On the afternoon of December 28, Luis Fernando Camacho was riding in his car and was a half block from his home when an unmarked white van pulled in front of him. Armed men dressed in black jumped out. They rushed Camacho’s car, smashing his windows and demanding he get out.
Camacho calmly replied, “I’m here. You don’t need to do any more.”
The men responded with violence, throwing Camacho to the ground. They handcuffed his arms behind his back and drove him away.
Not having any more information, one would be forgiven for thinking that Camacho must be a drug kingpin or some other nefarious actor. But no, he is the current governor of the department of Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Bolivia has nine &#8216;departments,&#8217; their version of states, and Santa Cruz is the largest and most populous of the departments. Not only that, but it is also the richest and most productive department in Bolivia. In 2021, Camacho won his election with 55% of the vote and became governor of the department.
Camacho came to prominence politically in 2019. Protests had erupted throughout the nation in response to alleged overt electoral fraud. The common refrain in Santa Cruz during the protests was, “We will not be Venezuela!” Camacho took on a leadership role in the opposition to then-President, Evo Morales.
<div id="attachment_486260" style="width: 876px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-486260" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-486260" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-866x576.jpg" alt="" width="866" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-866x576.jpg 866w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-768x511.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-2048x1363.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245941890-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 866px) 100vw, 866px" />RODRIGO URZAGASTI/AFP via Getty Images</div>
With the country roiled in protests, Camacho traveled to La Paz, the capital, and went to the Government Palace with a Bible and a letter of resignation for the president to sign, but Morales had already fled.
Many high-ranking officials resigned, including the president and the vice president. The Bolivian constitution was followed to find the line of succession and Jeanine Añez, the second vice president of the Senate, became interim president.
But even though most of the leadership resigned and fled, their socialist party remained in control of many of the systems of power in Bolivia.
In 2020, elections were held, and the socialist party won back the presidency. A few months after regaining power, they arrested the interim president Añez, and she remains incarcerated to this day. She has been accused of inciting the supposed coup d’état of Evo Morales with additional counts of terrorism and sedition.  
And now, they have taken Camacho prisoner as well. They have sequestered the opposition leader to the socialist government. The men dressed in black with assault rifles driving an unmarked van were actually police officers sent by the federal government to arrest Camacho. Allegedly, no arrest warrant was presented at the time of his sudden arrest, but <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-64113400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an arrest warrant was drafted back in October.</a> The civic leaders in the city of Santa Cruz, however, do not like to call it an arrest since he is the rightfully elected governor of the department of Santa Cruz. Instead, they call it a political kidnapping.
In response to the arrest, the people of Santa Cruz immediately started protesting and demanding the release of the governor they elected. They have said that the federal government is politically persecuting the entire department of Santa Cruz by this arrest and they are willing to defend democracy no matter the cost.
As the protests continued, there were increasing claims of abuse and violence from the police against the protesters. Videos have surfaced of police lighting cars on fire, destroying street lights, and even lighting their own motorcycles on fire. The claim is that if the police can demonstrate violence on the part of the people of Santa Cruz, then they can bring in the military to turn Santa Cruz into a police state.
<div id="attachment_486358" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-486358" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-486358" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1245866970-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />RODRIGO URZAGASTI/AFP via Getty Images</div>
Burned out cars now litter the streets, and the city looks as though a war has already started. Tear gas is used so often that neighborhoods have started putting out barrels with water, ready to extinguish the grenades.
And yet, in the face of this oppression and violence, the people of Santa Cruz continue to protest and march, saying that they will not stop until the political prisoners are released. At this point, though, it does not seem like the federal government is budging, either. The government is attempting to intimidate and terrorize the people so that nobody would dare to stand up to them.
This creates a very dangerous situation for the people of Bolivia. When tensions are high, any little mistake can cause an incredible amount of loss of life. Governor Camacho has a blood disorder for which he requires medical treatment. If, by accident, Camacho were to die, the Bolivian people would not believe that it was an accident. They would believe he was murdered by the government. This could quickly devolve into an actual civil war.
<div id="attachment_486305" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-486305" decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="size-large wp-image-486305" src="https://www.dailywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-1800x1200.jpg 1800w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/01/GettyImages-1246020946-1200x800.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Isaac Ibanez/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images</div>
That is the tight-rope that the civic leaders in Santa Cruz are attempting to traverse. They are attempting to balance peacefully protesting to obtain the release of the governor that they elected. While at the same time, if they push too hard and can be blamed for some violence, then the government will have a pretext for sending the military in to oppress the population.
But the Bolivian people have done it before, and they can do it again. They joined together with one voice to protest socialist leader and dictator Evo Morales, and he had to resign. The people of Santa Cruz need the rest of Bolivia to join them, and they have started to do just that. More and more cities and departments are protesting and marching in solidarity with Santa Cruz, but more importantly, against oppression. Even as the government tries to scare the population into submission, the Bolivian people are coming together once again to fight against this socialist tyranny.
Michael Warren lived in Santa Cruz, Bolivia for five years and continues to have close contact with family and friends there. He recently released a new book titled Live Deliberately. A professional land surveyor, he lives in Sacramento, California with his wife, Esther, and their two kids, Daniel and Zoey.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

BOLIVIA-POLITICS-OPPOSITION-ARREST-CAMACHO-DEMONSTRATION

‘We Will Not Be Venezuela’: Bolivians Erupt In Protest Following Arrest Of Governor, Socialist Opposition Leader

