In Caracas or Maracaibo’ supermarkets and drugstores, buying a kilogram of grain or a pack of cookies has become a complex procedure: it’s required for you to deliver an ID, full name, phone number, address, date of birth and to slide both thumbs in a device: the emblematic “fingerprint scanner”; a device which usage by stores was originally voluntary, but which evolution, months afterwards, is one of omnipresent machinery, kind of a necessary toll for the acquisition of a simple pack of gum in any chain store. [link to www.techdirt.com (secure)]
Venezuela installs finger scanners in supermarkets – BBC News
[link to www.bbc.com]
Venezuela is due to begin installing about 20,000 fingerprint scanners at supermarkets across the country, as part of its introduction of rationing.
President Nicolas Maduro said the system would reduce food hoarding and panic buying.
Over the last year there have been long queues at supermarkets because of widespread shortages of basic goods.
Mr Maduro said the shortages were due to manipulation of the food supply and prices.
The president announced that seven major retailers have agreed to install the scanners in stores.
The government first introduced the plans for compulsory biometric cards in August 2014. This followed the failure of a voluntary card system earlier in the year.
Could Prepping Become Illegal Here Too? Venezuelan Govt to Detain..
[link to www.theorganicprepper.ca]
As people who spend a lot of time focusing on preparedness, we can learn a lot about our future by watching as the economies and civilizations of other Western countries crumble.
Today’s lesson is that when times get tough, the government can and will persecute those who have planned ahead.
The Attorney General of Venezuela, Luisa Ortega Díaz, called on prosecutors to target people who are “hoarding” basic staples with serious sanctions.
She called on prosecutors to seek their detention.
The attorney general called on people to remain calm, not to fall for provocations, and not to be afraid of the “alleged” food shortage.
