International

Who suffers most from sanctions?

Francisco Dominguez is secretary of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign.

VENEZUELA is being subjected to merciless US-led economic, commercial, financial, political and even military aggression, explicitly aimed to bring about ‘regime change’. This is illegal, flagrantly contravening the UN Charter and constituting a crime against the humanity of 30 million Venezuelans.

The UK’s contribution has also been substantial by retaining 31 tons of Venezuelan gold in the Bank of England, despite a Court of Appeal ruling last year that was favourable to the government of Nicolás Maduro and which overturned an earlier High Court ruling concerning who the UK recognised as Venezuela’s president.

Devastating impact of sanctions

After visiting Venezuela in February this year, the UN Special Rapporteur, Alena Douhan, said that the sanctions had “exacerbated the pre-existing economic and humanitarian situation by preventing the earning of revenues and the use of resources to develop and maintain infrastructure and for social support programs”.

She said this has had “a devastating effect on the whole population of Venezuela, especially those in extreme poverty, women, children, medical workers, people with disabilities or life-threatening or chronic diseases, and the indigenous population”.

On the effects of the sanctions on education, Douhan reported that “low salaries, the absence or insufficiency of school supplies, school uniforms and food at school, which used to be provided by the Government, transportation problems, the absence of electricity, and reduced Internet and mobile phone coverage endanger the exercise of the right to education”.

She concluded by urging the US Government “to end the national emergency

The UK has 31 tons of Venezuelan gold PHOTO by Eddie Mulholland

regarding Venezuela, revise and lift sanctions against Venezuela’s public sector, review and lift secondary sanctions against third-state parties, and refrain from imposing sanctions on diesel supplies that would provoke a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented proportion”.

‘Heroic efforts’ to hold education gains

Despite the devastating consequences of these sanctions, government and teachers in Venezuela are making heroic efforts to maintain the gains made before they were applied. n Illiteracy has been eradicated and 1,500,000 citizens taught to read and write. n Venezuela became the fifth highest country in the world for university enrolment. n Despite the brutal blockade and the coronavirus pandemic, public education at all levels (primary, secondary, technical and higher) remains free of charge, and more than ten per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) is devoted to education. n In 2020, school enrolment increased by 10.4 per cent to 93 per cent (80 per cent of education is public). n Students in basic education receive the Venezuelan Bicentenary Collection of textbooks, free of charge. n Tablets are provided to students at all levels, free of charge (6.5 million have already been distributed). Since 2021, they have also been provided to university lecturers as a tool for distance education during the pandemic. n The school food programme is being maintained, reaching more than 20,000 out of the 25,000 schools in basic education. n Some 1,500 medical doctors, trained free of charge, have graduated from the Salvador Allende Latin American School of Medicine with students coming from many countries in South America and Africa, and from Palestine. These professionals return to their countries to serve as doctors.

Additionally, more than 3.5 million houses for the poor have been built and delivered as part of the state programme of social housing.

More elections this year

Since 1999, there have been nearly 30 elections and this year, in line with the nature of the Bolivarian system, there will be municipal and regional elections in November.

The Bolivarian system is a participatory and self-reliant democracy. Thus, society is dominated by social movements including women’s organisations, peasants, fishermen, committees for health and water, land committees, urban agriculture, and others, giving rise to communal councils – that is, to people’s power.

The Venezuelan people reject foreign interference in our internal affairs, demand that all US-led sanctions are immediately and unconditionally lifted, and call upon the international community and teachers in the UK to support our right to self-determination.