Communism

Protests

Readers Pass

Socialism

South America

World

There exists in <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/congress" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Congress</a> a small contingency of fringe radicals intent on holding their party hostage simply out of personal vendettas or in order to make grandstanding declarations, only to come up short. At the same time, the party establishment runs roughshod over their far-fetched dreams of shaking up the system.
Of course, we&#8217;re talking about &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/the-squad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Squad</a>&#8221; — comprised of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashia Tlaib (D-MI), and Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), among others.
In light of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/here-are-the-concessions-house-speaker-kevin-mccarthy-gave-to-republican-holdouts-to-win-their-support" target="_blank" rel="noopener">20 McCarthy holdouts</a> securing essentially all of their demands last week, it would appear that leftists are wondering when these so-called &#8220;progressives&#8221; will start battling the Democratic leaders effectively as well. According to some, the holdouts provided a roadmap for victory.
That raises the question, when is the last time — if ever in living memory —that Republicans were credited by their opponents for their political strategy?
&#8220;In the last week, the Republican right fought Kevin McCarthy’s bid to become Speaker of the House and showed everyone how to play political hardball to build power,&#8221; Jacobin writer Neal Meyer <a href="https://jacobin.com/2023/01/kevin-mccarthy-speaker-bid-far-right-congressional-strategy-lessons-for-left/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">observed</a>. &#8220;The Left, with growing socialist caucuses at the state level and a growing bench of progressive representatives in DC, needs to learn some lessons.&#8221;
Meyer —obviously — does not support the goals of the Freedom Caucus. He wants America to become more socialist.  Yet, he gives credit to the GOP representatives who successfully negotiated Congress to become more conservative.
&#8220;They deserve every decent person’s scorn,&#8221; Meyer said of folks like Congressmen Chip Roy (R-TX) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL). &#8220;But when it comes to tactics, one has to admit that they know how to play.&#8221;
The author also does a terrific job of highlighting the concessions secured:
<blockquote>McCarthy agreed to add three members from the Freedom Caucus to the House Rules Committee. That will allow the far right to help shape the issues to be considered by the House. McCarthy’s own PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, agreed not to intervene in open primaries against far-right candidates. McCarthy agreed to bring back the Holman Rule, which allows legislators to propose defunding specific federal programs, to fire specific federal officials, and to slash officials’ pay.
Most significantly, he agreed to bring back the “motion to vacate the chair,” which will allow just one Republican to call for a snap vote to remove the speaker.</blockquote>
The Jacobin writer is correct to say that the ability of only one Republican to be able to bring forth a vote to remove McCarthy, or another Speaker, is the &#8220;most&#8221; significant victory.
Why?
Well, that&#8217;s what gives the conservative base actual leverage under a McCarthy speakership. Should he backtrack on his promises, then McCarthy will almost assuredly find himself without the gavel shortly thereafter.
This &#8220;motion to vacate the chair&#8221; is actually a return to how Congress operated before ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) won back the position in 2018.
Meyer claims that the goals sought by the 19 members of the Freedom Caucus and their one ally outside the group are &#8220;detestable.&#8221; Yet, he is fair enough to recognize that &#8220;every one of the concessions granted to the Right bolsters the morale of its base and will strengthen its hand in Congress in the months to come.&#8221;
Indeed, looking at the rhetoric of AOC, Omar, and the others who promised to change D.C. to help the marginalized, you have to wonder if they mean it at all. They certainly have little to no victories to show their supporters. Pelosi and other party leaders have, for lack of a better term, dog-walked &#8220;The Squad.&#8221;
In typical leftist fashion, Meyer states that conservatives now can &#8220;propagandize&#8221; from &#8220;bully pulpits.&#8221; He wants the Left to copy them to spread democratic socialist propaganda from the same position.
Of course, that would imply that he wants the Left to mislead Americans to adopt a collectivist society and fundamentally change the way our capitalist system operates. That&#8217;s how socialism always works — the implementation of it relies not on truth and data, rather, it depends on willfully selling a false product to the masses that sounds nice to useful idiots but does not deliver as promised.
Most Republican voters, at least those who support the reforms introduced last week, simply want the federal government to tell the truth, for Republicans to stay true to their campaign promises, and want to stop the Left in its tracks while offering a conservative vision of the country.
If you&#8217;re a Democratic voter who supports a socialist agenda, you must be asking if you have any real representation in Congress at all. For the first time in a while, the grassroots don&#8217;t have that problem.
Of course, well done is better than well said. So the real fruit of the Speaker&#8217;s battle will be seen in the years to come based on whether or not we start to see the federal government shift more conservative.
It&#8217;s a long battle, but at least it seems there are Republicans who are not only &#8220;prepared to fight&#8221; but win for their voters. &#8220;The Squad&#8221; can&#8217;t say the same right now.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-20-house-republicans-who-demanded-change-and-won-are-seen-as-heroes-not-holdouts-to-many" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The 20 House Republicans Who Demanded Change And Won Are Seen As Heroes – Not Holdouts – To Many</a>

Congress

McCarthy Holdouts Teach ‘The Squad’ How To Fight And Win

McCarthy Holdouts Teach 'The Squad' How To Fight And Win

Chip Roy

conservative

Politics

The Squad

Bernie Marcus, who along with his business partner Arthur Blank built Home Depot into a giant financial success, slammed Americans who don’t want to work.
Marcus, whom <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/profiles/bernard-marcus/?sref=MTy2GeXk">Bloomberg</a> estimates has a net worth of $5.25 billion but has, with his wife, donated over $2 billion to over 500 organizations through their Marcus Foundation, spoke in an <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/5680bb94-4fda-4bb5-887a-62ca1b4341fd">interview</a> with Financial Times.
“I’m worried about capitalism,” Marcus stated. “Capitalism is the basis of Home Depot [and] millions of people have earned this success and had success. I’m talking manufacturers, vendors and distributors and people that work for us [who have been] able to enrich themselves by the journey of Home Depot. That’s the success. That’s why capitalism works.”
Marcus continued that thanks to “socialism,” “nobody works. Nobody gives a damn. ‘Just give it to me. Send me money. I don’t want to work — I’m too lazy, I’m too fat, I’m too stupid.’”
Marcus wasn’t worried about any criticism he might elicit about his comments, especially from those he termed “woke.” He declared, “We used to have free speech here. We don’t have it. The woke people have taken over the world. You know, I imagine today they can’t attack me. I’m 93. Who gives a crap about Bernie Marcus?”
Marcus reserved much of his harsh criticism for those who have reached great wealth but then sit on their money, “Too timid to jump in, these are people who took great risks in whatever they did, but they’re afraid to take this risk [to get] into the charitable world and help other people. Why, I don’t know,” he said.
Some of the recipients of the Marcuses’ largesse include the construction of the Georgia Aquarium, for which they gave $250 million, millions for an autistic center in Atlanta, and research into autism, cancer, stroke, and veterans’ PTSD.
Marcus, who has supported former President Trump and donated to both Trump and Florida GOP Governor Ron DeSantis, called President Biden “the worst president in the history of this country.” He called Trump’s policies “spot on,” but added, “It’s going to be very interesting in ‘24 because I think that DeSantis will challenge him. And may the better man win.”
After his 90th birthday, hearing that critics were targeting him for supporting Trump, Marcus <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100008008667978">fired back</a> on Facebook, “In the next ten years, God willing, I will accomplish more to save this world than my critics will do even if they had forty lifetimes.”

