Conflict is composed of opposing forces.
Venezuela’s hunger crisis is made up of two opposing forces involving the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan government. Some details of this conflict is that the government is blocking the Venezuelans food and medical supplies from being imported and also that there has been high inflation rates which has made it even more of a struggle to purchase food. They consist of a president named Nicolas Maduro wanting more power and wanting a strong army to keep in tact of his reign. Although there is a huge lack of resources there is hope as Wharton University of Pennsylvania states in an article that,”Much as it looks doomed, Venezuela could have respite and recovery from its woes, say experts.” For example, in the article it states that,”in the short term, the country must also accept foreign aid to alleviate the immediate economic crisis and in the longer term, a new government should focus on reducing dependence on oil.” This shows the fact that the government must be willing to accept the help of other countries in order to be restored to their prior shape and they would have to find other ways to maintain themselves other than oil. The details in this conflict is that President Maduro does not want to lose power by losing his military and is scared to get attacked politically and by his very own people. This then led him to make other changes such as many laws to stay in power and by doing so it has caused many people in the community to lose jobs and specifically losing wealth. This is then leading to lots of people mostly children to having malnutrition since their parents cannot afford food with so little money and most importantly can’t get food as there is no food in the first place. This is also caused since their is a black market where the military sells all the food supplies imported into Venezuela. This is supported by NPR radio where Ricardo Nunes states that,”Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gave the military complete control of the food supply last summer, after people began protesting in the streets over food rationing.” This relates to the big idea since the main source of food supplies is being taken away by the government and the government is taking charge of what is going on within the country which then led to the massive starvation crisis that is known today.
Conflict may be natural or man-made.
Venezuela’s hunger crisis has been man-made overtime by the Venezuelan government in several ways including the way it originated as an economic crisis and the way the government imposes their laws currently. The cause of the conflict is an economic one. According to an article by the New York Times, inflation, or when money is worth less has caused this conflict to happen. For example, in the article from CNN Money it states,”Venezuela's minimum wage for a month is 97,531 bolivars, or just over $10. At Rey David, a bottle of Aunt Jemima maple syrup goes for 95,230 bolivars.” This displays that the syrup is way overpriced due to inflation, where Venezuelan money no longer is worth the same it used it be. It is costing almost about the minimum wage which is just ten dollars and about 10 dollars for a bottle of syrup is way too much. The drastic part about this is that before the price was only 10,000 bolivars and now it's up to 90,000 which goes to show how bad the inflation rates are. In fact, “Venezuela has been shuddering since its economy began to collapse in 2014. Riots and protests over the lack of affordable food, excruciating long lines for basic provisions, soldiers posted outside bakeries and angry crowds ransacking grocery stores have rattled cities, providing a telling, public display of the depths of the crisis.” Since the food exports seemed to be down, it made it more difficult to receive food supplies to the point where the food was eventually running out. One way the government has imposed laws is by making rations of the food supplies which is causing kids to starve and get diseases. As the article NY Times it states,”hunger has gripped the nation for years. Now, it’s killing children.” This is representing the fact that way more than hundreds of children have died of starvation and the lack of nutrition. If they do not get food and get their proper nutrition their generation and future generations won’t stand a chance in this world. As they don’t have any food they have to other random options for food. In an article by the Human Rights Watch it states,”These sanctions should be applied to those who, exercising their role in civilian, military, and judicial positions, are responsible for systematic human rights violations carried out in the country.” This connects to overtime since they are implying that the authorities of Venezuela should afterwards pay for their crimes since they haven’t been charged for them in the beginning. So now that they have been caught for their actions they should be sentenced. Also another connection overtime has been that many people are dying just because the government’s viewpoint is to be powerful and control a whole community which has been leading to complete mayhem for the Venezuelans.
Conflict may be intentional or unintentional.
This conflict is both unintentional and intentional as the government and the prior Venezuelan president, Maduro, as well as the previous leader, Hugo Chávez, have made decision regarding the economy without intending to have its own people starve. In an article from the New York Times it states, “[Chávez] died in 2013, but many economists say his policies of state ownership, unfettered spending, subsidies and domestic price controls are at least partly responsible for the crisis today.” Due to this, it ended up with President Maduro left in debt of the money owed to foreign countries. Since Venezuela does not have any money the only way the government can afford to pay the military is by allowing them to stop the imports of the Venezuelans food and selling it. Right now there are some vital items and products that should be cheap, but are scarce in supply in Venezuela. In the NPR story, Ricardo Nunes says,“If you're one of the lucky people to get the food at the government-set price, you are doing quite well.” But a lot of people can't afford to spend an entire day in line at a state supermarket, only to find the shelves have already been emptied by the time they get through the door. Although the government spending and debt crisis made by government leaders over time have made this hunger crisis, their initial intent was not for their people to starve. Poor economic decisions have unintentionally created a situation where there are huge lines just to get food. For example, according to a New York Times article written by -Rick Gladstone, “the country owes roughly 120 billion dollars to foreign creditors and must make a payment of nearly 7 billion this year.” This financial debt has caused President Maduro to intentionally borrow more money, but have the unintended consequences of starving the Venezuelan people.
