Posts tagged: asylum

(Part I includes reasons 1 and 2)

Here are reasons 3 – 5 why the crisis in Venezuela matters to not just you, but to everyone else in the world.

III. It could turn Venezuelans to hate America in the region

• Dictators in Latin America love to find sentiment to rage against the United States. From Fidel Castro’s passionate denunciations of the American “imperialists” to Venezuelans late president Hugo Chavez, who spoke out against George W. Bush at the UN in 2006.
• So it’s no surprise that Maduro is using the same rhetoric to stoke up flames of anti-American sentiment throughout the region.
• Latin Americans are cautious and sensitive to what some consider “imperialist” policies coming from Washington, making it very easy for leaders like Maduro to build up dissent for the United States.
• With this being said, it is important for the U.S. to play an active role in Latin America so that it can combat the negative remarks and false images that dictators are trying to create.

IV. It has created unimaginable suffering

• Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” There is a fundamental human reason why we should care and pay attention to what is currently taking place in Venezuela. Venezuelans are going through unimaginable suffering, and it’s unfathomable to many of us.
• High inflation, especially soaring food prices means that many people are not just skipping meals, but are not eating all together. According to a national survey conducted by three of the country’s major universities, the percentage of malnourished Venezuelans is increasing.
• Some have jokingly dubbed this the “Maduro diet” who has said that doing without “makes you tough.” WTF?
• There have also been shortages on basic goods such as toilet paper and medical supplies. Venezuela can’t pay to import goods because its government is desperately strapped for cash after years of foolish spending. The sight of people sifting through trash to find food is unfortunately a common sight.

V. This could ultimately hurt us in our pocketbook.

• This crisis in Caracas could hit American citizens where it hurts the most: The gas pump.
• The US is the main buyer of Venezuelan oil, so there’s a very intimate relationship between both governments, in that regard at least.
• If President Trump decided to actually follow through on his threat to place heavy sanctions on Venezuelan oil, or bar shipments to the U.S., Venezuela would be crippled because at this point that is their only source of income. Its humanitarian crisis would worsen. But surprisingly, the sanctions would hurt us as well, because Venezuela is third in oil exports to the U.S., right behind Saudi Arabia and Canada.
• Sanctions would force the U.S. to buy oil elsewhere, which means that it would inadvertently force you and I to shell out more money when we decide to visit our local BP or Mobil gas station.

So pay attention, this is bigger than our media is leading you to believe. This crisis in Venezuela can definitely get out of control, if it already hasn’t.

As of this year, you have probably seen the news reports: The Vice specials, and AJ+’s coverage of the protests in the streets, the long lines at the stores. But you probably have not paid enough attention to the actual chaos gripping Venezuela.

How are the events taking place in a socialist nation of 30 million people, thousands of miles away, relevant to you in the U.S.?

Here are 5 reasons why the crisis in Venezuela matters to not just you, but to everyone else in the world.

I. It’s creating thousands of new refugees

• The lack of food and medicine, soaring inflation, political instability, and violence are all key ingredients of creating refugees. This has and is currently taking place in Venezuela, and has forced tens of thousands of its citizens to flee. These same refugees are now the top asylum seekers in the U.S., ahead of citizens from countries like El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, and China. This is, in fact, the first time that Venezuelans have topped the list.
• As of now, more than 21,600 Venezuelans have sought asylum so far in 2017. That number has increased by as much as four times since 2015 when 5,605 Venezuelans applied for asylum.
• What makes this all the more challenging is that with the current American political climate, a wave of new asylum-seekers would not be welcomed with open arms.
• There is currently a rise in xenophobia in the U.S., and a flood of Venezuelans from across the social strata into our country creates an opportunity for U.S. politicians to use them as pawns for their political agendas.

II. It’s an attack on democracy – which is disconcerting

• Observers of this conflict have noted that what is currently going on politically in Venezuela over the last few years is an attack on the people’s ability to choose how they wish to be governed, which is also an attack on their presumed liberties.
• President Nicolas Maduro filled the Venezuelan Supreme court with his supporters so that he would be able to block any impeachment attempts after the country’s opposition leaders won a majority of seats in the National Assembly in 2015.
• To make matters worse, the Maduro-backed Supreme court then briefly tried to deconstruct the National Assembly and grab hold of its legislative powers, which only ignited a wave of violent protests that have continued almost every day since March 2017. As many as 100 people have been killed since then.
• Last week the country held an election that was highly controversial to create a new lawmaking body, named the Constituent Assembly. The 545-seat legislative body, packed with Maduro’s supporters, would finally have the power to rewrite the country’s 1999 constitution and promptly take control of all branches of Venezuela’s government under Maduro.
• With what is currently taking place in our own country, this should make ALL Americans sit up and pay attention. Having a leader try and bend the will of the government to suit his needs is something we all have become quite accustomed to in the U.S.

Part II includes reasons 3 – 5.