you realize it you say; “Hey, I’m dead” or “It’s too late”. Thank you for waving a flag for others to see.
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Brand new to wordpress but the irony is brilliant. My first short story is on suicide and then I see this. Also kudos on the brilliant article!
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Thank you and welcome.
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I left my country, Venezuela, thirty four years ago when I was a teenager; the economic situation was good then, but still with a history of corrupted presidents and administrators. The people behaved as if they were entitled to everything. Steeling and corruption, unfortunately is embedded in the culture. The rational is for many people in power is that If I don’t take the money, someone else will. I remember when I came to the US and I bought a newspaper from those boxes were you put a coin and them open the box to retrieve the paper, there was another person behind me waiting his turn and as I held the door open I asked him, do you want to take one? In Venezuela this boxes would never exist, for most people will have done just what I just did, and to my surprise the man said to me, “no, it is not right”. I am a Spanish teacher and I always tell my students that you learn about your own culture and country once you leave your country and see other cultures and ways of doing things. In the past twenty years, my parents and four siblings slowly were able to leave the country, so I don’t have to go back. The last time I went it was eleven years ago and when I was ready to board the plane, I had to pass through another set of “funcionarios públicos”
dressed in military uniform, one of then insisted on seen my Venezuelan ID card, I told him that I had not used it in ages, since I was a US citizen. I showed him my US passport and he insisted that I could not leave the country without a Venezuelan ID. Finally after I waited ten minutes trying to figure out what to do, the other military airport clerk told him to leave me along. I could not believe how this people take the laws into their hands. This kind of lawless behavior is an every day situation in Venezuela. I saw it when I was a kid, and I still saw it as an adult. Any way, I feel sad for the people in Venezuela, and when Maduro steps down, he will have to hide together with his cronies, because the people are fed up and they are going to kill them out of anger.
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That was such a sad story… I wish it wasn’t true.
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Reblogged this on charjanssblogblog.
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Shared, Joel… radio host Andrew Wilkow on SiriusXM follows Venezuelan news on the decline. As you pointed out, socialism, as practiced by Chavez and Maduro, has stopped ANY chance at recovery.
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Hi, well I’m a venezuelan young girl as many others I’m truly trying to make a change here its not easy because we’re under a diabolic and corrupted government and right now in these country are a battle, a battle for life for independence we’re fighting with all our strength because we love venezuela and we need our freedom.
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bon courage – soon you will be free!!
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I wanted to share this on facebook. Very well written!
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thank you
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Having to live on the other side of the world, your perspective encourages sympathy and compassion. Easily, we can all blame our respective flawed government and while doing so, other’s wake up, walking on a string just to feed a mouth or two.
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I invite you to check out my novels too. 2 on socialist venezuela, and one on an Islamist in the Sahara who gets de-radicalized (coming out in the fall). http://www.amazon.com/Burning-San-Porfirio-Sequel-Lieutenant/dp/1491785187/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463312803&sr=8-2&keywords=joel+hirst
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Who is John Gault
This was so very written.
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You have managed to, poignantly; personify Venezuela in this well-penned piece and it moved me to the very core. What do we ascribe this ruin to? The economic system, bad governance or political/ideological quandry?
Do shiny apartments and restaurants always indicate prosperity which impacts positively on the lives of those living at the bottom or are they but amenities frequented by tourists flashing hard currency.
Joel, may you care to suggest any possible solutions to this ‘Suicide of Venezuela’?
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Its about socialism. To be sure things weren’t perfect before. Cronyism led people to vote for the revolution. The revolution destroyed everything through regulation, expropriation, malinvestment, etc. Thank you! incidentally I wrote two novels about this – if you want a longer, funner exploration of the disaster http://www.amazon.com/Burning-San-Porfirio-Sequel-Lieutenant/dp/1491785187/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1463320380&sr=8-2&keywords=joel+hirst
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Alright.
However, I dot think it is entirely socialism which ruined that beautiful country as we also have such ruin and scio-economic problems in capitalist countries and I tend to support your assertion that malinvestment has played a role.
I advance the view that shiny edifices and a few super-rich individuals in any country are no indicators of prosperity when the multitudes are in dire poverty.
Equal or fair distribution of wealth and social justices, provision of basic amenities and services (food, security, transport and communication medical care, potable water), etc, to all are important.
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Fair enough. Venezuela was certainly a “Crony capitalist” country forever. But the indicators were much better. Life expectancy, literacy, nutrition, vaccination rates, etc. etc. Much better at any rate than they are now, after $2 trillion in oil money went missing. So – socialism.
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Granted.
You are writing from experience on Venezuela, however; from my perspective, we are a ‘capitalist’ country with shiny, tall buildings and fine hotels and restaurants but the vast majority who live in poverty do not derive any benefits from these as they cannot afford such ‘luxuries’.Those who are lucky enough only but work there for a minimum wage.
I enjoyed reading, nay, savouring; ‘The Suicide of Venezuela’.
Well-written!
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Corruption is a root cause of trouble in countries which are on the path of death, irrespective of system of government.
Probably socialist countries need to adopt Nordic models, rather than going with classical form of socialism which was promoted by USSR.
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The myth of the nordic models (esp the replicability) gets folks in trouble a lot. There are very specific circumstances and cultural issues which can’t be replicated – and when tried always turn out like Venezuela.
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Does that mean there is no one specific model and every country need to develop a system based on its unique culture and circumstances.
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I’d argue they are principles. Respect of life, liberty, property. Due process. Rule of law. Consent of the governed. The problem with socialism is it doesn’t respect any of this (starting with property) which paves the process for corruption. There are also economic laws (supply and demand, etc.) which are incontrovertible. There are of course different ways to organize ourselves, respecting these. Based on culture, etc. We need to be pragmatic – looking for ways to improve all our lives. I don’t object to socialism ideologically – but because it makes people suffer; always have. Those who advocate for it have never been able to get it to work. They had enough chances (more than 100,000,000 people killed in the 20th century). In the US we now have a crony capitalist system, which doesn’t work either (see the stagnation of the middle class, no mobility, crushing debt, high unemployment, record numbers exiting the workforce). This is because politicians and businessmen make bad bedfellows. Originally there was a recommendation to the constitution to add an 11th amendment to the bill of rights “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of production and trade.” Would have been better if we had.
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Simple Simon says
If we apply same rules to situation
we cannot expect different results.
However if we apply different rules
to situation the results can “surprise”
Corruption will destroy any system..
