Isabella Fernandez Global Scholar Portfolio
The Failed State of Venezuela: Exploring the Impact of History, the Petroleum Industry, Corruption, and 21st Century Socialism on the Former Envy of South America.
My GSD project will explore the failure of a system corrupted by the “socialism of the 21st century”, what caused a ruler like Hugo Chavez to gain power, the differences between Chavez’s rule and Nicolas Maduro’s rule, and what effects this crisis has had on its neighboring countries. I will be working alongside Eduardo Fernández, a well-known Venezuelan politician, Rafael Sanabria, a student protester, and Laura Weiffer, an exiled Venezuelan journalist, to create a project that accurately portrays what this country is going through economically and socially, so that people will come to understand the severity of the situation.
Thesis Statement
Since 1999, Venezuela has been in the midst of a severe political and economic crisis, which has worsened significantly due to ongoing political turmoil. The roots of this crisis can be traced to the nationalization of the oil industry in 1976, which in turn led to widespread decades long corruption in the government, as government officials and leadership took advantage of an already weakening system - skimming revenue from oil sales meant for education, infrastructure, and health care. Widespread opposition and protests against the government over this corruption has led to extreme social unrest, fueled by government repression and crackdowns on dissent, thus pushing 93% of the population below the poverty line, aggravating violence and internal crime, and unleashing a massive migratory wave, the largest in Latin American history.
Breaking news in our world. Venezuela may be on the brink of no return right now.
This is what it’s come to in Venezuela, emergency surgery by flashlight.
A massive shortage of food and aid in the country is leaving thousands of Venezuelans literally fighting for their life.
Which country can claim to have the largest oil deposit in the world (more than Saudi, more than Iran)? Venezuela. What about gold? Venezuela has more gold reserves than all the mines in Africa combined. The fact is that Venezuela is the single greatest resource of oil and minerals on the planet. So why is this country in the midst of one of the greatest humanitarian crises in modern history?
Until recently, Venezuela was quite prosperous. The nation has gone from being the world’s fourth-wealthiest nation per capita to the 131st. Approximately, five million refugees and migrants have left Venezuela as a result of the political turmoil, socio-economic instability and the ongoing humanitarian crisis - triggering the largest external displacement crisis in Latin America’s recent history. Proportionally, that equates to 24 million Americans fleeing the country. This exodus is the biggest crisis in the Western Hemisphere. Some cities are suffering electricity cuts. Some don’t have enough water. Food shortages are massive. In some areas, a family needs the equivalent of 22 minimum-wage salaries just to buy a basic basket of food. The average Venezuelan lost 18 pounds in 2016 and 24 pounds in 2019. Child malnutrition is at a record high. Last year, nearly 400 children starved to death. Family men find themselves smuggling gasoline and other contraband into Brazil and Colombia. Teachers, doctors and petroleum engineers sell their bodies in prostitution. Formerly respectable people are involving themselves in drug trafficking. Gangs are recruiting teenagers by simply offering them something to eat. Government officials do business with gangs, drug cartels and terrorist networks. Twenty years ago my parents escaped the clutches of Venezuela’s regime and came to the United States. I’ve been raised learning about what is happening and am baffled by people who don't understand or know about this humanitarian crisis. I am an active opponent of Venezuela's current government and have attended multiple protests in New York and Colorado, as well as written many academic papers on this humanitarian issue. Having the opportunity to further educate myself and others to the ongoing Venezuelan crisis can only benefit those most negatively impacted by its collapse. Here is how Venezuela, once one of Latin America’s most prosperous countries, has reached this point in an economic and political crisis.
