VENEZUELA
Political conflict
Venezuela has
been passing through a lot of different problems due to their goverment, which
is controlled by their president Nicolás Maduro.
These events
have caused some protests and confrontations between the police and the town.
And as a consequence there have been 4 decays and injured people.
Here are 5
points to understand what is happening there:
1. The acceptance of the
Enabling Law:
This
was one of the first things that Maduro did when he assumed the power. This law
basically doesn’t need the approval of the National Assembly to approve new
laws. So with this he promotes other laws for the control of the products
price, the earning margin and the use of currency. Henrique Capriles, the ex candidate
for the Presidency of Venezuela accused the president for being one the most
corrupt president in Venezuela.
2. The economic crisis:
Venezuela has
an inflation of 56.3% and a shortage of basic products of 28%. The government
blames the opposition, but the business-man blames the government, because the control
of the administration scares away the investors.
3. The beginning of the
protests
The protests
began on the cities of Tachira and Mérida, when a student was almost raped on
the interior of the Universidad de los Alpes. The students asked for more
security inside the universities, and then they started to demonstrate the lack
of products and the economic crisis.
The students
convoke a multitudinous manifestation on Caracas on February 12th. To the
manifestation also assisted the Tumparo Revolutionary Movement, which is armed people
of the chavismo, the social movement, they shot to the protestors and three
protestors died that day.
4. The censorship of the
media:
The government
demanded for the exit of the NTN24, a Colombian channel that transmitted the
manifestation live. Also Maduro banned the transmission of the protests in
other channels.
5. The insecurity on the
country:
Venezuela now
is one of the 5 most violent countries in the world. They have a rate of 79
deads for every 100.000 people, 12% of the deaths is for violence.
Chavez & Maduro
Hugo Chavez (1954-2013) was a former Army Lieutenant
Colonel and President of Venezuela. He incited to the “Bolivarian Revolution”
where the most important industries were nationalized and the oil profits were
used in social programs for the poor. Chavez
always believed that the United States was behind the attempted coup.
Hugo
Chavez died on March 5, 2013 after a long battle with cancer. The final months
of his life were full of drama, as he disappeared from public view not long
after the 2012 elections. He returned to Venezuela in February of 2013
to continue his treatment there, but his illness eventually proved too much for
his iron will.
Chavez
was a complicated political figure who did much for Venezuela, both good and
bad. Venezuela's oil reserves are among the largest in the world, and he used
much of the profits to benefit the poorest. He improved infrastructure,
education, health, literacy and other social problems from which his people
suffered. Under his guidance, Venezuela emerged as a leader in Latin America
for those who do not necessarily think that the United States is always the
best model to follow.
Chavez
was seen as a hero for the poor people, but for the middle and upper, he wasn’t,
they despised him.
Nicolas
Maduro Moros is the actual president of Venezuela. He took office in 2013 after
the death of his political mentor Hugo Cavez. He is also known for worked as a
bus driver.
He was
born in Caracas in 1962. He never went to college; instead, he was a bus driver
in the city of Caracas.
As
Chavez, he is a leftist and is in favor of the programs for the poor.
Maduro
has an unenviable job. Venezuela is facing serious problems. Although the
country has a billion-dollar oil industry, the economy is in ruins. Inflation
is fast and the currency is so unstable that the government has had to create
strict controls. International economists believe that the government pressured
the Central Bank into releasing reports in December of 2013 that do not
accurately reflect the true state of Venezuela’s economy. Crime is at record
highs, especially in Caracas. The opposition is gaining strength as the power
of Chavez’ ghost fades.
Geography
Venezuela is a country located in South
America, and part of the Caribbean South, it is between Colombia, Guyana and in
the south with Brazil. It is about twice the size of California.
The country has all types of weather, as
tropical humidity to cold temperatures in winter, all this climate factors are
due to the elevation.
Market
One of the
most important things that they don't have is the paper, in the black market it
the dollar cost 10 times more than the 6.3 official bolivars, this have caused that
the news papers of all the country can't import paper. The newspaper El
Nacional reduced their pages a 40%due to the situation.
You can get return
flights for less than the normal price, 10 times less.
In 2003
Chávez limited the amount of foreign currency; as a consequence, there are no
basically products as toilet paper, cooking oil, sugar, etc. Indeed, the lack
of products is due to the close of the frontiers, Venezuela import most of
their products.
International relationships
The President of Venezuela believes that the
US is behind all the protests, and warning to the US that if they take any
action in helping the protestors, the Venezuelan army will counterattack.
The most important point to say is that any
country can press politically, but they can infer physically. It all depends of
the country.
Bibliography:
- www.telegraph.com.uk
- www.neontommy.com
- www.princeton.edu
- www.iprofesional.com
- www.laht.com
- world.time.com
- www.knoxnews.com
- www.elpais.com
