Venezuela to Privatize Some Of Its State-Owned Businesses

This is what socialism does to a country.

But remember: it started with "democratic" socialism. pic.twitter.com/jYhKHpYYpB

— Jon Miltimore (@miltimore79) February 15, 2021

Jon Miltimore, Foundation for Economic Education: Bloomberg: Venezuela Turns to Privatization After Being Bankrupted by Socialism 

After much pain and suffering, Venezuelan socialist leaders have conceded they cannot effectively run an economy. 

Early in 2007, after winning a second six-year term as president, Hugo Chávez announced his plan to nationalize Venezuela’s largest telecommunications company, CANTV, hinting at wider nationalization plans to come. 

“All that was privatized, let it be nationalized,” announced Chávez, who had run under the banner of democratic socialism. 

Nearly a decade and a half later, on the brink of mass famine and a growing energy crisis, Venezuela is now moving in the opposite direction. 

According to Bloomberg News, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro has quietly begun transferring state assets back into the hands of private owners in an effort to reverse the country's economic collapse. 

Read more .... 

WNU editor: Too little and too late. And more to the point .... 

  .... The Maduro government is still using everything from price controls on food to minimum wage hikes to currency manipulation to manage its economy, not to mention selecting which businesses get to participate in its privatization efforts (and who gets to invest). In terms of overall economic freedom, Venezuela ranked 179 out of 180 countries in 2020—one place ahead of North Korea and one behind Cuba.