Venezuela’s leaders have let down the people
Venezuelans have been experiencing severe power outages since Thursday, when the Guri hydroelectric dam reported malfunctioning. Once a regional energy powerhouse, Venezuela’s power grid is in a dilapidated condition following years of neglect. Its state is similar to other public ventures in Venezuela, which have suffered for the lack of attention and care from the government. Even the cities that were once thriving centres for the economy have been reduced to ghost towns. The frequent outages have disrupted lives, forcing people to spill their anger on the streets more ferociously. Darkness has enveloped the lives of ordinary Venezuelans for months. A majority of the country’s population is living in poverty, not sure of how to source their next meal, or whether they should continue to stay in a land they call their own. In a country, where their ballot should have the ultimate power, authoritarian rule of President Nicholas Maduro ironically reigns supreme. With every passing day, the Latin American country is falling apart, and exposing the failures of the government that is unable to maintain law and order and take care of its people. Long-vanquished diseases such as malaria and measles have returned. Moreover, Maduro’s decision to block humanitarian aid to the starving Venezuelans is making conditions worse.
There is hardly any reason to believe that the problems plaguing the country will be solved anytime soon. But the first step arguably would be to find a way to end the power struggle between Maduro and Juan Guaido. Both the Venezuelan government and the opposition are engaged in a dangerous game of brinkmanship that has divided the Venezuelans, and the world. The UN Security Council has so far failed to agree on a course of action to resolve this impasse, but it needs to act fast and find a way out. Elections should be held again. Ultimately, it is going to be a long road to recovery in a nation that has been reduced to a shadow of its former self. Venezuela can be rebuilt, but whether it should cling on to a socialist way of governance is something the people of the country need to think about.
The UN Security Council has so far failed to agree on a course of action to resolve this impasse, but it needs to act fast and find a way out.