Communist capitalist or socialist
or it’s variables…
Caring and sharing discourages
corruption…maybe if we have a
more caring sharing society we
are on way to solutions.
It begins with individuals
attitudes in society.
My spin
Open to comments
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Long as its not coerced, I agree. We cannot force sharing – that becomes theft. And begins the cycle of corruption again.
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The law is an ass if it is arbitratory
(argue able) or rigorously enforced.
It’s up to the political Cl-asses to make
laws that protect individuals…
not their hidden agendas…
Politicians must not only be
transparent but accountable.
In democracies we vote them
out or give them second term.
But that’s another issue..
For another discussion.
It is not in human nature to lie
or cheat ..but if this is considered
smart cheats will prosper.
Surely there is more joy in giving
than receiving…
Hope I have not missed anything
Thanks
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Will try and read ‘The Burning Of San Parfirio’ for more insight.
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Thanks!
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I’m amazed by reading this, it’s very well written!
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thank you
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Pleasure 🙂
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Mr Hirst, I am from Greece and your article has moved me twice, not only emotionally but also horrify -ngly (if there is such thing) as Greece is in this very process right now, we are just in the begining . Without the petrol Venezuela has if we make a few more mistakes and the rest of the EU decides a more indifferrent approach to our problem the collapse will be quicker and much more impresive! Let’s hope will never see it.
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Lets hope that smarter and more committed folks enter government and start the painful but necessary process of freeing up the Greek economy. Living within their means, reducing regulation. It could happen; but it takes the acts of committed people to bring it about!
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its amazing reading this , keep writing more.
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and i started a blog 2 days back and its about different pieces of information , something that i want to tell people, i will keep improving but i hope u like my work .have a look on it if u get time, i would b grateful because i m generally under confident all the time but i wanted to write so i thot its better to take a chance , so plss comment and like on my post if its ok.
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Great! Write!!! its what we leave behind – and its how we fight the evil.
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Your description is noteworthy. Socialism/Communism is as evil as it can get. It robs one of reason and common sense. I see it in struggle in some states here in India. So far, they haven’t got the upper hand.
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This was a great read, thanks.
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And for all of us that are living here in Venezuela, life goes on. As Christians we are call to love each other, pray for each other and endure together these hard times. Reminds me of the book of Joel, we all need to repent and go back to Christ. Stop adoring other idols, Still I have faith in the one who is more powerful than any government. Continue to pray for all Venezuelans. In peace.
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thank you Julio – we’ll pray!
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Thank you for sharing this grim yet realistic portrayal of what is happening in Venezuela. Many people are not aware of just how much Venezuela has devolved from what it formerly was. Until very recently, it was the wealthiest country in all of Latin America, and it drew investors and immigrants from all over the world. Never vote for populist and/or authoritarian leaders. Never become indifferent or complacent to what happens in your country. This is the end result and it’s tragic.
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“but by the grace of God” we should always say
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I agree, great read and I’m glad I came across this!
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Thank you
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So very honest. The tragedy of corruption is real and can be felt across the globe. Beautifully written.
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Thank you
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We abandoned Venezuela to its sad fate in 2010. We are now sincerely worried that the same could happen in Colombia. The President has practically handed to country to the FARC on a plate.
I ran out of Peru in 1975 to escape a military regime; I ran out of Venezuela in 2010 to escape a quasi-dictatorship; I only hope I don’t have to do the same from Colombia…
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Or those who go to Spain only to watch PODEMOS take over
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I have a friend who grew up in Venezuela, her family is there now. Her cousin just gave birth to twin girls in a dark hospital with no anesthesia. She sends me videos of mudslides and tells me all about how much she worries for her family. This article helps to put it in perspective. It also helps me be thankful for all of the things we take for granted on a daily basis.
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Wow, thats terrible I’m so sorry – I hope soon Venezuela will be free and prosperous again.
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That’s just terrible! These incidents will always be . It is a pity that we are people “only” people …
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It really is terrible! And like always will be. It is a pity that the “only” people…
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It is really very terrible! This will always happen. It is a pity that we are all human, “only” people…
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I’m an American and a veteran and this story is sick to me in so many levels of just being human. I see and complain about everyday problems, some small, some big, and then things like this remind me just how many of my big problems, of what I consider to be big, is well …I can consider as selfish and minor and it makes me stop and really, truthfully, at this moment right now as my insomnia and PTSD from the war, at 4:16 in the morning, it makes me stop and take a moment to talk with what I believe to be God and just pray for humanity and people in countries and situations like these…it’s sad.
I remember it has almost been 10 years since I have been in combat and even when I was there doing a job that was hard on many levels from day to day, I smile because I remember the good that I tried to do as a person to help as much as I could.
A smile on a small child’s face, by giving him something as simple as a candy bar from my MRE packet and even a middle age man who was dressed in rags, my own very watch that I bought when I was in basic, but seeing their smiles and for a moment, for me personally in times like these, there was no being American and Iraqi, there was no war, it was just seeing another person in a position that made me sick to the inner core of my stomach, but yet a smile from them reminded me, humanity still has good in us all, we just have to keep striving and uncovering it through the darkness; least that is what I still believe.
I been all around the world and some places I thought that were going to be horrible wound up being the most beautifulness place, in fact middle of Iraq, as far as the eye could see, sand and hills everywhere, no noise if you stopped breathing for a moment, we looked around, the small team I was in, the sky was darker with a sand screen covering like a thin sheet.and I swear to even this day that it was the most beautifulness place, the most serenity I had ever felt in my entire life, the irony….the most amazing place, the most secure feeling, my own personal heaven, even though for a few hours…..was in the middle of a warzone.
When I read previous comments about a gentlemen having to leave his country and then forced to abandoned another country, well…I cant even imagine what that feels like, I can only compare it to being raised on the streets of New Orleans in being tossed from home to home as child, living on the streets when my mother was sent to prison for a murder she didn’t commit, tossed in and out from foster care, always running away, raped as a child by a biker, me and his daughter, and still through all my own personal trials and hardships, I read this story and say…God, I ask all the time for the strength mentally to get through this and to prevail, and some how, some way…I do.
