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June 5, 2018
05 Jun 2018

President Manipulates Hunger Crisis In Venezuela

Hunger Crisis in Venezuela
On May 20th the current President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, was re-elected for a second term in office amid a highly controversial election; in fact, one of the largest controversies was food. The country currently experiences one of the worst economic crises in recent history.

Hunger in Venezuela

Soaring prices and mass shortages of basic goods have left grocery shelves empty and most of the country hungry. According to surveys done by Caritas Venezuela, the Catholic church’s aid agency, 46 percent of Venezuelan’s eat less than three meals a day and 14.5 percent of children under five suffer from acute malnutrition.

Rather than finding solutions to fix the hunger crisis in Venezuela, Maduro exploited it to secure votes in the election alongside a multitude of other autocratic measures. While this creates a dismal outlook for the state, there are still many within the country working to alleviate this issue for everyone.

Coercive Elections

The dependency on the despondent economic conditions caused many people to rely on government-subsidized groceries to survive. In order to receive these subsidies, recipients must present a special identity card to local councils loyal to Maduro that hand them out. They were also told they must also present this card on election day at polling stations run by Maduro’s party as a check to see who has voted.

At campaign rallies Maduro made the expectation behind this measure quite explicit: “Everyone who has this card must vote…I give and you give.” This falls in place alongside the refusal of the government to accept humanitarian aid to amend the hunger crisis in Venezuela— with some political analysts suspecting this move as a way for Maduro to maintain control over the population.

Standing Strong

However, many did not give into this manipulation. Around the country, voter turnout was extremely low, at 46 percent compared to an 80 percent turnout rate in the 2013 election. This trend reflects both a call for the boycott of the election from opposition leaders alongside overall apathy in the electoral process.

Many more have fled in the wake of the election results, on top of the 1.5 million that have left since the economic crisis began in 2014. Besides refusing to recognize the election results, the United States is working to support those that have fled through earmarking an aggregate $16 million over 2018 in funding towards countries in Latin American and the Caribbean that have supported the influx of Venezuelan refugees.

Cooperatives of Social Services of Lara State

The efforts of those remaining within the country, such as the Cooperatives of Social Services of Lara State (CECOSESOLA), illuminate who is truly giving to Venezuela’s development. Originally founded in 1967, CECOSESOLA today is a non-hierarchical network of over 50 cooperatives and grassroots organizations of about 20,000 members in the Venezuelan state of Lara.

The collaboration offers a range of important amenities such as healthcare, community-backed loans, funeral services and an alternate supply chain for food. Its food distribution service in particular extends to five states within the country and offers savings of 30-50 percent compared to market value of most goods.

CECOSESOLA have stepped up even further in response to the current hunger crisis in Venezuela. In 2014, the group would see 40,000 people at their weekly Family Consumer Fairs; today, that number has increased to 150,000. Accordingly, CECOSESOLA has worked to increase the number of perishable products they distribute weekly from 500 to 800 tons. In order to meet such demand, over 300 cooperative workers (in total) facilitate these fairs Thursday-Sunday, with days sometimes as long as 14 hours.

Forces of Change

The moving force behind CECOSESOLA’s dedicated efforts to the public are illuminated by interviews conducted between 2012 and 2013 of Gustavo Salas, a CECOSESOLA member of over 40 years and active food market participant: “We cannot treat our counterparts like things that we want to profit from. We must perceive the entire person. In order to do that, we need transparency, honesty, and responsibility. They are the basis for trust, and that is fundamental. Because trust is the foundation for what we call ‘collective energy.’…That is why we say that our process is limitless. We show that is it possible to relate to other people in a different way.”

CECOSESOLA holding together against all odds makes the process truly seem limitless. Between the devastation from the economic crisis, the government’s refusal to accept outside aid, and the most recent election fiasco is setting Venezuela down a trajectory towards becoming a failed state.

The success of CECOSESOLA demonstrates that perhaps the country is not as close to complete economic and social collapse at the grasp of Maduro’s unchecked self-indulgence as it may seem. It’s paving another road where it is indeed “possible to relate to other people in a different way.” The small victories of collective self-sufficiency are combating the hunger crisis in Venezuela and putting the country back into the hands of its people.

