Venezuela's Political Crisis

Living in two different countries can be a great experience that can change someone's way of thinking. We live in a world with many countries and different types of people, making us compare each other and ask ourselves how is this different or similar. For example, in Brazil, they speak Portuguese, but in Colombia they speak Spanish. That's one difference. Yet, Brazil and Colombia are in the same continent. Now, that's one similarity. In my case, I have lived in Venezuela and in the United States and sometimes I start comparing many things like economy, government, culture, topography, weather, traditions, etc. Many people don't notice how many difference and similarities two countries can have.

Did you know that Venezuela was one of the first colonies to gain their independence from Spain? At the time Venezuela was a Spanish ruled colony and the people of Venezuela felt that their government was ruling their colony terribly (Adelblue). The people were led by Simon Bolivar, whose nickname was “The Liberator” since he liberated Venezuela and worked with San Martin to liberate most of Northern South America (Adelblue). Venezuela declared their independence in 1810 and finally gained their independence after the Battle of Carabobo in 1821 (Minster). Three symbolic elements of the Venezuelan revolution are used to portray Simon Bolivar, the speech Simon gave to the Second National Congress in 1819 to encourage the type of government he had in mind, and the high taxation that was the main cause of the revolution (Ellis and Esler 705).

This will be as much a tale about the Venezuelan people as it is about a returning immigrant who knows his homeland largely from memories and media. Though my experiences have shaped my outlook, my intention is to enter the country as a neutral and impartial writer, cognizant of daily life, yet oblivious to the fiery political discourse which consumes too many discussions.

When Christopher Columbus discovered the coast of Venezuela, he thought he had encountered an earthly paradise, today that grace land is ravaged by famine, inflation, scarcity, violence, social and political conflicts; “social implosion [being] driven by economic collapse, caused by shockingly self-destructive policy making” (Toro, 1). Venezuela’s antidemocratic government and its lack of foresight has created a severe economic crisis crumbling health care system and a lack of basic necessities and is jailing innocent people who object.

In recent years, an increasing number of professors, commentators, journalists, and teens on social media have claimed that capitalism has failed. What usually follows are suggestions to usher in a new wave of socialism, as if the chaos in Venezuela is somehow non-existent or something truly desirable.

Venezuela, officially known as the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is located on the northeastern coast of South America. It is bordered to the east by Guyana, the south by Brazil, and the west by Colombia. The country stakes claim to roughly three hundred and fifty square mile of highly fertile and biodiverse land. As of 2015 the population of the country is estimated to be 29,275,940 (CIA, 2015). Throughout Venezuelan history many unique sociological revolutions have occurred and to understand the present one must appreciate the past.

In Venezuela, in ancient times it was a paradise for natives who lived on its

Venezuela, located in the Latin American region, is a country that has been characterized by its abundance of oil reserve. A natural resource that has shaped the history and development of the country, affecting its economic, social and most important is political spheres. For many years Venezuela was controlled by authoritarian regimes. The country, being very important in the sense of geo-politics due to its abundance of oil, has been a key player in the international arena and most important, to those that for many years kept the country under their regime. It was not until 1958 that Venezuela experienced the change to democracy and a stable democracy was kept between the two main political parties of the time, Accion Democratica (AD)

Irene Rinaldi seems to have accurately fit the conflict of the entire nation of Venezuela within the confines of one cartoon for The New York Times (3). The first figure that confronts us is that of a hand, larger than life, tightly grasping a weapon. This is the chilling portrayal of a nation’s military force aimed at surging masses of its own protesting people. According to Petra Cahill and Laura Saravia

Venezuela is located on the north coast of South America. It is a very interesting country, since it possesses many unique attributes and resources that other countries in the region do not. There are several different systems that represent these resources and attributes. Major Kris A. Arnold (2006) states “PMESII is (sic) military acronym listed in several joint and service publications, which evolved from a systems perspective, and equates to the political, military, economic, social, infrastructure, and information systems of states. The acronym provides a starting point for identifying key interrelated systems of an adversary and facilitates analysis and kinetic and non-kinetic targeting”. Venezuela is an especially interesting case due to the political system in place, in addition to the unique economic power that the nation has.

The new world was being tortured since it was discovered by the Spaniards. They only had two main options, which were to keep suffering under the Spanish government or to make themselves independents. They acknowledged they were a new race mixed by Indians and Europeans. They were Americans now. Moreover, they knew they obtained rights from Europe, so they wanted to use those rights to defend themselves against the attackers.

With an economy dominated by the production of oil, Venezuela has enjoyed the highest standard of living in Latin America. In spite of its success in the oil industry, agriculture and manufacturing also play important roles in Venezuela’s economy. With this in mind, it would seem as though Venezuela’s economic state has flourished. Rather, it has suffered from the effects of political influence, corruption, and poor economic management. The distribution of wealth across Venezuela has caused the elite to benefit at the cost of the working people. This is mainly due to the economic and political structure of the country. Even with the plentiful resources Venezuela possesses, it is constantly being threatened by political instability,

Venezuela currently has a population of 31 million people. Venezuela is still growing in numbers, and it’s getting harder for the government to provide health care for their people. Venezuela’s population is 1.9 times larger than South America. The country is mainly urban, and the wealth rate is declining. The resources per person needs to be the same, and as of now that’s not the case. Overall fertility rates are failing in Latin America. In 2015 the population was six times the size that it was in 1950, and the United Nations projects that it will be nine time larger by 2050, and still growing at that point, despite the long-term decline in fertility. (Latin America) Although there are many economic crisis in Venezuela, this isn’t preventing them from having children in higher numbers. This could be the shortage of health care.

The oil-rich Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, located on the northern coast of South America, was for many decades considered among the wealthiest nations in the entire continent. While having the largest proven oil reserves in the world has often proved a tremendous boon for Venezuela, the very black gold that has been the cause of its success has also proven to repeatedly be its kryptonite. Over half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product stems from petroleum exports – which equates to approximately 95% of total exports. It is really not too hard to imagine what drastic consequences shifts in global oil prices could have on the economy.

Venezuela has the world’s largest oil reserves and by 1960, it became the wealthiest country in Latin America. Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), the state owned company, was the key to economic and social development in Venezuela under president Hugo Chavez. His government was settled in an environment where the oil prices were rising and the economy was booming, so he was able fund social programs and practices that were popular to the poor masses. This wealthy and growing Venezuela made Chavez to be very popular and his regime very powerful. Oil revenue accounted for nearly 90% of exports, more than 50% of government revenue, and 35% of country’s GDP.