Venezuela dreaming

Venezuela is slipping toward a humanitarian crisis and the danger of implosion is growing. Venezuela has the world's highest inflation rate, a collapsing currency and may default on its debts next year. There are shortages of consumer goods and difficulty of obtaining hard currency. In a country with the world's largest oil reserves, transplant patients have resorted to veterinary medicines to stay alive and hemophilia medicines are available only for emergencies. Malaria and dengue fever are on the rise, so is malnutrition. Doctors are emigrating. The potential for more frequent and deadlier breakdowns in public order is increasing, especially now that Maduro has stepped up military raids on people who stock up "contraband" goods. Venezuela's neighbors Brazil and Colombia have their own troubles, but they cannot afford to ignore the turmoil at their borders as Maduro is using territorial disputes to crank up nationalist fervor. China has bankrolled Venezuela's regime with more than $50 billion in loans that lock in oil supplies and sweetheart deals. The only thing the people of Venezuela can do now is to hope and dream of a peaceful change that may reduce their burdens and improve the economy.