Journalist Marta Colomina thinks livestock farmers are heroes to whom statues shall be erected. But what "opposition" farmers want is for Venezuelan people to pay more for milk and cheese. That'd be no problem, since we all want our services to be paid as expensive as we can, but the methods chosen by Genaro Méndez (president of the Venezuelan Cattle Farmers Federation, FEDENAGA) are plainly immoral, since he wants to use the power of the government to curb imports of milk into the country.

As it usually is the case, big business can easily be capitalism's and free markets' worst enemy, but usually they are not as candid with their intentions as Mr Méndez is being here.

So, what are they asking the government to do? (this part was not quoted in the Venezuelanalysis' piece, so you have to go Cadena Global if you want to read in full)

We are asking the government to suspend immediately milk imports, at least during two weeks.

And why? Pretty simple indeed:

These white [hard] cheese has commercialization problems, because there is imported cheese which is of even better quality and cheaper [than Venezuelan cheese], due to [the overvaluation] of the preferential dollar and because they enter the country without paying any kind of tariffs.

You see, Venezuelan cattle farmers feel they cannot compete with cheaper and higher quality milk and cheese from abroad, so they decide they will force, at the point of a gun, the people into buying more expensive and lower quality Venezuelan milk and cheese. When the issue is about spoiling Venezuela's poorest FEDENAGA and Méndez can easily agree with the neocommunists in power, despite being allegedly from the "opposition".

And these are opposition heroes? What are they opposing? Certainly not socialism, nor banditry against the poor. But, Oh, well that's the sad state of Venezuelan politics at this point.

You can read Mr. Méndez's statements in full (in Spanish) via Venezuela es Noticia.

 Venezuela, Economics