Michelle Bachelet denounced that the Nicolás Maduro regime murdered more than 2,000 people between January and August of this year

The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, walks with his wife, Cilia Flores; the Minister of
Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, and the head of the Strategic Operational Command of the
Armed Forces, Remigio Ceballos. The dictator and the military are identified by the UN as
responsible for crimes against humanity in Venezuela (Reuters)

Venezuela. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights presented an update on her report on the situation in Venezuela and noted that there are "high numbers of deaths of young people in marginalized neighborhoods as a result of security operations"

“I am concerned about the high numbers of deaths of young people in marginalized neighborhoods as a result of security operations. My office registered 711 deaths from June to August, reaching more than 2,000 deaths since January 2020, ”Bachelet told the Human Rights Council.

Michelle Bachelet - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

She then said that her office continues to document cases of repression in peaceful protests in Venezuela, under the "state of alarm", including arrests and deaths of protesters. "In Venezuela, restrictions on freedom of expression, the application of the Hate Law, attacks on defenders and journalists continue," he stressed.

She also denounced her concern about the stigmatizing speeches of the country's authorities, which hold those who return responsible for introducing the coronavirus into Venezuelan territory. "33% of the deaths from COVID-19 in Venezuela have been of health personnel, mainly due to the lack of protective equipment and water," she denounced.

Finally, she argued that the pandemic was added to other pre-existing emergencies, such as food. She said that the rate of acute malnutrition in children is around 15% and that some stop eating so that another family member can do so.

This update came after an International Mission commissioned by the UN to investigate the human rights situation in Venezuela once again focused on the brutality of the Venezuelan regime.

In the 21 pages, the dictator Nicolás Maduro and her defense ministers, Vladimir Padrino López; and from the Interior, Néstor Reverol, as leading figures in serious crimes committed by the country's security forces. The report offers extensive information "that shows that the State authorities -both at the presidential and ministerial levels- exercised power and supervision over the civil and military security forces, and the agencies identified as perpetrators of the violations and documented crimes."

The Mission found numerous acts of torture. In a list, she identified the nine techniques of the Chavista forces to hurt political prisoners:

- Heavy beatings.

- Suffocation with toxic substances and water.

- Stress positions.

- Prolonged confinement in solitary confinement under harsh conditions.

- Sexual and gender-based violence, including forced nudity and rape.

- Cuts and mutilations.

- Electric shocks.

- Use of drugs to induce confession.

- Psychological torture.

The report offers extensive information "that shows that the State authorities - both at the presidential and ministerial levels - exercised power and supervision over the civilian and military security forces, and the agencies identified as perpetrators of the documented violations and crimes."

“Some of these acts caused serious and / or permanent physical injury. This included the loss of sensory or motor functions, reproductive injuries, abortions, blood in the urine and broken ribs ”, explains the UN mission. The horrors of the Maduro regime, they add, also led to severe psychological trauma and depression.

In three cases investigated by the Mission, the DGCIM perpetrated acts of sexual or gender-based violence against the soldiers detained during interrogations to degrade, humiliate or punish them. “DGCIM officials of both sexes subjected people to forced nudity, sometimes for days. The male guards threatened to rape detainees with sharp objects, mainly sticks and bats, and in one case they raped a detainee. Electric shocks and blows were administered, even to the testicles ”, he details.

After the report was released, the president in charge of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, called on those who still recognize Maduro as a Venezuelan authority. “The UN Report puts Maduro at the level of the atrocious crimes committed by Gaddafi. No one can have any doubt at this time that there is a criminal regime in Venezuela, "he declared.

Source: Infobae

United Nations Report: Human Rights in Venezuela

Crisis in Venezuela: The devastating conclusions of Bachelet's report on the situation in Venezuela

📖 Complete UN Report: Human rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

A report issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the situation of Human Rights in the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela was presented on July 04th 2019.

For her report, Michelle Bachelet, who visited the country between June 19th and 21st, interviewed more than 558 people, most of them victims of abuse and witnesses.

The government of Nicolás Maduro rejected Bachelet's conclusions as "not objective or impartial" and presents a "selective and openly biased view of the true situation of human rights" in the country.

"Corruption" in a country with 3.7 million malnourished

Bachelet concludes that in Venezuela the economic rights of citizens are also violated.

"The diversion of resources, corruption and lack of maintenance in public infrastructure, as well as underinvestment, have resulted in violations of the right to an adequate standard of living, among others, due to the deterioration of basic services such as public transportation and access to electricity, water and natural gas" says the report.

The right to food of Venezuelans is not going through its best, according to the conclusions of the report, which states that "the main food assistance program, known as 'CLAP boxes', does not cover the nutritional needs that are essential for people".

