You hear news coming out of Venezuela, but the country has been subject to conspiracies to topple the government, and media agencies have hardly given the country unbiased coverage, so what is going on in Venezuela right now?
First off, a bit of context.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and, like many South American countries have a history of corrupt politics with inequality and poverty rife despite the natural riches of the country.
In 1999, Hugo Chavez became president in a coup where he over through the political elite who were imposing highly unpopular austerity measures on the Venezuelan people. Venezuela had been a democracy since 1958 however only two parties had been in control of the country. Corruption was rife, poverty was high and inequality massive.
Chavez would rule until 2013, having reduced unemployment from 14.5% to 7.6%, increased GDP per capita from just over four thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars, decreased extreme poverty from 23.4% to 8.5% as well as lowering infant mortality from a shocking 20 per one thousand live births to 13 per one thousand live births, increasing school enrolment, and an increase in health. On the international stage, Chavez would challenge the neoliberal free trade agenda that put profits of corporations above that of workers especially in developing countries who he would speak out for against pressure from the larger powers such as the USA.
However most of this was done with the increased trade of oil, and by the time Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's hand-picked successor, came to power a failure to diversify the economy meant Venezuela was at the mercy of the falling oil price, corruption was on the rise and undermined the expansion of democratic decision-making. Rich Venezuelans had also left the country taking their Venezuelan money with them which had an impact on the value of the Venezuelan bolivar. More than one million middle and upper-class people are estimated to have moved away from Venezuela.
2014 saw the fall in oil prices, and due to Venezuela's dependence on oil trade this has exacerbated shortages of essentials and increased the already high Violent crime rate.
Maduro changed price control measures and some distribution methods but these seem to have made the problems in Venezuela worse.
Maduro also sits on a shaky foundation, Chavez was a popular leader with the people however his successor is less so and the deepening crisis will make it harder for him to retain enough support.
Now that brief background is out of the way let's move on to what is going on now.
The Maduro government has increased the reliance on the military as its popularity falls with the rise of the crisis. Maduro has become a reactionist, militaristic leader, whose government is linked to crime, drug trafficking, looting, corruption, imprisonment of opponents, torture and disappearances which make it easy for the former neo-liberal political elites to rally support against him.
As Maduro tries to stay in power with his increasingly unpopular government, the neo-liberal counter-revolutionaries clash with government forces and supporters, murder is rife and paramilitary gangs battle in the streets. The increased chaos has encouraged looting.
The normal people of Venezuela are stuck and must suffer the food shortages as the black market booms selling food for dollars. While looking at the rich who abandoned the country to keep their wealth and the government bureaucrats who have grown prosperous from the government industries and oil sales as well as factory owners who stop production to sabotage the economy in hopes of destabilizing the country further.
At the moment the opposition cannot defeat the military might of the government and the government cannot convince the people of Venezuela to support them as the crisis deepens and people continue to go hungry.
As the chaos continues and the government loses support from its security forces and other allies in the government, such as the well-publicized resignation of the prosecutor general Luisa Ortega Diaz, Maduro decided that he would hold an election to appoint a constitutional assembly, however only the government was able to select the candidates for the election leading to the opposition and many in the international community to declare the move as undemocratic.
The vote was cast under a shadow of violence from both sides and accusations of electoral fraud, however due to the opposition's boycott and the government's selection of the candidates the regime was always going to get a supportive constitutional assembly, which they have now used to close down the opposition lead parliament, it will now proceed to rewrite the constitution of Venezuela in Mauros favour.
But how could the crisis be ended?
Increased violence and authoritarianism cannot be the answer for either side.
A non-violent protest movement may need to be formed that would involve disenchanted Chavistas and the current opposition. This would stop the government being able to claim that it has to meet violence with violence and repression.
Democratic institutions would need to be reinstated. Guarantees would need to be made to all sides that any future government would not seek punitive reprisals, this would need to include some forgiveness from both sides for low-level crimes and corruption, or exclude any other political movement unless it is some kind of hate group.
International peacekeepers can be deployed to ensure that a new election can take place fairly and peacefully, as part of a deal for emergency aid, and reinstatement of democratic institutions and an agreement that reprisals will not be made by any winner of the election. However this operation would need to be agreed by the major international players with interests in Venezuela, this would include Russia, China and the USA.
Venezuelan debt would need to substantially restructure and lenders should be prevented from blocking assets so as not to deepen the crisis. However, it must be noted that Venezuela must feed its people instead of abandoning them so they can pay those who chose to risk their money by lending it to the Government.
This will have to include the shutdown of the constituent assembly which has replaced democratic institutions and has been made up of Government selected candidates.
Ideally a third party would be formed to increase local democracy and combat corruption and encourage the expansion of cooperative workplaces in a diverse range of industries to keep the best parts of the Chavista revolution that the people have benefitted from while increasing the country's economic security by diversifying democratically, as well as making sure the people can be as self-sufficient as possible in food, which will include urban agriculture, to ensure a food shortage is never likely again. In this way, a movement can harness the support of Chavista ideals while addressing its failings and giving all people a say in their communities.
This is no time for the right to hail another collapse of a socialist system as the Chavista revolution has been popular with the people and opposed at many points by the oligarchic elite who have encouraged others to stop trade with Venezuela and halted production of oil and other manufacturing facilities in order to undermine socialist reforms and on the other hand the left should not blindly support a government that has become corrupt and increasingly authoritarian.