Conflict may allow for synthesis and change.
Due to the hunger crisis, Venezuela impacts changes other countries have been made. For example, according to an article by Miami Herald, Jim Wyss states that currently, as of February 2018, Venezuela is “Trapped in an economic crisis that includes hyperinflation, and food and medicine shortages, hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of Venezuelans have fled the country in recent years. In neighboring Colombia alone, authorities estimate that there are anywhere from 560,000 to 700,000 Venezuelans.” Therefore, the conflict has caused a refugee crisis for neighboring Colombia. Furthermore, countries want to help the situation get better and change it by offering food aid. However, many of the food supplies that they have are getting taken away from the military and this is being allowed by president Maduro. There is a black market trade of the food that is donated, the military sells and trades it for money. This is true as in a recent report, the government wants more power and does not have money, so the food that is donated is given as payment to the military, who then sells or trades it. This cycle allows the military to continue to work for the government as they are getting profited by the food. These changes are leaving children and families to suffer. This impacts the community in a negative way, as they have nothing to live off and many children are dying or getting sick this condition is called anorexic as people can't eat and become very skinny. As a report Chicago Tribune it says,“As many Venezuelans don't have any food there only option is their zoo animals and pets.” This is connected as president Maduro said in an interview in the NPR articles as Maduro and his ministers are embarking on somewhat surprising and to many, alarming campaign to convince Venezuelans to eat rabbits. They say wild animals will make an excellent source of protein for the large number of people who don't have regular access to red meat or chicken as the result of the country's economic collapse. Therefore, the conflict impacting change by opening up more conflicts and changing it for other countries and the way the country itself is run, how food is given out, and how the government is dealing with the situation.
Venezuela’s hunger crisis is made up of two opposing forces involving the Venezuelan people and the Venezuelan government. Some details of this conflict is that the government is blocking the Venezuelans food and medical supplies from being imported and also that there has been high inflation rates which has made it even more of a struggle to purchase food. They consist of a president named Nicolas Maduro wanting more power and wanting a strong army to keep in tact of his reign. Although there is a huge lack of resources there is hope as Wharton University of Pennsylvania states in an article that,”Much as it looks doomed, Venezuela could have respite and recovery from its woes, say experts.” For example, in the article it states that,”in the short term, the country must also accept foreign aid to alleviate the immediate economic crisis and in the longer term, a new government should focus on reducing dependence on oil.” This shows the fact that the government must be willing to accept the help of other countries in order to be restored to their prior shape and they would have to find other ways to maintain themselves other than oil. The details in this conflict is that President Maduro does not want to lose power by losing his military and is scared to get attacked politically and by his very own people. This then led him to make other changes such as many laws to stay in power and by doing so it has caused many people in the community to lose jobs and specifically losing wealth. This is then leading to lots of people mostly children to having malnutrition since their parents cannot afford food with so little money and most importantly can’t get food as there is no food in the first place. This is also caused since their is a black market where the military sells all the food supplies imported into Venezuela. This is supported by NPR radio where Ricardo Nunes states that,”Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro gave the military complete control of the food supply last summer, after people began protesting in the streets over food rationing.” This relates to the big idea since the main source of food supplies is being taken away by the government and the government is taking charge of what is going on within the country which then led to the massive starvation crisis that is known today.
Conflict may be natural or man-made.