Content of CLAP Box - USD Cost in green

The government of Nicolás Maduro repeatedly denied that Venezuela suffered any humanitarian crisis.

In recent times it has begun to accept the help of organizations such as the Red Cross, but it maintains that the economic problems of the country are due to economic sanctions and "the criminal blockade" imposed by the United States.

The commission's report also addresses this issue and recalls that "the Venezuelan economy, especially its oil industry and food production systems, were already in crisis before any sectoral sanctions were imposed."

The figures it collects give an idea of ​​the magnitude of the problem. It estimates that between November 2018 and February 2019, "1,557 people died due to lack of supplies in hospitals."

Through a document released on July 4th, the government of Nicolás Maduro submitted 70 "observations" that account for what he considers to be errors contained in the Bachelet report.

The report includes the closure of dozens of print media, radio stations and television channels, as well as the increase in the arrests of journalists, including those of foreign journalists who ended up being expelled from the country.

When asked by journalists, Bachelet explained that there is no deadline to comply with the numerous recommendations made by his Office. This gives the government more time to try to overcome the countless problems it faces before the international community.

                           

                                Human Rights Watch: Torture of Presumed Conspirators (video)

Ten things you should know about the human rights crisis in Venezuela

Amnesty International - February 2019

The human rights crisis that has affected Venezuela for some years has destroyed the lives of millions of people. This is what you have to know:

1. Massive protests

The origin of most of the current disturbances in Venezuela can be traced back to March 29th 2017, when the Supreme Court of Justice, with the backing of President Nicolás Maduro, took control of the National Assembly, where the majority of the seats are of the opposition. That triggered massive protests between April and June that were suppressed by the Maduro government.

According to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflict, in 2018 the record of 12,715 protests was reached throughout the country. These have continued in 2019, after the president of the National Assembly, Juan Guaidó, called mass demonstrations against Maduro. 

2. Excessive use of force

Between April and July 2017, more than 120 people died, some 1,958 were injured and more than 5,000 were arrested in mass protests. In the Amnesty report Nights of terror: Illegal attacks and raids on homes in Venezuela, the organization revealed how Venezuelan security forces and armed civilian groups endorsed by the government violently burst into people's homes to intimidate them and thus discourage them from participating in demonstrations or any other form of protest.

From January 21st to 25th, at least 41 people died in circumstances linked to the mass protests, all of them from bullet wounds. More than 900 people were arbitrarily detained.

3. A policy of repression

Although the state authorities have been applying a systematic policy of repression throughout the crisis, recent guidelines indicate that it is intensifying.

The recent investigation carried out by Amnesty International showed that Venezuelan security forces under Maduro had carried out targeted executions as their policy of repression had been extended. This situation especially affected impoverished areas of Caracas and other parts of the country, where the victims were later presented as "delinquents" killed in clashes with the authorities.

Of the 41 victims killed in the context of protests in early 2019, Amnesty International documented six extrajudicial executions by security forces backed by the State and excessive use of force by authorities under the command of Nicolás Maduro.


In the 2018 report This is not life: Citizen security and the right to life in Venezuela, Amnesty revealed that the security forces used lethal means, with the intention of killing, against the most vulnerable and socially excluded people in the country under the pretext of " fight crime. "

4. Youngers in custody

State authorities have been using the justice system to illegally harass those who think differently from them. According to the Venezuelan organization Foro Penal, between January 21st and 31st 2019, 988 people were arbitrarily arrested. Among them were 137 children and adolescents, of whom 10 are still in custody. Allegations of torture and other ill-treatment of detainees have also been received. As of January 31st 2019, Penal Forum estimated that there were 942 people detained for political reasons. Although many have been released, most of them still face trial.

5. Civilians tried in military courts

People detained for participating in protests are often tried by military courts, which is contrary to international law. The people prosecuted face, among others, charges related to association with the intention of instigating the rebellion and attack on a sentinel, designed expressly for military personnel, which is another proof of the authorities' determination to silence dissent. According to Foro Penal, 817 people were tried in military courts between April 2017 and January 2019.

6. Three million refugees and migrants

It is estimated that more than three million people have fled Venezuela since 2015, the equivalent of 10% of the population, according to UN figures. Most have sought refuge in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Most mentions the denial of their rights to health and food as the main reason to leave the country. In other words, they flee to protect their life. Amnesty International has urged the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to give Venezuelan refugees access to asylum procedures in their countries.

7. Repression of freedom of expression

There have been numerous reports of violations of the right to freedom of expression, such as the arbitrary detention and / or expulsion of at least 19 people working in the media, both Venezuelan and foreign. In January 2019, at least 11 journalists were detained in a single week, and many of them were expelled or deported from Venezuela, including Jorge Ramos and his team from the Univision TV network. Censorship and orders to close radio stations are widespread practice. The government closed 50 media outlets in 2017.