First off, a bit of context.
Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and, like many South American countries have a history of corrupt politics with inequality and poverty rife despite the natural riches of the country.
In 1999, Hugo Chavez became president in a coup where he over through the political elite who were imposing highly unpopular austerity measures on the Venezuelan people. Venezuela had been a democracy since 1958 however only two parties had been in control of the country. Corruption was rife, poverty was high and inequality massive.
Chavez would rule until 2013, having reduced unemployment from 14.5% to 7.6%, increased GDP per capita from just over four thousand dollars to over ten thousand dollars, decreased extreme poverty from 23.4% to 8.5% as well as lowering infant mortality from a shocking 20 per one thousand live births to 13 per one thousand live births, increasing school enrolment, and an increase in health. On the international stage, Chavez would challenge the neoliberal free trade agenda that put profits of corporations above that of workers especially in developing countries who he would speak out for against pressure from the larger powers such as the USA.
However most of this was done with the increased trade of oil, and by the time Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's hand-picked successor, came to power a failure to diversify the economy meant Venezuela was at the mercy of the falling oil price, corruption was on the rise and undermined the expansion of democratic decision-making. Rich Venezuelans had also left the country taking their Venezuelan money with them which had an impact on the value of the Venezuelan bolivar. More than one million middle and upper-class people are estimated to have moved away from Venezuela.
2014 saw the fall in oil prices, and due to Venezuela's dependence on oil trade this has exacerbated shortages of essentials and increased the already high Violent crime rate.
Maduro changed price control measures and some distribution methods but these seem to have made the problems in Venezuela worse.
Maduro also sits on a shaky foundation, Chavez was a popular leader with the people however his successor is less so and the deepening crisis will make it harder for him to retain enough support.
Now that brief background is out of the way let's move on to what is going on now.
The Maduro government has increased the reliance on the military as its popularity falls with the rise of the crisis. Maduro has become a reactionist, militaristic leader, whose government is linked to crime, drug trafficking, looting, corruption, imprisonment of opponents, torture and disappearances which make it easy for the former neo-liberal political elites to rally support against him.
As Maduro tries to stay in power with his increasingly unpopular government, the neo-liberal counter-revolutionaries clash with government forces and supporters, murder is rife and paramilitary gangs battle in the streets. The increased chaos has encouraged looting.
The normal people of Venezuela are stuck and must suffer the food shortages as the black market booms selling food for dollars. While looking at the rich who abandoned the country to keep their wealth and the government bureaucrats who have grown prosperous from the government industries and oil sales as well as factory owners who stop production to sabotage the economy in hopes of destabilizing the country further.
At the moment the opposition cannot defeat the military might of the government and the government cannot convince the people of Venezuela to support them as the crisis deepens and people continue to go hungry.
As the chaos continues and the government loses support from its security forces and other allies in the government, such as the well-publicized resignation of the prosecutor general Luisa Ortega Diaz, Maduro decided that he would hold an election to appoint a constitutional assembly, however only the government was able to select the candidates for the election leading to the opposition and many in the international community to declare the move as undemocratic.
The vote was cast under a shadow of violence from both sides and accusations of electoral fraud, however due to the opposition's boycott and the government's selection of the candidates the regime was always going to get a supportive constitutional assembly, which they have now used to close down the opposition lead parliament, it will now proceed to rewrite the constitution of Venezuela in Mauros favour.
But how could the crisis be ended?
Increased violence and authoritarianism cannot be the answer for either side.
A non-violent protest movement may need to be formed that would involve disenchanted Chavistas and the current opposition. This would stop the government being able to claim that it has to meet violence with violence and repression.
Democratic institutions would need to be reinstated. Guarantees would need to be made to all sides that any future government would not seek punitive reprisals, this would need to include some forgiveness from both sides for low-level crimes and corruption, or exclude any other political movement unless it is some kind of hate group.
International peacekeepers can be deployed to ensure that a new election can take place fairly and peacefully, as part of a deal for emergency aid, and reinstatement of democratic institutions and an agreement that reprisals will not be made by any winner of the election. However this operation would need to be agreed by the major international players with interests in Venezuela, this would include Russia, China and the USA.
Venezuelan debt would need to substantially restructure and lenders should be prevented from blocking assets so as not to deepen the crisis. However, it must be noted that Venezuela must feed its people instead of abandoning them so they can pay those who chose to risk their money by lending it to the Government.
This will have to include the shutdown of the constituent assembly which has replaced democratic institutions and has been made up of Government selected candidates.
Ideally a third party would be formed to increase local democracy and combat corruption and encourage the expansion of cooperative workplaces in a diverse range of industries to keep the best parts of the Chavista revolution that the people have benefitted from while increasing the country's economic security by diversifying democratically, as well as making sure the people can be as self-sufficient as possible in food, which will include urban agriculture, to ensure a food shortage is never likely again. In this way, a movement can harness the support of Chavista ideals while addressing its failings and giving all people a say in their communities.
This is no time for the right to hail another collapse of a socialist system as the Chavista revolution has been popular with the people and opposed at many points by the oligarchic elite who have encouraged others to stop trade with Venezuela and halted production of oil and other manufacturing facilities in order to undermine socialist reforms and on the other hand the left should not blindly support a government that has become corrupt and increasingly authoritarian.
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