America is exhibiting signs of a socialist future, according to Jorge Galicia in his talk for Hillsdale College’s Praxis club.
Twenty-four-year-old Galicia spoke about his personal experiences with Venezuelan Socialism and the very real possibility of an American socialist state.
As a student in 2014, Galicia joined a small political activist party in Venezuela devoted to religious liberty, freedom of speech and economic freedom. He was involved in political demonstrations in Venezuela in 2017.
His best friend was arrested after a peaceful demonstration and released three months later, however, the incarceration led Galicia to finish his law degree and leave Venezuela for the United States. Galicia has devoted his life to educating people, especially students, about the dangers of socialism.
In his talk on Tuesday, Galicia stressed that what happened in Venezuela could happen in the U.S.
“What did we have before Hugo Chavez?… we had something much more like the kind of welfare state that progressives are advocating for here in America,” Galicia said.
Galicia emphasized that before the economic crash, Venezuela had both a similar economy as well as a similar movement toward government-subsidized welfare programs.
“Until this decade (1970) Venezuela used to grow economically every single year, we had the biggest GDP in the whole Latin American region,” Garcia said. “In 1975…he (President Carlos Andres Perez) and his team decided to create a bunch of new social programs designed to protect the poor.”
Galicia pointed out that Venezuela’s welfare state combined with the government overspending led to the current societal collapse in that country.
“We have tried elections, they make fraud. We have tried negotiations, they don’t keep their word, they keep on incarcerating our people.” Galicia said when speaking about the fix to the problems in his country. “The solution needs to be by force.”
“This socialism isn’t just historical socialism, it’s like: look what is going on right now.” President of Praxis, Melody McDonald said. “He has actual real-life experience that is very applicable. It just hits on a different level when its personal stories versus, like, a number.”