To the people of all over the world, we live in a world that is filled with violence and is often led from one country hating another country for whatever reason, but let me say, as war veteran, as an American, before all that…we are all human and until we put our pride away and to the side we need to realize that we are all human, despite religion, despite personal beliefs…we all bleed red and mother Earth is the common home we all share and to see places like Venezuela go under times like this…this is where we need to stick together and come together as a species and really say…this is what separates us and we will prevail so our kids can see a better tomorrow…a tomorrow that we all, even the most powerful dictators, all once felt in our hearts to say…why cant we live in a better world.
While my page, Raw Orange, is a dedication to soldiers overcoming PTSD, it is created for the world because even at 31 I am still saying for the sake of humanity and the world my kids are growing up in…something has got to change. My page is dedicated to brining up hot controversial conversations that affect people from all over the world..
to the people to world who have endured things like this…I can only say…not even brining my personal faith in it because again, I respect people’s opinions and beliefs, but I end by saying this, We all have one thing in common, and we can prove it everyday when we wake by just looking into something that reflects and shows you your own face, you are, I am, humanity and humanity, regardless of where you come from, still holds a heart and compassion for those in need.
Thanks for reading and sorry it was long, just an emotional topic…
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Thank you sir, for your beautiful comments and for your courageous service. You’re right – we find our own humanity as we share it with the humanity of others! Be well and God bless you!
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Same here my friend. Please link to my page as I an for u as well, I just may talk about some things u have strong opinions about and that’s the point of my channel, not just my channel but it’s humanities
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ok
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Everything starts and stops with leadership, end of discussion. Unfortunately, third world countries have perfected the art of electing into office thieves, cartels, mafias and persons of questionable integrity to govern their resources and expect a turn around. For real 1+1=2.
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We are watching the manic depression of the United States stumble into the final solution. With the echoes of “We can be great again” and claims that we should all share the same standard of living. Ignorance and avarice driving political decisions, laws used to punish and enforce conformity.
These are not the end days, just the end of countries over reaching their resources, living on borrowed time and money. Nations governing on popular opinion and polls.
We won’t even have the grand testaments to the future, because nothing we build is made to last anymore. The ancestors who are around to try and tell our stories will be the ones, like in Venezuela, who lived outside the great shining cites, within their means. The ones who are now rich because they grow food and have clean water.
We aren’t intelligent enough to avoid the mistakes of history, so we just keep repeating them. That’s OK, the generations that come behind us will have to have a strong work ethic and rebuild. For a while at least.
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You may like this https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2016/04/16/cicero-and-our-liberal-conservatism/
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Thank you for such a beautifully written piece. I haven’t lived in Venezuela since 1997. Every time I returned to visit my family I could see the marked decline not just in the politics but also in the ethics of my compatriots.
It’s interesting that Americans are commenting here that they believe “socialism” is to blame and how they fear it could happen in their own country.
Please I beg Americans to change their mindset. That’s how corrupt regimes succeed by planting fear and jealousy in people’s hearts.
Look to Europe where so called “socialism” manages to deliver great benefits to its citizens, not perfectly but definitely a better alternative.
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Thank you Marbellys – but European socialism doesn’t really work either. My piece also went viral in Greek – because in greece they feel the same as in Caracas. Read this piece if you would. https://joelhirst.wordpress.com/2016/05/14/they-dont-do-math/
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Joel
Disagree
Socialism does work…u r generalising
on word “Socialism”….
Capitalism also worked !
Past its sell by date not fit for all sizes.
Communism also worked !
Not fit for all sizes.
Socialism also worked !
Fit for most sizes.
The EU an example of how different
sizes fits most sizes.
It just needs more time to “fine tune”
each individual’s needs not wants.
The ideological alternative to
Greedy capitalist
Corrupt communists
One size fits all mentality(mind set)
Think again please…
Lord Kamtan 😇😈🇬🇧
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Lord Kamtam, we need to reach an understanding of what “socialism” means. It does not mean social welfare programs. It does not mean govt concern for the less advantaged. It does mean central planning and a central role for the state in the economy.
So all those nice welfare/insurance programs are not socialism. Libertarians object to welfare programs in general, and such programs for businesses in particular (many of us take the position that all subsidies for corporations need to go first and then we need to see about welfare and charity). Socialism is not justified by social welfare. That’s a red herring.
Socialism is all about control. Ultimately control by a small political elite. In that sense, America is socialist already. And of course such control always leads to corruption, economic collapse, and, eventually, war.
The intellectual debate regarding true socialism (political control over the means of production) is over. The failure of socialism as an organizing principle is clear. I suggest you take a look at a book by L. von Mises, Socialism.. You can find it at http://www.mises.org. There you can also find Mises’ masterwork, Human Action which ends with this warning:
“Man’s freedom to choose and to act is restricted in a threefold way. There are first the physical laws to whose unfeeling absoluteness man must adjust his conduct if he wants to live. There are second the individual’s innate constitutional characteristics and dispositions and the operation of environmental factors; we know that they influence both the choice of the ends and that of the means, although our cognizance of the mode of their operation is rather vague. There is finally the regularity of phenomena with regard to the interconnectedness of means and ends, viz., the praxeological law as distinct from the physical and from the physiological law.
The elucidation and the categorial and formal examination of this third class of laws of the universe is the subject matter of praxeology and its hitherto best-developed branch, economics. The body of economic knowledge is an essential element in the structure of human civilization; it is the foundation upon which modern industrialism and all the moral, intellectual, technological, and therapeutical achievements of the last centuries have been built. It rests with men whether they will make the proper use of the rich treasure with which this knowledge provides them or whether they will leave it unused. But if they fail to take the best advantage of it and disregard its teachings and warnings, they will not annul economics; they will stamp out society and the human race.”
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yup
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Pingback: The Suicide of Venezuela — Joel D. Hirst’s Blog | joseluisrfr
thank you Mr Joel….=(
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An interesting analysis and a very emotive piece. Your political and economic perspective is very clear, even before you use Ayn Rand as a reference! There are however alternative explanations for the crisis in Venezuela which do not exclude legitimate criticism of the central government but which also factor in broader geo-political events, including the interests of the United States.
