Socialism: A Living Hell Part 5

An aggregate of polls shows that 43% of Americans have a positive view of socialism. Young adults, Democrats, and independents are particularly interested. Could this be a case of not knowing what you're asking for, or are people aware of the realities of such a choice?

Pedro Burelli understands socialism up close. Born in Venezuela, he is a former board member of Petróleos de Venezuela, S.A., and is recognized as a leading voice for liberty and justice across Latin America and Europe. Today he tells us of a massive exodus: people who left Venezuela due to oppression. He saw the ravages of socialism and still mourns what it did to its country and people. In the fifth and final part of this Liberty Nation News Special Report, Socialism: A Living Hell, Burelli recounts the rack and ruin left by the socialist experiment in Venezuela.

Bankrupt, poverty-stricken, and terrified of their own government, literally millions gave up on socialism in Venezuela. What was promised as a panacea of riches became a journey into hell. Dictators Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro oppressed their people, who had nothing left but angst and agony from two brutal regimes, not to mention years of deprivation. At this point, their only alternative was to give in or get out.

In Parts 1 through 4, we looked at the promise of socialism and the inevitable tyranny that follows. Burelli reveals whether socialism can ever truly work while describing the horrors that unfolded as Venezuela descended into a socialist hellscape.

Socialism in Venezuela Causes a Mass Exodus

Leesa K. Donner: The people are finally exhausted of socialism. What happens now?

Pedro Burelli: [T]he country had 29 million people; nine million left, and the bad thing is it's some of the best people. Venezuela used to be a country that attracted immigrants and suddenly became a country of people leaving. That's a terrible tide because, usually, if you can attract people who come in and want to help you build a country, that's great. People are running out the door and helping to make other countries great, and now there are Venezuelans in 437 cities, the last statistic I saw around the world. The real issue here is that the damage is irreversible. This is what happened when we finally got the chance for an election, and the opposition won big time.

Maduro realized that the damage he had done to the country and the crimes he had committed were going to force him to end up in jail, so he stole the election outright. Despite the fact that he had lost 70% to 30% [in July 2024], he was willing, within a few days, to put 2,000 people in jail. We got to a point at which Venezuela became ungovernable because the only thing that kept the regime in power was repression. They had no popular support; they had no competence; they had no willingness to run the country. They just needed to stay in power because they're afraid of the consequences of losing power. If they had to repress, steal elections, and torture people, they're willing to do it.

We got to an unlivable situation, and I think that's why the world was concerned. And because he was also involved in narcotics and other things, suddenly the United States executed a law enforcement operation to basically apprehend an individual for whom there were indictments in the United States and a very large reward of $50 million, the highest reward for an individual ever placed by the United States.

This is bipartisan. Both Democrats and Republicans understood that Venezuela had gone to hell with Chavismo [Chávez's legacy of socialist ideology and policies], that this socialism had [ruined the country]. Clearly, the Democrats didn't really understand the damage he was doing. That's why they allowed all these bad elements from Venezuela to [cross the border] and create chaos here. This was all part of the Maduro game plan. Oh, the United States is criticizing me. I'm going to undermine the United States. The Colombians are criticizing me, the Chileans. They started creating chaos in the region as a way to just say, "If you bother me, I will bother you."

Maduro had become a pest. The country had become a disaster. The people were fed up, and therefore extraction was what you needed to do when a criminal guy had gotten completely entrenched in power. Now the issue is, how do we move from there?

LKD: Now we've got Delcy Rodriguez. Can she be trusted to lead the country? She was Maduro's number two.

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PB: Not at all. I would say that she's worse than Maduro. She was craftier than Maduro. She had a lot to do with Maduro being able to stay in power. I think the administration is trying to do a soft landing. They cannot normalize Delcy Rodriguez. This has to be a process toward a transition. Delcy Rodriguez has 3% popularity in Venezuela, 3%. She has zero legitimacy. You cannot rebuild a country on the back of somebody who's detested by the population, who was part and parcel of the destruction of the country, and therefore timing is of the essence. You want to avoid something falling in the wrong way, so you want to do it carefully, do it carefully.

But you have to do it quickly. You have to send the right signals and not confuse the population, because the people in Venezuela are not happy with this Delcy situation right now. They're not seeing a major change. Real investors are not coming back in. The reversal of this 27-year cycle of communism, socialism, [and] Chavismo can only happen with a legitimate government, with a clear view, with a free market mentality. By the way, the people in the wings, the people who would win an election if there were a free and fair election, are 100% pro-capitalism, pro-private sector, pro-US.

Therefore, one would expect that the United States should be raring to get to a system that has the underpinning of a legal election, popular support, and is run by competent people who are going to be your allies. The delay is creating great confusion.

LKD: All right. Well, we've come to the end of our series. We hope our viewers understand a little bit more about socialism through the eyes of our special guest, Pedro Burelli. Thanks for joining us, Pedro.

A Venezuelan Pause, Not an Ending

This is Venezuela's sad story, and it hasn't ended. A new government is not in place, and while some dissidents have been released, most of them are still behind bars. The economy is still a financial disaster, and Nicolás Maduro languishes in a New York prison. Much needs to be accomplished before it can be said that Venezuela is back and better than ever. But this is the fervent hope of someone who saw his country's destruction, like Pedro Burelli.

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Take a sneak peek at the video series that accompanies this report.