UNICEF / Santiago Arcos

8. The economic debacle

According to the National Assembly, in 2018 inflation was a shocking 1,698.488%. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) calculates that, in 2019, the annual inflation rate will reach 10,000,000%. Meanwhile, the official minimum wage in Venezuela is USD 6 per month. And these are the income of a large part of the population. The inevitable result is that many people can not afford basic products.

The shortage of basic supplies such as food and medicine has left millions of people living in alarming conditions that get worse every day. The measures adopted by the state authorities have affected salaries and the rights of working people. Until 2013, the Venezuelan authorities made great progress in the area of ​​economic and social rights, but this trend has been reversed categorically in recent years.

9. The government denies it

Nicolás Maduro has repeatedly denied that the country is experiencing a human rights crisis. What is more harmful, refuses to recognize the shortage of food and medicine. The few official public statistics on the welfare of the population contrast with the reports of independent agencies.

Given that the authorities deny that there is a shortage, they have not accepted the international humanitarian aid that has been repeatedly offered. This has a catastrophic effect, especially on the most vulnerable people.

10. Harmful US sanctions

On January 28th, the US government announced new measures that prevent the Venezuelan state oil company from exporting crude oil to the United States, while prohibiting US suppliers from selling the products Venezuela needs to process its heavy crudes. Given that the Venezuelan economy depends to a large extent on the export of oil and that the United States is one of the main trade partners of Venezuela, it is likely that these measures will make the life of the people living in the country even more difficult.

Source: United Nations, Amnesty International, BBC.

Venezuela: Military support Juan Guaido and release Leopoldo Lopez

Juan Guaidó launched the "final phase of Freedom Operation" surrounded by soldiers and the Venezuelans defy the repression of the regime.

The president in charge of Venezuela, accompanied by the opposition leader Leopoldo López, gave a message to the country. "We are going to the street. National Armed Force continue the deployment until we consolidate the end of the usurpation, which is already irreversible," he said.

The Venezuelan opposition politician Leopoldo López, released today by related military, was sentenced in September 2015 to almost 14 years in prison for crimes related to an opposition march convened on February 12th, 2014 and which resulted in three deaths.

He remained for more than three years in the military prison of Ramo Verde and since mid-2017 he was under house arrest.

Today, April 30th, López is released by opposition forces and transferred to the La Carlota military base in Caracas.

Brief summary of the facts

06:00 hrs: The interim president of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, affirmed on Twitter that he began the final phase of Operation Libertad "with the main units of the Armed Forces" and summoned the people of Venezuela to the La Carlota air base.

07:20 hrs: The American senator Marco Rubio stated on twitter: "The Maduro regime called for armed groups to take the streets, which is a clear sign that they have lost faith in the military."

11:00 hrs: Juan Guaidó once again expressed on Twitter: "The streets of Venezuela are still filled with people and more people!" All the Venezuelans who are taking to the streets, Brothers, we are making history, the cessation of the usurpation is irreversible. #TodaVenezuelaALaCalle ".

11:04 hrs: Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro left a message on Twitter: "Brazil stands in solidarity with the long-suffering Venezuelan people enslaved by a dictator supported by the PT, the PSOL and ideological allies." We support the freedom of this sister nation to finally live a true democracy. "

11:55 hrs: Chilean Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero informed that today at 15:30 hrs there will be a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Lima Group by teleconference to analyze the situation in Venezuela.

12:15 hrs: Juan Guaidó spoke again on Twitter: "We have talked with our allies in the international community and we have their strong support for this irreversible process of change in our country, Operation Libertad began and we will resist until we achieve a free Venezuela #TodaVenezuelaALaCalle ".

"The dictatorship of Nicolás Maduro has done a giant, immeasurable damage to the life of Venezuela and also to the quality of life of Venezuelans and I am convinced that this dictatorship sooner rather than later must end," said Chilean President Sebastian Piñera.

Source: 

Infobae

Emol

Jair Bolsonaro will consult Congress about Brazil role if there is an invasion to Venezuela

Brazilian President said that at the moment his country and the United States intend to create fissures in the Venezuelan Army to undermine the support of the military to the dictator Nicolás Maduro and evaluated that deepening the "economic embargo" can pressure the regime "to fall"

President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that if there is a military intervention in Venezuela led by the United States, he will consult the National Defense Council and Congress to decide how Brazil should proceed.

In an interview with local radio station Jovem Pan, Bolsonaro stated that a military action in Venezuela can lead to guerrilla actions and take too much time.

