Dianavan:

In Venezuela, you're arrested for protesting the government confiscation of the most popular TV station. Freedom of speech vital to the US but uneeded in Venezuela because they have a benign dictator.


"You get up at dawn to hunt for a breast of chicken all over town. Housewives are in a foul mood." says Lucylde Gonzalez, a Caracas homemaker, who says she hasn't seen an egg in a week."

Mr. Chávez blames the shortages on "speculation" by distributors and producers. Agriculture Minister Elias Jaua recently called a news conference to deny there's been any decline in food production during the eight years of Chávez rule. The central bank stopped publishing agricultural statistics in 2005. A private farm association called Fedeagro estimates Venezuela grew 8% less food last year than the year before, citing factors including the price controls, land seizures and the wave of kidnappings of farmers.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117934540971705299.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Such an improvement.