From Bloomberg:
Venezuela to Ration Electricity After Colombia Cuts Gas
Venezuela’s government announced the start of electricity rationing in western Zulia state as well as water rationing in Caracas to reduce demand on the power grid, a day after Ford Motor Co. (F) halted production in Latin America’s largest oil exporter.
The second-largest U.S. automaker joins competitor Toyota Motor Corp. (7203) and Dutch truck-maker CNH Industrial NV (CNHI) in suspending assembly in the South American country because of the difficulty of obtaining dollars to import parts from the government.
Shortages of everything from water to car parts and flour to pregnancy tests come after three months of protests against the government of President Nicolas Maduro that have left at least 41 people dead. The government yesterday said it will start rationing electricity and water as drought drains hydroelectric reservoirs and water tanks.
And it is not as though such shortages have not happened before - from this 2009 article at CNN:
Venezuela rations water in response to drought
November 3, 2009 10:33 a.m. EST
Residents of the Venezuelan capital on Monday began to experience water rationing as part of a government preservation measure during a drought.
New dams and reservoirs? Zero - those cost money and we are using all available funds to buy votes, not build infrastructure.
And it is not just water and electricity - food is being rationed as well - from FOX News:
Food Rationing In Venezuela? Country Rolls Out Grocery ID Cards
Battling food shortages, the government is rolling out a new ID system that is either a grocery loyalty card with extra muscle or the most dramatic step yet toward rationing in Venezuela, depending on who is describing it.
President Nicólas Maduro's administration says the cards to track families' purchases will foil people who stock up on groceries at subsidized prices and then illegally resell them for several times the amount. Critics say it's another sign the oil-rich Venezuelan economy is headed toward Cuba-style dysfunction.
And this wonderful bit of news from the London Daily Mail:
Hugo Chavez's daughters refuse to move out of presidential palace and hold 'deafening' parties as five die in violent protests on the streets of Venezuela
While violence rages on the streets of Venezuela, the children of former president Hugo Chavez have refused to move out of the presidential palace and turned it into a party pad.
Rosa Virginia, 35, and Maria Gabriela Chavez, 33, are reportedly holding raucous nights in the luxurious six-bedroom villa, complete with a swimming pool and private movie theater.
Current president Nicolas Maduro has a constitutional right to live there, but this problem may be low down his list of priorities, as civil unrest engulfs the country killing five people so far.
A bit more:
Fast food restaurants and other companies will apparently no longer deliver to the compound over unpaid bills.
And we are about ten years away from this if the current administration holds on to its power. Socialism has never worked. These are ideas so good they must be mandatory.
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