Petroleumworld`s
Opinion Forum:
viewpoints on issues in energy, international
politics & civilization.
Sunday's
Feature
Venezuela:
Rich Dictator, Poor People
By
Cristal
Montañéz
I
am a former Miss Venezuela, and although a naturalized U.S. citizen,
I feel a deep responsibility
for and commitment to
my country of origin. Today, I condemn the disaster that has
befallen my country since Hugo Chávez took office, and
continue to denounce it to let the world know the current reality
of Venezuela. This is a personal account juxtaposed by political
and social events.
In 1977 when I received my crown, my country
was an enticing paradise and a lucrative place for business.
Venezuela’s
inviting tropical climate mirrored the fun, fresh personality
of her people. During my career as an international model,
I always felt proud to represent Venezuela. Even though its
system was not perfect, my country was a peaceful, exotic melting
pot. It was considered an example of democracy and a political
model to be imitated in Latin America, characterized by the
separation of power and respect for the Constitution and the
rule of law. Those were years of development and growth, excellent
international relations, and recognition for Venezuela.
I remember with pride the creation of PDVSA
(1975), the inauguration of the Caracas Metro (1983), and
the Grand Mariscal de Ayacucho,
a scholarship program that educated so many of our petroleum
engineers. There were food programs for the schools, internationalization
of the oil industry, and the construction of the Teresa Carreno
Art Center, among many other triumphs. All that, was before
Hugo Chávez came to power.
I also remember my first experience as a political activist
during the 1978 presidential campaign. That year, when I placed
my ballot in the box for the first time, I had the confidence
my vote would be secret and respected. Today, Venezuelans face
an irregular electoral registry, and their ballots are manipulated
by fraudulent electronic machines.
The Vargas Tragedy
Many of my fondest memories are of driving
with friends and family to Vargas State, the region I represented,
on weekends
to enjoy some of the most stunning beaches on the northern
Caribbean coast. Vargas was a popular (and profitable) tourist
stop. Home to the country’s large seaport, La Guaira,
and the principal airport in Venezuela, its unique blend of
beauty and Caribbean charisma attracted people from all over
the world. Unfortunately, that has changed during the Chávez
regime. Now, increased crime and violence discourage tourists
from traveling to Venezuela.
A few days before the 1999 referendum for a
new constitution, meteorologists advised President Chávez’s government
that some 16 inches of heavy rains were expected in Vargas
and recommended that the scheduled election be postponed. Chávez
ignored the warning, demanding that all go to the polls and
commanding them to “fight against nature” if necessary.
Chávez called upon the armed forces
to fully monitor the referendum process instead of calling
for the affected
area to be evacuated. Hence, few soldiers were available to
help in the disaster areas.
My father was a military man, and I grew up
with great respect for soldiers who dedicate their lives
in defense of the state.
Even though the Venezuelan constitution established that the
armed forces “are at the exclusive service of the nation,
and in no case at the service of any person or political partisanship,” Chávez
has converted them into his own political appendage and ensured
that the military serves his interests. The Venezuelan military
now includes reserves and territorial guards, whose main purpose
is to spread political ideology and serve as “local resistance
before an internal aggression or invasion of foreign forces.”
After the torrential rains, it took days for the Venezuelan
military to take action in Vargas. The rainfall reached some
48 inches and mudslides resulted in a loss of lives that could
have been prevented. Approximately 30,000 people died and thousands
were airlifted out of the disaster area to other states.
Six months after the tragedy I traveled to Vargas, leading
a group of young ambassadors representing Bear Hugs for Venezuela,
a UNICEF program for the children affected run in conjunction
with the Venezuelan Red Cross. The devastation was heart-wrenching:
the beautiful beaches I had enjoyed so much were destroyed
and abandoned as dirty mud marshes. Mud covered buildings up
to their fourth floor. Brick homes had been destroyed by the
landslides, displacing all remnants of normal life. Horrible
smells and flies infected the area. The air was thick and filthy,
and the reigning misery overpowered every breath. Those who
had no place to go dug holes above their buried homes, cleared
the waste inside, and molded a pit with room enough to sleep.
The shelters were not equipped with the basics necessary for
sleeping, cooking, and eating. The area was totally unsanitary,
and people felt abandoned with no hope, no future. This is
the true story of an oil-producing country once considered
the jewel of the Caribbean.
In the midst of this misery, Chávez’s government
refused much-needed equipment that was offered by the U.S.
Why? The Chavistas claimed any U.S. help would be a front for
a military invasion. Chávez has prevented the resuscitation
of Vargas by limiting the ability to open a viable road network.
He has also ignored the need for reconstruction in the region.
Today,
nearly a decade after the tragedy, I’m appalled
to see how the government has failed to create the infrastructure
needed to rebuild Vargas and promote economic development.
Thousands of displaced poor people are still waiting for the
government to fulfill its promise to rebuild their homes. There
are no resources allocated for rebuilding Vargas. However,
Chávez, who insists that “being rich is bad,” spent
$65 million on a private jet for his personal use while the
poor people of Vargas remain in dire need of basic housing.
The Savior of the Poor?
Chávez has claimed to be the savior of the poor. In
reality, he has used them as a political tool to gain power.
His neo-communist and militarist model continues to be funded
by oil wealth that belongs to all Venezuelans. While PDVSA
plays a major role in the Chávez revolution in Venezuela,
Citgo is used as his political instrument in the U.S. The PDVSA
and Citgo profits are then used by Chávez to buy political
loyalty.
