April 23, 2008 2:41PM 

# Looking for Advice in the Wrong Place 

By [Juan Carlos Hidalgo](https://www.cato.org/people/juan-carlos-hidalgo) 

---

<a class="js-popover-trigger cursor-pointer popover-trigger" data-bs-placement="bottom" data-bs-trigger="click" id="popover-trigger"> 

SHARE 

</a> 

![Media Name: Imagen018.jpg](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/pubs_2x/public/download-remote-images/bp2.blogger.com/168646121488/Imagen018.jpg?itok=Y5hl4X8H) 

**Venezuela’s food programs**

Five Central American presidents [have asked](http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7BB225D19E-C509-47B9-AF7E-2D0CE03B8DD1%7D%29&language=EN) Hugo Chávez for advice in supplying food to their populations. [According](http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2008/abril/22/mundo1508815.html) to Honduras’ president Manuel Zelaya, “Venezuela has many \[food\] programs that are worth taking a look at.”

Tell that to the thousands of Venezuelans who every day [wait in line at supermarkets and stores for hours](http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080417005298&newsLang=en) in order to get simple items such as milk or meat. Hugo Chávez’s policies (such as price controls) have caused serious shortages in a country that is awash with oil money.

I’m sure Central Americans are better off without Chávez’s advice.

##### Related Tags 

[General](https://www.cato.org/general) 

[![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) 
This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).