Kuidas Venetsueela ehitab 21. sajandi sotsialismi!

Kui Zimbabve on jätkuva visadusega demonstreerimas, et majandusepoliitika ei ole fantaasiaharjutus, kus teha saab kõike, mis pähe tuleb, siis Venetsueelat kisub Chavezi eestvedamisel samas suunas kuigi mõnevõrra teist teed pidi:

With oil income rising fourfold during Chávez's presidency, the economy has registered double-digit growth the past three years. Gross domestic output has gone from $103 billion in 1999 to $174 billion last year, according to recent testimony on Capitol Hill. Increased royalties and taxes leveled on private oil companies since 2004 have generated nearly $6 billion for government coffers, Chávez said last month, and authorities are cracking down relentlessly on tax evaders.

But in frequent speeches, Chávez has also lauded the bounties of Marxism, praised Castro's economic management and threatened private businesses with takeovers. That has helped unsettle markets. Foreign investment has screeched to a halt, registering an outflow of $543 million last year. The Caracas stock exchange has lost much of its volume after the government nationalized CANTV, the telecommunications company, and the Caracas electric utility. Perhaps most significant, Venezuela's state oil company has seen production decline over the past decade.

Ainus, mis Venetsueelat pinnal hoiab, on kõrge nafta hinda ja imestamisväärseks peab pidama olukorda, kus vaatamata kasvavale nõudlusele on toodang ainult vähenenud. Eelnevalt viidatud artiklist tuleb aga välja, kuidas Venetsueelas 21. sajandi sotsialismi ehitatakse ja seda loomulikult läbi erafirmade riigistamise. Ainult, et kui hiinlastel on riigifirmad vähem kasumlikud, siis mis imevõim peaks vastupidist tulemust võimaldama Venetsueelas?

Eraldi huvitav nähtus on aga sotsialistliku koostöö musternäidisena esile tõstetud Kuuba arstide abi Venetsueelas ja paljudes teistest arenguriikides, mis kahjuks on jõudmas paljuski ette ennustatava lõpuni:

Several Cuban medics interviewed by World Politics Review said they wanted to be sent overseas, as a rare opportunity to travel or as an escape route to the United States. Many Cuban medics posted in Venezuela reportedly return home carrying large quantities of toilet paper, sanitary napkins and other consumer products that are in short supply on the island.

Once off of the island, the medics said, poor working conditions and disappointment with the Cuban medical programs' effectiveness added reasons to defect. Yane, 29, a nurse, said she and one doctor were left alone in a clinic in a Venezuelan coastal town to care for a maternity ward and a trauma ward with many accident victims. Often, they had so many patients they could not go home for three or four days at a stretch. When she and others complained about the conditions, she said, the program's Cuban directors threatened to send them back to Cuba.

Artiklis peatutakse veel sellel, kui vähe Kuuba arstidele nende oskuste eest makstakse ja kuidas kasvav kuritegevus on Venetsueelast tegemas kõike muud kui atraktiivse töökoha. Ma julgen väita, et kaugel ei ole see aeg, kus Venetsueela valitsus peab Chavezi poliitikat jätkates hakkama piirama inimeste väljapääsu riigist ja inimesed saavad ka ise aru, et nad pigem orjad kui vabad inimesed.