– Emily Bender
Photo: Flickr

in Aid, Elections, Global Poverty, Hunger, Malnutrition Hunger, Venezuela /by /#permalink
June 3, 2018
03 Jun 2018

Girls’ Education in Venezuela Suffers Amid Political Crisis

girls' education in VenezuelaThe people of Venezuela are currently suffering as a result of the economic and political crisis occurring in the nation, which has affected girls’ education in Venezuela severely. Public schools that used to be ranked among the top in South America are now rarely opened for class. The annual dropout rate has doubled and more than one-quarter of teenagers are not enrolled in school. Additionally, according to Foundation Bengoa, a quarter of Venezuelan children missed class in the 2017-2018 school year because of hunger.

The many protests and high crime rate put students at risk and disrupt the school day often. According to Business Insider, more than one-quarter of teenagers are not even enrolled in school due to fear and lack of resources. According to Tupac Amaru Rivas, the head of El Sistema school in Caracas, parents often prefer to keep their children at home and teachers often cannot attend school so the school is forced to cancel class.

How the Venezuelan Government is Reacting

Although there is proof of a decline in the quality of education, the government refuses to acknowledge this by insisting that 75 percent of the national budget goes to the social sector. President Maduro released a statement saying, “Amid the economic war, the fall of oil prices, international harassment and financial persecution, not a single school has closed.” Venezuela currently ranks last globally in the Rule of Law Index. The lack of transparency and press coverage means that some official information is inaccurate or unavailable.

Ever since former President Hugo Chavez came into power, delivering a high-quality education to the youth was a priority in Venezuela. However, due to the recent economic and political crisis, girls’ education in Venezuela and education, in general, has taken a hit.

Issues Affecting Girls’ Education in Venezuela

School in Venezuela is often canceled because of the lack of basic utilities and food. The Caracas Public High School has even had to close down for weeks at a time.  A group of parents has said that Venezuelan children have missed an average of 40 percent of class time because of canceled classes.

The schools have also been affected by crime and instability in the country. Teachers are among those who have been shot, murdered or are missing. Additionally, teachers even exchange a passing grade for food. It is also common for teachers not to show up to class because they are waiting in food lines for their families.

Issues Within the Venezuelan School System

Even when school is open, what is being taught in schools is often flawed. The Associated Press has reported that some schools even leave textbooks delivered by the government unopened because teachers see them as “too full of pro-socialist propaganda to use.” This not only affects girls’ education in Venezuela but also education in the nation as a whole.

Education itself it suffering enough and the gender gap continues to increase in the midst of the economic crisis. In 2017, Venezuela scored 0.71 on the Gender Gap Index compared to 0.69 for the three previous years, meaning that women are approximately 29 percent less likely than men to have equal opportunities.

Although this is concerning, Venezuela is known to have very little discrimination in educational and social institutions. Rates of school enrollment and years of education in Venezuela are about the same for girls and boys.

The issue of the educational decline in Venezuela needs to be addressed before it is too late. A spokeswomen from the Movement of Organized Parents in Venezuela told the Associated Press, “This country has abandoned its children. By the time we see the full consequences, there will be no way to put it right.” Education, specifically girls’ education in Venezuela, will continue to suffer until these issues are dealt with.

– Luz Solano-Flórez
Photo: Flickr

in Educating women, Education, Girls, Global Education, Global Poverty, Venezuela /by /#permalink
April 22, 2018
22 Apr 2018

International Efforts to Address the Venezuela Refugee Crisis

venezuela refugee crisisCurrently, the world remains in the midst of the most calamitous refugee crisis since the ending of the Second World War in 1945. Owing to the escalating long term economic crisis in Venezuela, there has been a lesser known but equally grave humanitarian emergency plaguing Latin America countries.

Consequently, the Venezuela refugee crisis is contributing to a great deal of destabilization in the region and is putting insurmountable pressures on food security, education, healthcare, and land. However, at present, international aid seems to be more majorly directed toward addressing important issues of the Syrian and Rohingya crisis.

The dictatorial nature of Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro’s government is largely blamed for the debilitating state of the Venezuelan economy, especially with the rise in government debt, plunge in oil prices and the 2600 percent inflation rate that hit the country in the 2017. The illiberal policies of the government have been criticized for the financial mismanagement, economic misallocation, and political turmoil impacting the country.

