The event “Global Challenges in Latin America” was led by Ambassador John Maisto, a former U.S. Ambassador to Venezuela. As ambassador to Venezuela from 1997 to 2000, he led energy diplomacy with the U.S.'s fourth largest oil provider, established working relations with newly-elected President Hugo Chavez, and directed a U.S.-led $11-million flood and mudslide disaster relief effort. Latin America, like much of the developing world, will have to face serious challenges in the current century. Environmental changes, persistent inequality, and increasing violence force millions of people throughout the region to live in a constant state of uncertainty.
This event was especially beneficial for my GSD because it allowed me to gain some insight into what Americans think about the challenges in Latin America, specifically Venezuela. Ambassador Maisto educated us on the three forms of “democracy” present in the current Latin American countries. Peru, Colombia, Mexico, Chile, and Panama are considered to be “moving along” and adapting to democracy well. The second group, which includes the majority of Central America and Nicaragua, are known to be “scraping along”, meaning that they are in a transitional period. The final group, Venezuela and Cuba, are labeled as dictatorships, an authoritarian form of government, characterized by a single leader or group of leaders with little to no toleration for political pluralism or independent programs or media. It is extremely important for American during this time to realize that Latin American countries are struggling but are progressing regardless of exterior forces.
Ambassador Maito proceeded to present some significant statistics about Latin America. 25% of Latin Americans live in poverty. 30% of the Latin American population must pay for public service, including transportation, education, and medicine. 77% of the population have no confidence that the U.S. will do well in world affairs. In Mexico, that percentage increases to 95%. These statistics show that Latin Americans struggle to accept help from surrounding regions and it presents the economic and social problems that the countries have in a simple and straightforward way that is easy to understand.
Lastly, Ambassador Maito focused on the tragedy that is Venezuela. Unfortunately, many of his facts have not been updated; therefore, his insight on the Venezuelan crisis was a bit outdated. During the event, Ambassador Maito stated that the inflation rate for 2019 was 2,400%, however the actual inflation rate for 2019 is 9,500%. He also stated that only 40% of the population was against the regime; however, many Venezuelans would argue that the majority (90%) of the population is against the regime. Finally, Ambassador Maito stated that there are three things the United States should do to “deal with this crisis”: (1) look for a more democratic option, (2) support the opposition, and (3) (the point he emphasized the most) leave Venezuela to figure it out themselves.
This event inspired me to be more proud of my home country and the democracy that I live in. However, I do hope to teach students to be more open and realize that there are many other developed countries that are struggling. This event has given me the confidence to show the decline of the Venezuelan economy and to implore students at Fountain Valley to not lead us down a similar path.