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Venezuela nears total collapse as government now unable to provide food, water, electricity ...

• http://www.naturalnews.com

(NaturalNews) Every day seems to bring new evidence that Venezuela's transition from a market-based economy to a socialist one is proving to be every bit as ill-advised as it has sounded from day one. The country is now nearing total collapse as the government is failing miserably to provide its citizens with basic necessities such as water, food, electricity and protection. Meanwhile, inflation is set to exceed 700 percent this year.

The socialist policies put in place by the late Hugo Chavez and perpetuated by current president Nicolas Maduro are driving the country to complete collapse. The fall in oil prices isn't helping matters, as the nation heavily relies on oil exports. Medical suppliers are cutting off shipments, and health organizations warn that people are dying from a lack of medicine.

Unrest is rising dangerously, with protesters regularly clashing with police in bloody demonstrations. Zero Hedge reports that morgues are overflowing as the country descends into chaos, and collapse is pretty much inevitable. Violence is rising sharply, with murders rising dramatically.
 

Power grid nearing collapse

In the wake of all this unrest, Maduro recently announced that every Friday will be a "holiday" in order to slash electricity usage. State employees will be given Fridays off of work for at least the next two months, and Maduro is urging people to forgo hair dryers, appreciate the country's tropical heat and hang their clothes out to dry. In fact, Maduro even had the gall to say that women look better when they let their hair air dry.

At first, the government tried to pass it off as a desire to be more green, but it's really just a desperate measure to prevent the collapse of the power grid. Venezuela gets 70 percent of its electricity from its hydroelectric plants. Severe drought has led to a water shortage everywhere, and the reduced water levels in the plants mean generators aren't putting out as much power as needed.

The government required businesses to cut their power usage by 10 percent, and police can enter and inspect businesses at will to see if they are exceeding their allotment. The Organic Prepper reports that, in February, stores were forced to turn off electricity from 1pm to 3pm and then again from 7pm to 9pm every day.

In 2014, Natural News reported that food shortages had reached such a critical level in the country that the government instituted an identification system akin to rationing that keeps track of people's purchases and criminalizes hoarding.


 

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