His country is spiralling down into an economic morass, but Hugo Chavez wants the Venezuelan people to enjoy a socialist Christmas. Inflation at 26%, manufacturing all but gone, but little Venezuelan children will find a present on Christmas morning.The Romans understood the concept of bread and circuses. Bread's getting mighty expensive in Venezuela, so Santa Chavez figured on bringing in the distraction of a circus.
At a cost of $1.4 million, the Fidel Castro wannabe brought in 124.000 toys from China. What, you thought that all those lead-infused items returned from the U.S. would go to waste? Venezuelans were invited to Hugo's Super Sale Tent to pick up toys on the cheap.
Not given away, but sold at 'cost', without the profits tacked on by evil middlemen. The state newspaper proclaimed victory over capitalist toys. Kids don't much know the difference between knock-offs and the real thing anyway. The parents are thrilled to be able to give their offspring something for Christmas, and if they praise Hugo Chavez, that's the point.
For those who missed the toy sale, the items sold at a discount were available in nearby markets shortly after the sale ended. At regular prices, however.
Funny how capitalism pops up when someone figures out how to make a profit.
2 comments:
Chavez has done many bad things but giving toys to children hardly makes him a horrible person and a bad leader.
The reasons for Chavez's popularity in Latin America are complex, and it is wrong to dismiss the phenomenon of Chavez and Evo Morales as an oddity.
It makes him a manipulator and his gesture is far from an act of kindness. He's buying loyalty so he can stay in office. Citizens react positively to being bought off, and the Roman Empire survived for a long time on such bribery.
If people have distractions so they don't notice how bad things are, they're less likely to revolt.
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