Parallel States: Political Turmoil in Venezuela

On January 23rd, tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Caracas to urge Juan Guaido to swear himself in as acting President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The 35-year-old politician, who has surged to the forefront of Venezuelan politics in the last few weeks, wasted no time in enacting the crowd’s wishes.

Formally challenging the condemned regime of Nicolas Maduro, who refuses to relinquish the reigns of power, Venezuela has now become a country of parallel states. Demanding political change and economic upheaval, Guaido is claimed to have the support of the majority of the population. Yet the army is still firmly controlled by his adversary, Maduro.

Juan Guaido (left) Nicolas Maduro (right)

The successor of Hugo Chavez, who was idolised by many in the country as a true champion of the people, Maduro assumed power in early 2013 after his mentor’s death. Inheriting Chavez’s socialist regime, Maduro’s wild mismanagement of the country’s economy has seen inflation soar and poverty mount on an unprecedented scale.

This level of hyperinflation has led to the erosion of many public services, a severe lack of food and available healthcare across the country. This, in combination with high levels of crime and political violence, has led to over three million Venezuelans leaving the country in recent years. To put that into perspective, almost 10% of the country’s population has chosen the uncertainty of the road over Maduro’s regime.

Venezuela's mass exodus of people is one of the largest ever seen in modern Latin American history.

Regarding this mass exodus, global non-profit media company, PRI recently reported that “about one million are now living in Colombia, 500,000 in Peru, 222,000 in Ecuador, 130,000 in Argentina and 85,000 in Brazil, as well as tens of thousands living in several Caribbean islands.”

Guaido’s challenge to this grim status-quo has been met with positivity and encouragement from the international community. In what many around the world are suggesting to be a “co-ordinated move”, President Donald Trump quickly recognised the young leader. This was followed by recognition from Canada and members of the Lima Group – a body of around 14 different Latin American countries who came together in 2017 to find a peaceful solution to Venezuela’s problems.

Violence on the streets of Caracas.

Venezuela, the most oil-rich country on the planet, has been teetering on the brink of a humanitarian disaster for years and many welcome the recognition provided by other countries in the Americas. However, it’s always worth seeing both sides of the argument.

Firstly, the U.S. has an ugly history of interventionism in Latin American states. Earlier in the week, Maduro blamed Guaido’s challenge on a “coup-mongering, interventionist gringo empire”. From a CIA-backed coup in Guatemala in 1954 to an invasion of Panama in 1989 and Haiti in 1994, last week’s developments are just the latest in a long history of U.S. interventionism.

Venezuela’s Orinoco Oil Belt consists of large deposits of extra heavy crude. It is coveted by some of the world’s wealthiest countries.

With the U.S. being Venezuela’s largest foreign customer for crude exports, there are those who claim Trump’s backing is underpinned by avarice and the desire to secure the flow of natural resources.

In addition to these claims, some political commentators are also pointing out that the sanctions that Trump imposed on Venezuela in 2017 actually cost the country about $6 billion – assets that could’ve benefitted the Venezuelan people.

What Next for Venezuela’s Parallel States?

Juan Guaido declares himself as the acting President of the Republic. He does so holing a picture of Simón Bolívar, “the Venezuelan military leader who liberated the Andes from the Spanish empire in the early 19th century.”

With two presidents, the country remains firmly in a political deadlock. With the army in control of many key of areas of the economy, from oil extraction to food distribution, Guaido must win over the support of military leaders if he wants to oust Maduro once and for all. It has been reported that he has offered amnesties to all those who defect.

Both Russia and China – who have invested heavily in the country – have criticised U.S. interference and have thrown their support behind Maduro, creating a very familiar East vs West political standoff. It is already being reported that Russian private security contractors – in other words, skilled mercenaries – have travelled to Venezuela to “protect those at the highest levels of the government”, although the Kremlin has dismissed these claims.

The people of Venezuela and the international community hope for a peaceful outcome to this political stalemate.

It is of the utmost importance that a solution to this crisis is found quickly. As is common in unstable countries with large reserves of natural resources, it is the people who tend to suffer the most.

According to the United Nations, every day, about 5,000 Venezuelans leave home, making this one of the biggest exoduses of people in modern Latin American history.