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Current reports from Venezuela have focused on opposition marches and violence, but not the reasons for their opposing the government. Both Leopoldo López who has been jailed on Saturday, and Enrique Capriles who lost last April’s presidential election to Nicolas Maduro, are members of the rich media-owning Venezuelan families that grew powerful during decades of neglect of the country’s social development. The elected Chavez and Maduro governments since 2000 have devoted oil revenues to reduce social inequalities, building housing, health and education in developments reminiscent of Britain’s post-war welfare state, which have won it admiration for reaching UN Millennium Development Goal targets much quicker than other countries. To boost these programmes the foreign exchange is government-controlled and it is this that constrains the families. Government control of the economy has also upset many professionals in a country where the middle class is uncommonly rich and at the moment is often allied to overseas aspirations.
Too many private companies have responded to Venezuelan price and currency controls by hoarding goods and using their foreign currency allowances to speculate for profit while denying citizens the goods that they have imported – from toilet paper to white goods. Those who have been caught have been fined or jailed, leading to accusations of government authoritarianism. But a government that aims to reduce inequality has to face and deal with illegal corruption.
The ‘opposition’ movement led by López is violent. Dissatisfied with the elections that consistently support the Chavez-Maduro governments, its ‘Salida’ (‘Ousting’) slogan intends a Ukraine-style change. It looks overseas for support, including some of the $5m that the US government have agreed to give the Venezuelan opposition groups this year. Capriles and López have a track record of circumventing democracy, arresting government members after a coup in 2002. The coup failed after 3 days due to a popular uprising and young army officers who rescued and returned President Chavez.
We can expect more unrest in Venezuela as long as the minority opposition continues to covet its riches and feel its power threatened.
Much of the press in Britain continues to report only that there is opposition and violence, uncritically reinforcing the opposition’s claim that Venezuelan government must change. That government has won 17 from the last 18 elections in a process former USA president Jimmy Carter has described as the fairest he's seen. We can learn from their efforts to shift power from privateers and big business. At the moment the Venezuelan people and government need our understanding support.
Please consider writing to national and local newspapers in response to news and comment articles you see. Even if they don’t get published, they get read by the editors and their contents influence what does get published.
23rd February 2014
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