Why Isn’t the World Doing Enough for Venezuela?

It’s unbelievable what is currently happening in Venezuela; The world is witnessing this nation slowly collapse because of the political turmoil that has damaged their national economy. To be clear, this is not to criticize any political entities or views but to acknowledge that human lives are being lost daily and to know when enough is enough. Politics have always played a role dividing nations, societies, and families, but when will the unity and prosperity of the people be the primary priority?

The world is not doing enough to assist Venezuela. Taking in refugees and sending food is not enough. Where are the international Non-Government Organzations such as the United Nations, or nations such as the United States? For instance the U.S. always intervenes in Latin American affairs with the excuse of the “Good Neighbor Policy”. The matter makes me question if keeping political power is more important than protecting/uplifting/safeguarding the people it’s supposed to serve?

Venezuela was once the richest nation in Latin America, and currently has more oil reserves than any other country, which includes Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Canada. However, Venezuela continues to remain in a vicious cycle of bad policies and bad luck with poorly elected officials that has led to detrimental food shortages, increased impoverishment, and a steep rise in inflation. The potential for this nation was so great to fall so severely, Venezuela has now been in the list of the “worst countries to live in” for the last three consecutive years, according to the Cato institute.

After the death of President Hugo Chavez in 2013, Nicolás Maduro became the president and things worsened rapidly. The Anti-Maduro protesters accuses him of mismanaging the economy and eroding democratic institutions. These accusations were compounded by the falling price of oil, which accounted for about 95% of Venezuela’s export revenues, and led to cuts to the government’s social programs, that includes basic necessities like medicine and food. President Maduro’s popularity fell among attempts to increase his political power by setting up a controversial national assembly in July 2017. This bold move has sparked daily protests, with opponents labeling the government a dictatorship. Although many Latin American nations such as the Dominican Republic, Cuba, and Columbia have opened their doors and resources to assist Venezuela although I believe more has to be done to end the political unrest.

The U.S. placing economic sanctions to Venezuela will not help but instead hurt the people more because they are already limited to basic necessities. Also, note that the refugee program is temporary not available because of the Trump travel ban.

Seeking assistance from the United Nations is another complex situation because of UN protocols cannot intervene into a country until an UN agency is invited by high ranking officials. Then again in this new age of social media, where everything is public on the internet, should this be enough for the United Nations and other international agencies to step in? To improve the world we live in, we should place a new standard on not allowing politics to destroy societies.

Therefore, I ask where are the world leader’s accountability?

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Twitter: @RemysellSalas