Moreover, the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, is vulnerable to the threat of becoming the breeding ground for an increase in trafficking and organized crime owing to the recent succession of violent clashes and demonstrations.

Due to the Venezuela refugee crisis, over 10 percent of the population has already left the country, with a large number fleeing to neighboring countries like Colombia and Brazil. In turn, Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has had to block informal refugee routes and deploy troops to stem the rapid influx of refugees. 600,000 individuals have been displaced, and a record number of individuals are crossing the border every day. A further 60,000 people are also currently seeking asylum in the United States.

According to a recent report by The Hill, the Venezuela refugee crisis could grow to be more severe than the Syrian crisis this year.

At this juncture, it is necessary to mitigate the short term problems of the Venezuela refugee crisis. In 2017, the Red Cross set up a reception facility next to the Simon Bolivar Bridge, an important landmark in the Colombia- Venezuela border, to help contain the massive influx of refugees. A number of first aid tents were also set up to prevent the further spread of chronic diseases in the area. Many Venezuelans are also subscribing to the migration card which enables them to cross the border to get daily rations of food, water, and other important necessities.

Additionally, the EU Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid pledged that the EU would be allocating 3 million euros toward helping Venezuela, and a further 6 million euros toward assisting Colombia cope with the problem.

A majority of the aid and cooperation is being spearheaded by neighboring countries like Colombia and Brazil. Given the scale of the problem, a regional approach is of vital importance.

Colombia is trying to work in collaboration with the Venezuelan government to deal with the surge in the number of refugees sustainably. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos recently declared that the country is prepared to receive international humanitarian assistance in dealing with the Venezuela refugee crisis. He also proposed that an estimate $30 million would be needed to build an assistance center to house refugees

Hopefully, over the course of the year, international organizations like the Inter- American Development Bank, and the World Bank will amplify efforts in providing more financial aid to sufficiently mitigate the crisis.

Overall, the Venezuela refugee crisis is significant as it addresses the wider context of the political and social ramifications entailed by the refugee debacles in countries like Syria, Lake Chad, Somalia, Afghanistan, and Nigeria. Solutions are primarily embedded in solving the impacts of mass migration and its associated issues in a more sustainable manner suited to the sheer gamut of the problem.

– Shivani Ekkanath

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

in Global Poverty, Humanitarian Aid, Refugees, Venezuela /by /#permalink
April 15, 2018
15 Apr 2018

A Few Things About the Economic Crisis and Credit Access in Venezuela

Credit Access in Venezuela
Data recently released by the United States’ opposition-led Congress revealed that the Venezuelan economy has shrunk in 2017. More specifically, the figures reveal that the economy — which has been decreasing since 2014 — has declined 13.2 percent last year.

A Difficult Launchpoint

Experts also predict that the overall economic scenario will be difficult, though not impossible, to improve in the next few years. Venezuela will most likely remain in a state of economic recession in 2018 with an economy contracting 7.7 percent and a GDP declining 1.5 percent in 2019. Most of this economic distress is caused by a sum of factors such as item shortages, fiscal uncertainty and an inflation rate that the IMF (International Monetary Fund) sees skyrocketing at 13 percent this year.

In recent years,  the Maduro presidency has applied strict control over prices, which has exacerbated the short supply of all sorts of products from food to medicine.

The Oil Industry

The country’s main source of economic relief and overall fortune has always been the oil sector. However, oil prices are set to remain below the $100 mark, which will minimize profits. Many trace the instability of the oil industry to the actions of Hugo Chavez, whom — upon taking power in 2013 — nationalized private-run oil companies such as ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips (as well as other) and expropriated millions of acres of land.

Ever since then, the state has been in control of exploration, production and exportation, putting the whole sector at the discretion of global prices fluctuation. In 2016, prices fell to $27 per barrel (from $111 per barrel in 2014) while the Venezuelan GDP also fell significantly and inflation reached 800 percent rate.

Room for Improvement

There is much room for improvement surrounding the issue of credit access in Venezuela. Economic distress, centralized control and an authoritarian regime have contributed to depressed revenues in oil exports, which dropped by $100 billion in 2017.

