Venezuela is starving
This article was published in the Wall Street Journal, author Juan Forrero. I copied it from MSN news.
Left: Dr. Livia Machado tells Keithy Olivo, 19 years old, about the severe malnutrition of Ms. Olivo’s baby daughter, Thaikelys, at the Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas.
YARE, Venezuela—Jean Pierre Planchart, a year old, has the drawn face of an old man and a cry that is little more than a whimper. His ribs show through his skin. He weighs just 11 pounds.
His mother, Maria Planchart, tried to feed him what she could find combing through the trash—scraps of chicken or potato. She finally took him to a hospital in Caracas, where she prays a rice-milk concoction keeps her son alive.
“I watched him sleep and sleep, getting weaker, all the time losing weight,” said Ms. Planchart, 34 years old. “I never thought I’d see Venezuela like this.”
Her country was once Latin America’s richest, producing food for export. Venezuela now can’t grow enough to feed its own people in an economy hobbled by the nationalization of private farms, and price and currency controls.
Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation—estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 720% this year—making it nearly impossible for families to make ends meet. Since 2013, the economy has shrunk 27%, according to local investment bank Torino Capital; imports of food have plunged 70%.
Hordes of people, many with children in tow, rummage through garbage, an uncommon sight a year ago. People in the countryside pick farms clean at night, stealing everything from fruits hanging on trees to pumpkins on the ground, adding to the misery of farmers hurt by shortages of seed and fertilizer. Looters target food stores. Families padlock their refrigerators.
Three in four Venezuelans said they had lost an average of 19 pounds last year, according to the National Poll of Living Conditions, an annual study by social scientists. People here, in a mix of rage and humor, call it the Maduro diet after President Nicolás Maduro.
For more than a month, Venezuelans have protested against the increasingly authoritarian government of Mr. Maduro; by Thursday, 35 people had been reported killed in the unrest. The country’s Food Ministry, the president’s office, the Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry didn’t return calls or emails requesting comment for this article.
Read the rest of the article here
Left: Dr. Livia Machado tells Keithy Olivo, 19 years old, about the severe malnutrition of Ms. Olivo’s baby daughter, Thaikelys, at the Domingo Luciani Hospital in Caracas.
YARE, Venezuela—Jean Pierre Planchart, a year old, has the drawn face of an old man and a cry that is little more than a whimper. His ribs show through his skin. He weighs just 11 pounds.
His mother, Maria Planchart, tried to feed him what she could find combing through the trash—scraps of chicken or potato. She finally took him to a hospital in Caracas, where she prays a rice-milk concoction keeps her son alive.
“I watched him sleep and sleep, getting weaker, all the time losing weight,” said Ms. Planchart, 34 years old. “I never thought I’d see Venezuela like this.”
Her country was once Latin America’s richest, producing food for export. Venezuela now can’t grow enough to feed its own people in an economy hobbled by the nationalization of private farms, and price and currency controls.
Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation—estimated by the International Monetary Fund to reach 720% this year—making it nearly impossible for families to make ends meet. Since 2013, the economy has shrunk 27%, according to local investment bank Torino Capital; imports of food have plunged 70%.
Hordes of people, many with children in tow, rummage through garbage, an uncommon sight a year ago. People in the countryside pick farms clean at night, stealing everything from fruits hanging on trees to pumpkins on the ground, adding to the misery of farmers hurt by shortages of seed and fertilizer. Looters target food stores. Families padlock their refrigerators.
Three in four Venezuelans said they had lost an average of 19 pounds last year, according to the National Poll of Living Conditions, an annual study by social scientists. People here, in a mix of rage and humor, call it the Maduro diet after President Nicolás Maduro.
For more than a month, Venezuelans have protested against the increasingly authoritarian government of Mr. Maduro; by Thursday, 35 people had been reported killed in the unrest. The country’s Food Ministry, the president’s office, the Communications Ministry and the Foreign Ministry didn’t return calls or emails requesting comment for this article.
Read the rest of the article here
It is very unfortunate to see a country that once was the richest country in South America, with a steady government, and with great potential come to ruins. I believe the most unfortunate issue in Venezuela is not what its government is doing but yet, what politicians around the world are doing and that is, absolutely nothing. This article is just one horrible but true example of many within the Venezuelan population that are not seen or heard. My question to all of this country’s misfortune is, where are all the “powerful” countries around the world in the time of a country’s need? Why do they decide to ignore the cries of thousands of Venezuelans and not get involved? I guess that I will never get a definite answer to these questions, but I am certain that at least I am able to put my voice out there together with all of Venezuela’s activists.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Lopez
Hello Daisy:
DeleteThe issues that have erupted in Venezuela aren't new, and the international community has taken much too long to respond to the situation. To their credit, many diplomats in the Organization of American States (OAS) have raised alarms over the situation and have called for a peaceful resolution to the problem. Unfortunately attempts by the OAS to engage Venezuela's ruling party have led the country to request an exit from the organization. It's tragically ironic that attempts at engagement are resulting in further isolation, which will in turn lead to a more desperate situation.
This article was just sad. I think that we should all help each other out when one is in need. it goes to show you how selfish and naive people can be. -Sidnesha Holland
ReplyDeleteThe current situation in Venezuela is tragic, resulting from economic, social, and political catastrophes. It's unfortunate that the ruling party's struggle for power has so negatively impacted the lives of Venezuelan's across the country. In an article by the International Crisis Group, the authors detail the current political atmosphere in Venezuela. Domestically their are food shortages, violent attacks against protesters, and the delegitimization of the political opposition, while internationally the government is preparing to exit the Organization of American States for its insistence on a peaceful political solution.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.crisisgroup.org/latin-america-caribbean/andes/venezuela/venezuela-hole-and-still-digging
Very interesting video.
ReplyDeleteGood video.
ReplyDeleteIt's very heartbreaking to see that many people especially children are starving with all the inner turmoil that is happening in Venezuela. Usually, many news outlets don't show about the tragic events that have happened in Venezuela, but nowadays I've seen that there has been an increasing awareness on what is happening there. I've seen the news every night reporting on what is happening and the people that are being killed by wanting a revolution.
ReplyDeleteheartbreaking but glad I saw it
ReplyDeleteManuel Sauleda
I find this to be devastating. Much hope was gained when Chavez died, but things may have just gotten worse.
ReplyDeleteThe crisis in Venezuela will be remebered in history of one of the most devastating crisis to happen in Latin America and throughout the world. All of us are aware of the crisis occcuring but it takes an article such as this one to snap us out of our day to day routine and remind ourselves that there are people suffering. The crisis in Venezuela will keep on getting worse and this article made me realize that I don't want to be a bystander anymore.
ReplyDelete-Gabriela Ponce