Venezuela guide
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| © New Internationalist |
Emboldened by the strength of its oil reserves, Venezuela has launched an audacious development programme which rejects the hegemony of the neo-liberal free market economic model and its architects, the IMF and World Bank. Opinion is sharply divided as to whether President Hugo Chávez is a visionary democratic reformer or an authoritarian dictator. Unexpected defeat in the 2007 constitutional referendum was a painful reminder to Chávez that principled rhetoric counts for nothing against the reality of everyday life for ordinary Venezuelans.
updated July 2008
Poverty in Venezuela
The challenge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should be well within the grasp of a country which aspires to deliver “socialism for the 21st century” in which objectives for human welfare override cold economics. Indeed, in late 2007 the Minister of Education declared that “without a doubt that we are going to meet the goals”. The measure of extreme poverty (the income necessary to meet basic food needs) has fallen from 21% to 8% so that the first MDG of halving poverty has already been achieved, according to the Minister. President Hugo Chávez himself claims that, during the first decade of his government, the broader poverty line indicator has fallen from 67% to 27%.
Venezuela has unquestionably made major efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion, especially through programmes known as misiones (Missions). Financed by oil revenues, these programmes invest substantial resources in healthcare and education for poor communities, discounted food, employment creation, reforestation, and energy saving measures. For example, a structured scheme of adult education is cited for eliminating illiteracy amongst 1.5 million people.
Unfortunately, Venezuela has limited capacity for collection of reliable human development data so that government claims of progress are vulnerable to challenge. Although the misiones were introduced over five years ago, there are no published impact assessments. The 2004 MDG progress report has disappeared from UN websites and the absence of any subsequent reviews adds to the difficulty of identifying simple criteria such as baseline data. Figures published by the Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics (INE) have on occasion been challenged by the president and amended accordingly. Detractors of the Venezuelan model may point to the 2007 UN Human Development Index which reports that in 2005 18.5% of the population survived on less than $1 per day, more than double the rate in peer countries such as Brazil and Colombia.
Health in Venezuela
Other official UN sources cast similar doubts over progress for health-related MDGs such as child and maternal mortality which, although moving towards the 2015 target, do not justify the certainty of government claims. HIV prevalence is below 1% but shows no sign of being halted and reversed as demanded by the Goals.
Over half of the population benefits from the innovative Misión Barrio Adentro (Inside Neighbourhood) which offers free primary and preventative healthcare in thousands of new clinics. The enabling mechanism is an agreement with Cuba in which 23,500 Cuban health workers, including 15,500 doctors, work in Venezuela in exchange for regular supplies of oil. This has improved access to primary healthcare, particularly for marginalised groups, such as residents of poor shanty towns or indigenous communities. However, the entire system is anchored on the availability of Cuban doctors and the health ministry’s main concern is the phasing in of local staff – 17,000 Venezuelans are believed to be in medical training – and the eventual consolidation of Barrio Adentro with traditional health facilities which currently run in parallel.
Food Security in Venezuela
There is no immediate risk of hunger or the need for food aid in Venezuela but the country’s overtly socialist approach to food security is informative, especially in the context of Chávez’ assertion that the global food crisis is the “greatest demonstration of the historical failure of the capitalist model”. About 10% of arable land is owned by wealthy farmers capable of investment in modern inputs and irrigation whilst the remainder comprises poor smallholdings, often of uncertain tenure. The inability of this profile to deliver food sufficiency has prompted a combination of land reform and farming subsidies. Production has increased gradually during the Chávez era but investment strategies for agriculture have been revitalised as Venezuela scrambles to achieve the ideal of food sufficiency in response to the steep rise in cost of food imports.
Distribution is more problematic. The relevant Misión programme centres on the Mercal chain of over 15,000 outlets at which over 40% of the population is eligible to purchase essential foodstuffs at discounted prices. This state control acts as a disincentive to growers and distributors - especially when prices are rising – and food shortages were experienced in early 2008. The government has responded by strengthening its control of distribution through a state food company and imposing tough penalties on businesses accused of hoarding food supplies.
The Economy in Venezuela
Since his re-election at the end of 2006, the president has set a hectic pace in delivering his vision of a socialist economy. He has nationalised key sectors including oil, telecommunications, steel, cement and electricity. He has put into practice the principles of the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), a vision of regional integration based on social development rather than trade volumes (in contrast to the US-inspired Free Trade Area of the Americas). As a further controversial gesture, Chávez has not only pulled Venezuela out of the IMF and World Bank, but also offers comparable development loan facilities to neighbouring countries.
