Socialist Venezuela Moves Towards Privatization
Venezuela has long been in a state of bankruptcy and famine with hundreds of failed state industries draining the economy. With his idyllic vision of socialism and mass nationalization of all industries not going as intended, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has started to transfer various enterprises into private hands, including hotels, chemical plants, and even coffee processors.
When Maduro came to power eight years ago, more than 1,000 companies and farms were seized from the people by the state to make them more efficient under socialism. Unfortunately, that quickly became inefficient and obsolete. One such example is the oil industry which is riddled with corruption and is a contributing factor to the mass poverty currently in the nation. By 2014 the country was in a serious recession, constantly plagued by inflation due to the surge in government spending, and on the brink of economic collapse.
Millions of Venezuelans fled their socialist homeland for capitalist countries such as America, where they could live a better life living unhindered from state control. Now, socialism seems to be losing its hold as the command economy is shifting towards capitalism. Venezuela is currently in the zone of "synchronization of the public sector with the private sector" or "socialism with a capitalist veneer." Although they are being careful not to cross the line toward capitalism too far, it is much better than a centrally planned economy. Maduro's move towards privatization resembles Russia's privatization process after the Soviet Union collapsed in the 1990s. Venezuela's economy will most likely improve, but it will never yield the prosperity that full privatization of industries would.
Nevertheless, the ceding of state industries to private investors is significant progress that will be an important benchmark for their country As Venezuela gradually increases in economic freedom, hopefully, one day the country will be able to embrace the power of the free market and completely abandon socialism. Until then, Venezuela's story should be a warning to the politicians on the left who want to implement socialist elements here in America.
https://fee.org/articles/bloomberg-venezuela-turns-to-privatization-after-being-bankrupted-by-socialism/?utm_medium=related_widget