Photo By: Manaure Quintero/Reuters
When one types the name of a nation into a search engine like “Argentina”, “The United States”, “Peru”, “England”, “Colombia”, the first images that will pop up are always maps, graphs, maybe a landscape or two. These search results are supposed to give the viewer a glimpse into the nation based on a quick search, in a way, it presents the first impression that one will have. May it be sandy beaches or complex topography, the results of the search normally give readers a sense of the country, a superficial one, but an idea nonetheless. Type “Venezuela” in a search engine and thousands of images of protests, malnourished children, chaos, and disorder will pop up. This is the first glimpse of the country, curious searchers will behold when simply typing the name of the country. Without any context, without any specifications, the search engine immediately guides the viewer to the humanitarian crisis, blowing past the natural resources, cultural traditions, and culinary contributions which are normally what are shown when searching up other nations. This shows the gravity and seeming permanence of the situation in Venezuela, the humanitarian crisis that is ever so present in the media. However, for a political and humanitarian situation to reach such levels that it erases other valuable factors that contribute to the country and its people’s identity, the baggage has to be significant, and in this case, it certainly is.
Ironically, one of the main factors that put Venezuela in its current position is the bountiful natural resources previously mentioned. Namely, oil. In 1920 a huge oil reserve was discovered in Venezuela. The “gold mine” was found by a Royal Dutch Shell geologist in the Maracaibo Basin, and oil was so plentiful that Venezuela started producing around 137 million barrels of oil every year. Instinctually, this sounds like a jackpot discovery for a country given that oil is one of the most coveted resources all around the globe, even in the modern economy. However, Venezuela suffered a taste of its own medicine as it started becoming overly dependent on oil production. By the mid-1930s, oil made up around 90% of Venezuela’s exports. What's more, it was only controlled by three foreign companies. Meanwhile, there was a series of military dictatorships that contributed to a slightly turbulent political climate, but in 1958 the first democratic government was elected and things began to stabilize. Quickly following the election, Venezuela became a part of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1960 alongside oil giants like Iran and Saudi Arabia. This step led to the further dependence of stability on oil, and it led governmental leaders to start slowly nationalizing the industry. The world is amazingly interconnected, and in an unseeing chain of events, the Yom Kippur war in Israel led to the rising prices of oil and made Venezuela the country with the highest per-capita income in Latin America. Now that the money was truly rolling in, the government started working on monopolizing the industry. The first step was to create an oil company that was owned by the state, a position which was filled by Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. It is important to note that now, Venezuela and oil were synonyms. One could not exist without the other. The Yom Kippur War rises to relevance once again given that after Egypt and Syria attacked Israel and the world powers began taking sides, the war became global and political. The Soviet Union began funding Egypt and Syria, while the US attempted to support Israel. Seeing that this was becoming a proxy war to the Cold War conflict between the United States and the Soviet Union, the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting countries declared a ban on oil shipments to the United States, given that they were allied with the Egyptian and Syrian causes. The war eventually ended, but oil production dwindled, and this led to a worldwide energy crisis. The energy crisis mainly impacted the United States and certain European countries, which, during the crisis, had to drastically reduce their consumption of oil given that prices were quickly rising and the stock was dissipating. The United States erroneously believed that the energy crisis would negatively impact the Arab oil-producing countries given that there would be less consumption of the oil they produced, when in reality, when supply decreased, costs increased leading the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries to safely make up the costs of not exporting to the United States. The supply of oil also started decreasing in the late 70s because of the Iranian Revolution, in which workers that labored for petroleum factories began protesting against the government, thus decreasing the production. Prices continued to rise, and by 1980, the gallon of oil was around $30 compared to $12.50 in December 1978. Western countries began changing their relationship to energy consumption, opting to use more efficient vehicles and protect their economy from rising oil costs. This meant that demand was lowering, and thus, prices did so as well, eventually culminating in the 1980 oil glut in which OPEC members had to significantly cut down costs. Venezuela, as a part of OPEC, suffered tremendously and the economy suffered greatly. Foreign debts rose alongside painful inflation, and eventually, the people, frustrated, hungry, and desperate for change, cringed onto the only person that seemed to offer it: Hugo Chavez.
