All is not well in Venezuela's Socialist Utopia

[Seth]

Faith
‘Unbelievable’: Venezuela Shortages Move Far Beyond Just Toilet Paper
May. 31, 2013 7:30pm Erica Ritz

Venezuelan Churches Face Scarcity of Wine and Bread

In this May 29, 2013 photo, a Eucharistic Minister serves communion during Mass at a Catholic church in Caracas, Venezuela. (Photo: AP)

CARACAS, Venezuela (TheBlaze/AP) — Amid Venezuela’s growing scarcities, not even the Roman Catholic Church has received a dispensation.

According to church officials, shortages and restrictions are causing a lack of crucial ingredients needed to celebrate Mass: altar wine as well as wheat to produce communion wafers.

National church officials are currently asking churches to ration their wine and wafers “during this emergency,” Reuters reports.

“We only have enough for two months,” said Archbishop Roberto Luckert, a spokesman for the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference.

The church’s concerns echo those of Venezuelans in general, who have struggled to find basic goods like toilet paper and staple food items like milk, sugar and cooking oil.

Economists say the shortages stem from the socialist government’s controls on the prices of some goods and on foreign currency, which makes it hard for producers to pay for things they need to import.

But President Nicolas Maduro blames the shortages on hoarding and says anti-government forces are trying to destabilize the country.
Venezuelan Churches Face Scarcity of Wine and Bread

Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, left, and Bolivia’s President Evo Morales show giant loafs known as “Pan de Arani” during Maduro’s welcoming ceremony in Cochabamba, Bolivia, Sunday May 26, 2013. (Photo: AP)

Venezuela has maintained strict currency controls since 2003, creating a black market that now sells dollars at more than triple the official rate of 6.3 bolivars. Falling oil exports and foreign investment have also helped dry up the dollar supply.

The church is considering asking the government for access to dollars, but it hasn’t made a formal request so far, Luckert said.

The shortage of wheat flour has compounded the problems for the church, because the host, or wafer, administered during Holy Communion must be made of wheat. The wafers are made by nuns in convents and parish houses.

“Sometimes we spend days trying to get two or three bags,” said Sister Maria de los Angeles, a 49-year-old nun shopping in a small grocery store in Caracas.

Though the government has announced mass imports of basic food items and toilet paper, many products seem to run out shortly after they hit the shelves.

Liliana Escobar, a 32-year-old housewife, was among those lined up this week outside store rumored to have received a fresh shipment of toilet paper.

“On top of losing hours in order to buy four rolls of paper, now we won’t even be able to receive communion as God commands,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”

[JimC]

“On top of losing hours in order to buy four rolls of paper, now we won’t even be able to receive communion as God commands,” she said. “It’s unbelievable.”

Life is very shitty...

But yes, this is a real case where socialism can probably take the blame for stuffing things up...

Seth, I suppose you have to get one right eventually if you keep trying...

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Googlefishing is occasionally productive, yes.

[pErvinalia]

Venezuala isn't as clear cut as that, Jim. Depends who you ask. There's a fuckload of people who loved Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution.

[JimC]

Venezuala isn't as clear cut as that, Jim. Depends who you ask. There's a fuckload of people who loved Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution.

And it may well have seemed preferable at the time to the quite possibly rancid alternative. He was a charismatic populist...

Doesn't mean that an unthinking adherence to socialist economic policies may not have created serious problems...

My point was that these may have actually been socialist policies, rather than Seth's usual description of anything other than Attila the hun...

[pErvinalia]

I'm not sure where that article came from as Seth hasn't linked it. You've got to be very careful concerning the media around Venezuela. South America has always been the US's backyard, and it's always been very active in its roll as the Neighbourhood Watch commander . South American socialism is one of the biggest threats to US style capitalism (aka neo-liberalism). Well, at least, that's how the pollies and media there view it. From what I can tell the mainstream media in the US presents an incredibly one-sided view of places like Cuba and Venezuela. The whole concept of more equal wealth and a more happy populace is a real threat to the entrenched elites in the capitalist world. I'd actually love to hear real stories from people I know and trust to get to the truth of the matter. EVen better, I'd love to travel to these places myself and see the truth. Perhaps one day.

[NineBerry]

[...]

Church leaders say the problem arose when the local supplier of the specialty sacramental wine used at Mass had a bad harvest. They turned to importers, but the companies told them it was impossible to obtain dollars to bring the wine into the country because of Venezuela's strict currency controls.

[...]

Meanwhile, the local Catholic Church has given priests permission to use different types of wine for communion.

"In extreme necessity ... they can provisionally use Chilean or Argentine wines of good quality - French, Spanish and Italian too, but they are very expensive," said an internal church memo.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... NZ20130530

So there's plenty of wine, just not the one Jehova likes best.

[Warren Dew]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/ ... NZ20130530

The shortage of wheat flour has also hit production of the bread used for communion, church leaders say.

I'd be more concerned about a wheat and bread shortage than a wine shortage.

[Warren Dew]

Venezuala isn't as clear cut as that, Jim. Depends who you ask. There's a fuckload of people who loved Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution.

Mostly because he gave them stuff for free so they didn't have to work. That works for countries who can nationalize vast oil wealth to pay for the free stuff, but for few other countries - and even then, it only works until the population grows to the point where the oil wealth isn't enough to go around any more.

Chavez is irrelevant now anyway since he's dead. Venezuela can't rely on hero worship to maintain stability any more.

[NineBerry]

They use corn for bread in South America not wheat. Only the church wants wheat . They don't have a problem with stuff that's produced in Venezuela only with stuff that needs to be imported.

[Seth]

Venezuala isn't as clear cut as that, Jim. Depends who you ask. There's a fuckload of people who loved Chavez and his Bolivarian revolution.

Or used to...until the chickens come home to roost as they did for Castro. That's when the Death Squads really start working to silence those who see through the Marxist lies.

[Seth]

They use corn for bread in South America not wheat. Only the church wants wheat . They don't have a problem with stuff that's produced in Venezuela only with stuff that needs to be imported.

Lie.

[NineBerry]

... down with me I want to have sex with you?

[pErvinalia]

They use corn for bread in South America not wheat. Only the church wants wheat . They don't have a problem with stuff that's produced in Venezuela only with stuff that needs to be imported.

Facts have NO place in this debate, you hear me?!

[Warren Dew]

They use corn for bread in South America not wheat. Only the church wants wheat . They don't have a problem with stuff that's produced in Venezuela only with stuff that needs to be imported.

Venezuela is a net importer of corn as well, to the tune of millions of tonnes per year. 'Stuff that needs to be imported' includes the majority of Venezuela's food needs.