Many protests in Venezuela have left hundreds of people in the country dead and even more injured or jailed etc. For several years now, the people in the country have been faced with increasing problems like food shortages, medical shortages, triple-digit inflation, and rising crime.
Those who have had the ability to try and leave the country have sought to do just that, and in 2017 it's reported that Venezuelans topped the list of asylum seekers to the US.
This year alone, roughly 20,000+ applications have been filed.
International critics and protesters in the country, have both labeled the current political regime there as an authoritarian dictatorship and say that they are dealing with an intense amount of political corruption in the country.
Despite the criticism however, things continue to get worse and there have been hundreds of different protests that have taken place, with many carrying signs calling their current leader a dictator. Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to voice their concerns in the last several years for the worsening problems. However, those protests haven't seemed to thus far pressure the government to make any significant changes in pressing for real solutions to the current problems.
The country has a debt payment coming up at the end of this week and it's been suggested that the nation could soon reach it's tipping point if it hasn't already. While political authorities struggle to allegedly make things better, the people are left suffering.
Sending Help...
Private charities and individuals and families located overseas who have loved ones still in the country, have been quick to step up and try to form relief efforts to help those struggling in Venezuela. They frequently send things like beans, pasta, sugar, flour, toiletries, clothing, and other items. Though they've already sent tens of thousands of dollars worth of donations, there are many people who are still struggling and in need of help.
Venezuelans right now are estimated to be dealing with inflation that is up this year more than 536 percent and that has made it very difficult for them to obtain a lot of their necessities. Just a few weeks ago it was estimated that $1 would get you around 27, 000 bolivars or so on the black market.
Many people in the country are going hungry, with the military exercising heavy control over food distribution, central authorities have failed to meet their needs; no surprise there. Government authorities in numerous ways are making things more difficult for the citizens. And if you can believe it, the government there has allegedly even taken to banning certain shipments of aid supplies and prescription medicine.
Private courier services have allegedly been successful in bribing some customs officials to turn and look the other way when trying to get those relief packages into the country. And families of those still living in Venezuela say that where they used to send packages to their relatives infrequently for a special occasion, it's now become a much more serious matter. They are sending these packages to make sure that their loved ones don't go hungry.
Pics:
Getty Images via MarketWatch
Jorge Silva Reuters via WP
Sources:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election/venezuela-vote-dispute-escalates-foreign-sanctions-threat-idUSKBN1CK06A
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/venezuelan-currency-crashes-to-all-time-low-on-black-market-2016-11-28
http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/01/09/508986586/as-venezuelan-go-hungry-the-military-is-trafficking-in-food
http://foreignpolicy.com/2016/05/26/venezuelas-problems-are-political-not-economic/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/01/29/venezuela-is-on-the-brink-of-a-complete-collapse/?utm_term=.fb6f2e13f7c6
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-economy/venezuelas-january-september-inflation-536-percent-national-assembly-idUSKBN1CB25L
https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/24/rubio-warns-that-venezuelas-tipping-point-is-coming.html
http://www.latimes.com/world/mexico-americas/la-fg-venezuela-assembly-20170818-story.html
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-fg-venezuela-food-20171022-story.html
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