{"id":104237,"date":"2018-01-01T12:00:07","date_gmt":"2018-01-01T12:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=104237"},"modified":"2017-12-30T09:29:28","modified_gmt":"2017-12-30T09:29:28","slug":"lamenting-venezuelas-humanitarian-crisis-while-blocking-its-resolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/01\/lamenting-venezuelas-humanitarian-crisis-while-blocking-its-resolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Lamenting Venezuela\u2019s \u201cHumanitarian Crisis\u201d while Blocking Its Resolution"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo by Joka Madruga | CC BY 2.0<\/p><\/div>\n

29 Dec 2017 – <\/em>A New York Times<\/em> headline<\/a> screams \u201cAs Venezuela collapses, children are dying of hunger.\u201d Lurid pictures show dead infants. A companion \u201carticle of the day teaching activities,\u201d asks<\/a>: \u201cWhy do some young children choose to live on the streets instead of at home with their families?\u201d<\/p>\n

The key to understanding the wellspring of the Times\u2019<\/em> indignation about humanitarian issues confronting Venezuela is hinted at in the by-line to the article: \u201cVenezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world.\u201d The stakes are high for the US empire.<\/p>\n

The back story is that the Times<\/em> and the rest of the corporate media have cheered on US government policies that have contributed to the current grave situation in Venezuela, while obstructing solutions other than regime change.<\/p>\n

Although the Times <\/em>caterwauls about the Venezuelan president\u2019s \u201cdrive to dictatorship<\/a>,\u201d the newspaper of record fails to support mediation between the current government and elements of the now demoralized opposition<\/a> who are willing to accept an outcome short of regime change. Rather, the Times<\/em> blithely opine<\/a>s \u201cNo nation should have to suffer such a leader.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regime change in Venezuelan would only put into power an unpopular opposition<\/a> with no plan<\/a> or inclination to address economic recovery. When the Venezuelan people went to the polls, as they did in the last two most recent elections<\/a>, they supported the present Maduro government despite the difficulties that the Times<\/em> so melodramatically cherry picks. The voters knew survival would be worse<\/a> under the US-backed opposition.<\/p>\n

Challenges of the Venezuelan Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n

While there is no denying the economic emergency that Venezuela is currently facing and the concomitant suffering it is causing its people, understanding its context is essential to seeing a way out.<\/p>\n

After a string of oligarchic governments<\/a> dating back to 1959 and the neoliberal economic collapse and deterioration of living conditions for working people in Venezuela of the 1990s, Hugo Ch\u00e1vez was elected president in 1998. He instituted measures, which displeased Washington and its sycophantic press:<\/p>\n