Anybody can go out and find the evidence showing that the US is not only backing the Venezuelan opposition (if you think there is nothing wrong with that, how would you feel if a political party in the US was being funded with socialist Venezuelan oil money!?) but also that US officials have been closely involved in trying to overthrow the Venezuelan government. The US has a long history of seeking to overthrow democratic socialist governments in Latin America. This article provides a good overview of both perspectives of the Venezuelan issue including the alternative view which factors in the role of both internal and external opposition to the government. http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/11908
I would also like to remind you that Detroit (where according to official statistics, about 40% of the population lives in poverty and where approximately 1/7th of the population were facing eviction from their homes in 2015) provides just as terrifying an example of ‘civilisation death’ as Caracas, despite the fact the fact that it is situated in a country that has been pursuing economic deregulation for the last thirty years. The world bank has acknowledged that prior to the crash in oil prices, poverty in Venezuela fell by 20% over a period of fifteen years (http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/venezuela/overview) which might help to explain why this democratic socialist ‘dictatorship’ – as you insist on calling it – has won so many elections.
I would urge anybody moved by the terrible situation in Venezuela to read the article produce by venezuelanalysis and consider a more complex but less ideologically driven analysis of current events.
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Elections are not democracy. Venezuela Analysis is a rag funded by the Venezuelan govt.
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That is your opinion of Venezuela Analysis. Here is Noam Chomsky’s! “Venezuelanalysis.com has regularly provided very useful description, analysis, and commentary on developments in Venezuela, rarely available in the US or the West generally, and valuable for a balanced understanding not only of Venezuela but of Latin American generally in the current very exciting phase of its history.” You on the other hand sir (unless I have mistaken you for somebody else, in which case please accept my apologies) are a fellow of the George W Bush institute. Is it worth pointing out that it was appointees of the Bush administration that were involved in the attempted coup in Venezuela? http://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/apr/21/usa.venezuela
You are right that elections alone are not enough for a true democracy. The level of corporate lobbying in the United States is the perfect example of how the principle of one man one vote can be subverted by powerful interests. http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/04/how-corporate-lobbyists-conquered-american-democracy/390822/
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heard it all before dude.
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it won’t bring back the bread.
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Hmmm… good response.
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tell that to the millions in the bread lines.
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And you solution is more neoliberalism? Beginning in the 1980s nearly all of Latin America adopted neoliberal or capitalist free market economic policies.
Neoliberalism achieved poorer GDP growth records than did prior state-led development policies in Latin America.
http://www.coha.org/the-free-market-experiment-in-latin-america-assessing-past-policies-and-the-search-for-a-pathway-forward-the-first-of-a-three-part-series/
Pincohet and Brazil’s military dictatorship also provide us with perfect examples of the link between neoliberalism and dictatorship.
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yawn – pass the beer. Oh ya, there isn’t any… nice work.
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Gosh is this the level of argument that members of the Bush Institute normally offer up? It might be a bit too advanced for the great man himself though eh? Shouldn’t we dumb it down just a little bit more?
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“I chat with my friends, who continue to try and explain to the mindless why their misery is a direct result of one bad idea built upon the last in a great edifice of stupidity. Good men and women who are stuck in a two-decade old debate from which there is no escape.” – I just don’t have the time and energy anymore.
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If nothing else I have to say I find what you say extremely interesting! Do you think that referring to other people as ‘mindless’ while suggesting that you – the great enlightened white man – have to ‘try and explain’ things to them is not both extraordinarily arrogant and elitist?
It must be tiring trying to maintain such an artificial distance from others. It can’t make it very easy to listen to anybody whose views are in anyway different to your own, no wonder you are tired!
Has it occurred to you that the ideas that you propound and cling to so tightly might form their own great edifice of stupidity? An interesting article about your lovely friend Ayn Rand and her ‘philosophy.’ I’m sure you are a good man and see yourself as such, what is it about Ayn Rand that appeals to you so much? After all this is a woman who labelled homosexuality ‘disgusting’, argued that native Americans deserved to be stripped of their land and that woman should submit themselves to to ‘great men.’ Do you hold these values dear too or do you pick and chose from the woman you have called ‘our greatest advocate of individual liberty?’
http://nymag.com/arts/books/features/60120/
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You also suggest that the government has ‘blamed the weather’ in order to suggest that it rules according to some logic of ‘tribal shamanism’ The actual explanation of this is both simple and reasonable as I’m sure you are already aware. Most of the electricity produced in Venezuela comes from hydro-power, which means in periods of drought there is not enough electricity to go around – hence rolling power cuts. http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/mar/30/weatherwatch-hambling-venezuela-hydroelectric-dam-guri-dry-reservoirs-colombia
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The problem is not the lack of rain. the problem is that socialist venezuela did not maintain the guri turbines for 15 yeas. Last I checked only 2 were functional – out of more than a dozen. the others were silted over. #Socialism.
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Unfortunately I am not in a position to check the validity of your claim. However, even the New Yorker (which is probably not the most neutral of sources, and tries to make the entirely sensible decision to utilise the countries hydropower sound like a poor decision) accepts that the primary reasons for electricity cuts in Venezuela is the weather. It also makes it clear that the lack of turbine function that you describe may very well be as a consequence of the abnormally low water levels.
http://www.newyorker.com/tech/elements/the-electricity-crisis-in-venezuela-a-cautionary-tale
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All is not lost,as countries for example South Korea experienced such setbacks in history but we’re able to struggle and emerge as one of the best ship builder’s in the world.The people of Venezuela need to identify the core problems of their nation and enact durable change and policies and ideologies that work.Total dependence on oil revenues is a false and misleading way of living.Nations and people have to be selfsufficiet in their basic daily needs and be industrious and producing nations.An investment of national efforts in agriculture and factories that process food and other basic needed products tends to sustain economies better.
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I have been interested in collapse and creativity for many years, and I think that moments of stress in any system are a time for choices, and a society can, even in pending chaos, still make a decision somewhere that provides a model, a seed, for the recrystallisation or reconstitution of the system.into a even more positive paradigm than what went before.
It is obvious that the macro-scale of government is now of no use, and the only Venezuela can grow is for inhabitants in one locality, on the ground, to create and develop a micro scale of social cohesion centred around positive values and co-operation and mutual support. That is the only way a place will survive. That place must define its inclusive membership, and their boundary of ‘turf’ and defend both. Solidarity based on ‘place’ and values is very important.
Then the macrocosm / ‘large world’ of the collapsing “grids” of the old economic Matrix (electrical, medical, water, food supply, services and money supplies etc) must be replicated WITHIN that group.
This requires localised leadership and communication with neighbours, and real social contracts among members. The legalisation of Cannabis would provide people with a resource-based currency backing, medicine, protein, and materials for industry. It would be the new resource base, in the face of the collapse of the mainstream economy.
People of Venezuela, you can make it, but you MUST realise that, in the chaos, only Love has a hope to win through.