Hugo Rafael Chavez was the son of two school teachers in rural Venezuela. He was the second of six siblings, and he learned to live a life in which he had to survive using the most basic resources. As his parents scourged to make ends meet, Chavez began exploring the realm of education. Through the teachings of Simon Bolivar and Karl Marx, Hugo started forming a very distinct, if not radical, way of viewing the world. He dreamed of being a soldier, an honorable man who would defend his nation and bring justice to all, and in 1971 he became a part of the Venezuelan Military Academy. One of Chavez’s first assignments as a second lieutenant was to capture leftist guerrilla members, however, as he started interacting with these people more and more, he saw that their ideals reflected what he had read about as a young kid in Marx’s books. He was convinced that they were fighting to represent the poor people of Venezuela, to bring down the rich oppressors that prevented them from rising up in society. At this time, he was becoming radicalized as well. Now convinced that the leftist movement was the only way poor Venezuelans could reach a semblance of equality, he decided to begin talking to the leaders of the Venezuelan Revolution Party. Chavez was ready to leave the military, but he was convinced he could do more good than harm fraternizing with the supposed enemy. As he became more involved in the underground insurgent movement, he used his influence in the military to spread the Venezuelan Revolution Party’s ideals, eventually leading to the failed 1992 coup against the government. Initially, Chavez alongside other leftist military leaders were to capture military bases and overthrow the government, but the plan was quickly dismantled when Hugo himself failed to capture president Andres Perez. He was imprisoned until 1994, when, given his growing popularity, he was released by then-president Rafael Caldera. Subsequently, Chavez founded his own political party called the Movement of the Fifth Republic or MVR, based on socialist ideals. Chavez was a charismatic man. He was able to see into the suffering of the people and harness those wounds to create a strong and appealing narrative, It was through cunning rhetoric that he was able to unify thousands of Venezuelans and convince them that Communism and socialism would be the solution to all of their ailments. His approach was immensely successful, and in 1998 he won the general elections with 56% of the vote. Chavez began his reign by asserting his power and implementing reforms. He changed the country’s name from Venezuela to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. He also replaced congress with a National Assembly, which was directly under his control. Slowly, he started implementing laws and legislations that would make it easier for him and his associates to get reelected without much restriction, but he did so slowly, carefully, beginning with the National Assembly positions which now had a six-year term with unlimited reelections. Furthermore, the key to his power was in the oil reserves that had caused so much turmoil in earlier decades. He pushed to continue nationalizing the oil industry, alongside thousands of other private companies, in his crusade against capitalism and private property. Chavez used his monopoly of the oil reserves as a political tool, selling barrels of oil at discounted prices to key countries all around Latin America, most notably, Cuba. Fidel Castro had been a mentor and inspiration for Chavez, and their ideologies were eerily similar. This generated a web of surreptitious alliances which connected Cuba to Venezuela to Russia to China and even Iran. Chavez was a passionate radical. His goal was to ultimately create a utopia, at least one for himself, and he would do anything to achieve it. He would often go on hour-long rants on national television, going as far as creating a show called “Alo Presidente” in which he would condemn capitalist oppressors and strongly criticize anyone that would oppose him. He did, however, keep one of his promises given that during the early stages of his presidency, poverty in Venezuela decreased by 20%. Nevertheless, the country’s troubles circled back to oil production, a constant that seems to constantly hold a knife over the Venezuelan economy. As the Chavez administration continued nationalizing industries, the oil production in the country became extremely hard-hit. Oil reserves shrunk drastically and through the course of Chavez’s presidency, government debt doubled. International relationships, especially with the United States, became ever so fragile given that under the Chavista mindset, capitalist global powerhouses like the United States were trying to make puppets of every developing nation for personal gain. Venezuela even threatened to stop supplying the United States with oil. Economic instability eventually culminated in a hazardous insurrection in 2002 in which Chavez was briefly removed from power. The military eventually helped restore him to his position as president, but the narrative after the small rebellion was that the United States had aided the revolutionaries in their coup endeavors. Although many dispute this claim, it is believed that even if the United States did not directly contribute to the insurrection, they had intelligence on the operation and opted to remain silent and refrain from informing the Venezuelan government. Chavez was often accused of corruption and nepotism, and as the economy started reflecting the illicit use of public funding, protests arose. The growing hostility cultivated by Chavez and expressed in his frequent soliloquies not only resulted in tense international relations, but also in the significant decrease of foreign investment. The country was already suffering from the effects of price control legislations including food and medicine shortages, and to add fire to the flame, the lack of international funds prevented further investment in infrastructure and strong, healthy institutions. Nevertheless, Chavez persisted. He mounted his throne and continued his mission to expand Chavismo to lands as far as the eye could see, but his plans came to an abrupt halt when he was diagnosed with cancer in 2011. At this moment, his priorities changed, and he immediately began looking for the right candidate to replace him and continue his legacy. A young bus driver turned Vice President became his top choice. He was passionate, dedicated, and most importantly, he was malleable. His name was Nicolás Maduro, and once Chavez announced his support of Maduro for the upcoming elections, Maduro immediately embraced his role and followed in the footsteps of his predecessor, presenting passionate speeches to win over the Venezuelan people. Hugo Chavez died in 2013, and after narrow elections, Nicolás Maduro became the Venezuelan president.