"In the weakness of Maduro is the strength of the dictatorship," the president said, referring to the Armed Forces, when asked about what he intends to do to resolve the deep crisis suffered by Venezuela.

Bolsonaro, who recognizes, like another fifty countries, the head of the Venezuelan Parliament, Juan Guaidó, as the legitimate president of that country, assessed that deepening the "economic embargo" may pressure the Maduro government "to fall".

"We can not let Venezuela become a new Cuba or even a North Korea," said the head of state, in power since January 1st.

He also reiterated that the United States is at the "vanguard" in relation to the measures that must be adopted in Venezuela and commented that the president of that country, Donald Trump, told him during his meeting in the White House that "all the possibilities are on the table", including that of a military intervention.

"What can Brazil do? Let's suppose there is a military invasion there, the decision (to support or not) will be mine, but I will listen to the National Defense Council and then the Brazilian Parliament to make a decision on that issue," he said.

However, the Brazilian president questioned that option because he would not know the duration of this operation, among other factors, and therefore, opted to deepen the "economic embargo" and expect a "fissure in the Army."

"The intention that exists in the US and ours is also that there is a split in the Venezuelan Army, there is no other way because who decides, as I said a long time ago and I was criticized, if a country is in a democracy or dictatorship are the Armed Forces, "he declared.

On the other hand, he affirmed that the plan to try to introduce humanitarian aid across the borders of Brazil and Colombia, "achieved a large part of the objective" because it caused the indigenous to turn against the Maduro Government last February, as well as "part of the population"

"Venezuela can not continue as it is, with the people suffering and with a large part of them fleeing for Colombia or Brazil, we must put an end to that," he said.

Source: Infobae - with information from Reuters and EFE.

Juan Guaidó willing to invoke foreign military missions in Venezuela

The opposition parliamentary leader Juan Guaidó, recognized as President in charge of Venezuela for more than fifty countries, said on Saturday that he could request military intervention in Venezuela in the presence of Russian and Cuban military without permission from Parliament.

The interim President of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, announced on Saturday to be willing to invoke an article of the Constitution that allows to summon foreign military missions in the country. However, under the framework of cooperation, EFE reported.

The statements of the head of the Parliament were made in front of a group of followers gathered in the state of Miranda. In the present day simultaneous protests were developed throughout the country, called by the opposition and in rejection of the electric power cut suffered by a good part of the Bolivarian nation since last Monday.

"When we speak for example of 187 and we said, of course we are going to invoke it, now, in the framework of cooperation because it is also part of what our allies can do or not, not us," he said.

"We are going to insist on cooperation," he added.

According to news agency reports, the constitutional regulation "187.11" authorizes the use of "Venezuelan military missions abroad or foreign in the country." Some sectors of the opposition had asked, in the last days, to put into practice this legislature.

The Government of the United States has been, to date, the administration that has put in greater evidence its interest in supporting the Venezuelan opposition through a military intervention.

In a recent press conference, held after the meeting between the president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, and Donald Trump, the president of the White House said that "all options" were on the table regarding the political crisis in Venezuela.

On the other hand, the Brazilian representative has said that his country has no interest in carrying out an interference of this type in the Latin American nation.

This, however, contradicts the statements of his son, the federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro. In an interview with the Chilean media, La Tercera, the official warned that "in some way" the use of force "will be necessary against the regime of Nicolás Maduro.

Most Venezuelan cities have suffered power cuts

Last Wednesday, Guaidó announced the beginning of the preparatory phase of "Operation Libertad". The operation seeks to remove, definitively, Chavismo and Maduro from power.

This week the "Committees of Aid and Freedom" will be set up in different states, with a view to future mobilizations. These actions also seek to involve the officers of the Bolivarian Armed Forces (FANB), whom they requested to be attentive to the call of the National Assembly.

During his speech, the interim president once again encouraged Venezuelans to mount a protest whenever there are shortages of supplies, after a week of constant blackouts across the country.

At the same time, he asked those present to organize to express their dissatisfaction with the Maduro government, to which he once again took responsibility for the problems in the electricity grid.

"There are some people out there who are saying that this has gone off, do not laugh, the only thing that went out is a regime that left the streets of the country in darkness," he said. "Here we are not asking for patience, on the contrary, we are asking for organization and actions now."

                                    

Source:

Cybercuba

Potafolio

PROSUR - Chilean President calls on South American leaders to defend ideas of freedom and respect for human rights

Santiago de Chile - Chilean President Sebastian Piñera encourages the Latin American right and calls his supporters to be "warriors" in the face of 21st century socialism.

During his speech at the Santiago Forum, the President summoned the leaders of the sector to defend the ideas of freedom in each of their countries to "counteract" the influence of the left in the continent.