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While the initial stages of capital formation are always ugly, I had the impression that most of South America had established a stable civil society prior to WWII. I have encountered analysis among the G8 nations that resource exploitation by the advanced industrialized economies contributed greatly to their decline.
The obvious pathologies are oil, drugs and deforestation. These all stimulate fly-by-night economics for oligarchs that acquire technical know-how from overseas and siphon money off as the loaded ships sail from port. There is no incentive to invest in social sophistication because wealth is acquired through destruction rather than from creative effort.
You speak of national suicide, by I wonder if it isn’t actually a slow revolution by unpleasantness. The violent civil wars of the past are logistically an impossibility when resisted by a military wielding first-world equipment. So we have instead the lightning strike of the criminal gang that drives the middle class away, leaving abandoned property to occupy.
This is the view from afar – obviously your direct experience is authoritative.
While it may appear Pollyanna-ish, there is a certain freedom to be found in a culture whose elite has chosen to divorce itself from reality. A resurgence depends greatly upon whether enough cohesion can be generated below the governmental radar by self-organizing groups glued together by information technology. It’s not easy: in Europe, every time a new market was created the merchant class was checked by grants of royal monopoly. It was only when the English nobles took up fratricide for eighty years that the Industrial Revolution finally took root.
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The US revolution, English nobles fights against the kings, etc. are breaking of old orders which oppressed people. While imperfect, they allowed space for the individual to thrive. Unfortunately whats happening in Venezuela is the opposite.
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In From Beirut to Jerusalem, the author tells the story of the peace march on the Green Line that divided Beirut along ethnic lines. The war lords on both sides organized a fire fight on the day of the event. It turns out that among the warlords were grocery store magnates – people who had the means and just enough money to procure guns. They just liked being big men, and so wanted to keep the peace process from moving forward.
This was also the American experience during prohibition, which created our organized criminal empires. What happened eventually was that the crime lords, having taken violence to its limits, began to turn on each other. This continued until they agreed that they all wanted to live to see their grandchildren grow up. An uneasy peace was negotiated, and they continue to dominate and manage the aggression that lurks in the shadows of American society.
It can take a long, long time for civil society to heal, and it’s always a demoralizing struggle during the process of decay. I feel your pain, and recognize that it reflects a deep love for your country.
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An inspiring read, Joel. Thank you!
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Reblogged this on konagirlspeaks and commented:
Er logged this on Konagirlspeaks
This is an important and insightful read!
Thank you, Joel.
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Behold the hideous face of “end-stage socialism”.
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We are facing a very similar situation in South Africa. Very powerful article.
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A really emotional stance to this whole thing. My boyfriend is from Venezuela, and I want to travel there so badly. However, he won’t take me “until it gets better,” but really, will it get better?
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YES IT WILL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And its lovely. I’ve been to every state save 2. Its a remarkable place.
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Thank you for being informative! We often don’t know what’s happening unless someone steps away from the media and tells us! That’s why WordPress articles like this are important!
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thank you
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…… And we think we have it tough in the U.K
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We see what we want to see. If the end of the world is what we see, then that is perhaps what occupies our minds. Look deeper than brick walls, think further than shallow politicians and touch the foundation of economic collapse. Down there where it all began is where we find the root of our problems. Down in the dark mud of human desire, strife and tenacity is where our understanding of the third world is most flawed. The people suffering failing states are not involved save for their inactivity and lack of resistance. Humans have been demobilized to a degree, mentally psychologically and spiritually depleted there is little for them to do but return to their roots and begin working the earth for a living. This decline of the economy will eventually see the return of the farmer as a means to recover the state. Farmers don’t take crap from politicians. the farming revolution is the only solution to such failed states.
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True, modern systems don’t allow poor people many outlets for expressing their frustration. “The consent of the governed” is not very present in the developing world.
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Sorry disagree
FARMING is too simplistic an approach
to solutions for our planet.
The solution is political…not economic
with extravagant farm subsidies.
We can feed ourselves 10 times over
it’s how we distribute/deliver it that
is the issues.,.,
Today the southern EU grows food in
giant plastic green houses to feed the
northern EU with frankenstine (GM)
foods …science a la carte.
Venezuela did not promote self sufficiency/diversify to survive
and is paying the price for mistake
…all eggs in one basket.(oil)
Hindsight teaches fools
Food is overproduced and “left to rot”
if it’s distribution system (infrastructure)
not in place…roads rail air sea links.
Can be defined as the “north south”
dilemma.
Our ancestors followed the sun for food
production “nomadic” …have we not
learnt from their mistakes of failed
crops…eg Irish potato famine !
Joke
Why did Irish go to USA?
to find their Irish potatoes.
USA alone can feed the world
10 times over.,.problem..market
forces ! Capitalism and its influences.
Did not USA feed Russia India and
China many decades ago?
Did not EU have butter wheat mountains and wine lakes also.
Can go on and on but it is silly
to continue…
No sir it’s not food production it’s
how it is grown distributed that matters
most.
Lord kamtan ukplc
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Once Kamtam the Ukraine was the Bread Basket of the World. And then came communism/socialism or whatever you want to call it. We libertarians call it “Statism” — the bizarre and historically unjustified quasi-religious belief that the legal fiction known as the “State” can solve human problems.
What followed was the Ukrainian Holocaust — planned and implemented by the communist/socialist govt of the USSR. It was after that when free American farmers fed the starving masses of communist/socialist USSR, Red China and then-socialist India. Russia is no longer socialist; China is Red in name only; India embraces the market with enthusiasm. And billions have been lifted from abject poverty.
History has spoken (if you believe in History as Hegel understood it) and socialist central planning for food or anything else is the epic failure of the 20th Century. Let’s not let it be the epic, megadeath failure of the 21st Century too!
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Nice one
Interesting read of the other side of the
coin…every coin has two faces some
many sides.
So if USA fed the world once why can’t
they do so again ?
Market forces ?
How did they do it ?
Demographics…..must be an important
factor. And fact that prior to that
Indians were nomadic farmers/hunter
gatherers.
Agricultural revolution occurred in the
last century…not decades ago.
Demographics also a contributory
factor.
USA 400m ROW 4 billion +
Get the drift !
Today farmers produce what the
Market demands …not what subsidies
they receive …it is science not
Henry Ford mass production plants.
Our world has moved on my friend.
Support the “free market” in principle
but all rule for one or one rule for
all is absurb.
