It turns out that socialism is proving to be really catastrophic for Venezuela. When you mix price controls, inflation, central economic planning and inept government officials, you get this: daily blackouts.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that his government will order public employees to work only on Mondays and Tuesdays as the country tackles an energy crisis, according to the Associated Press. The nation with the largest oil reserve in the world is trying to save energy and they believe employing a two-day work week is a proper remedy.
Not only is the socialist government imposing a two-day work week, it’s also instituting four-hour blackouts beginning next week to limit the energy crisis.
For the next 40 days, Venezuelans will have to experience power cuts for four hours everyday. It remains unclear as to exactly when the rolling blackouts will occur, but Energy Minister Luis Motta Dominguez confirmed it won’t happen between 8 p.m. and midday.
The government has also ordered all businesses and shopping malls to limit their operating hours and, if necessary, produce their own energy.
Other measures Maduro has implemented include declaring new national holidays, shifting the nation’s time zone and giving all government workers Fridays off permanently. He also wants households to stop ironing their clothes.
The president made global headlines earlier this month when he encouraged women to embrace the wet hair look by no longer blow drying their hair (SEE: LOL: ‘Socialist Paradise’ Venezuela wants women to stop using hairdryers amid power outages).
Some companies are closing down altogether. Polar, the nation’s primary brewer, confirmed that it will stop production because there is no energy and it has no dollars to purchase grain abroad, reports BBC News. It’s estimated that 10,000 workers will be affected.
What a socialist paradise Venezuela has become: food shortages, energy shortages, widespread suffering and a ridiculous leader.
–AM
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