The question isn't whether Venezuela's Mini-Me Maduro is lying in his recent op-ed in the New York Times, but whether Americans who read the New York Times will believe the lies.
The notion that HugoCare and HugoEducation are triumphs of Bolivarian Socialism (which apparently means effing up an oil-rich economy while wearing a red beret) is only the biggest portion of nonsense in a piece full of nonsense:
In one respect, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's op-ed in Wednesday's New York Times is old news—the same litany of worn-out propaganda lines that gets repeated every day on Venezuelan state media. What's new is the context. Venezuelans have grown used to the tsunami of spin, obfuscation, half-truths, and outright lies that dominate our large and growing state propaganda system. The Times' readers are likely less prepared for it.
Oh, as opposed to a sizable number of Venezuelans, those readers are well prepared for that message. Indeed, they are eager to believe that message.
What, they believe, is a little loss of freedom (for other people) if they get health care and education?
It's surely our fault, anyway. That's why Maduro chose the New York Times.