You cannot apply same rule and
expect different results to solution.
Is India or China or Russia self sufficient
in food today? No sir !
Demographics ?
But are millions starving in
India China or Russia today ?
Market forces ?
Sorry more questions than answers
What is destroying Venezuela and
will destroy many others is endemic
corruption at both ends of their
societies….leaders (bosses) followers (flock) while the Shepard sleeps
the wolves will slaughter their
flock. Market forces ?
Poor leadership and corruption will destroy the best systems of government..
Trump or Hilary
Saunders ?
Lunatic wicked witch or KFC
God save USA
Lord kamtan aka alien
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No system is perfect, but capitalism is the best we’ve got.
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Your comments section seems suspiciously free of dissident voices. Surprising, considering how polemical and short on substance your argument is. Do you always censor so thoroughly? Seems an odd approach to public discourse for one purportedly zealous about freedom. Or does your passion for freedom start and end with the market. Clearly, from the content of your article, you have little but contempt for the democratic decisions of the Venezuelan people.
I’m surprised to see no address to the macroeconomic issues central to the Venezuelan economic crash, nor the fact of repeated election victories for the incumbents, nor the fact that corruption has been a persistent issue in Venezuelan politics that precedes Chaves, nor the vast improvements in wellbeing (education and wealth) that have accompanied the shift in approach, nor the role of US foreign policy in collusion with Venezuelan elites in seeking to derail the elected government on multiple occasions.
The Venezuelan state is not above critique, but this type of ideological skullduggery does nobody any good whatsoever.
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So Steffan – might surprise you but I didn’t sensor, except those comments which were offensive and/or had profanity in them (like 5 or 6 if I remember). And it went viral 250,000 hits. So I think your voice is probably a minority, but thank you for contributing.
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I am wondering if those Caribbean government who is milking the life blood of the Venezuelan people tax payers money have any feeling for what is happening to them now,I guess not,cold hearted leaders only think of staying in power at all cost ,even if the Venezuelan masses during like fouls.
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Moving. Sad. Almost over.
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Excellent article. I recently did a four month series on the decline of Israel in our church. Israel existed prior to captivity from around 1220 BC to around 400 BC. It can be argued that Israel was one of the first great societies. As originally constituted it had no federal government. Centralization took it’s toll until the people had no cattle and no land. every society that has centralized power has become exceedingly oppressive and finally self destructive. The world can learn from this article. Thank you.
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The problem with your analogies to past destructions of cities is that in those days they were islands, those people had no comparisions except to their forgotten past. Now adays all in Venezuela know that not far from where they live there is massive prosperity. So like Russia and the rest of the USSR, like China, like India et al, the people will eventually force a change as they see how the USA people live. And like those countries the change will come on a dime. Except in a place like North Korea can oppression continue and even there it will sucumb to progress, eventually.
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When is eventually? The whole world is basically in sync with what is happening in Venezuela, to a greater or lesser degree.
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I was in Venezuela as recently as 2010 and had a wonderful time. We crossed the country from Caracas down almost to Amazonia. Camped out and fished. Met many wonderful people. Our friends (Italian, three generations) live in Calabozo in the central part of the country. They complained modestly about the country’s situation, and participated in protests about land-grabs and other matters, but in general were doing okay. They did say “unfortunately many Venezuelans think that a mango tree and a hammock is all you need in life.” It was a wonderful trip, my second trip in four years, when we also drove across the country down to Merida, the university town surrounded by mountains. Anyway here is my blog from that trip, I wrote five parts, with many pictures. I’ve never met so many generous, wonderful people, and we had some good times.
http://seafavorites.tumblr.com/tagged/Venezuela/
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Ya, its lovely. will be again.
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Joel…can you name one Democracy that has committed suicide…please do not include US cities run by Liberal Democrats or the State of California which is openly giving itself (until Trump wins that is) to Mexico
Oh, and maybe instead of helping these Nations, how about helping kids in our war torn inner cities that are decimated by Liberal Democrat/Socialist policies (see, eg, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland…) They need more help than people in Uganda because they are helpless and innocent Americans who suffer under the totalitarianism of myopic liberalism.
PS…Bernie USE to showcase Venezuela as a modern Socialist dream…oops I guess he didnt have the cliff note version of what happens, but what the heck his supporters may be college kids but they still cant comprehend reality (of course they will point to Sweden, a country that is like 99.999% white, homogeneous and unable to produce anything other than ABBA and guards in funny suits who protect the Pope…in Rome… and whose population can fit into a tenant apartment complex in Detroit and still have room for a factory….)
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Republics do fade away. Germany before the wars was lost and then recovered. The Republic of Rome. Venezuela itself was a democracy (although an oligarchy). And yes – the last sixteen years has seen a dramatic decline in the USA, something we need to recover.
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Your article brought back so much nostalgia. I spent all my childhood and part of my teen years in Venezuela. I’m sad to see how this beautiful country has been destroyed. I still remember my parents amazement when we first arrived in Caracas, a rich country, oil country, we couldn’t believe their huge modern malls and their wonderful freeways. The only super-highways and skyscrapers in South America at that time. Their people so proud, so free, a true democracy of free speech and much more. I can only hope those years will return one day and Venezuela can be great again. I haven’t returned in many years. I am afraid to do so. The crime, the violence, the sadness in their eyes, their desperation for basic needs (unthinkable for me). My old high school friends are divided among crazy politics and false promises / beliefs, others still hopeful that things will return to they way it used to be. I am hopeful too. I will go back one day, I know that….
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Its and incredibly sad tale, but the Venezuela suicide is being repeated right now in the USA. Obama is doing the same thing to the USA that Chavez did to Venezuela. He’s corrupted every agency of the Government, not just with Corruption, but with negligence and incompetence. Look at the disastrous and comical launch of the Obamacare website? Look at the V.A. which is stilly lying, cheating, and killing our Veterans.
Look at TSA folks and the 3 hour long lines at the airports. That NOT because there are more passengers or because they have carry on luggage, its because TSA has been removing employees for the last 5 years. They say they expected TSA PreCheck to help, but how can it help when they’ve shut down most of the TSA PreCheck lines? Its all a bait and switch. They take the money for TSA PreCheck and then they opening the lines while saying its the answer to the delays? Its negligence and incompetence on a massive scale, and its exactly what started happening in Venezuela almost as soon as Chavez, Obama’s socialist idol, took over.
