Category: Venezuela

Venezuela

(written by Martina Leigheb, Elena Di Dio, Mattia Ignazzi)

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federal state located in the north of Latin America. It borders with Guyana, Brazil and Colombia. To the north, it faces the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its name is a distortion of “Venezuola,” which is how the explorer Amerigo Vespucci christened the region. He was inspired by the native pilings built on Lake Maracaibo, which resembled the city of Venice.

In precolonial times the region was occupied by the Caribe and Arawak tribal groups. In the 16th century it was occupied by the Spanish conquistadors, after Christopher Columbus landed in the territory during his third voyage to the Americas. Economic exploitation of the coastal region included sugar, cocoa, tobacco, and coffee plantations, while cattle were raised on the inland plains. The highest positions in society were administered by the Spanish, the Creoles (whites born in America) administered the land and large plantations, while Indians and African slaves, imported through the triangular trade, provided the peasant labor. In 1811, following a Creole rebellion, war broke out for independence from the Spanish crown, which was led by Simon Bolivar and ended definitively after ten years.

Venezuela thus became part of the Republic of Great Colombia, from which it separated in 1830. From then on, conservatives and federalist liberals alternated in power with armed coups until 1908, when Juan Vicente Gómez established a dictatorship that lasted 27 years. Political stability and the discovery of oil fields in 1922 brought foreign investment and wealth, but this did not reach the countryside, which remained in a state of absolute poverty. At his death, conservative and liberal presidents succeeded each other until 1948, when a pro-conservative military junta took power.  From 1952, under the dictatorship of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, European immigration was strongly encouraged, especially Spanish and Italian. In 1958 the military intervened again to return power to civilians, and so began the democratic era in Venezuela. The most significant events that marked that period include the new Constitution of 1961 promulgated by Betancourt, the increase in the international price of oil, which brought an economic benefit and allowed the nationalization of the iron and oil industries which took place around 1975.

The economic descent of the country began in the 80’s and the management of the crisis caused popular protests and the threat of leftist terrorism which continued until the end of the millennium. In 1999 Hugo Chávez ascended to the presidency and the Bolivarian Constitution was approved. In 2002, an attempted coup d’état strengthened the presidency of Chávez, who by then had eliminated the opposition from the army and the judiciary. With the constitutional referendum of 2009, numerical limits were removed from elective candidacies. Upon Chávez’s death in 2013, Nicolás Maduro, his deputy and designated successor, took his place.

Politics and Society

In order to understand Venezuelan politics and economy, it is necessary to start from its being an oilstate, as 98% of its exports depend on oil, according to OPEC data.

In 1914 the first commercial oil well was drilled, Zumaque I, on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo. Becoming an oil producing country was a watershed because it marked the passage from a rural and peasant society, Venezuela was one of the so-called Banana Republics, to an industrial society enriched by oil extraction.

The long dictatorship of Juan Vicente Gómez contributed to consolidate the Venezuelan state and to open the doors to the foreign exploitation of oil deposits.

In the 50’s the advent of the dictatorial regime of Marcos Pérez Jiménez, after a period of conservative and liberal governments, continued the legacy of Gómez.

During this period, the rate of economic growth is very high, and Venezuela ranks fourth in terms of GDP per capita worldwide. At the same time, however, society suffers heavy political repression.

The country had by now a consolidated capitalistic structure, open to foreign investments even if with high levels of state involvement in industrial sectors considered strategic such as the iron and steel industry.

The 1958 marked the political turning point of Venezuela, the leftist opposition to the dictatorship with the help of the armed forces organized a coup d’état which forced Jimenez to exile and, after a brief period of transition, elections were held which saw the winner the social democratic leader Rómulo Betancourt. With the constitution of 1961 begins the so called Fourth Republic and it is established the division between executive, legislative and judicial power.

Also, in 1958 the signing of the Pact of Punto Fijo between two political parties – Acción Democratica (Democratic Action) and COPEI (Christian Democrats), marks the beginning of bipartisanship which should have allowed the democratic stability of the country.

Betancourt, although he evolved more into a social democrat, had a communist past, and believed in the very active role of the state in the economy, laying the groundwork for the nationalization implemented by subsequent governments.

Between 1968 and 1978 Venezuela experienced a real economic boom and became the richest country in Latin America. Nevertheless, the strong corruption and cronyism policies common to the various governments, will not allow a fair distribution of the wealth of the country.

In 1975, the government of Carlos Andrés Perez opts for the nationalization of the oil industry, in part to take advantage of the increase in oil prices following the 1973 crisis, and the country is transformed into an oilstate.

