>Bare shelves is also a manifestation of the awful situation in Venezuela at this time - a country which could and should be a leading light in Latin America.

Venezuela is so sad.
It should indeed be a leading light.
Instead, people are escaping the country just to get enough to eat.

Communism gives bad enough results - small apartments, crummy cars, poorly stocked stores.
But it takes epic mis-management to starve in an oil-rich country.

I shudder to think how badly that will end.