At a time when newspaper sales are declining worldwide, it is surprising that The Mercury sees fit to serve up outrageous fake news by Independent Group Foreign Editor Shannon Ebrahim (August 30) proclaiming that socialism is a success in Venezuela.
To add insult to injury, Ebrahim claims that US sanctions against Venezuela constitute a “war crime” against which the UN should act. The truth of the tragedy in Venezuela is the exact opposite of what Ebrahim claims. The UN should be acting against the human rights abuses of the Chavez and Maduro regimes in Venezuela.
For Ebrahim to claim that socialism in Venezuela is “largely successful” is an outright lie. As a result of socialist policies, since 1999, six million hectares of privately owned land has been expropriated resulting in a 75% drop in food production. Mass starvation has become a reality in socialist Venezuela.
Banks, shops and industries have been nationalised resulting in widespread unemployment. Property rights have been eroded through expropriation. Nearly two million people have fled the country. Once the wealthiest state in South America, Venezuela has become a basket case of hunger, misery and fear.
Blaming US sanctions on Venezuela for its plight is typical socialist propaganda that one would expect in a former Soviet publication like Pravda but not in The Mercury. Sponsorship should be found to provide Ebrahim with a one-way ticket to the socialist paradise of Venezuela.
Sent into The Mercury and published, 2 September 2019.
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