All of these dramatic steps have the stated aim of achieving a more equal society in Venezuela and reducing poverty. The idealism is not without important flaws, not least its dependence for more than 50% of government revenues on the bonanza of rising oil prices. In the process of nationalisation, Venezuela has fallen out with key partners Exxon and ConocoPhillips whose capital and technical capacity may be badly missed. Few observers believe that the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), will achieve the ambitious growth projected by the government. And many feel that the profits of PDVSA should be retained for Venezuelan development rather than dispensed in regional largesse of uncertain returns – the Petrocaribe initiative, for example, allows 17 Central American and Caribbean countries to purchase oil from Venezuela on favourable terms.
To boost employment in the non-oil economy, the government encourages the establishment of cooperative businesses owned by the workers – the relevant Misión programme offers incentives of loans and tax breaks. Despite claims that 180,000 coops were active at the end of 2006, there is consensus that the scheme has been undermined by abuse and inefficiency. Although the official unemployment rate fell below 8% in April 2008, more than half of the labour force participates in the informal sector, mostly in unlicensed street businesses, illegal farming and women working from their homes. Inflation at around 30% pa is the highest in Latin America.
Politics in Venezuela
The onset of food shortages and price rises coincided with the December 2007 referendum on changes to the Constitution and may have contributed to a rare defeat at the polls for Hugo Chávez. The 69 proposed amendments deemed necessary to articulate a socialist republic included the removal of limits to his own term of office (which is due to expire in 2012) and greater central powers over regional governments, businesses and the banking system. The populist carrot of a new maximum working day of 6 hours was insufficient to win over the voters who rejected the changes by a narrow 51% majority.
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a multi-party republic with a democratically-elected president and unicameral National Assembly. Following his election in 1998, President Hugo Chávez faced a succession of opposition attempts to remove him from office including a failed coup in April 2002 and a recall referendum held in 2004. This was possible through an unusual feature of the Constitution which he himself had introduced in 1999, whereby the recall of key government positions can be put to a referendum if 20% of registered voters sign a petition. A further initiative in the drive towards participatory democracy is “communal power” in which representatives of small geographical areas (on average only 200 families) control a budget and take responsibility for decisions that affect the group. Substantial government funds have been injected to establish over 25,000 communal councils . There is a degree of conflict between these councils and traditional municipal authorities where political opposition to Chávez is more likely to be represented.
In the parliamentary elections held in December 2005, Chávez' party, The Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR), and allied parties won all 167 seats. A last-minute boycott by the fragmented opposition has devalued subsequent proceedings of the National Assembly. Presidential elections in December 2006 returned Chávez for a further 6 years with over 60% of the poll. Since then, Chávez has strived with mixed success to bring together current members of the ruling coalition into a single new party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), inaugurated in January 2008.
Dignified acceptance of the referendum result by Chávez, accompanied by apparent willingness to slow the pace of the revolution, has been applauded by his supporters as evidence of his democratic credentials. Critics point instead to the authoritarian control of state institutions, illustrated by government appointments which have compromised the independence of the Supreme Court. They argue that social reform cannot be effective in a country assessed by Transparency International to be one of the most corrupt in the world.
Human Rights and Media in Venezuela
A flawed and corrupt legal system creates a platform for frequent abuse committed by police and military with many extra-judicial killings conducted with impunity. Public safety is likewise a serious issue: the homicide rate in Caracas is amongst the highest worldwide. Prison conditions are appalling, with many inmates dying while in custody.
However, Venezuela does not lack more enlightened aspects to its approach to human rights. The 1999 Constitution recognises the fundamental rights of indigenous groups alongside a basis for development of surviving ethnic minorities through the preservation of their customs, culture, lands, and medicine. And a 2007 law progressively acknowledges domestic violence as a crime, although as yet with few signs of implementation.
Venezuela has also actively supported the development of over 250 local community radio stations. However, laws which leave mainstream media open to accusations of inciting violence or undermining security have been strongly criticised by advocacy groups as counter to regional trends on media supervision. Private television channels were accused of being involved in the attempted coup against the government in 2002 and for unacceptable personal attacks against the president. One of these channels, the popular Radio Caracas Television, was forced to close in 2007 when the government decided not to renew its licence. Private media remain vulnerable to hostile questioning by the authorities and exercise self-censorship.
