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Millennium Development Goals

The government of Hugo Chávez has made major efforts to tackle poverty and social exclusion, especially through programmes known as misiones. Financed by oil revenues, these programmes include healthcare and education for poor communities, employment creation, reforestation, energy saving and measures against social exclusion.

By contrast, agricultural reform is in its infancy although the land reform programme was pushed forward by the regional governments and the National Land Institute (INTI) during the second half of 2005.

In spite of the country’s abundance of natural resources, 37.9% of Venezuelan households live below the poverty line, notably the rural poor and indigenous people. The Venezuelan government has declared that it will be able to accomplish some of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) before 2015, particularly those related to the eradication of illiteracy. However, progress is slow in other areas and clear policies are necessary to accelerate the process.

Health

Caracas in profile © Maria Madrid

The government programme Barrio Adentro offers free medical healthcare to the poor under an innovative agreement with Cuba in which up to 20,000 Cuban doctors work in Venezuela in exchange for regular supplies of oil. This has improved access to primary healthcare, particularly for marginalised groups, such as residents of poor shanty towns or indigenous communities. However, the entire system is anchored on the Cuban doctors and its sustainability will be jeopardised if the agreement with Cuba is terminated, or if international oil prices fall. The health ministry’s main concern is therefore the consolidation of the programmes, ensuring their sustainability and the phasing in of more Venezuelan doctors.

Dengue, yellow fever and malaria are major health issues. The HIV prevalence rate in 2005 was estimated at 0.7%.
Politics

Hugo Chávez © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a multi-party republic with a democratically-elected president and unicameral national assembly. On re-election in 2000, President Hugo Chávez faced a succession of opposition attempts to remove him from office including a failed coup to topple him in April 2002 and a recall referendum held on 15 August 2004. This was possible through an unusual feature of the Constitution which he himself had introduced in 1999, whereby the recall of key government positions can be put to a referendum if 20% of registered voters sign a petition. In the event the Chávez mandate was reconfirmed with 59.25% of the votes.

Election slogans; Venezuela 2006 © Maria Madrid

In the parliamentary elections held in December 2005 Chávez’ party, The Movement for the Fifth Republic (MVR), and allied parties won all 167 seats. A last-minute boycott by the fragmented opposition preceded the elections which were marked by high abstention. Presidential elections in December 2006 returned Chávez for a further 6 years with over 60% of the poll. After his landslide victory, Chávez announced the “5 motors” to achieve the "Socialism of the 21st Century" (enabling law, socialist constitutional reform, morals and enlightenment, new geometry of power, and communal power).

The last of these concepts is a drive towards participatory democracy in which representatives of small geographical areas (on average only 200 families) control a budget and take responsibility for decisions that affect the group. Substantial government funds have been injected with the hope of establishing over 25,000 communal councils by the end of 2007. Conventional civil society is weak and polarized by the politicisation of society. Hence, different groups and associations within civil society have taken over political functions from the political parties. However, some reliable NGOs are independently active in the field of environment, election monitoring and human rights.

Chávez has also announced the intention to create a United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), bringing together current members of the ruling coalition. Observers who question the democratic credentials of the Chávez regime point to this potential concentration of power, reflected in the approval by the National Assembly of the re-elected president’s right to rule by decree for 18 months.
Information and Media

Most of the media were in the hands of former leaders of the Fourth Republic and were politically biased. A law on the social responsibilities of the media has been implemented to address these shortcomings, but this has been strongly criticised by advocacy groups and international watchdogs. Private television channels have been accused of being involved in the attempted coup against the government in 2002 and for unacceptable personal attacks against the President. One of these channels, the popular RCTV, will be forced to close in May 2007 as the government has decided not to renew its licence.

Together with Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay, Venezuela has launched the pan-Latin American TV-channel Telesur intended to provide an alternative to dominant US media.
Human Rights

In the latest Constitution (1999), the fundamental rights of indigenous groups in Venezuela are recognised. It also contains the basis for a balanced development of surviving ethnic minorities through the preservation of their customs, culture, lands, cosmic vision and medicine. They are assured a proper representation and voice through the National Council of Indigenous People and a separate ministry. The recent reform of the Criminal Code has been criticised as being insufficient. There is also concern that the independence of the Supreme Court is compromised by government appointments.

