Friday marks International Aid Day and many eyes around the world will undoubtedly turn to Venezuela.
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The stage has been set by organizations like Amnesty International. The narrative goes as follows: Venezuela is suffering from one of the worst economic crises of its history, which has lead to a shortage of basic foods and essential medicines. The Venezuelan government has stubbornly refused numerous offers of international aid to alleviate the suffering.
A recent report by Amnesty International paints a truly apocalyptic scene.
"Unless all those in power make a drastic U-turn in the way they are handling this dramatic crisis, what is already an extremely serious situation will turn into an unthinkable nightmare," warns the group's America's director Erika Guevara Rosas.
Other spin-off articles offer similar ominous accounts.
Time's dramatically titled article "Venezuela on the Brink" not only explores the country's economic problems, but offers accounts of suffering throughout society, from serious hunger not only among the poor, but also in the middle class, in the country's prisons, where we learn of prisoners who are forced to defecate and urinate in plastic bags due to lack of water, to the struggle to find life saving medicines. The lede of the Time story accurately sums up the depiction of the country to follow: "In Venezuela the food lines are only the most visible evidence of a nation in free fall."
NPR reports that in Venezuela, not even some of life's simplest pleasures like a beer can be enjoyed. In an article that relies almost exclusively on information provided by the owner of Venezuela's largest food processing corporation, Empresas Polar, we learn that the company's production of the beverage has "dried up" due to a lack of raw materials.
The president of the company, Lorenzo Mendoza, is painted as a compassionate figure, even kissing workers to try to "boost morale."
We never hear of the long running disputes between Mendoza and the government or the accusations of widespread, illegal layoffs at his company. We also never come to understand that Empresas Polar has become a transnational company, with operations around the world, and therefore, access to foreign currency, that presumably could be used to import products. The company has consistently complained the the government hasn't doled out the dollars it needs to import products.
Much of the coverage, like that from Fusion, points out that amid this environment of misery, the government has repeatedly denied offers of external humanitarian aid. The article lays out at least four separate attempts to offer medical aid to Venezuela, all rejected by the current government.
The article does accurately point out that the government has imported medicines from China, but discounts those efforts because China is a Venezuelan ally.
Almost all coverage points to one singular partly culpable for the crisis: the economic policies of the current government, implemented by former President Hugo Chavez and continued under current President Nicolas Maduro.
Readers are left with little option but to support a change in government in Venezuela using any means possible. Time goes even further, suggesting that the military could carry out a coup, an operation that would surely risk lives (i.e. more misery). The fate of the country could "ultimately rest with the army," the article concludes.
Perhaps under President Nicolas Maduro the government has become increasingly paranoid about revealing its vulnerabilities or exposing itself to the possibility of foreign intervention, but with suggestions like those in Time, it's not hard to find the source of the paranoia.
In August 2014, the world learned that the U.S. was not above using humanitarian and aid programs to promote its economic interests. U.S. officials used an HIV program as a cover to promote possible regime change in Cuba.
Indeed, the military has overthrown governments three times here in the last 70 years, most recently in 2002, when Hugo Chavez was temporarily ousted from the presidency. The U.S. supported the coup.
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While any genuine attempt to help Venezuelans should be lauded, little attention has been paid to long-term solutions for Venezuela.
Just like that beer, any humanitarian aid will eventually dry up. And if the prices of oil don't recover, Venezuelans will find themselves in the same situation as today: struggling to find food and medicines at regulated prices and forced to wait in long lines just for a chance at those prices.
Recent efforts by the government have attempted to address the problems, both in the long and short term.
Resolution 9855, which grabbed sensationalist headlines worldwide this month, aims to permit workers to work for short periods with other companies if their skills are needed there. The aim is to jump-start production.
Those workers at Empresas Polar, for example, where much of the production lines have been halted, could work with other companies for short periods of time if their skills are needed. The measure prohibits those home companies of the workers from demoting or firing employees who participate in the program.
Unfortunately the measure only grabbed headlines after, in another rushed report, Amnesty International said the program could lead to "forced labor." Some news organizations went even further. Could this mean slavery is coming to Venezuela?
The government has also encouraged workers to occupy factories and continue production if companies shut down .
When Texas-based company Kimberly-Clark abruptly announced it was leaving Venezuela, firing nearly 1,000 employees, the workers moved in. Since then, four new production lines have been created, and in the first month of reopening, nearly 3 million sanitary pads have been produced. The government has encouraged the effort.
If those denouncing the government's refusal to accept aid are really concerned about the lives of ordinary and poor Venezuelans -- those who are most suffering from the economic crisis -- they would not only criticize, but highlight these efforts. Unfortunately little truthful information has been reported about these cases in the international press.
On this International Aid Day, many Venezuelans are in fact in need of aid. As has been heavily reported, many are without crucial medicines. Many can't find food at regulated prices and can't afford to buy their food on the black market. Parents skip meals to feed their kids when they can. In many circles, what used to be a compliment in a society overly fixated on physical appearance, losing weight, has become an uncomfortable topic that many prefer not to mention, as it means that person isn't able to afford their food like before.
When it comes from genuine sources without underlying political intentions, aid should be accepted. Likewise, efforts to improve the situation, from the government or otherwise, should be applauded. Many Venezuelans are in need of aid, whatever its source.