World?s Largest Aquarium Set To Open

‘Nobody Gives A Damn’: Home Depot Co-Founder Slams Americans Refusing To Work Thanks To Socialism

Home Depot Founder Slams Americans Refusing To Work Thanks To Socialism

Bernie Marcus

Capitalism

Economy

Home Depot

U.S.

My family escaped socialism in Venezuela when I was two years-old. Now, as Venezuelan-Americans, we deeply appreciate America, which affords us freedom, opportunity, and equality. 
Many members of my family have migrated to Peru, Argentina, and Poland over the past 18 years in hopes of a better life, but none of these countries compare to the United States, where I have received extraordinary opportunities.
American students who idealize socialism (or even communism) would do well to listen to those who have experienced, and fled from, this corrupt and oppressive system. Unfortunately, just the opposite is happening on U.S. college campuses where fictitious notions of life under socialism flourish. Not only this, but any information pointing to the realities of living under such regimes is often denied, shut down, or completely blocked.
I am currently a student at Florida International University and see first-hand the hypocrisy from my peers when it comes to understanding the difference between capitalism and socialism. 
They advocate for socialism while enjoying Starbucks lattes, new iPhones, and Spring Break trips. Capitalism makes these luxuries a reality for middle class Americans, but too many students fail to understand, or simply refuse to admit, that these are benefits unavailable to those living under socialism.
I am astonished and dismayed by the number of my peers who support socialism, the very system that forced so much of my family to flee Venezuela and that keeps the ones who still live there in poverty. I know this because much of my family remains in Venezuela, making me keenly aware of how much I benefit from living in a free, democratic, and capitalist system.
Venezuelans have a <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__www.rescue.org_article_what-2Dhappening-2Dvenezuela-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE95hr6WIA-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=Ch_AejtSz3gYj07seqjw_-wBhNeT5xait9Maj96B0a8&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hard time affording</a> the basic necessities of life, let alone $6 Frappuccinos and $1,000 laptops. 
One Christmas, I called my family in Venezuela and, to my surprise, my little cousin was screaming for joy that he had been gifted a warm cup of milk. The reality is, far from providing them with economic opportunity and meaningful equality, socialism has instead kept my family in Venezuela in terrible poverty.
Despite this stark difference, my classmates are uninterested in learning from me and those that have actually experienced socialist dictatorships, and are too entitled to realize just how much they benefit from living under the economic and governmental system of the United States.
In fact, one of my peers confronted me during class over an Instagram post wherein I criticized dictatorships in Cuba and Venezuela. She felt offended that I had expressed disapproval for communist regimes and said that America was no better. Most of the class agreed with her, citing supposed systemic oppression in the United States.
One of the reasons young Americans view socialism and communism more favorably than capitalism is because the education system glosses over – or completely falsifies – their horrors. In particular, college faculty tend to romanticize socialist regimes. For example, a Northeastern Illinois University philosophy professor <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__www.campusreform.org_article-3Fid-3D10887-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9MBU9W6o-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=X7_39uOfs3j3_Og1Za5IVyI8phXcikEy1rw6PvRNEcg&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">argued</a> in 2018 that the redistribution of wealth was the key to “sexual fulfillment.” Nikole Hannah-Jones, infamous creator of the 1619 Project and <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__thedig.howard.edu_all-2Dstories_two-2Diconic-2Damerican-2Dwriters-2Djoin-2Dhoward-2Dcreate-2Dcenter-2Dhelp-2Deducate-2Dnext-2Dgeneration-2Dblack-2Djournalists-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9swEIaVM-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=zBEPsAllfBT1GwdVUPqZCfGCOAhnfmGsqZzmYSpiYYI&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">faculty</a> at Howard University, <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__www.campusreform.org_article-3Fid-3D17831-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9ULU1oEU-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=u9opi2SmKMBOTG8KRlPX28SDWaWGltzxpj0E_LvwzJQ&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> Cuba one of the “most equal” countries. “Cuba actually has the least inequality, and that’s largely due to socialism, which I’m sure no one wants to hear,” Hannah-Jones <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__nypost.com_2021_07_19_nikole-2Dhannah-2Djones-2Dsaid-2Dcuba-2Dmost-2Dequal-2Dwestern-2Dcountry_-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9jtPX6DM-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=YB9F3Hz6o0qCFZ5AnFeS3rCaQjJUi7beVCxaiyVbf_w&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a podcast interview. And just last year a professor at Riverside City College in California <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__www.campusreform.org_article-3Fid-3D18035-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9dtjDHeU-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=M99Wvc3Oo_WtVWEd0-KCzaCGJpEZb4c3YCKzZvhPcBM&amp;e=">said</a> that “Soviet socialism saved and improved tens of millions of lives.”
Equality does exist in Venezuela: all individuals have equally poor outcomes. This is not the type of equality Americans should be praising. We must fight to expose the truth about living under socialism.
My parents witnessed Venezuela’s socialist dictatorship destroy all possibility and hope for progress in our native country. This shaped their admiration for American culture. We remain unequivocally grateful to God and the United States for the chance to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. These values are in stark contrast to Venezuela&#8217;s corrupt and oppressive regime.
I will keep doing everything I can to educate my peers and, sadly, professors about the present and historical reality of socialism, and open their eyes to the tragedy it has caused in Venezuela and <a href="https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__urldefense.com_v3_-5F-5Fhttps-3A__communistcrimes.org_en-5F-5F-3B-21-21PxibshUo2Yr-5FTa5B-211NQbVVu33eOcM8b0e2bOH4CpSWdl-2D1ffiEfZ-2DYlrjPjpLgtvTvfNxFEpmxKQanJDU29jZmEiipmfjIFvRzE9Qi56-5FKQ-24&amp;d=DwMGaQ&amp;c=euGZstcaTDllvimEN8b7jXrwqOf-v5A_CdpgnVfiiMM&amp;r=4ZqltSlZiDsMCU7IpmmkNNOw7u0yhtIthLsXpJuMtvU&amp;m=zTC2mntWum-SA5yFwyLHE8TIHJ9jmhSAQPcYgwYwpi8&amp;s=xT2hbluJvhiYYJi1bjy_-RdITazLdjLs2qDdzhVsaGk&amp;e=" target="_blank" rel="noopener">worldwide</a>. Unfortunately, the truth seems to fall on deaf ears on U.S. college campuses today.
Melissa Da Gama is a correspondent with the Leadership Institute’s Campus Reform and a student at Florida International University.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

VENEZUELA-TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO-MIGRATION-SHIPWRECK-PROTEST

Socialism Destroyed My Country. It Can Destroy America Too.

