Venezuela’s humanitarian crisis sets stage for political showdown

In Venezuela, both the acting president, Nicolas Maduro, and the interim president, Juan Guaido, are claiming leadership of the country. Guaido can count on support from the United States and numerous European countries, whereas Maduro is backed up by Russia, China, and — to date — the Venezuelan military. Now, though, the row over urgently needed aid supplies is set to become an arena for the power struggle. Supplies of food and medication in Venezuela are disastrously inadequate.

“Apart from the fact that it’s very difficult right now to get hold of food in Venezuela on a regular basis, what shocks me most is the total collapse of public hospitals,” economist Pablo Rafael Gonzalez told DW. “We are experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, and one of the consequences is that there are no medicines, because the national pharmaceutical industry had already been wrecked under Hugo Chavez’ government.

It’s also virtually impossible to find doctors and nurses, because the majority have left the country, along with more than three million refugees,” Gonzalez explained. “And although there are hospitals that are still functioning, people don’t have the money to pay for treatment. Six dollars — the equivalent of the monthly minimum wage in the local currency, bolivars – will hardly buy you a kilo of cheese.”

In an interview with the Spanish television station LaSexta just this week, Maduro was asked if he was responsible for the humanitarian crisis in his country. Maduro replied: “There is no humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Many people have been lied to about this.”

Read more: Venezuela’s political crisis: How did we get here?

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  Venezuela on the brink

  The last straw

  In March 2017, violent protests erupted across the country in response to a Supreme Court decision to strip the legislative branch of its powers. Amid an international outcry, President Nicolas Maduro reversed the decision, but it was too late. Thousands continued to take to the streets, calling for new elections. More than 100 people were killed in clashes with security forces.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Hunger, a growing problem

  The violence added to the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela. Many Venezuelans spend more than 30 hours a week waiting in lines to shop, and are often confronted with empty shelves when they finally enter a store. President Maduro blames the crisis on US price speculation. The opposition, however, accuses the Socialist government of economic mismanagement.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Health care in crisis

  The crisis has even affected health care in the oil-rich nation. Venezuelans often head to Colombia to collect medical supplies to send home, as seen in this picture. Hospitals across Venezuela have compared conditions to those seen only in war zones. As patient deaths rise, health officials have sounded the alarm on the rise of malaria and dengue fever.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Power grab

  By July 2017, Venezuela’s pro-government Constituent Assembly was established. For observers, it had all the hallmarks of a power grab. The new body adopted the authority to pass legislation on a range of issues, effectively taking away the powers of Venezuela’s elected congress, which was under the opposition’s control. The move drew wide international condemnation.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  The West sanctions

  In response to the political crisis, the United States and European Union imposed a series of sanctions against ruling officials. The US blacklisted members of the Constituent Assembly and froze all of Maduro’s assets that are subject to US jurisdiction. The EU banned arms sales to the country.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Government victorious in regional elections

  In October 2017, Venezuela held two votes: regional elections and elections for governors, which were long overdue. The opposition boycotted the vote, but then split, as some candidates and small parties chose to participate. This caused a deep rift within Maduro’s opponents. The government went on to sweep the vote, which detractors say was unfair and heavily favored the regime.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Debt default

  In November 2017, the oil-rich, cash-poor nation faced its day of reckoning. Credit ratings agencies declared Venezuela and its state-run oil company in “selective default.” But Russia offered to restructure the South American country’s debt to ensure Caracas pays its other creditors. US and EU sanctions, however, limited the chance of an agreement.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Presidential elections scheduled

  The National Assembly announced in January 2018 that it would grant Maduro’s call for snap presidential elections. The electoral authority, CNE, held the elections on May 20. The EU, the US and 14 Latin American nations warned that they would not recognize the results. The mainstream MUD opposition alliance boycotted the vote, leaving only one possible outcome.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  Maduro wins …

  Maduro was re-elected to a second six-year term with about 68 percent of the vote. Turnout was only 46 percent, according to electoral authorities. However, the MUD opposition alliance put turnout at less than 30 percent. The Organization of American States (OAS) called the elections neither free nor fair.

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  Venezuela on the brink

  … Guaido assumes power

  But weeks into the new year, the situation took a drastic turn. On January 23, 2019, parliament president Juan Guaido declared himself interim president of Venezuela — a move that was quickly recognized by US President Donald Trump. Maduro called it a US-backed “coup.” Days later, the US sanctioned Venezuela’s state oil firm, while Guaido staked his claim on the country’s foreign assets.

Massive food shortages cause widespread hunger

However, contrary to Maduro’s assertion, a survey by several Venezuelan universities about living conditions in Venezuela found that 64 percent of respondents had lost an average of 11 kilos because they couldn’t get hold of enough food. The United Nations estimates that three and a half million people have had to leave Venezuela, in part because of the inadequate food supply.

Admitting the existence of a humanitarian crisis would be an implicit admission that Maduro’s government has failed. And no country or international organization can insist on providing aid to another country if its government will neither request nor accept it. Now, though, Guaido has asked the international community for help.

“I have confirmed to the interim president @jguaido that [the Colombian border town] Cucuta will be one of the three humanitarian aid collection centers for Venezuela. We will provide the necessary equipment, medicines, food and everything else our sister nation needs,” Colombian president Ivan Duque tweeted on February 4.

Read more: Neocon-led US Venezuela policy, rhetoric trigger deja vu effect

Political observers regard the assurances of aid from foreign governments as a calculated move. “This is a clever strategy from the countries in the Lima Group of 13 South American countries plus Canada and the USA, which serves a dual purpose,” Roberto Cajamarca, a former Colombian diplomat in Venezuela, told DW. “The primary objective is to provide immediate aid to people whose lives are currently endangered, patients in need of dialysis, transplant recipients without immunosuppressive drugs, or people who are severely malnourished, including around 200,000 children.”

Read more: Key players and institutions in the Venezuela crisis

Will Venezuela let aid in?

But Cajamarca says that the immediate provision of aid from abroad is also an attempt to put pressure on the Venezuelan armed forces. “If the Venezuelan army lets the aid in, it will be disobeying the orders of President Maduro,” he explains. “And if it doesn’t let the supplies in, the military will have to explain why it’s blocking this aid, which the whole population urgently needs.” The military may well have to explain itself very soon: Venezuelan soldiers have closed the border crossing at Las Tienditas near Cucuta to all aid deliveries until further notice — presumably on Maduro’s orders.

So could the dispute over humanitarian aid escalate the situation? Cajamarca believes it could lead to a split within the Venezuelan military, and, in a worst-case scenario, to armed incidents at the border once medicines and food supplies arrive.

This is why he believes it would be better to entrust the distribution of these supplies to experienced international nongovernmental organizations, like Caritas and the Red Cross, rather than to armed soldiers. Janeth Marquez, the director of Caritas Venezuela, has already called on the Venezuelan authorities not to obstruct the import of aid deliveries and to allow them into the country.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/venezuela-s-humanitarian-crisis-sets-stage-for-political-showdown/a-47399387?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf