Venezuela / Venezuelan Affairs

 El 23 de enero, tras 61 años del derrocamiento de la viciosa dictadura de Marcos Pérez Jiménez, los venezolanos volvimos a tener un día de fiesta democrática.

Pérez Jiménez había sido electo de manera fraudulenta por una Asamblea Constituyente en 1953. Su presidencia tenía que concluir en 1958, pero a fines de 1957, en vez de convocar elecciones libres y transparentes, hizo un plebiscito sobre su gobierno y resultó electo en un proceso amañado. Después de una serie de protestas y la fractura del estamento militar, los venezolanos recuperaron la democracia el 23 de enero de 1958.

Hoy los venezolanos nos vemos una vez más ante el desafío de restaurar la democracia y reconstruir el país, pero en el contexto de una emergencia humanitaria: hay una dramática escasez de alimentos y medicinas, los servicios básicos colapsaron, un número cada vez mayor de menores sufren desnutrición infantil y enfermedades que estaban erradicadas han regresado.

Tenemos una de las tasas de homicidios más altas del mundo, que se ve agravada por la persecución política y la represión contra quienes se oponen al régimen de Nicolás Maduro. Esta tragedia ha originado el éxodo más grande de nuestro hemisferio con tres millones de compatriotas en el exilio.

Quiero dejar claro lo que sucede en Venezuela: las elecciones del 20 de mayo de 2018 fueron ilegítimas, como ha reconocido la comunidad internacional. Por eso, desde el 10 de enero, cuando finalizó el periodo presidencial 2013-2019, Nicolás Maduro está usurpando la presidencia de la república.

Something definitely seems to be different this time. 

A new leader of the opposition has emerged who is capable of mobilizing and unifying the people, something no Venezuelan opposition leader has been able to do previously.

The man, Juan Guaidó, is a 35-year-old who was elected as member of the National Assembly for the State of Vargas in 2010. Last year as he was elected president of that body. He belongs to the Voluntad Popular Party (Popular Will), a social democratic party founded by Leopoldo Lopez.

Mr. Lopez is currently imprisoned under house arrest by Nicolas Maduro's regime.
Guaidó has courageously mobilized millions of people to the streets of Venezuela sending a clear message that Maduro is not a legitimate president.

Guaidó further proceeded to declare himself interim president of Venezuela, openly defying the dictatorship. Additionally, Guaidó received support and recognition from the Organization of American States (OAS) under the exemplary leadership of its Secretary Luis Almagro and from various countries in the Western Hemisphere including Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina and Paraguay.

Despite the fact that Mexico, Bolivia, and Cuba have supported Maduro, there is mounting regional pressure on the regime to resign.

Now, the U.S. is also playing a significant role.

Not only has the U.S. recognized Guaidó as president but has also called for the removal of Nicolas Maduro. In response, Maduro broke relations with the U.S. and gave our diplomatic personnel 72 hours to leave the country. However, the State Department is now saying since Maduro is no longer the legitimate president of the country, he has no right to force our diplomats to leave.

For the first time since Hugo Chavez’s rise to power in 1999, the U.S. has finally taken a stand with respect to Venezuela without any regard to accusations of imperialism. The current administration has done so without invoking anachronistic traumas of the past or expressing unfounded fears of provoking regional anti-Americanism.

Last Mondays detention of a group of 25 Venezuelan military officers for attempting to rebel against the regime raised the hope that the military might abandon its loyalty to the Maduro regime. Guaidó, himself, during Wednesdays demonstrations made several calls to the military to abandon Maduro.

However, the military made it clear that it continues to back Maduro.

Let us open our eyes and admit that the military is part of the problem, and not part of the solution.

It 's reasonable to expect that the Maduro regime will proceed to repress the population with the help of the military, para-military,

Cuban advisers, common thugs, and criminals. Such repression could also possibly come from former FARC terrorists and Hezbollah
fighters.

Chances that Venezuela will turn into a "Syria of the Caribbean" are not to be discounted.

Therefore, as we have already suggested in the past, the Trump administration must act quickly. First, it must apply heavy pressure on the Venezuelan military. True and effective sanctions have not been applied on the military as yet. The military has expanded its role in the economy and other civil sectors.

The military is in charge importing food, uniform manufacturing, a car assembly plant, and a construction company. The military also owns oil wells, sells and also distributes oil and gas products.

Many other companies were created specifically for the military.

It is here that the Trump administration must act forcefully and assertively.

So far only 44 individuals have been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury. The Venezuelan Ministry of Defense, Vladimir Padrino, and the main protector and mentor of the military is not among them. Under Padrino’s tenure, the military increased its power in terms of wealth, privileges, and weapons.

Strong sanctions must be applied on the military as a whole, and this must include sanctions on the entire oil sector.

Likewise, the U.S. must reach out to the European community, asking them to follow suit. Venezuelan officers must be sanctioned and denied visas by every western country and U.S. ally.

It's crucial to not to miss this momentum that has been created in Venezuela.

What has been accomplished so far is what many have been hoping for, for a long time: strong leadership, massive civil disobedience, regional consensusm, and a U.S. administration determined to remove the Maduro regime.

We should not let go until the Maduro regime lets go its hold on power.
 

Caracas, Ene 23.– El desafío contra Nicolás Maduro se ha dejado sentir por los cuatro costados de Venezuela, una demostración de fuerza con cientos y cientos de miles de personas en las calles y, a la vez, la confirmación del hastío nacional. El hito histórico del 23-E, conmemoración del día en que cayó la dictadura de Marcos Pérez Jiménez, ha forzado finalmente la jura como "presidente encargado" de Juan Guaidó, jefe del Legislativo. Agotado el tiempo de la ambigüedad estratégica, el nuevo líder de la oposición no tenía otra salida, pese a que ha reconocido que tendrá "consecuencias" para él.

"Hoy, 23-E de 2019, en mi condición de presidente de la Asamblea Nacional, juro ante dios todopoderoso, Venezuela y colegas diputados, asumir formalmente las competencias del Ejecutivo Nacional como presidente encargado de Venezuela para lograr elecciones libres", ha recitado el político que ha dado la vuelta al mapa político criollo en un enero frenético. Una frase y una decisión que abren una puerta desconocida en el laberinto construido por la revolución bolivariana durante dos décadas de poder cuasi absoluto.

La hiperinflación de Venezuela es galopante y el Fondo Monetario Internacional (FMI) pronostica que alcanzará 1,300,000 por ciento al cierre del 2018, con una caída del 18 por ciento del Producto Interno Bruto (PBI)  

La hiperinflación venezolana se acerca al record mundial establecido en 1923 en Alemania, un país que había quedado en ruinas después de la espantosa guerra mundial y se veía aplastado por enormes e insostenibles sanciones económicas.

Caracas, Nov.12.– Con un año de hiperinflación que prácticamente acumula un millón por ciento en 12 meses, Venezuela se ha convertido en el país de América Latina que reporta el ciclo inflacionario más dañino de la historia de la región y que aún no presenta indicios de parar.

Los precios de los productos en el país monoproductor petrolero suben a razón de 3 o 4 % por día y cada mes el índice de inflación toca o supera el 200 %, una situación que lleva a los venezolanos a vivir en eterna crispación.