President Piñera made a clear call to the leaders and right-wing parties in Latin America to defend freedom and respect for human rights in their countries, with the aim of "counteracting" the ideas promoted by the socialism of the 21st century that led to failure in Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua.

During his speech at the Forum of Santiago, organized by the Chilean conglomerate "Chile Vamos", in which they called representatives of different collectives and study centers of the sector at the regional level, the President underscored the need for everyone to act in a coordinated manner to defeat the ideas that the left has permeated in the countries of the continent.

After referring to the political crisis in Venezuela, Piñera recalled that "ten years ago virtually our entire continent was under the influence of misguided ideas of the Sao Paulo Forum, under the auspices of the Cuban Communist Party and the Brazilian Workers' Party, which preached ideas that have failed in the whole world. "

"The fall of the Soviet Union is the best expression of the failure of twentieth century socialism: Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua, are the best expressions of the failure of 21st century socialism and for that reason, because there is no evil that lasts 100 years, I am sure that the dictatorships and especially that of Venezuela has his days numbered", he said.

In this context, the head of state said that "today we are sowing a seed to counteract the bad teachings and bad ideas that unfortunately spread and dominated our Latin America from the Forum of Sao Paulo and replace them with the ideas of freedom, respect for people. "

"The State must be at the service of the common good and of the people, and not try to use them or manipulate them in causes that we all know have not only been wrong, but have only led to pain, suffering and death wherever they may have been applied", he said.

In his opinion, "we have to play the mission that corresponds to us: To be the warriors, the ideologists, those who defend our ideas with conviction, with will and with enthusiasm and in that way we will be able to build a Latin America and in each one from our countries more free, prosperous and just societies".

Cuba and Venezuela are dictatorships

During his speech, the president stopped in the Venezuelan situation, saying that "today we have brutal dictatorships and that is something that for a long time the countries of Latin America did not know how to confront: 60 years in Cuba and more than two decades of a democracy that it was transformed into a dictatorship, as it is the case of Venezuela. "

"Because Venezuela and Cuba, let's say it with force and clarity, are dictatorships: there are no political freedoms, no human rights are respected, no separation of powers, no freedom of expression and today we have known sad news, which is the kidnapping of Roberto Marrero, who is the chief of the cabinet of President Juan Guaidó", he stressed.

The President stressed that "once again the Venezuelan dictatorship shows its most miserable and most perverse face to the whole world, I was in Cúcuta and many people ask what was achieved." Many things were achieved: unite, motivate and revive the opposition democracy in Venezuela"

"The world saw a President trying to get humanitarian aid in a peaceful way, medicine and food that the Venezuelan people needed urgently, and it saw, on the other hand, a dictator who brutally repressed his own people and who showed the ugliest and most miserable face of that dictatorship", he concluded.

Source: emol.com

The Collapse of the Venezuelan Economy and the Plan of the Inter-American Development Bank

Venezuela's economy depends mainly on the heavy oil it produces. This is processed in specialized refineries, concentrated in the Gulf of Mexico, in the state of Louisiana, although something is processed in China and India. By the year 2000, Venezuela was producing over three million barrels per day.

The strikes by PDVSA (Venezuelan oil company) in 2002 and 2003, organized by a front of businessmen, managers and engineers to stop Chavez's reforms, were followed by the massive dismissal of its administrators and technicians, which negatively affected production in more than half a million daily barrels. 

Putting loyal chavismo groups without adequate training, to manage a very complex business in itself was deteriorating the capacity of the state company, which was also milked to finance social gifts and subsidize the consumption of gasoline in the Caribbean countries.

When Maduro assumed power, in 2012, production was at 2.4 million barrels per day to deteriorate much more from then on: in 2017 it was 1.5 million daily and last year it was reduced to one million barrels, when it was handed over to the Bolivarian Guard to administer it. 

With the US financial boycott and the loss of control over its CITGO subsidiary in the United States, the prospects of the state company are darker. The collapse of the electrical system is associated with the same tendency to dismiss the technical and experienced body of the administration, with the consequent disorder and unpredictability in the maintenance of what was one of the most modern integral electrical systems in the world.

Under Chávez, inflation ranged between 20 and 40% per year, while imported products with oil at USD 130 a barrel abounded. In 2015, inflation was around 160%, the printing presses of the regime could not cope and millions of bills were imported, each time worth less. 

In 2018 inflation ended at approximately 1.3 million%, because nobody can measure it, rationing the few assets available to the militants, because they did not even reach for the supporters of Maduro, quite alienated from the original Chavism. Each Venezuelan citizen has lost about 11 kilos of weight.

