VENEZUELA: “WE HAVE TO TAKE SHELTER WHEN THERE’S NO POWER BECAUSE THERE’S A LOT OF SHOOTING”

By: Luis Alvarenga

Luisa Pozo is a 64-year-old Zulia resident who worries about how at night the living conditions worsen, remembering that she has to sleep outside her home, that there is no drinking water, that she does not know when the power will come back and, to top it all, that insecurity is unleashed.

The plight of people living in Zulia state, Venezuela, worsens when the night takes over the cities due to constant power cuts, rationing of basic services and shortages of food and medicine, as well as the poor performance of security forces in the region and the insecurity that takes over the streets of Maracaibo.

Pozo described what happens in her community when night falls and there is no electricity in one of the most dangerous states:

“Last night I heard more than 20 gunshots. In order to protect ourselves when there is no power, we have to close ourselves in, because one can hear many shots coming from all sides, some closer and others farther away.

Amnesty International notes in the report “This is no way to live” that by 2017 the homicide rate in Venezuela was estimated at 89 per 100,000 inhabitants. These deaths “tend to occur in the poorest and most densely populated urban areas,” the document adds.

“Violence in Venezuela is the responsibility of the state because of its failure to investigate and punish those responsible. This creates a climate of impunity that neither ensures reparation for the victims nor guarantees non-repetition. In addition, the lack of official information makes decision making on public policy – ensuring that the reality of the situation is taken into account and that international standards are adhered to in matters of public security – more problematic,” the report points out.

“When? Never!” is the police presence that Pozo testifies to during the almost permanent power cuts in Zulia.

Services that don’t work

“This power rationing is unprecedented. This is the first time in all my years that this has happened. It’s horrible! Because on top of that there’s no water, there’s no power, it’s hot, there’s no food,” Pozo said.

The situation in the capital of the country’s most populous state, which has important oil reserves –the main source of income for a country that has been in a strong economic crisis for several years –, darkens at the thought of how people manage to survive.

With only 4 or 6 hours of electricity per day, according to the rationing scheme announced by the governor, people in Zulia must hurry to be able to do in that time what it takes to survive the other 20 or 22 hours in the dark.

These include preserving food, washing clothes, cleaning, and buying basic goods (when telephone and internet service allow points of sale terminals to function).

Every day, people in Maracaibo must go out to see what they can find (and afford) to eat that day. Thinking that food can be saved for the next day is impossible: there is no electricity and the scorching heat spoils everything quickly.

Health on the edge                                   

“The garbage has been outside for many months and the worms are going to reach us inside the house. There are too many flies and mosquitoes,” says Pozo to exemplify the neglect in garbage collection in the state.

This neglect has serious health consequences, and people cannot receive medical treatment because hospitals do not have supplies, there is a severe shortage of medicines – Amnesty International points out on the webpage Emergency Exit that it reaches 90% – and the highest inflation in the world makes buying what is necessary a luxury.

“There is no medicine and no medical attention either because there is no power. People have to go from place to place to see where there is electricity .”

To date there are no official figures on how many people have died as a result of problems caused by power outages, nor is there any data on the extent of the material damage caused.

For this reason, it is urgent that the authorities take it upon themselves to immediately solve the serious situation that people are going through in Venezuela. It is responsibility of the state to guarantee the universal right to life, to access to clean water and to all basic services, as well as to health and to a dignified life.