Venezuela’s dependency on foreign credit has also increased — in 2017, the country owed around $150 billion to foreign creditors. If credit access in the nation improves, then debt will become easier to honor. Interestingly, the U.S. tightened its grip on Venezuela’s cash-borrowing last year by prohibiting institutions from trading new bonds with the Maduro administration and state-owned oil company.

Such action clearly had repercussions in terms of domestic cash flow. Many banks, for instance, have decided to cut any connections with Venezuela because of the current political turmoil by closing accounts linked to Venezuelan officials and refusing to perform financial service such as trade in government bonds.

This firmly restricted credit access in Venezuela heavily impacts the economy — there’s now a lack of necessary cash to pay for the imports of basic items such as food and medicine — and the nation has also become extremely dependent on foreign parties, such as China and Russia,for credit access.

Open Credit Access

With an economy that relies on export for the 95 percent of its income, and yet manages to barely stay afloat, improving credit access in Venezuela is the easiest and most surefire way of solving many of the nation’s fiscal issues. The hope is that a diplomatic effort to reopen the market of credit access might raise Venezuelan citizens from a condition of desperation and distress to one of security and profitability.

Politically, on the other hand, the Venezuelan regime represents one of the toughest and most authoritarian ones around the world. Nothing is transparent about what political authority does, and this is deeply hurtful to the economy, and the humanitarian and social conditions of the citizens. Thus, improving the national authoritative framework would also help radically improve the country at large.

Solutions for Credit Access in Venezuela

In order to withdraw the equivalent of one dollar from Venezuelan banks, there is a minimum of an hour wait and most of the times they reach shortage of cash by 10am. This is because every day the Venezuelan banking authority establishes the total amount consumers are allowed to withdraw; in some banks, this is no more than 5.000 bolivar, which is the equivalent of $.03.

Opening the Venezuelan political and economic system is a crucial yet necessary step to be taken. In a country where labor laws make it extremely difficult to fire employees, even for good cause, and employ independent contractors instead of regular employees, more flexibility is the key solution for a freer economy.

– Luca Di Fabio

Photo: Flickr

in Credit Access, Global Poverty, Venezuela /by /#permalink
March 26, 2018
26 Mar 2018

Working Through Disparate Economics of North Korea Poverty

North Korea poverty
Despite constant attempts by the North Korean government to delegitimize critics of the country’s severe living conditions and human rights violations, the dire status of its economy is one of the main causes of the consequent rise of North Korea poverty. Such steep levels of economic discomfort and overall hardship in everyday living stems from two main factors, namely the closeness of North Korean economy, and its strict and draconian political system.

A Closer Look

In a country where one in four children suffer from malnutrition, and episodes of defector citizens with parasites living in their stomach are reported, a closer look to the various economic sectors, industries and social relations can be very revealing. In terms of economic freedom, North Korea has been ranked 180th by the Heritage Foundation in 2018, preceded by Venezuela and followed by no one, effectively making it the least economically free country on the planet.

Moreover, there’s no detectable tax system since the government owns and directs virtually every aspect of the economy. As a result, a massive share of the GDP is in fact produced by the same entity that is supposed to tax it.

Regulatory pressure is also a crucial factor that contributes to increase North Korea poverty by tightening up the economy, which grew at an alarmingly slow rate in 2013 (1.1 percent) and in 2014 (1 percent), and decreased in 2015 (-1.1 percent).

Regulations and Shortages

Since private enterprise is virtually non-existent, strict regulations against any resemblance of a private sector are in place, a move thus rendering starting and managing a business practically impossible. The combination of all these factors makes North Korea very reluctant to produce wealth and increase its living standards, especially with the presence of continuous restrictions in international trade and economic sanctions.

Shortage of food and energy need to be compensated by international parties such as China, to which North Korea has grown increasingly more dependent over the last few years. However, a report from the North Korean Economic Watch observed that rice prices, contrarily to what one might have anticipated, have been remarkably stable over the past year.

With economic sanctions in place, it is well conceivable to expect a significant rise in inflation, especially in an overall and continuously poor economy such as that of North Korea.

