Venezuela: A Year in the Crisis
Juan Guaidó , Venezuela’s National Assembly head, addresses the crowd during an opposition rally against leader Nicolás Maduro (Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images)
It has been only a year since Juan Guaidó, an opposition leader from Venezuela, emerged as a self-declared leader of the country. This announcement, widely accepted by various democratic nations, drew international attention and created a sense of hope for the Venezuelan people— perhaps they would finally be released from Nicolás Maduro’s hold and the chaos he brought with him. Unfortunately, Guaidó has yet to assume any official leadership position and the country has continued to plummet into tumultuous conditions. Current headlines, however, fail to acknowledge the persistently worsening living situations of non-elite Venezuelans and instead continue to cover apparent growing economic functions.
In the year that has passed since Guaidó’s commencement , Venezuela has remained in the midst of political, economic, and humanitarian crises. Living conditions are marked by inadequate function of public services, including police and infrastructure, and the lack of access to healthcare and education. Unsurprisingly, the segments of the population that have suffered these consequences most are Venezuela’s poor. But recently, while capitalising on minor economic advancements, Maduro has managed to hide the reality of the millions of Venezuelans who still live in abysmal conditions. He has shifted his focus and attempted to proclaim prime conditions of economic growth, overshadowing the dire circumstances that most Venezuelans find themselves in and obscuring the truth of the ongoing crisis. As shopping malls and restaurants begin to reopen in bustling cities like Caracas, those who find themselves in rural areas are still shackled by the lingering effects of Maduro’s gross mismanagement.
Maduro’s economic ‘advancements’ are the sole claim that he can hide behind. His policies are loosening past restrictions and allowing for dollarization; a process which allows for Venezuela’s national currency to align with the U.S. dollar through extensive use in economic transactions. *This is attracting business and reinvigorating aspects of the economy that for a long time were non-functioning, but the caveat to this apparent ‘solution’ is that most Venezuelans do not have access to dollars. Prior to this dollarization the Venezuelan bolivar had depreciated by more than 90%— average Venezuelans were left with virtually no form of currency, and now the use of dollars is widespread but most people are unable to purchase them because they continue to live in poverty. These conditions began in 2013 (the first year of Maduro’s rule) when the economy started to contract— in just four years it managed to shrink by over a third. Now, despite the re-emergence of commercial services in major cities, rural Venezuelans still find themselves shackled by those lingering effects of Maduro’s gross mismanagement.
After years of having a failed public service sector, the consequences of dysfunction are ever-present in Venezuela. A U.N. report in June of 2019 found that the Special Forces Action had conducted thousands of extrajudicial killings, part of a state-funded “Operations for the Liberation of the People.” This has resulted in isolated rural areas and Colombian guerilla groups overtaking border regions where they exercise control over cities, provide organization and protection to locals, and conduct militia training. Maduro’s neglect is emblematic of his transition of interests; where he might have begun his term attempting to uphold Hugo Chavez’s ‘democratic’ empowerment of the poor, he’s since devolved into a brutal dictator willing to abandon whole pieces of the population as long as he maintains his power.
Consistent with his efforts to consolidate control and preserve his power, Maduro has repeatedly pointed fingers to the U.S. for many of Venezuela’s shortcomings. In 2019, when the country experienced widespread electrical blackouts, he accused the United States of orchestrating “an electromagnetic attack.” Today, the repetitive blackouts have, in large part, ceased, but only in big cities. Another U.N. report, conducted in early 2020 found that four out of every ten households suffered daily interruptions in electrical services, and 72% had inadequate gas power in their homes. These conditions further cripple areas that are barely staying afloat in the current economic situation. The survival of rural communities in Venezuela has become largely dependent on aid, but access to it is too often limited by the government’s tight hold on incoming humanitarian resources.
The most notable repercussions of overt government control of resources are seen in the colossal failure of the healthcare system and the subsequent lack of medicine. Hospitals across the country, devastated by lack of running water, drugs, and medical supplies, are unable to provide coverage to patients. Today, most hospitals seldom see any patients: it has become widespread knowledge that they cannot help. The consequences have led to a rise in preventable diseases, infectious outbreaks, and most prominently: starvation. One in three Venezuelans struggle with hunger and finding adequate food and nutrition. Some are so desperate that they have no option but to venture across the Colombian border to purchase food; others, though once able to rely on remittances, now face the reality of high prices driven up by dollarization they can no longer afford the few goods they could before.
Such conditions have raised valid concerns regarding the futures of the generations that will one day lead Venezuela. Fears that the performances of children will be stunted due to childhood malnutrition are reasonable and further stoked by a crumbling education system. More than a million children have been virtually abandoned by parents who had no choice but to leave the country in search of work. Without enough funds to support their children, they were forced to leave them with neighbors, family members, or in some cases, with no one but themselves. Some stayed in touch, others have no idea when or if their parents will ever return— in the meantime, they are hungry and alone. Given that the education system parallels that of healthcare— lacking in supplies, staff, and electricity— the vast majority of children are not in school. Public education in Venezuela is in a catastrophic state; an unraveling process that is robbing children of their only avenue to better their futures.
Maduro’s grasp on Venezuela has tightened to a crippling hold. His repressive policies, combined with his complacency and indifference are driving reasons for the ongoing crisis. Only a small, elite populace has managed to avoid the repercussions of his rule. Throughout everything they have tirelessly backed him— undermining initial reports of crises and undercutting relief efforts by claiming international outrage as being driven by Western imperialism. The reality of the matter is much different. Poor Venezuelans are paying the price of policies that long served to consolidate Maduro’s power; their suffering is not a fabrication created by countries that sought to invade Venezuela but rather a reflection of Maduro’s rule. The ramifications of his clutch on Venezuela have long extended through a dramatic recession, political turmoil, and an ever-growing humanitarian crisis. A year has passed since Venezuelans were given hope for their future, but the time since has only brought them more heartbreak, sickness, and trauma. For the sake of their prosperity, the realities of the calamity in Venezuela should not be overlooked by the fronts put up by enablers of the dictatorship; their ongoing plight must be recognized and addressed.