The impact that Maduro's incompetent and corrupt administration has had, it has been the destruction of more than half of the Venezuelan economy. According to figures published by the BBC, the economy contracted 16% in each of the last three years, to which it is necessary to add another 10% of contraction in 2014 and 2015. 

The expropriations of the private sector that Chávez made from 2003, plus the terrible administration in the socialized sector, explain this enormous tragedy, marking one of the most acute economic contractions recorded in the history of mankind.

The consequences for public health have also been negative: it is estimated that there are more than 600,000 cases of malaria, when this disease was practically controlled in Venezuela. Diseases such as measles threaten to become endemic, with more than 3,500 cases reported in 2018.




The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has a plan to resuscitate Venezuela's economy when Maduro leaves

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is willing to work with the government of Juan Guaidó to recover the potential of the Venezuelan economy. It is estimated that USD 4 billion a year will be needed to relaunch the Venezuelan oil sector. But priorities are clear. First? Address the humanitarian problem. Second? "Restore the conditions so that the productive apparatus of the country works fairly well". 

Luis Alberto Moreno: The IDB has not had relations with Maduro for 15 months (Photo: WEF)

Although Venezuela remains officially a shareholder of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), it has been more than 15 months since Nicolás Maduro's regime paid the IDB the commitments it had acquired. In May 2018 the default reached such a point (212.4 million dollars) that this multilateral bank automatically suspended all relationship with the regime: disbursements on loans, missions to the country, donations for projects ... The relationship was frozen.

The IDB also criticizes the fact that Venezuela's fiscal deficit is 25%, that 56% of households do not have the capacity to buy food, and that the stock of flours and oils does not meet the demand of more than a week. "That is the kind of reality that President Guaidó is going to find," stresses the IDB president.

But there is an even more "impressive" fact, as Moreno describes it. And it is that "94% of Venezuelans are in poverty," he says. A harsh reality in an economy that today barely adds USD 100,000 million of GDP and with a debt of almost USD 145,000 million, according to IDB data.

To resuscitate the Venezuelan economy, this multilateral bank has clear priorities. The first, address the humanitarian problem. The second, to restore the conditions so that the productive apparatus of the country works fairly well. "In the case of electricity, almost 50% of the generation capacity that Venezuela has it is paralyzed for different reasons.

As for the plan to relaunch the oil sector, crucial in the Venezuelan economy, this is to invest "at least USD 4,000 million a year, to continue producing the same million barrels they currently have." "If you want to raise that production, you would have to significantly increase those investments."

And although the plan is designed, the slogan is clear: "You can not do everything at the same time, you have to start sector by sector. There has to be a stabilization process in the first year, and then gradually go on doing more things. 

Source:  UTADEO - University of Bogota El Espectador newspaper Alnavio.com

Venezuela - How to understand its social crisis

Presidential Chronology of Venezuela (1994-2019)

To understand the events that have occurred in recent years, let's review the presidential chronology of Venezuela in the last 25 years:

Rafael Caldera (February 1994 - February 1999)

Convergence Party

- Attorney General and President of the Chamber of Deputies

- Founder of COPEI

- Essayist, doctor of political science, deputy, professor

Chronology

Popularly elected between 1994 and 1995, the financial crisis worsened and several banks were intervened.

SENIAT is created in a context of low and stable oil prices.

In 1994 Caldera dismissed the 1992 military insurgents, leaving free Hugo Chávez among others.

In the economic sphere, the so-called Agenda Venezuela is applied, a program oriented towards the oil opening, the attraction of new investments to the country and control of the fiscal deficit, among other measures.

The anti politics and the criticism of the parties in their apogee.

Hugo Chávez (February 1999 - July 2000)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional military
- Popularly elected.

Chronology In April there is a consultative referendum to call a Constituent Assembly and refound the State. The proposal triumphs.

In July, the election for said Constituent Assembly is held. 

In December, the work of the old National Congress ceased.

That same month, after the approval referendum, the 1999 Constitution was promulgated. Presidential term extended to 6 years with immediate re-election. 

The Recall Referendum is introduced, two new powers are introduced and the position of Vice President is reinstated, nonexistent in the 1961.

From January to August 2000, the National Assembly functions in a similar way to a delegated commission with few deputies, who will be responsible for continuing with the legislative affairs of the country and popularly called as the "Congresillo" (little congress).

According to the new Constitution, general elections are called again.

July 2000 - April 2002

Popularly elected.

The political map changes again; the old parties begin to decline while the new revolutionary forces begin to establish a new hegemony. 

In Congress the ruling party gets broad support.

Although Chávez is sworn in in August 2000, the Supreme Court of Justice indicates that the formal exercise of the sexennium began in January 2001.