The IRS, the Justice Dept, the NSA, the NLRB have all been converted into left wing corrupt organs of the state to be used against Obama’s political opponents. The Supreme Court has been castigated and intimidated, and is just one vote short of tossing out the Constitution and becoming nothing but a corrupt and lawless flunky of the Obama regime. The courts were the first thing that Chavez corrupted and took over in Venezuela.
And look at the economy. The Venezuelan economy started failing almost as soon as Chavez took over and was kept afloat by oil money, and high oil prices at the time. Obama has given the USA the worst recovery and worst period of economic growth since the Great Depression, and since Obama didn’t have oil money to keep his job and economic growth killing policies from tanking the nation entirely he’s used DEBT. Over $10 Trillion, plus endless ZERO Interest rates, and $6 Trillion in funny money created out of nothing.
Look at Venezuela folks? When the nation elected Chavez they voted to commit long and slow national suicide, and when they reelected him they confirmed that path. I suppose Chavez/Maduro achieved something. You don’t have to worry much about income inequality anymore. There are no rich and middle class for the most part. They succeeded in making everybody equally poor, except of course the corrupt cronies of Chavez/Maduro with their secret foreign bank accounts. Look at what Obama has done to the American Middle Class?
The only difference between Obama/Hillary and Chavez/Maduro is that the USA was far wealthier and had stronger democratic institutions. After 8 years of Obama our nation has doubled its DEBT, the Middle Class has dropped below 50% of the population and lost more income under Obama than any President since the Great Depression, and Government handouts are at all times highs. That folks by the way is how Chavez/Maduro stayed in power. They used the oil money they didn’t steal to give away freebies to the poorest 51% of Venezuelans to buy their votes. That is exactly what Obama has done, but he’s bought those votes with DEBT.
The USA under Obama is on the same suicidal path as Venezuela. The Change from Obama to Hillary or Biden if she goes to jail, Obama really hates her, is like the Change from Charismatic Chavez to boring stupid Maduro, with the same nation destroying policies, and the suicidal decline will just pick up speed.
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Joel,
I’m surprised I’m only learning about you for the first time, given my own sad fascination with the tragedy unfolding in Venezuela, which I have also followed closely over the years.
But I must commend you for a posting an accurate and poignant commentary.
And I will guess that you share my anger at the manner in which ideologically-driven misfits continue to argue in support of Chavismo, while the human tragedy it has created proceeds apace. Apparently you think the lives of individuals everywhere are to be valued and never sacrificed as eggs to be broken in the making of omelettes. I would agree.
I hope you will not quit.
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Thanks Jacob. Would that they were at least making omelettes – the bolivarians don’t make anything. But yes, its nice to be in touch with others who care. If you’re interested I wrote two novels about the disaster https://www.amazon.com/Lieutenant-San-Porfirio-Joel-Hirst-ebook/dp/B008ZXNQ5A?ie=UTF8&ref_=asap_bc
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I will look into those Joel.
I am also going to circulate information about you to a few bloggers who I know have been watching the situation as well.
Thanks for replying.
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Thanks! A royal mess. “but by the grace of God…” as it were
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and you’re welcome on my facebook author page too if you choose https://www.facebook.com/Joel-Hirst-147210318646388/
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Well I don’t do Facebook, but I appreciate the offer.
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its good for a writer. This blog went viral (250,000) – mostly on FB.
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Yes, I was at that point back in 2010 when I had to make the decision to either go social media with the blog I used to maintain on Latin American leftism or quit.
http://stjacquesonline.blogspot.com/
The intrusion Facebook would have created in my own regular day-to-day life just looked too great. My brother, sister, and over 60 near relatives just live on Facebook and I need a life.
So I gave it up.
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good on you 🙂
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I just love when people say that socialism does not work. And yet if you look at any list of the ten best countries in the world to live, anywhere from three to 6 of them will be on this list
http://blog.peerform.com/top-ten-most-socialist-countries-in-the-world/
What does not work is corruption and hierarchical systems with little or no bottom up processing.
My 6000 word article, orwells boot is #1, after paid links, on all search engines, usually under factotum666 and has been for about 7 years. No one has yet refuted any of the information, evidence, or logic in that article. Now the question is how do we move away from stupid and hierarchy. FWIW, Scott Adams summed up my article in 64 words, here
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/comic-riffs/wp/2016/03/21/donald-trump-will-win-in-a-landslide-the-mind-behind-dilbert-explains-why/
1. Trump knows people are basically irrational.
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It is not the suicide of a civilization, it is the Socialist murder of a way of life. Sentimentality is the twin of brutality.
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That’s the mistake. That is not socialism, is dictatorship kept alive by a permissive government that covers up crimes of all kind.to gain criminals’ devotion.
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Sorry – same diff. Socialism’s apologists are trying to always explain “this isn’t what we meant.” – Unconvincing
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Uncle Hugo may be quite dead, but “the evil that men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.” — Shakespeare
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Wow good quote.
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Oh my God! I have been seeing headlines about Venezuela coming to its knees,many of them recently. But this perspective is heart warming. It certainly is nothing epic I believe. But wait, really? Surgeries with no anaesthesia or antibiotics???
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Venezuela used to be our favorite winter vacation destination, we loved it so much that we planned on buying a vacation home there.
It was right before the government decided to hike gas prices from the ridiculous price of three cents per liter to somewhat less than five, back then we paid about fifteen times that much, people rooted in the streets and the government forces shot and killed over 300 rioters.
I remember telling my wife there’s no way I’ll buy my vacation in a country that kills its citizens over the price of gas.
After reading your blog it make me think that this event was the opening shots that started the process of “The suicide of Venezuela”.
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Out of feral grounds shall come war. A war on everything that broke this beautiful place. Buena suerte les digo, buena suerte. Si viene la dificile se viene el savior
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Hi Mr. Hirst. First of all: is necessary to declare, I live here, in the wreckage of what once was called “Venezuela”. Thanks for publishing this; all is completely true, sad but true. I will keep up the good fight, wherever it leads me. Thanks again and: see ya in the Wasteland, buddy.
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Bless you Nando and keep up the good fight! (no hay mal que dure mil anyos, ni cuerpo que lo resiste).
