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In 2017 Ardern described herself as a Democratic Socialist, the label applicable to Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro, authors of Venezuela’s economic disaster. Jacinda Ardern:
“Some people have asked me if I’m a radical. My answer to that is very simple. I’m from Morrinsville. Where I come from a radical is someone who chooses to drive a Toyota rather than a Holden or a Ford. I am, though, a Social Democrat.
I believe strongly in the values of human rights, social justice, equality democracy and the role of communities.She set out her belief that “our welfare state is a necessary safety net, and a support for those who are unable to support themselves” and called for compulsory teaching of te reo Maori in schools, highlighted the value of unions both in her early part-time jobs and while living in New York.”
A political label is fairly arbitrary but political policy is not. Ardern’s 2017 values do not represent my view that welfare has become so entrenched it is now an entitlement instead of a safety net and I see no merit in compulsory unionism or compulsory te reo in schools. But how much control should Jacinda Ardern have in these decisions? Does her election victory give her a mandate to do exactly what she wants?
We are a democracy so how is it possible to turn us into the banana republic of Aoteazuela (and build Hangonamin’s Pink House)?
It would be challenging, but not impossible, for Ardern to sweep aside democracy.
Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro achieved dictatorship disguised as democracy. In 1992 Hugo Chavez attempted a leadership take over via a coup d’état. It failed, but Chavez succeeded when he was elected president in 1998. Venezuelans overwhelmingly elected the most popular candidate, proving sweet-talking is more effective than bashing your way into power. Bear in mind that this happened at a time when half the country lived below the poverty line (now it’s 90%), annual inflation exceeded 30% and oil prices were tanking.
“Chávez’s political platform promised to rid the country of corruption, help the poor, and reduce the power of elites.
He pledged to write a new constitution and remake Venezuelan democracy. In mid-1999 Venezuelans elected a constituent assembly dominated by pro-Chávez delegates, and voters soon approved a new constitution by referendum.”
But Chavez’s popularity diminished when he instituted military rule and his political greed became evident. He ran roughshod over pre-election promises to end corruption, poverty and elitism.
“Chávez seized individual wealth, including land and companies, put his supporters in positions of power and gave the military broad control.”
Nikki Haley in her book “With All Due Respect” explains.
“He packed the courts with his followers. He put his cronies in charge of the critical oil industry. And he justified it all by saying he was delivering socialism to his people. And he got away with it for as long as oil prices were high. But when prices fell, it exposed the damage caused by his economic policies. Basic food items began to disappear from Venezuelan stores.”
Hugo Chavez and Jacinda Ardern have much in common: both Democratic Socialists, both very popular, both promising to end poverty (Ardern’s child poverty) and both with absolutely no idea how to manage their country’s rich resources.
Something else Ardern and Chavez have in common is their political use of a national disaster, giving substance to the notion that fear and financial dependency are politically powerful. Ardern’s 2020 win was on the back of COVID fear-mongering and financial dependency by 346,000 unemployed or wanting more work at the end of the June quarter and 450,000 supported by the wage subsidy extension.
“In December 1999 Venezuelans suffered one of the deadliest events in their national history. A severe rainstorm brought on mud slides and flash floods that ravaged communities along the mountainous northern coast, including sections of the Caracas metropolitan area. Hundreds of thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed, and estimates of the dead ranged from a few thousand to tens of thousands.
Following the cataclysm, the nation focused its efforts on reconstruction projects and emergency aid, including resettling thousands of homeless families.”
But Chavez’s political idealism pales into insignificance when compared to the disastrous financial results of corruption and mismanagement.
Ardern must be held accountable, not for her declared Democratic Socialist stance but for her inability to deliver on her promises. Actions speak louder than words.
Chavez died in 2013 and was replaced by the corrupt Nicolás Maduro who Haley labels a “narco-criminal dictator” for promoting individuals accused of drug trafficking to high positions of the Venezuelan government.
In May 2018 Maduro is alleged to have received drug trafficking profits from Diosdado Cabello and his alleged connection to the Cartel of the Suns, a Venezuelan organization involved in the lucrative international drug trade headed by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of Venezuela.
Despite Venezuela having the largest proven oil reserves in the world both Chavez and Maduro were careless about its management with no plans in place when the price of crude oil tanked.
“When Chavez took power, Venezuela pumped roughly 3.5 million barrels of oil per day. Production has since collapsed to less than one-third of that.
Oil is a capital-intensive business. To secure future production, Venezuela needed to reinvest an adequate portion of windfalls from flush years into its state-owned oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA.
Chavez failed to do this. His policies also gutted the sector of vital expertise.“If you talk to experts who have long worked on and followed the oil sector in Venezuela they will tell you there was significant technical expertise in the past and those experts are just not there any more,” said Garcia Tufro.”
The collapse of Venezuela in 2014 has been described as the worst economic collapse the world has seen in decades in the absence of war and must be attributed to poor governance.
“Today, Venezuela is a basket case of epic proportions.
Its economy has shrunk by more than two thirds since 2013; incomes have fallen to their lowest levels in decades; hyperinflation wreaks havoc with savings and purchasing; and people scavenge for food and collect firewood to survive.While food, medicine, water, and gas remain in short supply across the country, public services have collapsed; gangs control entire towns; looters ransack businesses; spotty electricity leaves towns without banking, cellphone, and other services for days at a time; store owners try to stay in business by repairing power lines on their own; butchers sell offal, fat shavings, and calves’ hooves because consumers can’t afford meat; and at least three million Venezuelans have fled the country.”
The warning signs of corruption are evident by the accumulation of power and the dispensing of democracy. These signs should never be ignored but thankfully we have no such evidence of corruption here. Ardern’s first term performance failures are due to incompetence and inexperience, not corruption.
The ills inflicted in Venezuela cannot be attributed to socialism per se.
Initially, Maduro declared capitalists enemies of the state but when socialism no longer served his purpose he ditched it for a return to free enterprise.
“Venezuela’s tale is hardly a unique one. In recent decades, socialist nations across the world have scrapped their doctrinaire visions and incorporated elements of free enterprise to rescue their ailing economies.
The fight for survival has forced the [Venezuelan] government to become pragmatic,” Ramiro Molina, an economist at Caracas’ Andres Bello Catholic University, told the New York Times. “Only the narrative is still socialist.”
Largely thanks to factors outside her control Ardern cleaned up in 2020 but barring further disasters she will have to work a lot harder in 2023.
She must overcome her own lock down legacy of crippled tourism, hospitality and small business failure, not to mention lagging health, transport and infrastructure. This is no small task.
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