It may be physical or psychological violence, threats or assaults, intimidation or harassment based on different grounds, including gender, race or sexual orientation . In Venezuela, this behavior has become more common in certain work sectors were workers and employers could be threatened by « mafias ». An example could be the construction sector were « sindicatos » manage internal work issues . In Venezuela, during the first half of 2012, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict (Observatorio Venezolano de Conflictividad Social ) recorded 28 killings of workers and trade unionists. Notably, 86% of these cases belong mainly to the construction sector, and hired assassins are among the most recurrent practices in the murders of workers and union leaders . General violence could be considered as the most alarming risk factor affecting the quality of life of Venezuelans, with the soaring statistic of 1 Venezuelan dying every 18 minutes as a result of a violent event .
Sanctions that have been in place since 2017 have exacerbated the economic crisis, but were not successful in an attempt to force Maduro out of power. Yet, paradoxically, the very public US backing of Guaidó has increased the plausibility of Maduro’s claim – because with added sanctions now in place designed to restrict food supplies and oil equipment, that economic war has become very real. Since petrostates depend more on export income and less on taxes, there are often weak ties between the government and its citizens. Leaders can use the country’s resource wealth to repress or co-opt political opposition. Slowing economic growth is pushing up global debt levels, especially in emerging markets, the Institute of International Finance said on Wednesday, warning of a significant rise in corporate bankruptcies ahead. Here it should be pointed out that economic sanctions have less effect if the target economy is relatively closed, as in Russia’s case.
Read more about buy instagram followers cheap here. The sanctions then were understandably much less harsh, but they represent the most recent historical precedent and can serve as a benchmark, particularly because the reaction of the Bank of Russia was highly similar. In 2014 it raised interest rates from 5.5% to 17% in order to shore up the rouble and on this occasion it has hiked rates from 8.5% to 20%. Our support and solidarity should instead be with the Venezuelan people, and their right to democratically decide their fate.
« Elsewhere countries like Venezuela or Iran may well collapse without our support. This means we should ensure they have access to IMF assistance, » Joseph Borrell, EU Minister for Foreign Affairs, noted in his statement in March 2020. According to the IMF report, Venezuela’s economy contracted 35 percent in 2019 in terms of real GDP. The projections for 2021 are negative ten percent and are likely to be underestimated considering the extent to which international sanctions, and the economic, and diplomatic isolation of the Maduro regime are accelerating the free fall of the country with the world’s largest oil reserve. Life in the big cities of Venezuela is characterized by a pattern of constant stress.
It is hard to stop the Venezuelan free fall, given its complex political and economic system, but it is still worth trying. To really protect the vulnerable, the international community should listen to the urgent request for assistance by Venezuela. From April to August 2017, a wave of anti-government protest erupted with great violence. Barricades were placed across the main roads of the cities preventing access to the workplace by workers. Sudden evacuations due to violence on the streets, numerous lootings and brief nationwide strikes affected the regular operations of most industries and commerce in the country.
Instead, government officials face incentives to please voters by selling products at low prices and hiring more employees than necessary, even when that’s the wrong industry decision. The effects of the crisis in Venezuela are extreme poverty, hyperinflation, low economic growth, and mass emigration. Many organisations like the Red Cross, have provided humanitarian aid to ease hunger and illness. Some of the aid has been received but most of it has been blocked or denied by the Venezuelan government and their security forces. The economic impacts of the crisis in Venezuela are numerous, but in this explanation, we will look at the impacts on Venezuela’s GDP, inflation rate, and poverty. By the early 2010s, it was no longer sustainable to fund the social works from the revenue generated by oil and this caused the Venezuelan economy to shake.
But Guaido’s efforts have stalled despite the international support and widespread discontent with Maduro, who has been able to cling to power with the backing of the country’s security forces. The Recovery & Rebuild program will immediately address the food insecurity and hunger issues that have persisted since the initial political crisis. This grant will also increase its capacity to handle the pandemic, ensuring that communities remain in their place of origin while also providing food, water, medicine, information and support. Maybe if the pressure had been put earlier, it might have forced the government to accept electoral results. For example, the international community was extremely important in forcing Maduro to recognize the results of the 2015 legislative elections in which the opposition won a two-thirds majority in the national assembly.
A critical first step would be prioritizing the implementation of the partial agreement reached with the Maduro government in September to create a mechanism for human rights and social needs. And regarding Russia, Venezuela will likely decide to hedge its bets and not antagonize one of its few consistent friends in the world. But beyond a marginal increase in oil production and less strident attacks on NATO and Ukraine, the breakthrough in relations may have opened the door to progress on other seemingly intractable issues. As the United States gauges the global fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. officials quietly met with Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in what marked a dramatic shift in longstanding U.S. policy. Despite cautious readouts from both sides, Venezuela’s subsequent release of two American prisoners indicates the meeting may have opened the door for future cooperation in addressing one of the world’s worst political, economic and humanitarian crises. USIP’s Ana Caridad and Keith Mines look at what we know about the trip, the possible diplomatic paths forward, where Venezuela’s opposition movement fits in, and how Venezuela’s deep ties to Russia might affect U.S.-Venezuelan engagement.
The U.S. effort to support the Venezuelan people and restore democracy is centered on three pillars. The World Food Program reports that 59% of households in Venezuela don’t have enough income to buy enough food. According to the United Nations, 7 million Venezuelans urgently need humanitarian assistance. 9.3 million Venezuelans are moderately to severely food insecure – one-third of the population. « We wanted to present these numbers so that our people are aware of the savageness that this criminal blockade against our country represents, » concluded the official.
Venezuelans are typically conscientious about wearing face masks in public, but here, other than the servers, almost no one wore a mask. The casino in Las Mercedes (the monkey was still there, now tucked inside its owner’s nylon bomber jacket, curious black eyes poking above the zipper), I drove a few blocks to a restaurant and nightclub called Lupe. The street was lined with muscular SUVs, several with bodyguards lounging beside them. You walk through the door and suddenly you’re in Miami, and the worries of an economically devastated Caracas are far away. From 2012 to 2016, when I was the Andes region bureau chief of The New York Times, and I returned regularly after that, until the coronavirus pandemic interrupted travel.