Before Chávez took over in 1999, when oil was selling
for about $10 per barrel, PDVSA was the world’s second-largest
energy company and one of the leading foreign suppliers of
crude oil and refined petroleum products to the U.S. Under
Chávez, with oil selling for over $100, Venezuelan oil
production has fallen almost 50 percent.
Never in Venezuela’s history has there been such rampant
and shameless corruption. According to Domingo Maza Zavala,
former director of the Central Bank of Venezuela, “Now,
in Venezuela, there is more poverty than there was before Chávez.”
There are also serious problems in the healthcare
system. From the 1960s to the ’80s, my mother worked for the
Instituto Venezolano de Seguro Sociales (I.V.S.S.), the public
healthcare system. Even though it faced problems before Chávez
took office, the I.V.S.S. was able to serve its constituency
and offered outpatient medical services, surgery, and hospitalization,
as well as free prescriptions. While far from perfect, the
agency was innovative. My mother used to get excited about
the new technology and equipment purchased by the I.V.S.S.
to provide better and faster service.
In March 2003, the Chávez government adopted what they
called “socialist” innovations in healthcare, but
completely failed to maintain basic medical functions. Instead
of supporting the existing public health programs, Chávez
built a parallel health program, Barrio Adentro, which features
11,000 community modules (one-room clinics) staffed mainly
by Cuban doctors. The system diverts resources and equipment
from the I.V.S.S. public hospitals, where the public still
goes for emergency and maternity care and for most major and
elective surgeries. There are not enough beds for patients,
and often two patients share a bed. Two or three newborns may
share the same incubator. Supplies are no longer available,
and fewer doctors work for the public system due to low wages.
Patients are required to bring their own sheets and bandages.
According to UNICEF, since the mid-1990s the childbirth mortality
rate has risen 18 percent, to 59 in every 100,000 deliveries.
Between 1998 (the year before Chávez took office) and
2007, cases of malaria nearly doubled.
Today, Venezuela’s public health system
is fatally deteriorating due to lack of resources and corrupt
accounting. The finances
of Barrio Adentro are mismanaged and disorganized, making it
impossible to determine its efficiency.
Meanwhile, the once-amicable climate of cooperation
among the Venezuelan people is being extinguished by violence,
a
consequence of the lack of rule of law. Today the air is thick
with fear as brainwashed Chavistas now differentiate among
skin colors. It horrifies me to see racism and hatred dividing
families where friends and family once felt free to hold different
opinions and political views. It used to be we could passionately
support opposing campaigns and still enjoy a meal together.
This is no longer the case, as Chávez’s goal of
imposing “his revolution” infects the country.
I regret that my grown children cannot experience the same
beauty and serenity that up to a decade ago I was so proud
of.
When I was growing up I remember walking to school every morning,
book-bag in hand, laughing with my friends. My biggest concern
was getting to school on time. Today, children cannot step
outside without worrying about being assaulted, losing a leg
or even their lives over a $60 pair of Nikes. My school days
were filled with assignments that encouraged creative thought.
Through projects, plays, books, and foundational literature
like Moral y Luces, I learned traditional subjects infused
with respect and love for my country.
Today, Chávez imposes his Bolivarian curriculum, which
intends to promote Chavista ideology and eliminate the democratic
history of Venezuela. Instead of focusing on educational standards,
schools today are becoming miniature military boot camps. It
is no surprise that literacy rates are dropping. Children with
green uniforms and red berets are handling guns and shouting, “Fatherland,
Socialism or Death.”
This horrifying phenomenon is fueled by Chávez’s
determination to condition the Venezuelan youth into believing
his own skewed interpretation of history, through which they
will likely become little soldiers for his cause.
The Future
In November, the Chávez regime will allow political
parties to receive public financing to promote the campaigns
leading up to the gubernatorial and mayoral elections. That
will likely mean that some opposition politicians will be elected.
And that will allow Chávez to declare that he is a democrat
and that the opposition is governing with him.
But next year Chávez is expected to bring in regional
vice presidents (established in the constitutional reform rejected
in the December 2007 referendum) to exert control over the
newly elected opposition governors and mayors. Indeed, as long
as Chávez controls the electoral system, he will stay
in power. If you don’t believe that, take a look at his
adviser, Fidel Castro. .
Cristal
Montañéz is
the international coordinator for RECIVEX, Resistencia Civil
de Venezolanos
en al Exterior. Petroleumworld
does not necessarily share these views.
Editor's
Note:This commentary was originally published by Energy Tribune,
on 06/10/2008.(www.energytribune.com). Petroleumworld
reprint this
article in the
interest of our readers.
All
comments posted and published on Petroleumworld, do not
reflect either for or against the
opinion expressed
in the
comment as an endorsement of Petroleumworld. All comments
expressed are private comments and do not necessary reflect
the view of this website. All comments are posted and published
without liability to Petroleumworld.
Fair
use Notice: All works published by Petroleumworld are in
accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material
is distributed
without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest
in receiving the included information for research and educational
purposes. Petroleumworld has no affiliation whatsoever with
the originator of this article nor is Petroleumworld endorsed
or sponsored by the originator.
Petroleumworld encourages persons to reproduce, reprint, or
broadcast Petroleumworld articles provided that any such reproduction
identify the original source, http://www.petroleumworld.com
or else and it is done within the fair use as provided for
in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. If you wish to use
copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from
the copyright owner.
Internet web links to http://www.petroleumworld.com are appreciated.
Petroleumworld
06/22/08
Copyright© 2008
respective author or news agency. All rights reserved.
We welcome the use of Petroleumworld™ stories by anyone
provided it mentions Petroleumworld.com as the source. Other
stories you have to get authorization by its authors.