Campus Reform

College

Venezuela

On Saturday, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/joe-biden" target="_blank" rel="noopener">President Joe Biden</a> displayed his so-called decency and desire for unity by calling a group of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/socialism" target="_blank" rel="noopener">anti-socialist</a> protesters outside his rally &#8220;idiots.&#8221;
The president, rallying in Joliet, Illinois, was greeted by dozens of protesters holding signs, including ones that said: &#8220;Socialism sucks.&#8221;
&#8220;I love those signs when I came in — socialism. Give me a break, what idiots,” the president barked at attendees before defending Social Security.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Biden: &quot;I love those signs when I came in. &#39;Socialism.&#39; Give me a break. What idiots.&quot;<a href="https://t.co/SfUvmmdnqx">pic.twitter.com/SfUvmmdnqx</a>
&mdash; Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) <a href="https://twitter.com/realDailyWire/status/1588995104865677313?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 5, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
According to The Hill, other demonstrators also held pro-life signs, as well as more extreme ones that <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/3721308-biden-on-people-calling-him-a-socialist-give-me-a-break-what-idiots/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, &#8220;Where&#8217;s Nancy?&#8221; but Biden did not address those messages in his remarks.
During his speech, Biden also stated, &#8220;No one ever doubts I mean what I say, sometimes, of course, I say all that I mean.&#8221;
It is always hard to judge ourselves accurately, but that is a pretty out-of-touch statement for even an &#8220;allegedly&#8221; senile old man to make.
People always doubt what Biden has to say.
For example, everybody knew the president was full of it on Wednesday night when he claimed, &#8220;We need to start looking out for each other again, seeing ourselves as &#8216;We the People,&#8217; not as entrenched enemies.&#8221;
Just three days later, Biden proved those doubters correct by calling fellow Americans he claims to represent &#8220;idiots.&#8221;
Biden&#8217;s November speech echoed remarks given by the president in September.
During that speech, Biden encouraged Americans to make a very difficult choice.
&#8220;And now America must choose: to move forward or to move backward?&#8221; he <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2022/09/01/remarks-by-president-bidenon-the-continued-battle-for-the-soul-of-the-nation/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>. &#8220;To build the future or obsess about the past?  To be a nation of hope and unity and optimism, or a nation of fear, division, and of darkness?&#8221;
He claimed that &#8220;MAGA Republicans have made their choice,&#8221; and opted for &#8220;anger&#8221; and &#8220;chaos&#8221; while living &#8220;not in the light of truth, but in the shadow of lies.&#8221;
&#8220;But together — together, we can choose a different path,&#8221; the president offered. &#8220;We can choose a better path.  Forward, to the future. A future of possibility. A future to build and dream and hope.&#8221;
Shortly after that plea, the administration effectively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/political-prosecution-pro-life-activist-mark-houck-fights-back-pleads-not-guilty-to-federal-charges-after-controversial-arrest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sicced</a> the full weight of the Department of Justice against a father of seven, pro-life Catholic, and arrested the man at his house for an incident that had been thrown out of court.
Now, Biden is bringing political opponents together by calling them &#8220;idiots.&#8221;
He has also updated his warning from &#8220;MAGA Republicans&#8221; to &#8220;Mega MAGA Republicans&#8221; while claiming that if Republicans win on Tueday, democracy is as good as dead in the water.
Readers are forgiven, if contrary to his remarks on Saturday, they doubt Biden always means what he says.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Joe Biden

So Much For Unity: Biden Calls Anti-Socialism Protesters ‘Idiots’