Such phenomena led experts to believe that the rise of black markets might be the missing link behind such oddities; this would have reinforced, though, the simple yet harsh truth that the extremely high rate of North Korea poverty is a direct result of an economy that simply isn’t strong enough to provide basic and minimal items such as rice to its citizens and their standards of living.

New Rules

All of these instances occur while the government allocates a large amount of its attention and financial resources to the military and missile and nuclear development. This focus leaves primary industries such as agriculture on their own in addition to the high poverty rate and child malnutrition that North Koreans have to face every day.

Since South Korea officially withdrew its provision of farming fertilizers in 2008, the government started a program that delineates farmers are to use their own feces as fertilizers since livestock has became scarce.

Crop failure is also exacerbated by frequent inclement weather, lack of arable land and poor quality of the soil. Between these hardships and the use of human feces as fertilizer, health hazards have increased to the levels of large parasites growing in people’s intestines as a result of poor health.

The hope is that a significant increase of awareness and improved political and anti-poverty policies will help alleviate the seemingly perennial hardship that North Korean citizens have come to experience as normal.

– Luca Di Fabio

Photo: Flickr

in China, North Korea, Sanctions, South Korea, Venezuela /by /#permalink
March 2, 2018
02 Mar 2018

US Cracks Down on Venezuela’s Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency

Venezuela's Oil-Backed CryptocurrencyVenezuela is a region rich in oil and minerals, yet it suffers from poverty and political turmoil. Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro is launching a new blockchain currency called Petro, an oil-backed cryptocurrency. The U.S. believes this to be an attempt to circumvent sanctions against the Venezuelan government, and is cracking down on Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency.

Venezuela suffers from the “resource curse,” a phenomenon whereby its large reserves of oil negatively impact its economic growth and stability. Rather than a blessing, these energy reserves lead to fraud, corruption, wasteful spending, military adventurism and the authoritarianism of the Maduro regime. This curse exacerbates global poverty through destabilization of the oil industry, dulling the effect of foreign assistance and creating a breeding ground for terrorism and instability.

Although in the country has a vast supply of oil money, instead of going to Venezuela’s poor, the money ends up in the pockets of the rich. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio tweeted on February 9, 2018, regarding the Maduro regime, “Soldiers eat out of garbage cans & their families go hungry in #Venezuela while Maduro & friends live like kings & block humanitarian aid.”

Venezuelans are deprived of human rights guarantees and press freedoms, facing political persecution and public corruption by the Maduro regime. The U.S. regards the Maduro regime as a dictatorship, whose power has overridden the democratic will of Venezuelans. The nation’s population is greatly subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor, sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. People from other nations are trafficked for sex and labor in Venezuela. Cuba trafficks thousands of Cuban citizens and doctors into forced labor in Venezuelan social programs, in exchange for the provision of resources to the Cuban government.

The most recent U.S. sanctions were imposed in August 2017 against Venezuela’s dictatorship, blocking U.S. citizens from buying new debt, bonds, dividends or other distributions or profits from Venezuelan government-controlled entities and its state oil company, Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). This followed December 2014 sanctions imposed by the U.S., aimed at preventing U.S. entry by persons involved in the erosion of human rights guarantees, political persecution and public corruption. These sanctions do not target the people or the economy of Venezuela; they are aimed at protecting the will of Venezuelans, and preventing U.S. involvement with the corruption of the Maduro regime.

Maduro responded to these sanctions by implementing strategies to free the oil-centered economy from the U.S. dollar, despite its universality in global trade. In September 2017, Maduro ceased publishing Venezuelan crude oil market prices in U.S. dollars, instead publishing prices in Chinese yuan. His December 2017 announcement to implement the oil-backed cryptocurrency was in direct response to the August 2017 sanctions, stating that Petro could “help defeat the financial blockade.”

Cryptocurrency is decentralized, uncontrolled by banks or governments. It can benefit those living in politically unstable regions, because the government can neither control its value nor transfer it from state to state. In Venezuela’s case, the cryptocurrency will be backed by oil, an industry largely controlled by dictators. Because Petro is a cryptocurrency, it is difficult for the U.S. government to regulate, threatening the U.S. sanctions that prohibit investing in PDVSA.

