Displaying items by tag: Venezuela

71% of Venezuelans identify themselves as Catholic, and the Church runs numerous charities plus 170 schools for poor children. The country faces 50% hyperinflation, food shortages, black market influences on prices, and failing health systems, with medicine and equipment increasingly not available. Widespread crime is forcing churches to remain locked. There will be a snap election on 20 May, and in the streets there are ongoing protests against a coalition regime they do not trust. Tensions have grown between President Maduro and local bishops. The president has asked them to leave politics out of the pulpit, calling political comments ‘disrespectful’. Not a single thing can be done easily in Venezuela: paying bills, buying food, commuting, visiting loved ones, finding decent-quality women’s hygiene products. In times of crisis like these, religion plays a comforting role for many. See also

Six months ago, 93% of Venezuelans said their income was not sufficient to buy the food they need. 75% reported suffering weight loss, averaging 9 kg. The price of food is fifteen times the minimum wage, and prices continue to rise. The director of a Caracas-based health and nutrition charity said, ‘Malnutrition in Venezuela is a problem of corruption, not a lack of money’. Government price controls and other policies have crippled domestic production, and after the oil price drop caused imports to decrease dramatically, insufficient food is available for the over 30m Venezuelans. Meanwhile President Maduro’s efforts to consolidate power amid a deepening economic and humanitarian crisis have drawn widespread international condemnation. There are severe food and medicine shortages, soaring crime rates, and an increasingly authoritarian executive. 70% of the population is Roman Catholic and 29% percent Protestant. See

Despite being an oil-rich country, Venezuela has record levels of child malnutrition as it experiences severe shortages of food and an inflation rate of over 700%. The crippling economic crisis means that eating meat is a luxury for many, but the government believes it has the answer with a plan to breed and consume rabbits - ‘because rabbits breed like rabbits’, as President Maduro joked on state television when introducing the idea. A recent survey showed that nearly 75% of the population lost an average 19 pounds in weight from lack of proper nutrition because of poverty. Maduro said people needed to understand that the rabbit is not just a pet, it is 2.5 kilos of meat with high protein and no cholesterol. The IMF said voracious inflation will climb to 720% this year. Poor Venezuelans spend 10% of their income to buy a kilo of meat. See also

President Nicolás Maduro won a controversial election for a new Constituent Assembly with the power to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution,  allowing him to replace the current National Assembly with an assembly of 545 members nominated by his administration. The impoverished nation - wracked by an economic crisis, hyperinflation, food shortages, medicine shortages, starvation, skyrocketing infant mortality, civil unrest and street violence - has endured months of anti-government protests with many violent deaths. Maduro said his new Assembly ‘would bring peace to a polarised country, with all branches of the government falling under the political movement.’ Two of Australia’s major trade unions pledged support for the socialist dictator of Venezuela and his Bolivarian Revolution Socialist Government while America has imposed sanctions and the international community are discussing ways to stabilise the country after allegations of election ballot fraud. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/02/venezuela-voting-fraud-corruption-allegations-protests.

Venezuela's Supreme Court has been attacked by grenades dropped from a stolen police helicopter, in what President Nicolás Maduro called a ‘terrorist attack’. The court is regularly criticised by the Venezuelan opposition for its rulings which bolster Mr Maduro's hold on power. The policeman who piloted the helicopter issued a statement denouncing the ‘criminal government’. His whereabouts are unknown. Four grenades were dropped on the court, and 15 shots were fired at the interior ministry; one grenade failed to detonate. No injuries were reported. The pilot said on Instagram: ‘We don't belong to any political tendency or party. We are nationalists, patriots and institutionalists. The fight is not against the security forces but is against the impunity of this government. It is against tyranny.’ There is a question as to whether this attack might be a prelude to a coup attempt.

Thousands scavenge on the streets for scraps of food. Masses wait in long queues for basic necessities that are largely unaffordable and unavailable. Venezuela's economic crisis is now a humanitarian disaster. 82% live in poverty. There are massive food shortages. Three-quarters eat less than two meals per day. There has been a sharp rise in infant mortality, maternal deaths, malaria, and diphtheria. 85% of medicine is in short supply. There have been demonstrations against the government which have become increasingly violent. President Maduro has prosecuted political rivals under terrorism laws, and on 14 May the Supreme Court tried to dissolve the national legislature, which is led by the political opposition. Beneath all this is a spiritual battle. Venezuela is the least church-going country in Latin America. Many, even within the Church, dabble in Spiritism. New Age spirituality is on the rise, and Satanists actively seek to destroy the Church.

82% of Venezuelans live in poverty. Opposition lawmakers attempted to fire judges accused of a judicial ‘coup’ to keep socialist President Nicolas Maduro in power. Youths build barricades, burn rubbish and hurl rocks at soldiers and police, who respond with tear gas and water cannon, in the political turmoil. This violent political crisis is raising concerns for democracy and stability in this volatile major oil-exporting country. While Venezuelan churches usually ask parishioners to help spread peace and love throughout their communities, now in Caracas the Episcopal Church’s bishops are calling parishioners to support violence against the government. They handed out leaflets last Sunday, calling on members to participate in civil disobedience against President Maduro and the ruling United Socialist Party. The leaflet said, ‘It is time to ask very seriously and responsibly if civil disobedience, peaceful demonstrations, just claims to national and international public powers, and civic protests are not valid and timely.’ The Church called the government ‘morally unacceptable and therefore reprehensible.’ See