The president requests an Enabling Law that is approved by Congress to legislate in different matters.

This generates strong criticism from the opposition that gathers around the CTV and Fedecamaras making a general strike in December.

Tensions are increasing and in April 2002 PDVSA management rejects government interference. A stoppage of activities begins. The CTV joins and Chavez dismisses several employees of the company on TV.

On April 11th there is a march that ends up arriving at the Miraflores Palace and several murders take place. 

The Armed Forces disregard the orders given by the president and demand the resignation which does not occur. 

Chávez is captured by the military and held in Fuerte Tiuna.

Pedro Carmona Estanga (April 2002)

Independent
- Economist of the UCAB.
- Professor, businessman, director of several companies, and president of
  Fedecamaras.

Chronology
Self-proclaimed president (de facto president).
Faced with a situation of confusion and uncertainty, the momentary emptiness of power is assumed by Estanga. 

It gives a coup by violating the constitution with his assumption and dissolving the constituted powers of the republic.

A part of the armed forces led by Isaías Baduel go to the rescue to the president and Estanga runs away.

Diosdado Cabello (April 2002)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional military
- Vice president, minister, governor, deputy and president of the AN. 

Chronology
Vice President at that time, before the April coup goes into hiding but once government forces resume control returns to Miraflores.

He is sworn in as provisional president by the president of the AN until the return of Chávez on April 14th.

Hugo Chavez (April 2002 - January 2007)

Movement 5th Republic
- Professional Military 

Chronology In the following months, the Organization of American States installed a dialogue table between government and opposition that does not achieve great progress. Marches and pronouncements against the government take place.

In December 2002, an oil strike occurred that was carried out by other industrial sectors. 

Fails in January 2003 and the government gains control of PDVSA.

Polarization grows in the country and low levels of government popularity are registered.

In mid-2003 Chávez created the "Misiones" important social assistance programs that are responsible for helping the population from their food and education to the construction of housing. His popularity begins to increase.

In August 2004 the government triumphs in the recall referendum activated by the opposition.

Opposition leaders denounce fraud and adopt a strategy of not attending the next elections. 

As a result, the ruling party takes over most of the regional offices and the AN in 2005.

January 2007 - January 2013

Popularly elected 

He begins his new mandate tracing the new course of the nation towards the "Socialism of the 21st century".

The expropriation and nationalization policy was intensified in 2007 with the purchases of CANTV and electricity from Caracas. 

RCTV must leave the air because its concession is not renewed.

In December of 2007 a project of constitutional reform is promoted that looks for the update of the Magna Carta in the way towards the Socialism. 

It considered, among other things, the introduction of the communes and the immediate and unlimited re-election of the president. The government loses by narrow margin.

Inflation in the country begins to be a problem and high crime rates are registered. The private initiative loses space in front of state companies.

Some opposition parties consider a strategic alliance creating the Table of the Democratic Unit in January 2008 as an opposition block.

Later other political organizations were incorporated. 

Chávez creates a unique party that brings together different forces of the left: United Socialist Party of Venezuela in March. 

The political polarization is based in the country between these two blocks. 

Popular reform of the 1999 constitution was approved in February 2009. This new proposal focused mainly on allowing indefinite re-election in all elected positions including the president.

Corruption continues in the country as one of the worst scourges. Also the inefficiency in some state entities. (Case PDVAL May 2010).

Crisis in the energy sector between 2010-2011 leaves recurrent failures in the supply of electricity.

The policy of housing construction continues, the underground lines are expanded in Caracas and the construction of other undergrounds in Valencia, Maracaibo and other cities begins. New roads and bridges are also built.

New public universities like the UBV are created. In terms of health, the "Barrio Adentro" module network is expanded and other health centers are completed. 

Creation of the Bolivarian National Police as a mechanism to fight against insecurity.

January 2013 - March 2013
PSUV

Popularly elected, however, due to his cancer travels to Cuba suffers to be treated. Temporarily in charge of the presidency Nicolás Maduro, vice president of the moment. 

In case of death, Chávez designates Maduro as his successor.

Chávez dies in March.

Nicolas Maduro (March 2013 - April 2013)

PSUV
- Militant of the Socialist League and left groups.
- Driver and union leader of the Caracas Metro.
- Deputy, president of the AN, Chancellor and Vice President.
- The TSJ ratifies Maduro as provisional president and early elections are called.

Chronology
April 2013

Popularly elected to complete the period of his predecessor.
Presents the Plan of the Nation (plan proposed by Chávez in the 2012 elections) as a road map of the nation towards Socialism.

The problems of product shortages, high inflation and insecurity grow.

In February 2014, peaceful protests against the country's major problems involving university students were unleashed in different states of the country.

