Venezuelan gov't to deliver 4,200 houses to homeless

[Judi Lynn]

Venezuelan gov't to deliver 4,200 houses to homeless
Oct 29,2013

CARACAS, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some 4,200 Venezuelan families now without a home will be given a new house by December, Housing Minister Ricardo Molina said Monday.

The move is part of the government's Great Housing Scheme that aims to build three million housing units by the end of 2019, as planned by late President Hugo Chavez.

Heavy downpours at the end of 2010 and the start of 2011 left as many as 40,000 families, or 130,000 people, homeless, and they have been living like refugees in government shelters, said Molina.

"We are concluding this chapter ..." Molina said, noting that 80 percent of the families in the shelters have already been attended to, and those who lived in high-risk areas have also benefited from the housing program.

More:
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=176470

[ReRe]

1. K&R

Thanks, Judi Lynn, for this report from Venezuela. Of course you won't find anything like this in our country. You can't even feed the homeless in this country without facing a charge for breaking a local ordinance of some sort. Here, the left cheers when the uninsured and under-insured can purchase health insurance, yet it's a big brawl by the right to try to stop it!

[newfie11]

2. +infinity

[Warren Stupidity]

3. this is an outrage! toilet paper shortage! dictator!

[Socialistlemur]

4. Housing crisis isn't related to toilet paper and food shortage

Venezuela has a housing crisis, and the problem has increased in the last 15 years because population increases very fast and the government didn't have policies to encourage housing construction (credit for housing is very difficult to obtain and interest rates are high).

The move to build housing was triggered by the 2010 flooding and the forthcoming 2012 presidential elections. However the housing program has been reduced in scope because the government is short on funds (this being caused by enormous corruption, a crazy foreign exchange system and a general decay in production due to misguided government policies).

The toilet paper, medicine and food shortages being experienced in recent times by the Venezuelan people are only a recent phenomenon. They surged right as Chavez won the October elections, and became worse over time because Maduro and his "economic advisors" are very good at shooting themselves in the foot.

Right now the food shortage seems to continue unabated, as well as the toiled paper, soap, and other shortages. The shortages are made a lot worse because inflation is running in the 40 to 50 % range, there's a large gap between the state controlled exchange rate and the black market, and the government is short on dollars to award to satisfy import needs.

From a purely Economic standpoint the Chavez policy, which lasted 15 years so far, has been a total disaster. Maduro has made a weak stab at attacking corruption, but it remains a big problem, and he seems unable to change the economic team players (Giordani, Ramirez, etc) which have harmed the economy for so many years. Fifteen years of mismanagement is very hard to overcome even if oil prices are at $100 per barrel. So it seems Mr Maduro will increasingly be forced to cut back these government handouts, weak as they have been in 2013.

I sense from your comment you are unaware that indeed Chavez was guilty of terrible mismanagement. Bringing about change and improving conditions for the people is a noble goal, but the methods he used were stupid. Because oil prices climbed very fast during his tenure and he had the ability to take on debt, he became spoiled and arrogant and threw money over the side like a madman. And he allowed corruption to flourish. Now Maduro, who is clearly unable to break with the past, seems more inclined to use repression and abuse to dodge problems and bury the messenger. And this is going to cost him dearly because the Venezuelan economy is clearly entering a meltdown phase.

And if you think I'm some kind of right wing nut, many of the ideas I express are found in aporrea.org, a communist website. I suggest you try to read it if you read in Spanish. Look up Felipe Pérez Martí and his recent articles.