2022 Midterms

Democracy

Elections

Executive

United States

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, colloquially known as ‘Lula’, defeated incumbent President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/jair-bolsonaro">Jair Bolsonaro</a> in a tightly contested election on Sunday night, and will be the next President of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/brazil">Brazil</a>.
With 99% of the vote in, the self described socialist defeated the populist conservative Jair Bolsonaro by a margin of <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-brazil-election/">50.9% &#8211; 49.1%</a>. The election went to a run-off between the top two finishers after no candidate secured a majority in the first round: Lula led the pack with 48% to Bolsonaro’s 43%, but Bolsonaro outperformed polling which suggested that Lula would walk away with the contest in the first round.
Lula is a founding member of Brazil’s left-wing Worker’s Party. He was a perennial presidential candidate before finally coming to power in the 2002 Brazilian elections, and held office from 2003-2010. Lula is also a populist and something of an icon in Latin America, where his ideology, Lulism, is a popular strand of socialist thought.
Lula’s defeat of Bolsonaro follows a trend of left-wing governments coming to power across Latin America, described by some observers as a second ‘<a href="https://theglobalamericans.org/2022/09/pink-tide-2-0-the-same-trap-awaits/">pink tide</a>’ reminiscent of a similar political shift in the first years of the 21st century. In the final days of the campaign, President Bolsonaro spoke to Daily Wire Host Ben Shapiro about the potential stakes of the election.
“We in Brazil cannot possibly join the Venezuela club, or league of countries, which now includes Chile, Argentina, and Nicaragua. Brazil is the most important country in South America, so if Brazil succumbs to the left-wing, that’s the end of South America,” he <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVytVgGNxU8">said</a>.
Brazil is the 7th most populous nation in the world, home to over 215 million people, and it is also the world’s 12th largest economy &#8211; it is by far the largest nation in Latin America.
While his administration has been described as ‘moderate left,&#8217; Lula also supported Hugo Chavez’s rise to power in Venezuela and was aligned with him and other left-wing leaders in Latin America. Lula also played a role in negotiating the Obama Administration’s Iran Nuclear Deal, and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/10/lula-brazil-iran-us-suleimani-peace-war">condemned</a> the killing of Qassem Soleimani during the Trump Administration.
Lula’s government was also plagued by several corruption scandals, although the largest scandal would emerge after he left office. His successor and former chief of staff, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/americas/brazil-dilma-rousseff-impeached-removed-president.html">Dilma Rouseff</a>, was impeached and removed from office in 2016 in connection with the largest corruption investigation in Brazil’s history, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-35810578">Operation Car Wash</a>. The scandal involved a massive money laundering and bribery scheme centered around a state owned oil company, Petrobras, and by the time the smoke cleared 3 former presidents had been jailed on corruption charges, including Lula.
Normally, that conviction would have been disqualifying: Brazil has a <a href="https://www.as-coa.org/articles/explainer-brazils-clean-record-law">‘Clean Slate’</a> law that blocks politicians convicted of certain felonies from running for office. Lula was <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-01/lula-banned-from-brazil-presidential-race-by-election-court">blocked</a> from running in 2018, and many observers believe that was a major reason why Bolsonaro won that election.
But, in a controversial decision a justice on Brazil’s Supreme Court <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-56326389">voided</a> Lula’s convictions in 2021, restoring his eligibility for office. Documents leaked after Lula’s trial suggested that the judge in the case, Sergio Moro, improperly collaborated with the prosecution. Moro would go on to serve in Bolsonaro&#8217;s cabinet as the Minister of Justice and Public Security.
Lula was also reportedly tried in the wrong jurisdiction &#8211; the trial took place in a court in Curitiba in the state of Paraná, but the alleged crimes were committed in Brasilia, the nation’s capital, and Lula was a resident of Brasilia at the time of prosecution so his trial supposedly should have been conducted there. The decision was highly controversial and did not exonerate Lula of wrongdoing, but any lingering miasma of disrepute was not enough to stop Lula from crossing the finish line.
The incumbent, Bolsonaro, is a populist conservative, sometimes called ‘the Tropical Trump’, who came to power after the aforementioned corruption scandals soured public opinion on the then dominant Worker’s Party, after surviving an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-brazil-presidential-candidate-stabbed-rally-ashe-schow">assassination attempt</a>.
Bolsonaro is well known for his hardline stances on <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brazilian-president-bolsonaro-criminals-will-die-hank-berrien">crime</a> and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brazil-government-champions-return-to-tradition-sexual-abstinence-before-marriage">social issues</a> like same sex marriage and abortion. He’s also taken steps to <a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-10/brazils-bolsonaro-pledges-privatizations-if-re-elected-mum-on-petrobras">privatize</a> government owned business, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/08/13/1116989125/brazil-firearm-ownership-booms-gun-laws-loosen-bolsonaro">increase civilian access to firearms</a> and open up parts of the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/what-brazils-election-means-amazon-rainforest-2022-10-26/">Amazon rainforest</a> to economic development. Bolsonaro has also pursued closer <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/brazil-surges-toward-american-conservatism-kassy-dillon">economic and political ties with the United States</a> compared to previous Brazilian governments.
Bolsonaro has also made international headlines for his stance COVID-19 &#8211; from very early on he actively <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/stand-your-ground-hugs-from-brazil-brazilian-right-wing-president-cheers-joe-rogan">opposed lockdowns</a> and even prevented local governments from imposing restrictions. The Brazilian economy fared better than many people predicted and recovered to pre-pandemic levels by early 2021, but critics of Bolsonaro have <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/20/americas/brazil-bolsonaro-covid-19-intl-hnk">accused him</a> of downplaying the danger of the virus and causing hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths. 600,000 Brazillians died from COVID, the second highest death toll reported in any nation, although on a <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1104709/coronavirus-deaths-worldwide-per-million-inhabitants/">per capita basis</a> Brazil’s death rate was comparable to the rate seen in neighboring Chile and the United States, and only as half as high as Peru’s.
Bolsonaro has regularly criticized the integrity of Brazilian elections, and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/09/30/bolsonaro-trump-brazil-election-democracy/">raised concerns</a> about fraud before the vote. Unlike in the United States, however, the Brazilian President is selected by national popular vote, and it will be difficult to overcome the nearly 2 million ballot advantage Lula amassed even if some local fraud is demonstrated. The Biden administration <a href="https://rollcall.com/2022/10/28/democrats-warn-of-consequences-if-bolsonaro-denies-vote-results/">rebuked</a> Bolsonaro preemptively several days before the election, and prominent Democrats have suggested that the US will “re-evaluate its relationship” with the largest democracy in Latin America if Bolsonaro challenges the results of the vote.
President Biden put out an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/30/statement-by-president-joe-biden-congratulating-luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva-as-president-of-brazil/">official statement</a> congratulating Lula after his victory, stressing that the election was “free, fair and credible.”

Former President Lula Narrowly Wins Brazil’s Presidency In Stunning Comeback

Ex-Con Defeats Incumbent In Brazilian Presidential Election

Brazil

Global Politics

Jair Bolsonaro

If nanny state bureaucrats want their citizenry to be underweight and compliant, then they need a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/federal-government" target="_blank" rel="noopener">government</a> that is large and in charge, according to a new study.
In 2017, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/philadelphia" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Philadelphia</a> Mayor Jim Kenney (D) turned his attention to obesity. The city government placed a tax on sugary sweetened beverages in hopes that it would deter sugar consumption. According to researchers from the University of Georgia, Philadelphians wound up consuming more sugar from other food items and even traveled across state lines to buy sodas after that tax was implemented.
As <a href="https://news.uga.edu/soda-pop-taxes-dont-reduce-sugar-consumption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">flagged</a> by Georgia Today, the surprising behavior &#8220;almost entirely offset the decrease in sugar intake from colas and other sweet drinks.&#8221;
Researchers concluded that the answer is not for folks like Kenney to simply stop trying to socially engineer certain policy outcomes, but for big government to step in and circumvent local authority and self-governance.
&#8220;Can we influence behavior through taxation? Yes, but only if you enact a policy at broader levels of government, such as at the state or national level that prevents people from cross-border shopping,&#8221; Felipe Lozano-Rojas, a lead author of the study and an assistant professor in the School of Public and International Affairs, <a href="https://news.uga.edu/soda-pop-taxes-dont-reduce-sugar-consumption/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in a statement.
&#8220;The answer is no if you’re enacting these policies at a local level,&#8221; he added.
If that line of thinking sounds familiar, it is because the solution to life&#8217;s problems is always the same for leftists: a bigger government with more power. Americans can never be trusted to make their own decisions because we are stupid, they imply not-so-subtly.
Similar to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/c-s-lewis-tyranny-for-your-own-good" target="_blank" rel="noopener">COVID lockdowns</a> or whatever social ailment currently plagues society, the usual suspects have a penchant for advocating a national policy that removes decision-making away from the individual.
Their answer to America&#8217;s problems is always varying forms of socialism: Experts in charge, tasked with centrally planning &#8220;success&#8221; based on science and data, while arrogantly thinking that they can predict the future and control human behavior.
Even in coming up with alternative solutions, the answer isn&#8217;t lowering taxes or a smaller government, according to researchers.
&#8220;If we were to subsidize healthier options, especially for these groups, the tax might work better,&#8221; Lozano-Rojas remarked. &#8220;Subsidizing water, making it more accessible, particularly in places where tap water is not drinkable, these are things that might make going with the healthier choice easier. I think this issue requires more of a magnifying glass into these populations to determine the causes driving excessive sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.&#8221;
It does not appear that deregulation or lowering federal sugar subsidies is even on Lozano-Rojas&#8217; radar, but why would it be? That sort of idea would limit government power.
These folks do not realize that humans are creative. Humans find new ways of getting what they want. There is always an unintended consequence — whether it be good or bad — that stems from government policies and human choices. Those unintended consequences are always surprising.
Centrally planning — whether it be an economy or the amount of sugar that humans absorb — fails because it cannot account for such surprises. The only thing that can account for surprises is capitalism.
As legendary tech guru and economist George Gilder <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/capitalism-vs-socialism-economist-george-gilder-weighs-in" target="_blank" rel="noopener">once</a> put it on Mark Levin&#8217;s TV show, &#8220;Creativity is the foundation of capitalism. And this is &#8212; and socialism is based on planning. It&#8217;s based on the assumption that we&#8217;d already know all we need to know in order to plan our future, and so it leads to tyranny, and that&#8217;s really the difference.&#8221;
&#8220;Liberty versus tyranny as someone once put it,&#8221; he said to the author of &#8220;Liberty vs. Tyranny.&#8221;
Indeed, with this soda tax study and subsequent conclusions, we see how quickly folks on the Left go from liberty  — allowing individuals the choice of which drinks to buy without added taxes — to tyranny — advocating a nationwide policy that includes preventing people from &#8220;cross-border shopping.&#8221;
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

