2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis
The Crisis in Venezuela is a complex political and socioeconomic situation that escalated from 2013 onward, during the presidencies of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro. This crisis has its roots in Venezuela's economy, which heavily relies on oil revenues, but faced severe challenges due to falling oil prices, government corruption, and mismanagement. By the end of the 2010s, Venezuela experienced hyperinflation, widespread food and medicine shortages, disease outbreaks, and a significant rise in crime, leading to millions of citizens fleeing the country. The government's economic policies, including strict price controls, contributed to these shortages and increased the nation's poverty levels.
Amidst political unrest and violent crackdowns on dissent, Maduro's government has faced accusations of authoritarianism and human rights violations, including extrajudicial killings of opposition figures. The situation has prompted international concern, with calls for humanitarian assistance from organizations like the United Nations, as many Venezuelans continue to struggle to meet basic needs. Despite the dire circumstances, the Maduro administration has often denied the existence of a crisis and has resisted foreign intervention, blaming external factors, such as U.S. sanctions, for its troubles. As the crisis persists, the social fabric of the nation remains deeply affected, leading to a humanitarian emergency that continues to unfold.
Crisis in Venezuela
The Crisis in Venezuela is a political and socioeconomic crisis that began in 2013 during the term of late president Hugo Chavez into the presidency of Nicolas Maduro. The crisis involves multiple issues stemming from Venezuela’s diminishing economy and government corruption. By the end of the 2010s, the country was dealing with hyperinflation, rising starvation and disease, increased crime, and millions of Venezuelan refugees fleeing the nation. The crisis is the worst in the country’s history. Its cause has been attributed to several events that occurred in the 2000s and early 2010s. These included government corruption and food shortages as the result of price controls. Low oil prices and a decrease in Venezuela’s oil production also contributed to the crisis.
The Venezuelan government has been accused of neglecting a variety of state regulated ventures including the nation’s power grids, leading to nationwide blackouts. The government’s decision to continue its spending as usual despite the drop in state revenue has created a large deficit that the government has refused to acknowledge. The crisis had spawned a growth in political opposition that has seen violent backlash from Venezuela’s military. A unit known as the Special Action Forces has been accused of carrying out thousands of extrajudicial killings of outspoken critics of government actions. Venezuela’s government has also been accused of corruption, authoritarianism, human rights violations, and gross economic negligence.
Background
The crisis in Venezuela began during the presidency of Hugo Chavez, who took office in 1999. Chavez entered the presidency at an opportune time for the Venezuelan economy. The nation harbors the world’s largest crude oil reserves. An increase in oil prices beginning in the 2000s led to economic prosperity for the country, which quickly became Latin America’s fastest-rising economy. The country grew so wealthy from petroleum revenues that its government was able to spend excessive amounts on social programs for its citizens, leading to a drastic decrease in poverty through the late 2000s. From 2005 to 2013, the country even provided free heating oil for more than 1.8 million poor Americans.
Issues with Venezuela’s economy were largely triggered by a drop in oil prices beginning in the 2010s. Suddenly, the government was faced with an overspending problem. Many of its programs relied primarily on oil revenues for funding, and the sudden drop in revenue meant many programs no longer received the same amount of money. Chavez declared an economic war against those he felt caused the country’s oil crisis in 2010, which eventually led to the institution of price controls. These in turn led to economic problems such as inflation and goods shortages. The country saw its steadily declining poverty rates rising again.
Following Chavez’s death in 2013, Nicolas Maduro was elected president of Venezuela. He faced one of the country’s highest inflation rates in its history and inherited an economy dealing with massive shortages of crucial goods such as food and medicine. Despite these facts, Maduro retained most of Chavez’s economic policies that led to these issues, sparking a series of nationwide protests throughout the mid-2010s. Within a year of Maduro’s presidency, the nation fell into an economic recession and by 2016 had an inflation rate of 800 percent. The crisis was exasperated by political upheaval and violent retaliation against opposition groups. Maduro’s popularity declined rapidly during this period, and in a bid to retain power, he created his own assembly to draft a new constitution and banned multiple opposition parties from participating in the 2018 presidential elections. Maduro declared himself the winner of the 2018 election, but many countries around the world refused to recognize the election results or Maduro’s win. This led to the 2019 Venezuelan presidential crisis that saw the country’s support split between Maduro and his opponent Juan Guaidó, who also declared himself acting president of the country.
Overview
As of 2019, Venezuela is considered by watchdog groups to be one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Many economic organizations blamed the nation’s problems on corruption and economic mismanagement. Since the beginning of the 2010s, poverty has increased exponentially throughout the country. Many Venezuelan citizens go without basic necessities on a daily basis, and the United Nations has called for humanitarian assistance for the country. The country faces a food, water, and medicine shortage as a result of its reliance on foreign exports for such needs. Food and medicine production within the country was neglected for many years due to Chavez handing over most of the control to the military. These shortages have caused food and medicine prices to soar as demand skyrockets. The opposition has also accused the government of withholding goods from Venezuelans who do not support the Maduro administration. Hunger, malnutrition, and starvation have become rampant throughout the country. A lack of water and proper sanitation has also led to rises in disease throughout the nation.
Food and water shortages were further aggravated by recurring nationwide blackouts caused by a lack of maintenance on power grids. According to news outlets, two-thirds of the country went without water either partially or completely for days during the blackouts. Citizens sought drinking water from sewers and polluted water sources during these periods, leading to an increased risk of contracting bacterial infections. Doctors in the country saw a surge of citizens contracting hepatitis A, typhoid fever, infections, and diarrhea in the wake of the blackouts. The ability of medical professionals to care for patients was also limited due to medical supply shortages, leading to thousands of normally preventable deaths. Apart from a lack of basic needs, the crisis also impacted the housing market, crime rates, emigration rates, and employment rates. Despite reports of this nature, the Maduro administration denied the country was in crisis on multiple occasions, refusing assistance from other countries and blaming Venezuela’s woes on international economic policies, specifically US sanctions. The country eventually began accepting humanitarian aid in early 2019, but several news outlets reported disruptions to the aid process by pro-Maduro paramilitary forces.
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