Leaders fight, poor suffer
Maduro rejects humanitarian aid
FOR Anahis Alvarado, whose battle with kidney failure has become more desperate as Venezuela sinks deeper into crisis, the prospect of bringing in emergency medical and food supplies can’t come soon enough.
She has watched five fellow patients in her dialysis group die over the past few years due to inadequate care.
And last week she had to spend almost a third of her family’s monthly income buying basic supplies like surgical gloves and syringes that President Nicolas Maduro’s bankrupt government is no longer able to provide.
“We’re losing time,” the 32-yearold Alvorado said. She hopes relief will soon be on its way.
About 1000km away, in the Colombian border city of Cucuta, opponents of Maduro are hastily putting together plans with US officials to open a “humanitarian corridor” to deliver badly needed food and medicine.
The aid convoy is seen as a key test for Juan Guaido after the opposition leader declared himself interim president in a high-risk challenge to Maduro’s authority – a move that has the backing of almost 40 countries around the world.
But getting the food into Venezuela is no easy task.
On Wednesday, a large tanker, mangled fencing and a shipping container were scattered across a bridge connecting the two countries, a makeshift barricade reflecting Maduro’s long-standing rejection of outside assistance.
“We aren’t beggars,” the embattled socialist said on Monday.
The stand-off has troubled international relief organisations, many of whom say the issue of humanitarian aid is being used as a political weapon by both sides. Maduro’s government has steadfastly denied the existence of a humanitarian crisis that has forced three million Venezuelans to flee in recent years, even while handing out heavily subsidised food staples to rally support among the poor, especially before elections.
Meanwhile, the opposition is vowing to proceed with its aid plan at all costs in an effort to break the military’s strong support for Maduro.
“You have a clear choice,” Miguel Pizarro, a lawmaker co-ordinating the relief effort, said in pointed remarks on Tuesday to members of the armed forces. “Either you are part of the problem, or you put yourself on the side of the people who are in need.” |