Maduro: it’s not me, it’s the Economic War

President Maduro insisted yesterday that the current economic crisis in Venezuela is not the result of misguided economic policies by his government, but of a coordinated Economic War waged by the local opposition and the “Empire”.

“No, what this [crisis] demonstrates is the failure of the speculative and criminal capitalist model, which claims earnings in dollars. And many of those involved [in the Economic War] are part of the bourgeoisie that are seeking huge profits, and then they take that money and go on and finance many other things, they want to upset the country. We are facing a war against peace,” explained Maduro.

Economic experts and opposition critics who have pointed to more structural causes for the scarcity of basic products are, according to Maduro, “rightist factors or expert capitalist opinion makers. Not once have they condemned smuggling of goods. All these spokespersons of big business are justifying smuggling and are condemning those that are fighting for the country. They are so mean that they are unwilling to fight by my side, and to be on the side of the people, in this battle for the economic stability of the country, because they are betting on harming the country.”

Instead, what really needs to be done to stabilize the economy is to increase controls even more. For Maduro the “struggle is based on three basic pillars: an anti-smuggling plan, the implementation of the Biometric System, to fight against the illicit use of products, and the creation of a special intelligence unit against the Economic War.”

The President insisted that he would not take “neo-liberal measures. [Because]  We can and we must construct a different economy.”

(Image El Universal)