Venezuela’s tryst with socialism continues to make its citizens suffer under lack of electricity, food, and medical supplies. The government, which provides essential services, is only working two-day workweeks. Inflation has soared through the stratosphere, only to be accompanied by widespread hunger. People have resorted to looting. There are reports of dogs, cats, and pigeons being hunted for food, while others tear through garbage cans looking for whatever they can find to eat. Under-stocked supermarkets have become tragic spectacles, as Venezuelans rush to get whatever they can find once the doors open. As for medical supplies, they’re scarce—with hospitals lacking basic items, like gloves and soap. Access to medicine is also a nightmare, impacting 200,000 Venezuelans living with chronic illnesses. In one tragic case, an eight-year-old-boy with Hodgkin’s lymphoma recently passed away since he couldn’t obtain the drugs he needed to survive.

The New York Times noted that, as the government slowly begins to shutdown, the crisis is beginning to kill off every aspect of socioeconomic life. Schools are now closed on Fridays to help with the energy shortage, and law and order has all but collapsed. Even the Venezuela’s like-minded allies concerning left wing economics have noted that current President Nicolas Maduro has pretty much lost his marbles:

The courts? Closed most days. The bureau to start a business? Same thing. The public defender’s office? That’s been converted into a food bank for government employees.

Step by step, Venezuela has been shutting down…

In recent weeks, the government has taken what may be one of the most desperate measures ever by a country to save electricity: A shutdown of many of its offices for all but two half-days each week.

But that is only the start of the country’s woes. Electricity and water are being rationed, and huge areas of the country have spent months with little of either.

Many people cannot make international calls from their phones because of a dispute between the government and phone companies over currency regulations and rates…

For Vanessa Arneta, who lives with seven relatives in an apartment on the outskirts of Caracas, it’s the disappearance of the city’s water that is causing the most pain. Water arrives just once a week, on Thursdays, to her neighborhood of San Antonio de los Altos.

The Agence-France Presse reported last week that 80 percent of Venezuelans say that basic things, like food and medicine, are in short supply—and 86 percent blamed the left wing government of President Maduro for their suffering.

Cliver Alcala, a then-cadet under Hugo Chavez who rose through the military ranks and is credited with being the “architect” of Venezuela’s military, bashed Maduro saying that his government has nothing to do with Chavez’s legacy—“it’s anarchy” (via BBC):

“This isn’t Chavismo,” Gen Alcala says of the socialist leadership. “It’s anarchy.”

“Over the past three years, we have entered a maelstrom of anarchy in which a group of compatriots that once supported the revolution – both civilians and military – thought they could install an anarchic ideology in the country.”

“And so they have.”

He immediately begins to list problems, with corruption at every level of government, and accuses the military of standing idly by as Rome – or in this case Caracas – burns.

Well, corruption is a byproduct of authoritarian leftism. Not just in Bolivia, but other governments that aspire to the planned economy model. A model that force Bridgestone to abandon operations, Coca-Cola to stop production due to sugar shortages, and Lufthansa is set to suspend all flights to Venezuela because of the deteriorating situations in the country. In Venezuela, 21^st Century Socialism has done nothing but relegate this country into nothing more than a burned out cinder.

The International Monetary Fund projects the Venezuelan economy to contact by eight percent his year, with a 500 percent surge in the inflation rate.

Viva La Revolución!

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared on Townhall.com.