Venezuela’s hunger crisis has been man-made overtime by the Venezuelan government in several ways including the way it originated as an economic crisis and the way the government imposes their laws currently. The cause of the conflict is an economic one. According to an article by the New York Times, inflation, or when money is worth less has caused this conflict to happen. For example, in the article from CNN Money it states,”Venezuela's minimum wage for a month is 97,531 bolivars, or just over $10. At Rey David, a bottle of Aunt Jemima maple syrup goes for 95,230 bolivars.” This displays that the syrup is way overpriced due to inflation, where Venezuelan money no longer is worth the same it used it be. It is costing almost about the minimum wage which is just ten dollars and about 10 dollars for a bottle of syrup is way too much. The drastic part about this is that before the price was only 10,000 bolivars and now it's up to 90,000 which goes to show how bad the inflation rates are. In fact, “Venezuela has been shuddering since its economy began to collapse in 2014. Riots and protests over the lack of affordable food, excruciating long lines for basic provisions, soldiers posted outside bakeries and angry crowds ransacking grocery stores have rattled cities, providing a telling, public display of the depths of the crisis.” Since the food exports seemed to be down, it made it more difficult to receive food supplies to the point where the food was eventually running out. One way the government has imposed laws is by making rations of the food supplies which is causing kids to starve and get diseases. As the article NY Times it states,”hunger has gripped the nation for years. Now, it’s killing children.” This is representing the fact that way more than hundreds of children have died of starvation and the lack of nutrition. If they do not get food and get their proper nutrition their generation and future generations won’t stand a chance in this world. As they don’t have any food they have to other random options for food. In an article by the Human Rights Watch it states,”These sanctions should be applied to those who, exercising their role in civilian, military, and judicial positions, are responsible for systematic human rights violations carried out in the country.” This connects to overtime since they are implying that the authorities of Venezuela should afterwards pay for their crimes since they haven’t been charged for them in the beginning. So now that they have been caught for their actions they should be sentenced. Also another connection overtime has been that many people are dying just because the government’s viewpoint is to be powerful and control a whole community which has been leading to complete mayhem for the Venezuelans.
Conflict may be intentional or unintentional.
This conflict is both unintentional and intentional as the government and the prior Venezuelan president, Maduro, as well as the previous leader, Hugo Chávez, have made decision regarding the economy without intending to have its own people starve. In an article from the New York Times it states, “[Chávez] died in 2013, but many economists say his policies of state ownership, unfettered spending, subsidies and domestic price controls are at least partly responsible for the crisis today.” Due to this, it ended up with President Maduro left in debt of the money owed to foreign countries. Since Venezuela does not have any money the only way the government can afford to pay the military is by allowing them to stop the imports of the Venezuelans food and selling it. Right now there are some vital items and products that should be cheap, but are scarce in supply in Venezuela. In the NPR story, Ricardo Nunes says,“If you're one of the lucky people to get the food at the government-set price, you are doing quite well.” But a lot of people can't afford to spend an entire day in line at a state supermarket, only to find the shelves have already been emptied by the time they get through the door. Although the government spending and debt crisis made by government leaders over time have made this hunger crisis, their initial intent was not for their people to starve. Poor economic decisions have unintentionally created a situation where there are huge lines just to get food. For example, according to a New York Times article written by -Rick Gladstone, “the country owes roughly 120 billion dollars to foreign creditors and must make a payment of nearly 7 billion this year.” This financial debt has caused President Maduro to intentionally borrow more money, but have the unintended consequences of starving the Venezuelan people.
Conflict may allow for synthesis and change.
Due to the hunger crisis, Venezuela impacts changes other countries have been made. For example, according to an article by Miami Herald, Jim Wyss states that currently, as of February 2018, Venezuela is “Trapped in an economic crisis that includes hyperinflation, and food and medicine shortages, hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of Venezuelans have fled the country in recent years. In neighboring Colombia alone, authorities estimate that there are anywhere from 560,000 to 700,000 Venezuelans.” Therefore, the conflict has caused a refugee crisis for neighboring Colombia. Furthermore, countries want to help the situation get better and change it by offering food aid. However, many of the food supplies that they have are getting taken away from the military and this is being allowed by president Maduro. There is a black market trade of the food that is donated, the military sells and trades it for money. This is true as in a recent report, the government wants more power and does not have money, so the food that is donated is given as payment to the military, who then sells or trades it. This cycle allows the military to continue to work for the government as they are getting profited by the food. These changes are leaving children and families to suffer. This impacts the community in a negative way, as they have nothing to live off and many children are dying or getting sick this condition is called anorexic as people can't eat and become very skinny. As a report Chicago Tribune it says,“As many Venezuelans don't have any food there only option is their zoo animals and pets.” This is connected as president Maduro said in an interview in the NPR articles as Maduro and his ministers are embarking on somewhat surprising and to many, alarming campaign to convince Venezuelans to eat rabbits. They say wild animals will make an excellent source of protein for the large number of people who don't have regular access to red meat or chicken as the result of the country's economic collapse. Therefore, the conflict impacting change by opening up more conflicts and changing it for other countries and the way the country itself is run, how food is given out, and how the government is dealing with the situation.