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Summary:
To truly understand the chaos happening in Venezuela currently, one must look at the last election, which took place June 7th, 2018, which Nicolás Maduro won. However the other two competitors refused to accept the results, saying there was a vote rigging. However, on the 10th of January this year, Mr. Maduro was inaugurated as president. On the 23rd of the same month, Juan Guaidó declared Mr. Maduro's leadership illegitimate and claimed the presidency using emergency powers. He is recognized as the president of Venezuela by the US and several other Latin American countries, staking two rival claims to the office. Then, on February 7th, humanitarian aid from the USA arrived the small town of Cucuta Colombia.
US Air force planes touch down in Cucuta, Colombia
It is being stockpiled by Mr. Guaidó, but has not been allowed to be brought in Venezuela by President Maduro. He has ordered tanks to block the road leaving them unable to bring in the supplies. Mr. Guaidó insists these supplies are needed, saying that "Children are going hungry, and nearly every hospital in Venezuela is experiencing serious medicine shortages." He has told the military to let the aid through, but it is unsure whether or not they will obey. Mr. Guaido has also stated that volunteers will carry the supplies into Venezuela on the 23rd of this month. Mr. Maduro is claiming that there is no crisis in Venezuela, and that they have no need for what the US is calling humanitarian aid. In the interview linked in the article, he claims this is a means of military intervention by the US. Though it is true President Trump could be trying to sneak his influence into the country, this aid is not easily dismissible.
Graph, dictating scarcity of food in Venezuela 2006-2016
Many are starving in this country and require aid and supplies, but Mr. Maduro refuses to accept this aid, claiming that this is set up by the Colombian and US government to humiliate his country. And that might entirely be plausible. The US has a history of tampering in the governments of countries with oil mines which Venezuela is abundant with. The support behind Mr. Guaido may be a way of getting the oil and riches. Which means Mr. Maduro could be completely correct in his conspiracies that this is a way of bringing Venezuela into submission
Reaction:
My reaction was a bit of frustration at the beginning. Why would a man in charge of so many people cast such aid aside, when it could help them so much? It is clear that the people need help and this aid could do them much good. I felt saying no simply because of what I thought were foundation-less claims was idiotic. Once I found of the truth that may lie underneath the claims, I grew more wary. Perhaps he does have a right to be worried. But I still believe it is not worth starving all the people. The aid could help the country greatly, and perhaps that is what he should focus on.
Connection:
I connected this event to the Berlin Airlift we learned of last year. It reminds me of how those in Berlin were cut off from supplies and faced devastation, but these planes saved them and kept them alive. If allowed in, I believe the aid could help Venezuela as well. They may not be cut off from the rest of the world, but they are starving and need supplies. Those in Berlin almost died from lack of food and other supplies, but they survived because of the Allies supporting them and making sure they stood strong.
Questions:
- Do you think Mr. Maduro has a point when denying aid from the US? Do you think he should be right to be so paranoid? Why?
- Who do you think is the actual leader of Venezuela? Mr. Guaidó or Mr. Maduro? Does being backed up by the US give Mr. Guaidó any more of a right to lead his country?
Mr. Maduro should, in my opinion, accept the aid that other countries are offering him. At this point, Maduro should not be concerned with other countries attempting to intervene, but should be concerned with the citizens of the country he should be running that are dying when they could be easily healed with the medicine sitting on his borders. Parents, right now, are sitting beside a hospital bed, waiting for their child to die from cancer, because there's no treatment in their hospital. Presuming you were in that situation, what would you think is the better optIon? Helplessly watch your child wilt away or take advantage of this readily available medicine??? I feel that there is an obvious answer. Maybe I'm simplifying this too much, because I don't know how to manage a country, but lives have been lost due to Maduro and his regime. Drugs are nowhere to be found, patients in hospitals aren't even fed properly, and hospitals have even run out of rubber gloves! The economy is collapsing, minimum wage (PER MONTH) is near three dollars, and electricity in hospitals is intermittent. Maduro should step evaluate the right thing to do. In my opinion, that would be to stock hospitals with necessary food, medicine, and supplies, and help out the population a little bit.