Perez took advantage of the economic boom to implement an ambitious and expensive social spending program, without thinking that economic growth depended exclusively on the demand for a commodity, oil, which could collapse at any moment.

This is exactly what happened in the eighties when, due to too much supply, the price of oil collapsed, and the Venezuelan economy became 96% dependent on the export of crude oil.

The Bolivar goes from being one of the most stable currencies in the world to undergo a strong devaluation that marks the beginning of a black decade characterized by successive devaluations and monetary controls.  The economic crisis paralyzes the country and blocks the welfare state, causing protests among the population.

In 1989, in order to get out of the disastrous situation, Venezuela decides to accept the proposal of the International Monetary Fund, to implement a profound fiscal reform in exchange for economic aid.

The reform imposed by the IMF, which included tariff reductions, tax increases, cuts in public spending, did not address the problems at the root of Venezuela’s economic problems, the strong corruption and crony capitalism policies. The only effect it had was the popular revolt.

On February 27 and 28, 1989 Caracas was overwhelmed by citizens protesting against the IMF aid package. Soon the protests became a popular uprising, violently repressed by the army. As a result of the clashes of what will be called the “Caracazo”, almost 400 people die

In the country begins a moment of chaos and instability, of which anti-government groups take advantage, even those within the army. Among these will become famous the one led by Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Rafael Chavez, the so-called Bolivian Revolutionary Movement-200 (MBR-200).

At the turn of the eighties and the nineties, a series of coup attempts, carried out among others by Chavez who is imprisoned, further threatens the stability of the state.

The government of Perez suspends constitutional freedoms but, by now delegitimized and accused of corruption, fails, and also decrees the end of the political system that had been inaugurated in 1958 with the Pact of Punto Fijo.

In 1994 Rafael Caldera, head of a new coalition, assumed the presidency. His government was not characterized by major changes of course from the past, but rehabilitated Hugo Chavez politically.

Meanwhile, more than a decade after the beginning of the economic crisis, the number of Venezuelans in poverty had increased, especially in metropolitan areas.

Precisely by addressing the most disadvantaged classes, Chavez increases his consensus, taking advantage of his strong charisma that will lead him to win the 1998 elections.

Chavez, in the fifteen years of his government, promotes the so-called Revolución Bolivariana, creating a socialist state.

In 2017, the serious humanitarian crisis and Maduro’s decision to deprive all functions of the Parliament, in the hands of the opposition, provoked a series of popular protests

Although powers were later returned to the Parliament, the demonstrations became real popular uprisings, handled as in most of these cases with strong repression, violating human rights on several occasions. At least 12,175 deaths have been counted from this period up until 2018.

In 2018 Maduro was re-elected with 67.7% of the vote, after contested elections.

Venezuela is now a country in dire straits, according to Bloomberg’s Misery Index, the country has had the worst economic engagement rate for 4 consecutive years. 87% of the population lives in poverty and 8.1% can afford two or fewer meals a day.

The very heavy US sanctions, but also European ones, certainly do not help the population.

In this dramatic scenario, the opposition leader and leader of the National Assembly Juan Guaidò has come forward. The latter in January 2019 proclaimed himself interim president, with the support of the United States, Colombia, and many other states, excluding Bolivia, Cuba, Mexico, China, Turkey and Russia.

In April 2019, Guaidó failed a coup attempt due to the lack of support from the armed forces. However, his support is on the rise, both domestically and abroad, and in January 2020 he was reappointed president of the National Assembly.

Human Rights

Freedom of expression is threatened by the continued closure of newspapers, television channels and radio stations and the repeated intimidation that journalists receive. The right to assembly is not respected especially in the context of protests against the government, where the security forces tend to use an iron fist against the population. The policy of systematic repression of oppositions, practiced by Maduro since 2014, is condemned by Amnesty International, which states that it could constitute a crime against humanity and therefore the government should be accountable to international justice. This policy is characterized by targeted extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, excessive use of military force on the opposition and those taking part in protests, including sexual violence. As of 2016, a state of emergency remains in effect, giving the government special powers. The judicial system is subject to government interference and has been used repeatedly against dissidents and civilians, especially human rights defenders, who suffer intimidation and accusations of terrorism.

International human rights mechanisms, such as the Iachr, struggle to monitor the situation due to the difficulty representatives face in obtaining visas. However, an increasing number of asylum seekers are leaving the country each year, in a general exodus directed especially towards neighboring countries. It is estimated that from 2015 to date, more than 4.5 million people have left Venezuela, converging in neighboring countries, mostly in Colombia.