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In Chile recently there were posters put up on some light posts: Menos Marx, Mais Mises, so your “No hay mal…” reminds me of Mises’ motto, “Tu ne cede malis sed contra audentior ito” — “do not give in to evil but proceed ever more boldly against it.” – https://mises.org/library/got-geisteswissenschaft
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This is so sad to read and hear about on the news from time to time. My grandfather and I went to Caracas back in the early 1970’s and it was beautiful, yet patrolled by men carrying machine guns. As a young girl this terrified me to go into one of the banks to have money exchanged looking up at a indoor balcony lined with men in uniforms with more machine guns pointed down at all times at the patrons in the bank.. The landscape was the most beautiful I’ve ever seen and the drive up a high mountain for a tour was something I’ll never forget.. So, sad to hear and see the devastation of such a beautiful place….
Take care, Laura
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Thank you Laura – ya, it was lovely. It will be lovely again!
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I’ve been browsing on-line more than 3 hours lately, yet I by no means
discovered any attention-grabbing article like yours.
It is pretty value sufficient for me. Personally,
if all webmasters and bloggers made just right content material as you probably did,
the internet will probably be a lot more helpful than ever before.
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Thank you
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The people of Uganda and Mali salute you.
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Two great experiences where I made a lot of friends!!
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I would love to leave a more lengthy reply to your thoughtful post but alas, time flies over us.
Browsing the many replies you’ve received I’ve seen a lot that touch on one or other similitude to the situation in the US and I would like to add that the current situation in Venezuela is far from an spontaneous occurrence nor did it really begin with the ascendance of Chavez and his cruel rhetoric. Chavez was so much a consequence as a cause of many of the problems that were later fed to grow at the current obscene proportions. If I could in justice find, limiting my search to the last 25 years of democracy in Venezuela, an unobjectionable culprit to the situation you so graphically paint in your post and, by the way, a very real touching point between Venezuelan an American societies it would be the presence of the collective feeling that begat the infamous “punishment vote” or Voto Castigo in Spanish.
What moved record masses to vote for Chavez in the first place was the fierce rejection to the established political apparatus of that time, the string of deceptions and broken promises by an alternation of parties and figures that appeared to be different but acted and failed as the same. The dejected and downtrodden mass wanted to punish the ‘system’ somehow. Unknowingly, they were punishing themselves and the future of their children.
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Hector – very thoughtful, thank you. You are of course exactly right.
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A beautiful piece of writing. Somehow, it sent me wondering if my country the Philippines, has not commenced its preparatory steps to a similar decline. Since the advent of the 2016 elections, there has been much to be anxious for and citizens educated or not seem to be losing discernment in the face of a leadership that capitalizes on hate and sawing divisions.
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Thank you Mae. Its funny, this article has gone viral in many countries where people are stressed about national decline (Brazil, Venezuela, Greece, even the US). Seems to be something that is a global phenomenon – the stress against the way we have organized our systems of governance and public administration. I wonder if we can “reinvent government” or if we are doomed to watch the decline continue.
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Oh my goodness! Awesome article dude! Thanks, However I am having difficulties with your RSS.
I don’t know why I can’t join it. Is there anyone else getting the same RSS issues?
Anyone who knows the solution will you kindly respond?
Thanx!!
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I was researching Venezuela today after my sisters good friend in the country emailed her, begging her to mail some much needed items. Then I stumbled upon your blog and it is so true. So painfully true. How can one stop the suicide of a nation? This has been going on for so long, and it’s just getting worse…we desperately want to help, but anything sent over would be confiscated at the border anyway. My heart is heavy for this nation and I wish I could do something to help ease the suffering of the people.
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Thank you for caring – it is such a tragedy, such an avoidable tragedy. Incidentally there is a group that you can mail dry foods to in Miami who will ship it into Venezuela for you. http://www.directodeusa.net
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Thank you so much! I will definitely look into this!
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Also check vikomexport.com. They have prepared food packages for $95 and $145 delivered to the door. I have used them successfully.
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Great post. http://www.rocksavvy.com/groups/nine-mistakes-in-monster-truck-games-that-make-you-look-dumb/
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Thank you
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Having lived in Vevezuela in the late 1970’s and 80’s it is so sad to see the continual decline. There were problems then but not the chaos of now
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There are none so blind as a socialist that will not see.
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What was the first bad idea it was the second and I deer on anon what were the sequence of bad ideas? So I no other civilization have to go through this
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Ricardo Hausmann wrote a good review of this: https://www.amazon.com/Venezuela-Before-Ch%C3%A1vez-Economic-Collapse-ebook/dp/B00MX7X2FS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1532929665&sr=8-1&keywords=venezuela+anatomy+of+a+collapse I myself did one on the foreign policy aspects and the grand political and economic project which were not feasible https://www.amazon.com/Alba-Inside-Venezuelas-Bolivarian-Alliance/dp/1477497625/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1532929715&sr=8-1&keywords=alba+inside+venezuela
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muy buen artículo.
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Gracias.
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Excellent article! We are linking to this particularly great content on our site. Keep up the good writing.
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Next time I read a blog, I hope that it does not disappoint me just as much as this particular one. After all, Yes, it was my choice to read, nonetheless I really believed you would have something helpful to talk about. All I hear is a bunch of whining about something you could fix if you were not too busy searching for attention.
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Greaat post thankyou
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Thanks for visiting
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I am from Trinidad West Indies, a very close neighboring Caribbean island to the northeast of Venezuela.
I also have been saddened and astonished by the state of Venezuela; by the millions of people crawling around for any scrap of food they could find; with no vestiges of a successful civilization in sight – no food, no Health Care, no responsible government. They have first suffered under the dictates of Chavez only to be succeeded by the dictates of yet another insane dictator looking for his own historical immortality rather than the needs of his own people.
Indeed there was a time when millions of Venezuelans took to the streets to reject the deplorable conditions under which they were being forced to live, many of which caused by the then dictator. I saw it on TV and I think so did the rest of the world but the Venezuelan epic tragedy quickly died away, simply listed and then forgotten as another South American intrinsic failure.
Since then the world by and large has abandoned Venezuela to its own natural implosion. What a hard and uncaring world we live in!
Thousands must die & entire country be annihilated, because South America is not considered part of the Great Western Metropolis headed by the USA.
I feel have helpless and disgusted by this state of affairs which has gone on historically for way too long.
The world on a whole, deserves so much better than to be fragmented and torn apart by these lines of division between rich and poor – because basically that is what it is; whoever has the power. That entire countries be forgotten as they fall prey to a human-less humanity both within and without.
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Thanks Donna. Powerlessness is a terrible thing, and there is nothing more powerless than poverty.
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