Petro is one of many foreign exchange (FX) mechanisms introduced by Venezuela. Most of the FX failed to meet market demand for dollars, resulting in Venezuela’s robust black market. Although FX is prohibited on the black market, it is the driving force of hyperinflation. Continuously on the rise, one U.S. dollar is now equivalent to 9.9875 Venezuelan bolívar.

The U.S. addressed Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency in a letter by senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, stating “we are concerned that a cryptocurrency could provide Maduro a mechanism by which to make payments to foreign lenders and bondholders in the United States, actions that would clearly thwart the intent of U.S.-imposed sanctions.”

In early February 2018, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson toured Latin America and the Caribbean. Afterward, Tillerson alluded to U.S. considerations of restricting oil sales from Venezuela due to its worsening political situation. Developments in trade sanctions are imminent as the U.S. cracks down on Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency.

In opposition to the Maduro regime, the Venezuelan Parliament stated that Petro’s creation only serves to “evade financial sanctions, [and is] openly violating the Constitution and legitimizing illicit transactions.”

As the U.S. cracks down on Venezuela’s oil-backed cryptocurrency, the government aims to combat the use of Petro to circumvent U.S. sanctions, prohibiting investors on U.S. soil from profiting or investing in the PDVSA, the driving source of Venezuela’s poverty and humanity crisis. These policies and sanctions will be heavily enforced in the face of Petro’s introduction to the market, and will serve to reject the political corruption and economic failure to its people of the Maduro regime.

– Alex Galante

Photo: Flickr

in Cryptocurrency, Dictatorship, Economic Crisis, Oil Reserves, Sanctions, Venezuela /by /#permalink
February 18, 2018
18 Feb 2018

A Crucial Shift: How the US Benefits from Foreign Aid to Venezuela

How the US Benefits from Foreign Aid to Venezuela
Governments may not always be straightforward with the way “freely-given” humanitarian aid to other countries is repaid. Many times, in exchange for helping another country solve a financial crisis or rebuild from a natural disaster, the benefactor receives greater access to resources or stronger political alliances with the country benefiting from aid. The ways the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Venezuela has changed because the political turmoil turning Venezuela on its head is putting strain on the United States government.

 

Human Rights Defense

According to the U.S. Department of State, assistance from the United States to Venezuela is focused mainly on human rights issues, civil services and building up the strength of political interests in the area. One main interest in Venezuela is building a strong counter-narcotics network in the region, but recently the USDS has reported that Venezuela has failed to maintain the network to adequate levels.

Politically, this demonstrates the inability for the Venezuelan government to control its national defense programs, which became even more obvious after a presidential election putting Nicolas Maduro in charge, an action widely disputed for its legitimacy.  

 

Venezuela’s Economy

According to CNN, a major reason for this election and presidential cycle being so tumultuous is due to a decline in Venezuela’s economy, which is one area wherein questions arise about the way the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Venezuela.

Another article from CNN Money states that the Venezuelan crisis spreads further than just a loss of democracy; it spreads to the pockets of the people as well. Venezuela’s cash revenue has fallen from $30 billion in 2011 to $9.9 billion in 2017. That drastic of a drop is causing a humanitarian crisis disproportionate to Venezuela’s economic capacity.

 

The U.S. and Venezuela

This being said, the United States remains one of Venezuela’s largest suppliers of goods. According to the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. exports nearly $8.3 billion to Venezuela include agricultural products, car parts and petroleum. In return, the U.S. imports a large number of oil products from Venezuela, totaling around $15.6 billion. However, this number has declined since the price of oil fell, causing an economic shift in Venezuela’s market.

This occurrence, along with a cash-poor economy, has pushed Venezuela into a crisis situation. With food being harder to get and inflation through the roof, humanitarian aid to Venezuela is going to increase in the next few years — that is, if the rest of the world wants to help stabilize the country.

 

A Global Shift

The way the U.S. benefits from foreign aid to Venezuela is going to change. As long as political alliances don’t shift too far from their current position, there is a high chance that the U.S., through increased humanitarian efforts and support for the agricultural and healthcare systems in the country, can help Venezuela recover before the nation degrades any further.

