jeudi 4 mai 2017
5 Things to Know About the Venezuela Crisis
The current crisis and protests in Venezuela are a long time coming. The country, once rich and notably powerful, is in a current state of economic and social crisis. Recent clashes between the government and the opposition have led to 26 deaths. It's not the first time the country's seen such turmoil; protests in 2014 against President Nicolás Maduro led to 43 deaths in the country. For a nuts-and-bolts understanding of what's going on, keep reading.
The protests first started in 2014.
The initial protests, led by college students, began for two reasons: A female student at the University of the Andes in San Cristobal said she was a victim of attempted rape, and students were not happy with inflation and food shortages. Once protesters were arrested, the call for action turned into a request to free prisoners and to change the economy to stop inflation and food shortages.
Oil prices are down and inflation is up.
Oil used to be the key staple of Venezuela's economy. However, prices dropped in 2013 and CNN reports that barrels that used to cost $100 are now as low as $28.36. With inflation up as well, people don't have enough money to buy food. Even worse, the country is also facing a shortage on other basic necessities such as medicine and soap.
The country is divided between two parties.
The country is basically split into two: those who are in favor of the United Socialist Party (PSUV), the party of former President Hugo Chávez and current President Maduro, and those who oppose the party and want new leadership.
The government is making the tension worse.
The divide recently got worse when elections in 2015 gave the opposition the majority of power in the legislative branch. Then on March 29, 2017, the Venezuelan Supreme Court disbanded parliament and gave all powers to itself. The opposition saw the move as a coup and another step toward making Maduro's government a dictatorship. Though the Supreme Court reversed its decision on April 1, the damage was done and protests started. It got even worse when the government informed the opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, that he was banned from holding office for 15 years.
Several countries are calling on Venezuela to be peaceful toward protesters.
In a joint statement, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay asked President Maduro "to prevent any violence against protesters." The 11 countries also asked for the opposition "to exercise their right to demonstrate responsibly so that the day remains peaceful with people expressing themselves calmly," reports the BBC. Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodríguez tweeted about the statement and called it "rude interference."
For now, protests continue, and they do not appear to be ending soon. It's feared that the country will end up in a civil war. Ahead, see photos of the deadly clashes between protesters and the police.
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