spilled soda Stock photo

Philadelphia’s Soda Tax Has Been A Total Disaster, According To Study

Philadelphia's Soda Tax Has Been A Total Disaster, According To Study

Federal Government

Food

Georgia

Obesity

Philadelphia

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/los-angeles-county" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Los Angeles County</a> officials said Tuesday that a guaranteed basic income program has begun to roll out, with 1,000 residents now receiving $1,000 a month until 2025.
Fox LA <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.foxla.com/news/chosen-la-county-residents-will-start-getting-1000-a-month?taid=630eab9847502200013f48b7&amp;utm_campaign=trueanthem&amp;utm_medium=trueanthem&amp;utm_source=twitter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reports</a> the recipients for the program were chosen randomly out of more than 180,000 applicants.
Supervisor Sheila Kuehl said that given the number of county residents who applied, it&#8217;s &#8220;abundantly clear&#8221; that the time has come for the program idea.
&#8220;I&#8217;m confident that we will see what other pilots have already shown,&#8221; Kuehl said according to Fox LA. &#8220;That a guaranteed basic income, by giving people a bit of financial breathing room, allows them to stabilize their lives and that of their family.&#8221;
Kuehl added that three years from now, she feels &#8220;confident&#8221; that the county program would be viewed as a &#8220;foundation stone&#8221; for every eligible American household to receive economic opportunity and stability.
Los Angeles County supervisors voted last year to develop a pilot program called BIG:LEAP, which developers modeled after a similar program in Stockton, California.
According to the program&#8217;s <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://bigleap.lacity.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">website</a>, poverty affects two out of every ten residents in the city of Los Angeles, of whom 31% are children. And with rents skyrocketing across the county and insufficient wages to match the cost of living, about one-third of working Angelenos struggle to support their families on one full-time income.
To qualify for the program, participants 18 and older negatively impacted by the pandemic can only have a house income under $56,000 for a single person or $96,000 for a family of four. If approved, the recipients would access the money via debit card.
Program officials told FOX LA that those chosen range in age from 18 to 91 years old, come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and have an administrator from Strength Based Community Change who will stay in touch with the individuals.
Payments will be part of the state&#8217;s Fiscal Year 2021/22 budget that both Governor Gavin Newsom and the Legislature approved.
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Chair Holly Mitchell said in a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/groundbreaking-guaranteed-income-program-to-provide-la-county-residents-financial-room-to-breathe-301499877.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a> in March at the time of enrollment that the poverty that residents experience on any given day cannot be addressed with a “one-size-fits-all approach.”
&#8220;Now is our opportunity to invest in support that directly reaches our residents,&#8221; Mitchell said. &#8220;It&#8217;s time that we trust that our residents know how best to meet their needs when given the resources to do so.&#8221;
However, taxpayer associations view the move from county officials to give residents free money as a slippery slope that would reduce work ethic.
Jon Coupal, president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, a nonprofit standing up for taxpayer rights, told <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/la-considers-24-million-universal-basic-income-program_3824501.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Epoch Times</a> at the time of the program&#8217;s proposal that work experience gives people value, social networks, and a sense of purpose for contributing to society.
Coupal called the universal basic income program &#8220;pure politics&#8221; by county officials.
&#8220;There&#8217;s an old saying, &#8216;If you rob Peter to pay Paul, you can always count on the vote of Paul,’” he said.
Coupal also advocated for mandated government oversight of the program, similar to other social services.
&#8220;If it&#8217;s the government&#8217;s money, they should absolutely be able to control how it&#8217;s spent. You don&#8217;t want people going out and buying cigarettes and booze with this,&#8221; Coupal said. &#8220;It would be more consistent with existing programs, for example the SNAP program, the food stamp program, you get vouchers to buy food. Same with Section Eight housing, you get vouchers to purchase housing.&#8221;

homeless on skid row

L.A. County Rolls Out Universal Basic Income Pilot; 1,000 Residents To Get $1,000 Per Month