– Molly Atchison

Photo: Flickr

in Aid, Foreign Aid, Global Poverty, Venezuela /by /#permalink
January 24, 2018
24 Jan 2018

Efforts to Improve Sustainable Agriculture in Venezuela

Sustainable Agriculture in Venezuela
Agriculture is one of the most vital and ever-changing foundational blocks of a country, and can change due to environmental or man-made change. In Venezuela, food scarcity is a major issue in urban areas; thankfully, sustainable agriculture in Venezuela may make a huge difference in bringing food security to inner-city and rural areas. With the ever-changing weather conditions and political upheaval, though, Venezuela may not be able to maintain the sustainable agriculture market it is currently trying to build.

Sustainability Plan

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, Venezuela has a six-year sustainability plan for agriculture in the region. It focuses on four major areas of sustainable agriculture in Venezuela: Supporting sustainable agricultural development, supporting initiatives aimed at achieving food security and sovereignty, supporting adaptation to climate change, risk management and preservation of the environment and promoting the Latin America and the Caribbean Without Hunger initiative and support to the South-South cooperation.  

The government has a total of $22,650,000 allotted to be distributed among these four areas. However, these only touch the surface of efforts to protect and increase sustainable agriculture in Venezuela.

Agricultural Production

The Venezuelan Embassy to the United States has shared fact sheets on agriculture in the area. In 2012, they reported that nearly 64 percent of Venezuelans live in urban areas, and that with the increase of movement to cities and other rapidly modernizing areas, the amount of available produce and farming capability decreased. To combat such statistics, the Venezuelan government has not only increased the amount of agriculture-protective policy, but has also supported the development of 191 agricultural production units in major cities across the country.

These agricultural production units aim to help communities become self-sustaining in their local agriculture, and offer the ability to grow and collect fresh fruits and vegetables in a majorly commercial area. These units are supported by the Agro-Ciudad program, an organization which focuses on helping provide healthy and environmentally friendly food products for the schools, businesses, universities and communities that have adopted the program.

Meaningful Impacts and Political Climates

According to the fact sheet, the Agro-Ciudad aided 1,600 people and over 12,306 producers in the growth of their community produce. In addition, Agro-Ciudad helped create several workshops to teach local groups about all of their opportunities for growing produce in their area.

With so many opportunities to support sustainable agriculture in Venezuela, it is also not surprising that people are incredibly passionate about protecting the innovations against a volatile political culture. According to the Council of Foreign Relations, on July 30, 2017, President Nicolas Maduro won his election undisputedly, and moved to make a political coup almost immediately.

With Maduro in complete control of the government, changes impacting agriculture in Venezuela have yet to play out. Overall, sustainable agriculture in Venezuela is emerging, but the question of whether or not it will last within a new political sphere requires time to determine.

– Molly Atchison

Photo: Flickr

in Agriculture, Global Poverty, Sustainability, Venezuela /by /#permalink
November 17, 2017
17 Nov 2017

Hospital Infrastructure in Venezuela

Hospital Infrastructure in VenezuelaVenezuela— Since their declaration of an economic crisis, hospital infrastructure in Venezuela has been depleting. In the midst of the economic chaos, hospitals are being flooded with patients who are exposed to its decaying environment.

During a walk-through of Jose Manuel de Los Rios children’s hospital in Venezuela’s capital city Caracas, BBC spoke to Dr. Urbina-Medina in regards to the quality of the hospital. Medina compared the hospital to a building site, saying that it was not how a hospital should be.

Many hospitals in Venezuela have peeling walls with exposed pipes and electricity cables. Patient rooms are often full of trash and dirt. Electricity is faulty, leaving several lights not working. There are not enough operating rooms for surgeries. There is also a major problem with sanitation. Venezuela has little to no money to repair their decomposing hospitals. There is little access to clean water, which has caused several patients with kidney failure who attended Jose Manuel de Los Rios to contract an infection. After further inspection of the water tanks in the hospital’s basement, garbage, shoes and a dead cat were found inside.

In instances of electricity blackouts that shut down machines used for live-saving procedures, doctors have resulted in manually pumping oxygen into premature babies’ bodies. Since there are not enough operating rooms in good shape, patients stay on wait lists longer than expected. The new way of operating is improvising. Since there is little access to proper supplies and the hospital environments are in disrepair, doctors have to find any way to provide the help their patients need.