Many state that Maduro was an unfortunate Chavez wannabe. He aimed to be as charismatic, as strategic, and as cunning as his mentor, but he simply did not have the skills to fill Chavez’s shoes. He opted to turn Chavez into a god in Venezuela. Instead of competing for power or being compared to him, Maduro decided that it was better to isolate Chavez as a revolutionary legend. This would not only propel his cause forward but would prevent him from having to prove himself in comparison. And suddenly, everything went dark. In 2014 the Venezuelan government stopped releasing economic data, essentially hiding vital information on GDP, inflation, and public spending from the rest of the world. This was a sign to international powers that the situation in Venezuela was quickly going downhill, and it was an accurate assertion. During Maduro’s first term, the economy essentially plummeted, and once again the persistent tormentor was partially at fault: oil. Global oil prices had drastically decreased and given Chavez’s tendency to focus all of the economy towards this one industry, the economy relied heavily on what seemed to be a sinking ship. IN a desperate move, Maduro changed his slant and began ruling on censorship, control, and power centralization to try and control the growing crisis. Political opponents were arrested, journalists were silenced, and Maduro slowly metamorphosed into a dictator. He began consolidating power from the National Assembly, rallying the military and putting them directly under his command. Despite the country slowly unraveling into seeming madness, Maduro was reelected in 2018 in polls that foreign powers have ruled unconstitutional. The situation only worsened, and it culminated in a horrifying humanitarian crisis that plagues the country today. According to Human Rights Watch, Maduro’s administration is responsible for “extrajudicial executions and short-term forced disappearances and have jailed opponents, prosecuted civilians in military courts, tortured detainees, and cracked down on protesters.” The Venezuelan people were clearly tired of the situation, which resulted in Juan Guaido’s appointment as leader of the National Assembly. He represented the opposition party, and eventually, in 2019, he declared himself as the official president of Venezuela. This declaration, unfortunately, ended up being symbolic rather than effective given that Nicolás Maduro still controls all governmental institutions except the legislative branch. With the military firmly by his side, taking Maduro down seems to be an impossible task. It is estimated that since Maduro’s appointment as president in 2013, over 5.5 million Venezuelans have fled their home country in search of stability and a semblance of prosperity. Those who stayed, either willingly, due to lack of resources, or due to the myriad of restrictions in exiting the country as constantly forced to endure food, medicine, and health service shortages. Thousands of children are dying of malnutrition, but those who are willing to divulge this information and expose the horrors of the dictatorship are often persecuted, arrested, and tortured. As of September 20th, 2020, there were more than 300 political prisoners in Venezuelan custody. Since 2014, 15,500 people who have protested or participated in demonstrations against the government have been arrested, and only around 9,255 of them have been “conditionally released.”
COVID-19 has brought another set of problems as the lack of medical supplies, healthcare workers, and sanitary conditions add up to a terrible management strategy in relation to the pandemic. The aforementioned facts do not being to cover the extent of the abuses and hardships endured by the Venezuelan people. Aside from the humanitarian crisis, the economy is crumbling, and this only results in a lack of basic resources for thousands of people. Currently, Venezuelan authorities are also fighting against gangs, which are also contributing to the rising violence and insecurity of the nation. It is important to recognize and understand issues such as these in order to stand in solidarity with those who are suffering as a result of corrupt, greedy, and narcissistic leaders who rot institutions and bring down hope for innocent families. The future is a blank page, economists, analysts, leaders, are all unsure of what the next years will look like. Scenarios ranging from Guaido’s eventual victory in harnessing the power of the people to bring down Maduro to the continuation of his reign are all plausible, and for now, the only way to mitigate further damage is to contribute to organizations that aim to reduce the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela. Readers are encouraged to visit organizations that aim to help Venezuelans such as Cuatro Por Venezuela, Caracas Mi Convive, and South American Initiative.
Written By: Carolina Mejia Rodriguez
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