Democratic Socialism

Los Angeles

Minimum Wage

As soaring food and fuel <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/inflation">prices</a> rock <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/central-america">Panama</a>, nationwide protests have disrupted traffic on major roads and left a weakened government scrambling for credibility — prompting <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/socialism">left-wing</a> activists to take advantage of the situation.
The demonstrations, launched early in July beginning with teachers’ and construction workers’ unions, have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/protests-spread-to-panama-as-inflation-gas-prices-strangle-developing-world">blocked critical infrastructure</a> such as the Pan-American Highway. The Panamanian government, which has argued that the high prices are attributable to COVID and the <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/russia">Russian</a> invasion of <a href="http://dailywire.com/topic/ukraine">Ukraine</a>, announced on Monday that it would work to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/panama-regulate-prices-72-food-items-ease-rising-living-costs-2022-07-25/">reduce the cost</a> of several dozen food items.
“The economy has been struggling here just like around the world, but Panamanians live very much day-to-day,” Jon Fowler, an American missionary working in Panama, told The Daily Wire. “There has been a history of Panama being fairly stable economically and with the government. They had very severe lockdowns, so the economy had already been weakened … but then you had on top of that these prices.”
Consumer prices in Panama, where mask mandates enacted in March 2020 were lifted earlier this month, are expected to end 2022 at 4.0% according to <a href="https://www.focus-economics.com/countries/panama/news/inflation/inflation-comes-in-at-highest-level-since-february-2013-in-may#:~:text=Our%20panelists%20project%20that%20inflation,inflation%20ending%202023%20at%202.3%25.">data</a> from the forecasting group Focus Economics.
“It’s hard to get groceries because production is down,” Fowler added. “They’re throwing tomatoes away because things are going bad. People can’t get things because things can’t get to the stores, because protests are happening.”
The protests in Panama follow a collapse of the government in Sri Lanka, which occurred as residents grew <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/watch-mob-storms-presidential-palace-swims-in-pool-as-asian-nation-teeters-on-brink-of-collapse">frustrated</a> over food and fuel prices — thereby exacerbating religious tensions between the majority Buddhists and minority Tamils. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa resigned his post and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sri-lankas-president-flees-the-country-amid-mass-uprising">fled</a> the South Asian country on a military jet as protesters occupied the Presidential Palace.
While some protesters are merely grieved by the higher costs of living, others seek a <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-panama-next-for-a-hard-left-turn-war-games-venazuela-russia-china-iran-drones-special-operation-military-exercise-11658680168">reorganization of the government</a> amid nonexistent public trust in Panamanian political leadership. The construction union activists leading the protests have demonstrated support in the past for Nicolás Maduro, the socialist dictator of nearby Venezuela, and circulated footage of wealthy Panamanian elites <a href="https://www.ecotvpanama.com/politica/diputados-oficialistas-celebraron-inicio-periodo-legislativo-plena-contencion-gastos-n5733466">drinking whiskey</a> amid the nation’s troubles.
&#8220;You’ve got some who are saying ‘We need lower prices on gas and food,’ and others who are saying ‘We need to rewrite the constitution.’ These are two different ideas, two different directions,” Fowler observed. “Hard-left extremists are trying to topple things — they’re trying to take advantage of the weak leadership.”
In any case, a socialistic mindset already prevails among the population.
&#8220;On paper, they’re the Republic of Panama. Written into the constitution is a mindset of socialism, though. The people have the expectation that the government is responsible for taking care of them when they’re in trouble,” Fowler remarked. “The president that they elected made promises to them to take care of them when they were in need, to distribute wealth… and when it’s the hour of need, he is nowhere to be found.”
Panama, however, is among the most important nations for international trade in the western hemisphere. The Panama Canal handled more than 255 million long tons of cargo and processed more than 12,000 transits in fiscal year 2020, according to <a href="https://logistics.gatech.pa/en/assets/panama-canal/statistics">data</a> from Georgia Tech Panama, with commodities such as grains, crude oil, and coal among the most heavily transported materials.

Panama city

‘Hard-Left Extremists Are Trying To Topple Things’: Protests Rock Panama Amid Food And Fuel Inflation

Panama Protests Contain Strong Left-Wing Revolutionary Element

Central America

Inflation

History, as we all know, tends to favor the victors of wars. This in part explains why two of the greatest architects of 20th Century genocide, Josef Stalin and Adolf Hitler, have been treated very differently in the more than 50 years since they held power. Hitler is so universally reviled that he canceled his own first name. Stalin on the other hand is presented as a more complicated and nuanced figure. It’s not just that Stalin’s Soviet Union defeated Hitler and Germany (with Allied help), Uncle Joe also had powerful and smart friends in the West, high among them was the celebrated Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw.
In fairness to Shaw, at least in his younger days, the Soviet Union, and before it, Russia in general held a heady appeal to Western artists. Even prior to the Bolsheviks, the pump had already been primed, in theater by the plays of Chekov and the directing style of Stanislavski, and in literature more generally, Tolstoy, who at the start of the 20th Century was wildly praised and mimicked. So it was natural for Shaw, himself a <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287405140_BERNARD_SHAW_AND_POLITICS">socialist</a> with progressive ideas, to see the USSR not as a red menace, but as a hope for humanity.
Shaw’s work, notably in “Pygmalion” and “Man and Superman,” deals with political and cultural issues, especially surrounding class and gender. Of humble birth himself, Shaw distrusts the hierarchical system of England and Ireland, unlike his contemporary, Oscar Wilde, born nearby him in Dublin, Shaw was not the manor born. We can see why this storyteller of working-class stock took a shine to the notion of a workers&#8217; paradise. 
In “The Revolutionist&#8217;s Handbook,” Shaw writes “Now we have yet to see the man, who, having any practical experience of Proletarian Democracy, has any belief in its capacity for solving great political problems or even for doing ordinary parochial work intelligently and economically.” So, he was not a huge fan of democracy. Shaw preferred the idea of being ruled by perfect systems. And he thought the Soviet Union was well on its way to achieving just that.
Had Shaw been ignorant of the atrocities committed by Stalin, we might easily forgive him for falling into the soft lies and propaganda of the Soviet state. But by the 1940s the scale and scope of Stalin&#8217;s crimes were becoming known, yet Shaw <a href="https://fee.org/articles/george-bernard-shaw-was-so-enamored-with-socialism-he-advocated-genocide-to-advance-it/">stayed</a> a stalwart ally. So much so, in fact, that anti-authoritarian (and <a href="https://thewire.in/books/remembering-george-orwell-the-socialist">socialist</a>) author George Orwell, acting as an informant to the British government, would <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/27929796">name</a> Shaw as “reliably pro Russia on all major issues.” Orwell named names. 
So how was it that Shaw, and not just him, but so many of the brightest artists and writers of his time, were willing to look past murder and even genocide? We ask this not in the spirit of canceling George Bernard Shaw, but of truly understanding what led him to this dark compromise.
There is a tendency in our time to imagine that the first 2 decades of the 21st Century saw the fastest and most profound technological expansion in history. Yet, the opening 20 years of the 20th Century might have us beat in terms of the structural changes to physical and cultural spaces. The wide adoption of the light bulb, automobiles, planes, the phonograph, and moving pictures transformed the plastic of reality. The bright, shiny London of young Bertie Wooster in the 1920s was nothing like the dark and murky, gas-lit city of Sherlock Holmes just a few decades before. Shaw experienced both. 
It is easy to see why he and his contemporaries imagined that material needs could soon be furnished without the punishing demands put upon a capitalist labor force. In Stalin, Shaw saw a true man of the age. He didn’t fiddle around with legislatures, courts, or markets, he announced five-year plans and got them done. Shaw would go to his death in 1950 truly believing that, in the long run, the unfortunate deaths of millions would be for the common good. Above the bed where he died was a framed picture of Josef Stalin. 
Before we are too harsh in our historical judgment of Shaw, we ought to take a square look at his descendants in the entertainment industry today. Hollywood has become famously beholden to a China that is credibly accused of genocide and has committed an ocean of human rights abuses. This fealty to China might be more motivated by money than Shaw&#8217;s love of Soviet Communism, but it is also about control. This is true with regard to the progressive or “woke” messaging so pervasive in Hollywood’s products, but also a general insistence on obedience to the state, so long as it is controlled by Democrats.
In some ways, our country’s relationship to China is very similar to Shaw’s with the Soviet Union. We accept inconvenient tragedy because in the grand scheme of things we need what China is offering, and trust that in the end, everyone will benefit. Even our own technology advancements echo the Irish playwright. Just as Shaw had his doubts about the efficacy of proletarian democracy, so we sometimes wonder if algorithms can produce better, more humane results than human voices and votes.
Beware the man whether politician or playwright who offers perfection. Their systems are never quite complete, even though they promise they will be soon. That was the trap that Shaw fell into in his adoration of Stalin. We can criticize that decision if we choose to, but far more important is that we learn from it, and not fall into utopian traps ourselves.
David Marcus is a writer and theater artist based in Brooklyn, NY.
The views expressed in this piece are the author&#8217;s own and not necessarily those of The Daily Wire.

