Venezuela is an exquisite country located in South America and is known for having one of the largest oil reserves in the world. However, the country has been engulfed in a severe political and economic crisis for the past decade, causing about 4.5 million residents to migrate elsewhere.
The political crisis began in 2010 when the ruling social PSUV party was accused of corruption, incompetence and rigging of national elections. The opposition parties started rallying against the ruling party, but were met with a severe crackdown. Presidents Chavez and Maduro silenced the opposition through force and violence. In return, the opposition parties also responded in kind, subsequently turning Venezuela into a war zone. In 2016, the opposition party won a majority in the national assembly and the leader of opposition, Juan Guaido, proclaimed himself president. However, President Maduro refused to accept this and instead made his own national constituent assembly. To this day, Maduro and Guaido both claim to be presidents but the military remains loyal to the former. This political crisis paved the way for a very severe economic crisis that is also strangling the country. Gangs took control of the oil supply, Venezuela’s economic backbone; inflation rates skyrocketed; unemployment increased exponentially; and by every passing day more and more people descended into the pit of poverty and hunger.
The current situation in Venezuela remains appalling. The country is devoid of law and order while street crime and murder are a common occurrence. The average salary of a working person there is 4000 bolivars, yet even a hotdog costs about 50,000 bolivars. In order to make ends meet, at least one member of each family in Venezuela has migrated to the US, from where they send a few hundred dollars to their families every month. It seems that the only way Venezuela can recover from this crisis is if a free and fair election takes place and democracy prevails.
Rauf Mohammad
Islamabad
Published in The Express Tribune, September 20th, 2020.
Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.
