Venezuela slipping to turmoil again
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The bad times of the Latin American country of Venezuela is really tragic. One of the world's biggst oil-producing countries has now become the scene of most of the miseries of the world, as indicated by news emerging day after day. The country which suffers from poverty, malnutrition and epidemics, has also created history in dacoity and murder, as per media reports.
Ever since the late president Hugo Chavez launched the Bolivarian revolution, expelling US-led Western powers and rejecting their aid offers in his attempt to make Venezuela stand on its own legs, the Western block has been out to outwit that move. However, even minus the exaggerations in the media's manufacture of news, it is true that Venezuela has become the sick nation of South America. Owing to the shortage of food and medicine, 90 per cent of the population are in poverty. About 75 per cent of them lost weight by an average of 8 kg. About three million of them fled the country. And the crime rate of the country is a shocking 90 per one lakh of people – the highest in the world. Thus to put it briefly, Venezuela nosedived into the sad plight of the great depression of America in 1930's, and that of Russua, Cuba and Albania during the period of extinction of the Soviet Union.
If one asks who brought Venezuela to this state, the first 'accused' would be Chavez himself. In the pink tide that blew against neo-liberalization, he was the vanguard hero in the revolution that foamed in red in Latin America and inspired all who rallied against Yankee imperialism. But the defiance he displayed in closing the doors of oil wealth against Western cartels, was not in display in leading the country in the desired direction. The current crisis is a continuation of this. And Nicolas Maduro, whom Chavez himself had groomed and brought to power, did not have a fraction of Chavez's efficiency or charisma. With the entry of Maduro, who inherited the ineffficiency and mediocrity in administration from his predecessor, the depth of the fall came more in view. The revolutionary leaders,who boasted that they will show the world the strength of the economy with its rich oil resources, were however not sure of how to convert it into a welfare-oriented governance. Thence started Maduro's attempts to gag the people in order to hide his failings. To achieve that, he conducted a farcical election too. When it turned out that the Opposition was gaining the upper hand in parliament, he formed a constituent assembly on the pretext of 'saving the constitution that was in danger'. When the parliament's functioning got frozen in effect, the people lost no time in intensifying the street protests against Maduro's dictatorship.
By the time the extreme right wingers of Latin America, for whom Venezuela is a country that slipped out of their control, and the neo-liberalisation advocates in the garb of Social Democrats started regaining authority and influence, the US and allies had intensified their move to capture Caracas. That was how, at the end of decades long research and trials, the 35-year old Juan Guaidó – who had spent his life with pranks of protests on streets - came to be hoisted as the self-proclaimed president of Venezuela. US Vice President Mike Pence himself coronated him by calling him directly over phone last week. And thus started the Western media's laurels with epithets of this right-wing youth as the democratic star appoionted for 'the restoration of democracy in unstable Venezuela'. In such a vitiated atmosphere of the country gripped by political anarchy, Washington moved to intervene and have its sway over the oil wealth of Venezuela. This was plainly admitted by US National Security Advisor, John Bolton too. Closely following America, Canada and several countries of European Union, Israel and the LIMA - a group that can be called the collective of right-wing Latin American governments - are in the scene with support to the US stance. Contrarily, Russia, China, Turkey and Mexico arrayed themselves on the other side. Thus Venezuela has grown into becoming an international issue, a victim to external intervention.
Maduro of course enjoys the backing of the majority in the military, but the support of the people on the street and of parliament are with America's rubber stamp 'president'. This has caused its natural tug of-war in the region. India has made its stance clear that a political solution has to be found for the crisis through productive talks and without moving to violence and unrest. India wishes to see peace, democracy and security prevailing again in Venezuela. But much different are the motives of the big powers, who are out to misuse the political uncertainty in a major oil reserve of the world. If Venezuela can recognize that and resist it, the country can save itself.