Conflict in Venezuela
President Chávez has opted for a tinderbox relationship with the US-supported government in neighbouring Colombia. His acknowledged role as an intermediary in negotiations to release hostages held by left-wing FARC guerrillas ended abruptly in 2007 when the Colombians claimed to have uncovered plans for Venezuelan financial support for the rebel group. Shortly afterwards, Chávez’ decision to send tank battalions to the border, following a Colombian mission against FARC inside Ecuador, sparked international fears of armed conflict. Fortunately, tensions faded as quickly as they had flared and reasonably normal relations have resumed.
Beyond the Americas, Venezuela provokes the established international order by its unconventional networking, not just with Cuba, but also with Russia and Iran and China. This together with the president's unashamed advocacy of his anti-globalisation model for the whole of South America has greatly strained relations with the United States. Venezuela was listed by the US in May 2006 as a "country of concern" and a ban on arms sales has been imposed on grounds of lack of support for counter-terrorism. President Chávez has nevertheless launched a programme of modernization of Venezuela's military arsenal, with purchases from Brazil, Spain, China and Russia.
The OneWorld Venezuela Guide was first published in July 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Maria Madrid.
The challenge of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) should be well within the grasp of a country which aspires to deliver “socialism for the 21st century” in which objectives for human welfare override cold economics. Indeed, in late 2007 the Minister of Education declared that “without a doubt that we are going to meet the goals”. The measure of extreme poverty (the income necessary to meet basic food needs) has fallen from 21% to 8% so that the first MDG of halving poverty has already been achieved, according to the Minister. President Hugo Chávez himself claims that, during the first decade of his government, the broader poverty line indicator has fallen from 67% to 27%.
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| Venezuelan microcredit beneficiary Hilso Ramírez © Rebecca Janes / ACCION International |
Unfortunately, Venezuela has limited capacity for collection of reliable human development data so that government claims of progress are vulnerable to challenge. Although the misiones were introduced over five years ago, there are no published impact assessments. The 2004 MDG progress report has disappeared from UN websites and the absence of any subsequent reviews adds to the difficulty of identifying simple criteria such as baseline data. Figures published by the Venezuelan National Institute of Statistics (INE) have on occasion been challenged by the president and amended accordingly. Detractors of the Venezuelan model may point to the 2007 UN Human Development Index which reports that in 2005 18.5% of the population survived on less than $1 per day, more than double the rate in peer countries such as Brazil and Colombia.
Health in Venezuela
Other official UN sources cast similar doubts over progress for health-related MDGs such as child and maternal mortality which, although moving towards the 2015 target, do not justify the certainty of government claims. HIV prevalence is below 1% but shows no sign of being halted and reversed as demanded by the Goals.
Over half of the population benefits from the innovative Misión Barrio Adentro (Inside Neighbourhood) which offers free primary and preventative healthcare in thousands of new clinics. The enabling mechanism is an agreement with Cuba in which 23,500 Cuban health workers, including 15,500 doctors, work in Venezuela in exchange for regular supplies of oil. This has improved access to primary healthcare, particularly for marginalised groups, such as residents of poor shanty towns or indigenous communities. However, the entire system is anchored on the availability of Cuban doctors and the health ministry’s main concern is the phasing in of local staff – 17,000 Venezuelans are believed to be in medical training – and the eventual consolidation of Barrio Adentro with traditional health facilities which currently run in parallel.
Food Security in Venezuela
There is no immediate risk of hunger or the need for food aid in Venezuela but the country’s overtly socialist approach to food security is informative, especially in the context of Chávez’ assertion that the global food crisis is the “greatest demonstration of the historical failure of the capitalist model”. About 10% of arable land is owned by wealthy farmers capable of investment in modern inputs and irrigation whilst the remainder comprises poor smallholdings, often of uncertain tenure. The inability of this profile to deliver food sufficiency has prompted a combination of land reform and farming subsidies. Production has increased gradually during the Chávez era but investment strategies for agriculture have been revitalised as Venezuela scrambles to achieve the ideal of food sufficiency in response to the steep rise in cost of food imports.
