NEWS: Poor Venezuelans Trade In Junk For Food, page 1

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:14 PM

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Men women and children have been lining up for a chance to take part in the governments food-for-junk program. People arrived to have bags of clothes, rusted bicycle frames and discarded auto parts weighed up then exchanged for food!

abcnews.go.com
"I think it's good people can hand in things they don't need for food, because that's what people need food," said Maria Bonilla, a 50-year-old single mother who supports two children and a nephew on her job as a janitor.

She and other Venezuelans who came to turn in their trash in a Caracas slum last weekend said they felt grateful to President Hugo Chavez and his political ally, Mayor Freddy Bernal, who promoted the program as a way to clean up the streets while helping to feed the needy.

Chavez says he is leading a socialist "revolution" for the poor and has put billions of dollars in oil profits toward public works projects and social programs to build homes, fund health care programs and subsidize state food markets.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

This is one of the most bizzare programs ive ever heard of!

What value do old bike frames and broken auto parts have to the government of Venezuela???

I think something needs to be done immediatley to combat the problem, and trading rubbish for food may be a short term solution, but something long-term should be sorted asap!

Odium

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:20 PM

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Chavas has been doing something, in fact this is a fairly good idea. What value do plastic, metal, etc have? Well think about it...

It can be reused and saves the Government having to pay people to go collect the plastics or sort it, because people who need food will do it for free so it is attacking two very different problems in one move.

Yes, it is small scale and is only a temporary fix however within a few years the oil money will be enough and be in the right places to solve the problem.

worldwatcher

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:27 PM

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reminds of me of the bottle recycle program. In certain cities, you'll find the homeless and poor searching trash for cans and bottles so that they can redeem them and get 5 cents a pop.

This does two things, it helps clean up the place, and it provides a source of food/income that would not have normally been there for these people. Remember most of the poor people affected by this, have no opportunities for better jobs, so this works for them.

Instead of either being home all day or loitering, these people now something to motivate them.

This is by no means a revolutionary or perfect idea and plan, but it is a step and a means for some.

Astronomer68

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:35 PM

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Odium, the last three or four leaders of Venezuala have all promised to use the oil money to make the plight of the poor people better. All I can see that has happened down there is for the new crop of politicians to line their own pockets and the pockets of their friends. I used to have friends down there, but they all moved out years ago because of the rampant corruption.

Odium

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:43 PM

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Astronomer68, look at what he has done in the last few years and his background.

Many said they would, yet he has introduced the social reforms he promised...in fact, international monitors placed the elections under him as being fair so he is also the majority leader and who they wanted in power.

Misión Sucre, Mision Hábitat, Misión Barrio Adentro are fantastic as are many of the other ideas which are slowly getting funding. Why not actually look at the positives coming from a nation for once instead of making out as though it is always the same? The status quo is non-existant...

The Parallelogram

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 02:55 PM

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Scrap metal can be very valuable. Look at the programs aimed at scrimping every last bit of steel or iron that popped up in America during World war 2.

Either Chavez is up to something, or he wants us to think he is... and personally I believe it's the latter. Kim Jong Il has demonstrated very effectively that America will pay a lot more attention to you if its people think you have something up your sleeve.

Odium

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 03:03 PM

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The Parallelogram, the biggest kick in the teeth to the American Government would be to display a Nation with more equality, less of a 'rich/poor' divide, a form of working socialism, stable economy, higher level of education and more freedom/liberty.

That would be more of a kick in the teeth than anything he could ever do. When America stop being what they were founded upon than he will have won and that is what he is trying to do. No direct attack or harm whatsoever and that is where his brains are...

Astronomer68

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 10:21 PM

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Originally posted by Odium
Astronomer68, look at what he has done in the last few years and his background.
Why not actually look at the positives coming from a nation for once instead of making out as though it is always the same? The status quo is non-existant...

I realize no one ever sets foot in the same river twice Odium, but it's darn hard to focus on the positives when the man just basically stole a passel full of assets from the oil companies down there. That's certainly no way to attract foreign investment and get new industries started in Venezuela.

subz

posted on Oct, 4 2005 @ 10:30 PM

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Are we meant to feel sorry that he is strong arming the oil giants? Sorry Astronomer but I couldnt care less and actually applaude him for getting his priorities right. The people deserve that money, not oil corporations who are raking in obscene record proffits.

If he uses that wealth to the betterment of the entire country which seems to be his track record then thats fantastic! Like Odium said, the best thing he can do to shut up the Americans is create a working socialist country where standards are much greater than exist in the United States. He's on his way there since the bar has slipped greatly in recent years.

Odium

posted on Oct, 5 2005 @ 02:32 AM

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Astronomer68, it comes down to a choice between feeding the few and feeding the many and I know which one I would choose. As a leader of a Nation you have to do what is best for the majority of your people and big business is not the best for the Nation. Sweden has displayed this...look at their Nation compaired to the rest of the World.

Lower Taxs.
More social systems.
Less debt.
More private businesses.
Less of a rich/poor divide.

And Chavez is doing the exactly same thing in his Nation and give it 10 years, we stand a chance of a South American Country really working towarsd what is best for its people.