ReplyDeleteSources:
https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/13/americas/venezuela-caracas-hospital-shortages-intl/index.html
https://www.npr.org/2018/02/01/582469305/venezuelas-health-care-system-ready-to-collapse-amid-economic-crisis
I think Maduro has the right to choose whether or not to receive aid from the U.S. because he was the "elected" leader of Venezuela, although the moral implications of him denying aid to his citizens is not a good decision. Nearly 90% of Venezuelan citizens live in poverty, which in turn means that a large number of citizens can't afford food or shelter. The venezuelan government controls many aspects of typical civilian life, but the constriction of humanitarian aid shows how strict the current government can be. Even though the U.S. and other countries want to help the Venezuelan crisis, Maduro and the rest of the government is denying the public their chance of survival. At this rate, hundreds if not thousands of people are going to die of starvation due to the economic crisis in the region. Due to these reasons, Maduro is slowly losing control because of his actions regarding the crisis, both the lack of prevention as well as the lack of a solution has led to lots of opposition throughout the world. The Maduro presidential election was already very controversial, but now that such large problems are occurring under his control, it has led to even more opposition and therefore more support for Guaidó. Maduro should accept the aid right now and if a larger problem arises in the future he should deal with it at that time. His current top priority should be the well-being of his citizens and trying to find a logical and reasonable ending the crisis at hand.
ReplyDeletehttps://nypost.com/2018/02/22/venezuelans-are-starving-amid-economic-crisis-food-shortages/
Maduro has the right to turn down aid from the US because he has most of the power and believes that what he is doing is right for his country. He has his reasons to turn down help, however, I do not think his reasons are good enough to not accept aid from the US. His people are starving and dying because there is not enough resources to support everyone. Many people in Venezuela are suffering and need help fast. By not accepting aid he is only harming the people in Venezuela and creating an economic crisis. I think Maduro needs to act quick and accept aid from the US or the people are going to suffer even more and are going to get angry with him. Maduro has the opportunity to help his country so why doesn't he? I think he is making the wrong choice by not accepting aid from the US and is hurting his country even more.
ReplyDeleteI think Mr. Maduro should help his country by accepting aid from the US. Even though, I understand his reasons for his worries but I think the positives outweigh the negatives on this particular situation. As a leader, he should care more about the well being of his people. In fact, that should be a priority. Mr. Maduro shouldn't be swayed by the thought that his country may be controlled or influenced if it impacts numerous people's lives. If so many citizens perish, there won't be any people left to govern. Also, the people probably know Mr. Maduro's decision and will side with Guaido because they need supplies. I also think that the Venezuelan people should decide for themselves who the leader is.
ReplyDeleteWhile I believe that accepting the aid would be the most beneficial option for the people of Venezuela, it would certainly spell downfall for Mr. Maduro. With the legitimacy of his presidency already being questioned, allowing his opposition leader, Mr. Guaidó, to bring food to his hungry people, would certainly lead to the downfall of the Maduro regime. Mr. Maduro recognized this fact and acted accordingly when he stopped the food from getting in. He doubled down on this plan when he started spreading propaganda about the aid being pretext for an invasion by the US. Mr. Maduro has dug himself into a hole and it is much too late for him to accept the aid, even though it would be best for the people of Venezuela. As of now, I believe that Mr. Maduro does still maintain power of Venezuela, but I believe this is susceptible to change. I believe that Mr. Guaidó will be the leader of Venezuela once/if he has control of the military. Without the military Mr. Guaidó will not have the power to enforce his rule, which is a necessity to be a leader. And while, I believe that Mr. Guaidó has a chance of eventually winning over the military I don’t think the US backing will help with that. In fact, I think the US backing may work against him in his quest to become Venezuela’s leader. Mr. Maduro has already spread propaganda about the US trying to destabilize Venezuela, and this may cause people to become suspicious of Guaidó. With this in mind, I also believe that US backing may play a crucial role in Mr. Guaidó’s transition to presidency if he does become the leader. With US backing it will be much easier for Guaidó to transition into the international community and gain recognition. To conclude, I think Mr. Maduro is acting in his own best interest in denying the aid, and not his country’s best interest. I believe that Mr. Maduro is still the leader due to his control of the military, and I believe that US backing has no effect on who is the rightful leader, because it is not the US’s place to decide.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.npr.org/2019/02/22/696940060/venezuelas-maduro-orders-closure-of-brazilian-border