Frequent abuse is committed by police and military and many cases of extra-judicial killings are not properly investigated. Prison conditions are appalling, with many inmates dying while in custody. Public safety is a serious issue: the homicide rate in Caracas is amongst the highest worldwide. A report by Venezuela Segura (Safe Venezuela), a civil association concerned with the proliferation of crime, indicates that kidnapping has increased by 228% since 1999. Moreover, kidnapping has spread into the eastern, central and southern parts of the country. Numerous sources reported stories of kidnapping and extortion in rural communities along the Colombian-Venezuelan border.

Venezuela figures among the most corrupt countries in the world, according to Transparency International. Politically motivated staff changes within the government are very frequent.
Conflict

Chávez and Castro © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

The country’s foreign policy increasingly looks beyond the Americas and the government has sought to enhance contacts, not just with Russia and Iran, but also with China, India and the European Union. This together with the President's unashamed advocacy of his anti-globalisation model for the whole of South America has greatly strained relations with the United States. Venezuela was listed by the US in May 2006 as a "country of concern" and a ban on arms sales has been imposed on grounds of lack of support for counter-terrorism. President Chávez has nevertheless launched a programme of modernization of Venezuela’s military arsenal, with purchases from Brazil, Spain, China and Russia.

The US duly lobbied against Venezuela’s attempt to further raise its international profile in 2006 by contesting the Latin American and Caribbean seat in the UN Security Council. Chávez finally withdrew after repeated ballots failed to gain sufficient support.
Economy

In this new phase of the Bolivarian Revolution, the President has already nationalised key sectors of the economy including the telecommunications company cantv and Electricidad de Caracas. He has set in motion steps to take control of the last privately-run oil companies and threatened to nationalise private banks and the steel firm Ternium-Sidor. As a further controversial gesture, in May 2007 Chávez announced his intention to pull Venezuela out of the IMF and World Bank.

Canaima National Park, Venezuela © Maria Madrid

All of these dramatic steps have the stated aim of achieving a more equal society in Venezuela and reducing poverty. There is a relatively high rate of unemployment, 10.2% in March 2006, with youth unemployment and underemployment being particularly significant. More than half of the labour force participates in the informal sector, mostly in unlicensed street businesses, illegal farming and women working from their homes. This exclusion reduces the already low tax income for the state, which is not redistributed.

Nevertheless, Venezuela is a resource-rich, middle-income country with a population of roughly 25 million people in which the economy continues to be highly dependent on the export of commodities, notably oil, gas and aluminium. The oil sector accounts for 30% of GDP, 80% of total exports and more than 50% of government income. While the political difficulties of recent years have caused a strong recession, high international oil prices have led to a robust recovery.

Venezuela has manipulated its oil wealth into a form of overseas development aid. Nine Caribbean countries have signed an agreement (Petrocaribe) with Venezuela enabling them to acquire oil on advantageous terms. Similar agreements have been signed with Bolivia, Ecuador and Mercosur countries and, more controversially, offered to low income groups in the US.

A major integration of Latin American countries through energy is President Chavez´ ambition. In order to achieve this, a project to build a huge gas pipeline from the Caribbean to Argentina is being discussed.

As a result of the 1970s oil boom, other mineral resources than oil (iron, bauxite, gold and diamonds) and whole sectors of the economy – agriculture, fisheries and forestry – have remained largely underdeveloped. The government protects the oligopolistic economy via restrictions on imports and foreign exchange: the official rate of the national currency (BS) is fixed through government decision and not tied with any foreign currency.

In July 2006, Venezuela completed negotiations to be a full member of MERCOSUR (Common Market of the South) leading to its withdrawal from smaller economic groupings - the CAN (Community of Andean Nations) and the G3 (Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela).
Environment

Angel Falls, Venezuela © Maria Madrid

Venezuela has already accomplished the MDG related to safe drinking water, with an average of 88% of coverage and is committed to attain the Goal for sanitation before 2010. The Goal for reforestation may be more challenging in view of the high rate of forest depletion of 1% per annum over recent years. There are however ambitious plans to reverse this trend. Deforestation increases worries about the impact of climate change – and in common with other South American countries, the glaciers in the Sierra Nevada have experienced a significant retreat during the past century.



Maria Madrid is a European Union official currently living in Caracas, Venezuela. She holds a degree in translation and economics, a Master in European law and a certificate in development management.

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