The Venezuelan government has introduced a “rabbit plan” to reduce starvation rates in the nation with Earth’s largest oil reserves.
Never mind that rearing rabbits for food is totally impractical — practicality has never deterred President Nicolas Maduro, who has come under fire internationally for illegally dissolving Venezuela’s national legislature. On Tuesday, giggling alongside his cabinet ministers, Maduro outlined why the “protein” content of rabbits makes them perfect for feeding the nation. As Maduro put it, “a rabbit plan has been approved because rabbits also breed like rabbits.” The president then claimed that the only problem with his plan is that many Venezuelans view rabbits as pets rather than as food sources.
Such insanity reminds me of Christopher Hitchens’ memorable description of Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez. Listening to Chavez rant about the moon landings, Hitchens said he believed the president might next “announce that he is a poached egg and that he requires a very large piece of buttered toast so that he can lie down and take a soothing nap.”
It would be easy to excuse Maduro’s approach as laughable, but that’s insufficient. Maduro might well be following in the mental footsteps of Lieutenant Colonel Lunatic, but his policy is truly evil. Rather than reform the economy to boost private production and attract foreign investment, that which would reduce starvation rates, Maduro resorts to this rabbit gimmick. As opposition leader Henrique Capriles pointed out on Twitter, it says much about Maduro’s ministers that they laugh on television as the people starve. Malnutrition rates malnutrition rates are soaring and the government’s own statistics suggest child mortality rates increased by 30 percent over the past year.
Hilarious, right?
The U.S. and the international community must not ignore this tragedy. As I’ve noted, the Trump administration must tighten sanctions on Maduro-enablers like Delcy Rodriguez. But conservatives must also challenge the regime’s supporters in the west. After all, too many liberals continue to regard the Venezuelan regime as a source of moral purpose amidst the darkness of capitalism. The U.S. should also draw attention to the starving innocents, and to Maduro’s global friends: Cuba and Russia.
This matters because unless he is pressured, Maduro will only double down on his destruction. Maternal mortality rates increased by 65 percent last year, but today, Maduro’s website is trumpeting a propaganda article praising his maternity programs.
Welcome to socialism, where reality exists subject to those who know better.