The failing economy has not only caused problematic hospital infrastructure in Venezuela, but medicine shortages have increased mortality rates. In 2016, 11,500 infants died and 756 women died during or after childbirth. Many people need more than one type of medicine to assist them. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to find just one of the list of medicines needed. If the medication is found, often the price is too steep to purchase. For instance, a patient who needed an antibiotic that cost 40,000 bolivars, or 56 U.S. dollars, per packet of six could not afford the quantity needed, which was 224 blisters total. The amount of bolivars needed to buy just one packet is equal to the monthly wage for many. Jose Manuel de Los Rios Hospital has run out of antibiotics and medical supplies such as inhalers, bandages and syringes. Their lack of machines, especially x-ray machines, has delayed the diagnoses of possible brain-related issues in patients. The lack of antibiotics specifically has caused many to lose limbs because of severe infections.

Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez has been working with United Nations organizations such as the Pan-American Health Organization in order to assist in the shortage of medications. Their assistance has helped them to negotiate with suppliers to provide more affordable medicine to countries like Venezuela. With assistance from various organizations, improving hospital infrastructure in Venezuela is a possibility and it needs to be seriously prioritized.

– Brianna Summ

Photo: Flickr

 

in Economic Crisis, Global Poverty, Infrastructure, Sanitation, Venezuela /by /#permalink
November 15, 2017
15 Nov 2017

China Assists Venezuela with Five Development Projects

VenezuelaThe South American country of Venezuela was once one of the most successful oil industries in the world, with a thriving economy. After oil prices dropped drastically in the 1980s, Venezuela has been searching for ways to recover their largest money-maker and restore their crippling economy.

China and Venezuela have been working together for over 15 years as part of the Mixed China-Venezuela High Commission. They are energy-supply partners that have signed 480 agreements together since 2001. As Venezuela has continued struggling economically, China has contributed efforts to help save the country’s economy. There are five development projects in Venezuela underway to do just that:

  1. China and Venezuela have signed a total of 22 new deals worth 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in order to stimulate economic development in Venezuela and strengthen their partnership. This development will include infrastructure, import and cargo transport projects. Six of the 22 agreements are focused on energy output and the oil industry.
  2. China has agreed to assist in the supply and export of Venezuela’s oil production. China will build a refinery in southeast China’s Guangdong Province, Nanhai which will process around 400,000 barrels of extra-heavy crude oil from Venezuela’s land. The mission for this project is to increase the amount of oil output and exports.
  3. Venezuela spent 9,576 million on imports in 2015. China and Venezuela have begun to build an industrial plant in Anaco, Venezuela whose purpose will be to produce seeds, fertilizers and agrochemicals that are normally imported to help reduce the amount of money spent on imports.
  4. China is also a major investor in Venezuela’s new food supply distribution network Local Supply and Production Committees (CLAP). Venezuela’s food supply has taken a major hit since the economy’s decline. The decline of the country’s food supply has reached a point of crisis where basic food needs are not obtainable. The CLAP project will work to get food to Venezuelan residents. In addition, CLAP will serve as a way to regulate food distribution from house to house in order to ensure a proper amount of food for each family. CLAP representatives carry essential food and products to households. This system is meant to prioritize the needs of families and has already made deliveries to 504,000 families.
  5. Venezuela has launched a mining project called Arco Minero del Orinoco. Companies in China will be involved in the project. Two of the groups working with this project are China CAMC Engineering Co. and the Yankuang Group. Arco Minero is located in the northern part of Venezuela and is a prime spot for mining gold, diamonds, coltan, copper, iron and bauxite. The exploitation of these minerals will be a stepping stone in the quantification and certification of mineral reserves. As a result, mining will be a more widespread way to raise exports.

China has provided massive assistance to Venezuela over the years in an effort to help the country’s economy. With this new set of agreements, the trade partners will work together to make Venezuela’s economy more prominent. These five development projects in Venezuela are a start in the strengthening of Venezuela’s oil industry, economy and relationship with China.

– Brianna Summ

Photo: Flickr

in Developing Countries, Development, Global Poverty, Venezuela /by /#permalink