During March and April the demonstrations continue and in some regions of the country they become violent with arrests and abuses by the Armed Forces and vandalism by some groups. 

Several protesters die in the course of these events.

In April a UNASUR commission together with the Vatican offer themselves as mediators for a dialogue between the political opposition and the government. 


On the other side, the students continue on the streets following their own agenda of protest against the government.

Nicolás Maduro is not the only problem in Venezuela

Neither Castro's Cuba, nor the Colombian armed conflict or any of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone caused the departure, in less than two years, of more than two million people. But leaving Nicolás Maduro is not the solution to the Venezuelan crisis.

Neither the exit, nor the overthrow, nor the death of Nicolás Maduro would solve the Venezuelan crisis in the short term. The country has not only experienced a process of democratic deterioration, but also the dismantling of the State and the disruption of its social relations.

Opposition leaders have focused their speech on the urgent need to remove Nicolás Maduro and the ruling group, arguing that the humanitarian crisis makes the support of the Chavez regime unviable and that their departure will lead to the reconstruction of the country. Some predict that it will not reach the end of the year.

And it is understandable, the opposition political leaders speak to a desperate people in the midst of the Chavista apocalypse, they also speak to an international community that until very recently was silent about what was happening in Venezuela. Fixing the exit of Nicolás Maduro as the central objective of their speech is valid and even necessary, since there are still a few sympathizers or accomplices of the first Latin American dictatorship of the 21st century.

But Nicolás Maduro is not the only cause of the humanitarian crisis in Venezuela; on the contrary, the crisis is the result of almost 20 years of a speech that sought to divide society between good and bad, between a corrupt elite and an oppressed people. A humanitarian crisis caused by the implementation of a political, economic and social model based on socialism and promoted by Hugo Chávez, who even arrogated to himself the right to appoint his successor.

The damage that Chavez did to Venezuela is not limited only to the appointment of Maduro. For years the institutions and organizations of the State were dismantled, but even relations between citizens and the different instances of civil society were altered. The Bolivarian Revolution not only damaged the State and the political and economic spaces of the country, but also damaged the family, friends, community, society and all of Venezuela.

In a few places in the world the disaster has been evidenced as in Venezuela. The material and social decline of the country is difficult to calculate. Not only because of the lack of official figures, whose absence can not hide the deterioration of the quality of life of the people, but because the only diagnosis is already a complex task. Despite the efforts made today by different civil society organizations to document what is happening, the real dimension of the problems is hard to calculate, because the government not only refuses to make information public, but conceals and lies, without caring the risk to which it exposes its citizens.


As if it were a war, a natural disaster or the proliferation of a plague, Venezuelan citizens have been forced to leave their country. The deterioration of the quality of life, the political instrumentalization of the economic crisis and the discretionary use of the organizations of the state apparatus to proscribe and persecute, have led millions of citizens to leave Venezuela. None of the right or left dictatorships that Latin America experienced in the 20th century caused a diaspora like the one that the brother country lives. Neither Castro's Cuba, nor the Colombian conflict or any of the dictatorships of the Southern Cone caused the departure, in less than two years, of more than two million people.

A diaspora that accumulates more than 10% of the population not only evidences the disaster that Chavismo has caused, but also intensifies the crisis and hinders its possible solution. The millions of Venezuelans who are outside the country will not return as soon as the dictator falls, a significant number of them will never return.

Maduro intensified the crisis, because at least in the time of Chávez, the project was pretended to be democratic, so the elections were advantageous. With Maduro the forms are no longer taken care of and the darkest face of the chavista repressive apparatus was known: deaths, kidnappings, threats, tortures, persecutions ... The repression in all its forms is what characterizes the ruling group; the systematic violation of human rights as an instrument to remain in power.

In order to rebuild Venezuela, Maduro's exit will be necessary, but this does not mean that with the departure, overthrow or death of Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela will be rebuilt. Some projections affirm that USD 50,000 to USD 60,000 million are needed to begin the reconstruction process, to which a minimum average of USD 3,000 million in annual aid is added to begin to reverse the humanitarian crisis and even some projections affirm that for the recovery of the oil industry would require at least six years to a decade with annual investments of approximately USD 20,000 million, something difficult to obtain in a world in which oil is losing its energy leadership.


Everything indicates that the process of recovery will not be easy or quick: reversing the damage of chavismo can take the same as it has been in power, almost twenty years, or more.

Bibliographic references
- Arias, A. - History of Venezuela
- Cadena Carriles - Notes History of Venezuela
- Venezuela Yours
- Reference for business
- La Nación newspaper (Argentina)
- El País newspaper (Spain)
- El Espectador newspaper (Colombia)