Venezuela’s war on cuteness
The government tries to sell its hungry citizens on the nutritional benefits of rabbit
VENEZUELA has a hunger crisis, with 12% of children suffering from acute malnutrition. But the country’s socialist president, Nicolás Maduro, has a cunning plan. Under Plan Conejo (Plan Rabbit), poor settlements are to receive cages containing baby rabbits which, when fattened up, will provide the protein and calories many people lack. Freddy Bernal, the urban agriculture minister, recently delivered the first consignment of bunnies to 15 communities.
It makes more sense than some of Mr Maduro’s other ideas. They “will breed like rabbits”, he predicted. While shops run out of bread, butter and other staples because of price controls and scarce foreign exchange, the rabbits will reproduce, oblivious of market forces. The “imperialist” United States, which is waging “economic war” on Venezuela, will only be able to watch and fume.
This article appeared in the The Americas section of the print edition under the headline "The war on cuteness"
From the September 23rd 2017 edition
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