Reader comments are listed below. Comments are currently closed and new comments are no longer being accepted. I was in Medellin last November. It is not quite a First World City, but it is not terribly far removed.
Colombia does a lot better than Venezuela, perhaps because the economy is more diversified. Some of it is diversified in the bad way of trafficking in cocaine, but most of it is diversification in the good way of having many crops and industries to develop, and having a business culture. Venezuela got locked into a petroleum economy. In Latin America petroleum is a government-owned commodity, so wealth from oil does not usually flow down to the people. It is used to reinforce the government bureaucracies.
Then, when, the price goes down, the country suffers. Venezuela is an especially degenerate government tied to dictatorship and oil. I am sure the average Venezuelan is as fine a person as any other, but the people are handcuffed by their degenerate Commie government.
Like in Cuba many poor venezuelans women must now prostitute themselves to feed their family. Castrism and chavism are really great step forward for women's liberation. They should thank the progressist left all over the world wich has done so much to help them find this marvellous alternative socialist way of living. A bit out of topics, but I agree. A lot of misery would have been avoided if JFK had backed the anticastrist invasion. Most american medias and political elite was fooled and mesmerized by Castro "romantic" revolution , as many worlwide were fooled by Chavez.
Untill this days, you will find honest conservative, centrist,and social democrats blind to the horrors and lack of positive achievement of both revolution. People love to dream and ignore far away reality. I was in Medellin, Colombia the day Castro died. The people cheered his demise. The USA would have done Cuba and Latin America a gigantic favor by removing Castro in , although perhaps our intervention would not have been understood or appreciated at that time.