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Why George Bernard Shaw Whitewashed Josef Stalin

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Russian President Vladimir Putin signaled that he might punish businesses owned by &#8220;unfriendly nations&#8221; that cease doing business in Russia by seizing their assets and possibly nationalizing their industries.
For foreign companies “planning to close business, we must act decisively” to “introduce external control and to transfer these business to those who want to work,” <a href="https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/putins-threatened-response-to-companies-ditching-russia-may-cause-even-more-economic-pain-psaki-warns">said</a> Putin on Thursday. His comments were seconded by Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of Putin&#8217;s security council, who <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/10/world/europe/russia-economy-ukraine.html">said</a> businesses leaving Russia face “possible nationalization.”
“Back to the Soviet Union we go,” <a href="https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/1501980223553908741">responded</a> Visegrád 24, a news aggregation service that focuses on Central and Eastern Europe. Similarly, Russian businessman Vladimir Potanin said such a move would “bring us back 100 years, to 1917.”
If businesses cease operations in Russia and at least 25% of their stock belongs to any country designated an “unfriendly nation,” the government would place the business under the control of the VEB.RF, a state-owned development organization. If companies do not resume operations within five days or agree to sell, their business will be placed under external control for three months, then sold at auction.
“If no suitable buyer can be found, the state itself would act as the buyer,” <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1501935946035445764">wrote</a> Kevin Rothrock, an editor with a news outlet covering Russia. “It’s going to be an absolute bonanza for corruption.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
It’s going to be an absolute bonanza for corruption.
&mdash; Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) <a href="https://twitter.com/KevinRothrock/status/1501935946035445764?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 10, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Putin’s ruling United Russia Party <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/03/10/russia-nationalize-foreign-business-ukraine/">said</a> the move is necessary to “prevent bankruptcy and preserve jobs.”
More than <a href="https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-300-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain">340 companies</a> have halted operations in Russia since the outbreak of military hostilities with Ukraine late last month, according to the Yale School of Management. U.S.-based companies include Goldman Sachs, Apple, IBM, McDonald’s, Victoria’s Secret, and Nike.
Nationalization has a long history of turning a booming economy into one overrun by recession, not least in Russia, where successive “five-year plans” left Russian citizens without the necessities or luxuries of life.
Economic central planners <a href="https://www.econlib.org/library/Essays/hykKnw.html">lack the foresight</a> and wisdom to anticipate the needs and desires of a whole country, whose economy turns on millions of <a href="https://mises.org/library/human-action-0">individual actions</a>. “Owners of private firms benefit directly when innovation reduces costs and boosts profits; bureaucrats usually lack such a clear financial incentive to improve performance,” <a href="https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2017/06/17/the-perils-of-nationalisation">explained</a> The Economist in 2017. “Government-run companies may prioritise swollen payrolls over customer satisfaction. More worryingly, state firms can become vehicles for corruption, used to dole out the largesse of the state to favoured backers or to funnel social wealth into the pockets of the powerful.”
Nationalizing private businesses discourages entrepreneurs from investing in the country, for fear the government will one day confiscate their assets.
“Any lawless decision by Russia to seize the assets of these companies will ultimately … [send] the clear message to the global business community that Russia is not a safe place to invest and do business,” <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1502099530577289220">tweeted</a> White House spokesperson Jen Psaki on Thursday night.
Nationalization of businesses similarly failed in Venezuela, which “wound up nationalizing more than 1,000 companies during Chavez&#8217;s 14 years in office. The moves eventually backfired by crippling domestic production and leaving the country more reliant on imports,” <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2019-venezuela-key-events/">reported</a> Bloomberg.
Among the industries the Bolivarian socialist revolution nationalized were the steel industry, electricity, agriculture, banking, Jon Miltimore of FEE <a href="https://fee.org/articles/8-industries-hugo-chavez-nationalized-besides-oil-on-venezuelas-road-to-serfdom/">reported</a> that steel production subsequently reached an all-time low, Venezuelans have endured starvation and rolling blackouts, and Venezuela’s currency experienced <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevehanke/2019/11/13/venezuelas-hyperinflation-drags-on-for-a-near-record36-months/#613033236b7b">an annual inflation rate</a> of 10,398%.
Economists say government employees simply do not understand how businesses work, which will further damage Russia’s now-battered economy. Ikea “furniture is not growing inside the stores,” said Maxim Mironov, a Russian economist at Madrid’s IE Business School. “If you seize Ikea and Ikea isn’t going to ship you products, it’s not going to work!”

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‘Back To The Soviet Union’: Putin Threatens To Nationalize Industries That Stop Doing Business In Russia

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