The worsening food and health crisis particularly affects children, the sick and women, prompting Venezuelans to seek asylum in other countries in droves. At the end of 2016, the organization Caritas Venezuela found that 27.6 percent of children surveyed were at risk of malnutrition, of which 15.7 percent were medium to acute. Child mortality is rising rapidly, with a 30% increase in deaths under one year of age occurring in just one year between 2015 and 2016. At the same time, maternal mortality rates increased in 2016, when they reached a total of 756 registered deaths. Despite the lack of official data, local NGOs denounce a high rate of femicide and high victimization of women in the context of violence within institutions. In addition, the economic crisis continues to limit access to contraceptive methods.

There are documented cases of arbitrary arrests for political reasons, in an attempt to silence dissent, and through illegal mechanisms such as the absence of a warrant, the use of military justice and the discretionary interpretation of the Penal Code. Conditions in prisons are miserable: there is a shortage of food and drinking water, and detainees are often denied access to medical care or lawyers of their choice. In addition, there are cases of overcrowding, torture, and ill-treatment, as well as impunity for the perpetrators of these abuses. Some inmates have begun a hunger strike to protest the availability of weapons given to detainees. This norm causes a high number of deaths in prisons due to internal clashes.

In January 2019, a wave of violations of international law and human rights broke out across Venezuela. It involved a joint action by the country’s armed forces against people identified as alleged opponents, who resided mainly in poor neighborhoods, with the aim of eliminating them. Despite the awareness of political forces, President Maduro did not act on the matter, instead he offered his own cover.

Economy and Resources

As mentioned above, the Venezuelan economy is overwhelmingly dependent on oil. With 300,900 million barrels, the South American country’s reserves far exceed those of Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Over the past two decades, Venezuela has reduced its oil production by a third, from producing 3 million barrels per day in 1999, to producing 1.3 million in 2018. The United States used to be the main buyer of Venezuelan crude, buying 41% of it in 2018, but has since decreased its importation

The Venezuelan economic situation definitely worsened when the price of crude oil went from being worth $112 per barrel in 2014, to being worth $34 in 2016.

Despite the agreement of OPEC countries in 2017 to reduce oil production in order to increase its price, the levels still remained low. Currently, the price of gasoline in Venezuela is the lowest in the world, $0.01 per liter.

Linked to the lowering of oil prices is Venezuela’s other major economic problem, the lack of dollars needed for imports and the lack of paper money needed by the population to access basic services and essential goods, such as food.

94% of the Venezuelan population, about 30 million people, live in a state of food insecurity and 82% do not have access to safe water sources.

Product shortages generate inflation, and Venezuela’s has soared in recent years. According to data from the International Monetary Fund, inflation was 57.4%, in 2014, while in 2019 it exceeded 4.4 million %. In addition, at the moment Venezuela has an inflation that exceeds 4 million percent, according to the International Monetary Fund

In addition to oil, the country’s natural resources include natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, diamonds, and other minerals.

The focus on oil production and export has meant that Venezuela has not invested in other industrial and agribusiness sectors. The country practically does not produce basic goods and must import most of its food and essential products, such as medicines.

Agriculture is a backward sector, which has not undergone major transformations since colonial times, due to these structural problems it contributes to just under 4% of GDP. The main agricultural products are rice, sorghum, potatoes, and vegetables, which have, though, become insufficient for domestic demand.

Tourism, already relatively modest, has ceased completely in recent years.

Environment

Venezuela is one of the 17 so-called “megadiverse” countries, i.e. it has many different ecosystems within its territory. Specifically, it occupies the seventh place in the United Nations ranking. It counts, in fact, about 200 thousand different species, but 2% of them are at risk of extinction

Despite the fact that the Venezuelan territory protected for naturalistic purposes represents about one third of the total, at least according to official sources, and there are 43 national parks, Venezuela, as well as most Latin American countries rich in resources, is pursuing extractivist policies that cause environmental degradation. Extractivism, understood as the massive exploitation of the natural resources of a territory, does not respect what should be the right balance between the human need to access resources and the need to protect and preserve the environment.

Even if the Bolivarian government speaks of “ecological extraction”, the environmental impact of the exploitation of resources is evident, but it is difficult to quantify it because there is almost no research carried out on the subject and the information is not made public.

In the country also deforestation is increasing, not only mining activities, but also for the increase of fires, agricultural expansion, exploitation of wood.

Finally, climate change also affects all Venezuelan ecosystems, from coral reefs to tepuis, Venezuela’s flat-topped mountains, where between 8% and 33% of animal species are at risk of extinction.