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Venezuelans Are Starving as the Nation’s Economic Crisis Continues

Venezuela has been in the news on and off for the past couple of years. Scenes from the country have shown pictures of long lines at grocery stores, food riots, and young teenagers protesting in the streets with the national guard using tear gas against them.

Last year, for more than three months, thousands of Venezuelans protested daily against the government of Nicolas Maduro; many of them were young students. Over 120 people were killed during these protests at the hands of government forces. More than 5,000 people were arrested, and stories of abuse and torture were common, according to human rights organizations.

Venezuela, the country with the largest proven oil reserves in the world, is suffering a humanitarian crisis. Bordering Colombia and Brazil in South America, the mountainous country with white-sand beaches and the highest waterfall in the world has been engulfed in a political, economic, and social struggle for most of the 21st century.

In 1999, Hugo Chavez became president of the country. He pledged to fix income inequality in the nation by giving to the poor, who felt neglected in the country’s classist society. Many Venezuelans fiercely believed in his promises, and his charismatic personality made many of his followers support him unconditionally.

Throughout the 2000s, Chavez increasingly tightened his grip on authority. He introduced a new constitution, began to strictly regulate the media, “threatened and punished his political opponents,” according to a report from Human Rights Watch, and forged an alliance with the Cuban government. By 2013, before his death, Chavez was a force to be reckoned with — he had strategically placed his supporters at the most important levels of the government, the military, and the state-run oil company.

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