ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
Sharing something that I posted on X: https://x.com/manualzuru/status/1890403646048768450?s=46 Thereās a deep cultural trauma around collectivism. When people hear socialism or communism, they think of failed authoritarian regimes and for good reasons. Those who claimed to practice them have often created systems that lead to oppression & economic failure. 1/ š§µ Thread
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
Instead of a classless society as Marx envisioned it, communist regimes concentrated power even more. Ruling elites controlled wealth & resources while the majority struggled. These systems claimed to empower people but ended up reinforcing inequality under a different name. 2/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
I grew up in Venezuela, where socialist propaganda justified government control over land, resources, media, institutions & political powers. They expropriated my familyās land & attacked us just for thinking differently. 3/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
My dad owned radio stations where free thinkers could share opinions but that was enough for the government to see him as a threat. Under the banner of āpower to the people,ā they silenced anyone who questioned them while enriching themselves. 4/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
My dad has Spanish origins, and the government used ācolonialist & imperialistā propaganda to justify targeting people with European roots & seizing their land, even though Venezuela declared independence from Spain in 1811. So my dad and my grandpa had nothing to do with it. 5/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
Itās clear to me that what happened to my family wasnāt about justice or equality. It was about consolidating power. The same leaders who preached against imperialism lived in luxury while using identity politics to divide people & justify expropriating land & resources. 6/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
During university years, I protested after they took my fatherās land. Later, I got hired at Schlumberger one as an apprentice wireline field engineer, working on rigs for PDVSA (the state oil company). Every single rig I went to, we found oil š¤Æ. Venezuela is insanely rich. 7/
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ManuAlzuruš„
@manu
One time in Barinas, we found transparent oil (ultra light crude). Seeing this firsthand was surreal. Venezuela has some of the worldās largest oil reserves, yet the people live in extreme poverty. The wealth is there, but it never reaches the people. Itās just benefit few. 8/
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