Distribution is more problematic. The relevant Misión programme centres on the Mercal chain of over 15,000 outlets at which over 40% of the population is eligible to purchase essential foodstuffs at discounted prices. This state control acts as a disincentive to growers and distributors - especially when prices are rising – and food shortages were experienced in early 2008. The government has responded by strengthening its control of distribution through a state food company and imposing tough penalties on businesses accused of hoarding food supplies.
The Economy in Venezuela
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| Cooperative garden in downtown Caracas © Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
All of these dramatic steps have the stated aim of achieving a more equal society in Venezuela and reducing poverty. The idealism is not without important flaws, not least its dependence for more than 50% of government revenues on the bonanza of rising oil prices. In the process of nationalisation, Venezuela has fallen out with key partners Exxon and ConocoPhillips whose capital and technical capacity may be badly missed. Few observers believe that the state oil company, Petróleos de Venezuela SA (PDVSA), will achieve the ambitious growth projected by the government. And many feel that the profits of PDVSA should be retained for Venezuelan development rather than dispensed in regional largesse of uncertain returns – the Petrocaribe initiative, for example, allows 17 Central American and Caribbean countries to purchase oil from Venezuela on favourable terms.
To boost employment in the non-oil economy, the government encourages the establishment of cooperative businesses owned by the workers – the relevant Misión programme offers incentives of loans and tax breaks. Despite claims that 180,000 coops were active at the end of 2006, there is consensus that the scheme has been undermined by abuse and inefficiency. Although the official unemployment rate fell below 8% in April 2008, more than half of the labour force participates in the informal sector, mostly in unlicensed street businesses, illegal farming and women working from their homes. Inflation at around 30% pa is the highest in Latin America.
Politics in Venezuela
|
| Hugo Chávez © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep |
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a multi-party republic with a democratically-elected president and unicameral National Assembly. Following his election in 1998, President Hugo Chávez faced a succession of opposition attempts to remove him from office including a failed coup in April 2002 and a recall referendum held in 2004. This was possible through an unusual feature of the Constitution which he himself had introduced in 1999, whereby the recall of key government positions can be put to a referendum if 20% of registered voters sign a petition. A further initiative in the drive towards participatory democracy is “communal power” in which representatives of small geographical areas (on average only 200 families) control a budget and take responsibility for decisions that affect the group. Substantial government funds have been injected to establish over 25,000 communal councils . There is a degree of conflict between these councils and traditional municipal authorities where political opposition to Chávez is more likely to be represented.
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| Election slogans; Venezuela 2006 © Maria Madrid |
Dignified acceptance of the referendum result by Chávez, accompanied by apparent willingness to slow the pace of the revolution, has been applauded by his supporters as evidence of his democratic credentials. Critics point instead to the authoritarian control of state institutions, illustrated by government appointments which have compromised the independence of the Supreme Court. They argue that social reform cannot be effective in a country assessed by Transparency International to be one of the most corrupt in the world.
Human Rights and Media in Venezuela
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| Caracas in profile © Maria Madrid |
However, Venezuela does not lack more enlightened aspects to its approach to human rights. The 1999 Constitution recognises the fundamental rights of indigenous groups alongside a basis for development of surviving ethnic minorities through the preservation of their customs, culture, lands, and medicine. And a 2007 law progressively acknowledges domestic violence as a crime, although as yet with few signs of implementation.
Venezuela has also actively supported the development of over 250 local community radio stations. However, laws which leave mainstream media open to accusations of inciting violence or undermining security have been strongly criticised by advocacy groups as counter to regional trends on media supervision. Private television channels were accused of being involved in the attempted coup against the government in 2002 and for unacceptable personal attacks against the president. One of these channels, the popular Radio Caracas Television, was forced to close in 2007 when the government decided not to renew its licence. Private media remain vulnerable to hostile questioning by the authorities and exercise self-censorship.
Conflict in Venezuela
President Chávez has opted for a tinderbox relationship with the US-supported government in neighbouring Colombia. His acknowledged role as an intermediary in negotiations to release hostages held by left-wing FARC guerrillas ended abruptly in 2007 when the Colombians claimed to have uncovered plans for Venezuelan financial support for the rebel group. Shortly afterwards, Chávez’ decision to send tank battalions to the border, following a Colombian mission against FARC inside Ecuador, sparked international fears of armed conflict. Fortunately, tensions faded as quickly as they had flared and reasonably normal relations have resumed.
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| Chávez and Castro © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep |
The OneWorld Venezuela Guide was first published in July 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Maria Madrid.
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