Venezuela, as of November 2018, is in its fourth year of economic recession. Recently there has been a major exodus from Venezuela due to lack of food, appropriate medical care, and social crisis. Venezuela and its government have not been open to accepting humanitarian aid from the United Nations, despite the UN asking Venezuela, ” to open its doors.”
In my opinion, I think that the international community should do more for Venezuela. The UN sounded an alarm once the number passed 3 million refugees or migrants. This crisis is comparable to other major refugee crises around the world. I don’t necessarily think that specific countries should step in, but I do believe that there needs to be some sort of “push”. Maduro’s predecessor, Chavez, centralized power within the executive branch. During Chavez’s reign, oil prices were high and Venezuelans were given support by the government through cultural programs, free and public education, and the reduction of poverty. In January 2019, Maduro’s second term will begin. Maduro, according to The Guardian, is on his way to a dictatorship. When Chavez announced Maduro as the one who would follow him, that already raised some eyebrows.
Under Maduro, the price of oil has dropped drastically. Venezuelans are no longer receiving help from their government, and have no choice, but to leave the country. Venezuelans most likely do not want to leave their homes, the lives they’ve built, etc., similar to other refugee crises around the world.
Last year, at Gar-Field’s Model UN conference, our topic was the crisis in Venezuela. Almost every single delegation in that committee (SOCHUM), said, “It isn’t our responsibility to help the Venezuelans,” and we voted to focus on the other topic. In no way am I saying that it is representative of what those countries actually believed or their attitudes towards the situation, but the fact that we, as a Humanitarian committee, agreed to disregard what was happening, is disgusting.