The Venezuelan government, took control of a factory owned by U.S. firm Kimberly-Clark that makes diapers Monday, in an apparent move of desperation.
Venezuelan Labor Minister Oswaldo Vera announced on national television that, “Kimberly Clark will continue producing for all Venezuelans and is now in the hands of the workers.” Vera communicated the news to the Venezuelan people from the factory itself, which Kimberly-Clark had shuttered over the weekend due a lack of production materials.
The factory employed 971 people and the government claims that those same employees asked them to take over the facility. Kimberly-Clark reacted to the extreme course of action by stating, “If the Venezuelan government takes control of Kimberly-Clark facilities and operations, it will be responsible for the well-being of the workers and the physical assets, equipment and machinery in the facilities going forward.”
Venezuela’s economy is suffering from a shortages of various basic goods which have forced people to do unimaginable things to survive. As food becomes increasingly scarce, the infrequency of meagerly government rationing has led some to resort to stealing live chickens off a truck in the middle of the road.
People that are not hijacking vehicles for livestock, have turned to dumpster-diving and eating rotten fruit and vegetables to not starve to death. The country has already run out of both beer and soda.
The Venezuelan government briefly allowed Venezuelans living along the Colombian border to cross over on Sunday which had folks rushing over to buy as many diapers and as much toilet paper as they could get their hands on. Besides a near, total economic collapse, Venezuela is contending with a long-running political crisis.
Socialist President Nicolas Maduro cannot see eye to eye with the conservative opposition, that controls the National Assembly, the equivalent of Congress. Meaningful political action to tackle the country’s multiple economic problems has been nonexistent ever since the opposition won control of the legislature in December 2015 elections.
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