quote:


In the closing days of campaigning for the referendum, with the government holding huge rallies, officials have continued to warn of anti-Chavez plots that could originate in the church or the business community.

Indeed, the authorities said they were going to investigate church leaders as well as CNN, which came under criticism after placing a caption reading, "Who Killed Him?" on a photograph of Chavez. The network said the caption was an error, designed for a story about the investigation into the murder of Washington Redskins player Sean Taylor.

On Friday, a day when an estimated 200,000 people in Caracas rallied in support of Chavez, officials saw yet one more possible sign of conspiracy. Toilet paper is in short supply -- as are milk, eggs and other staples.

"We know there are sectors hiding toilet paper," Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas said on state television. "A group of business leaders are playing mean, playing dirty." He said it was designed to "create the sensation of product shortage during the election."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22049468/page/2/ 

quote:

MEAT: World production rose only 1% last year, not enough to keep up with the increase in population—or the burgeoning demand in industrialized countries that are experiencing an inflationary boom. Output in the European Common Market actually dropped because of a blundering policy that encouraged farmers to reduce cattle herds in order to eliminate dairy-product surpluses.

quote:

Most cheering to consumers—and worrisome for farmers—is the conversion of last year's meat shortage into a glut, as a result of heavy production and a continuing reluctance by budget conscious housewives to buy meat as freely as they once did. 

quote:

ORIGINAL: Sanity

There were gasoline shortages because the moronic idea of price controls interrupted supplies, but I don't a recall meat, sugar, coffee or toilet paper shortage. There might have been a bad coffee harvest or two, but that's all I recall concerning any shortages at about that time

quote:

ORIGINAL: HaveRopeWillBind

Sugar shortage...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,908958,00.html

Meat Shortage...

quote:

MEAT: World production rose only 1% last year, not enough to keep up with the increase in population—or the burgeoning demand in industrialized countries that are experiencing an inflationary boom. Output in the European Common Market actually dropped because of a blundering policy that encouraged farmers to reduce cattle herds in order to eliminate dairy-product surpluses.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,907751,00.html

quote:

Most cheering to consumers—and worrisome for farmers—is the conversion of last year's meat shortage into a glut, as a result of heavy production and a continuing reluctance by budget conscious housewives to buy meat as freely as they once did. 

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,942890,00.html

Couldn't quickly find any documentation on the coffee shortage but I remember people being up in arms because coffee had risen from roughly $1.25/lb to $5.00/lb very quickly due to short supply.

All of these shortages may have been artificially created by suppliers to drive up market prices, but on the grocery store shelves they were quite real.