Editor’s note: Venezuela is currently in the midst of a controversy over who its president is. Nicolas Maduro was elected last year for a second term. Recently, Juan Guaidó, a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly, has been recognized by some as interim president. The situation is complicated, but President Trump has declared support for Guaidó over Maduro. A current Cabrini student, Alissa Lovera, is from Venezuela and Loquitur interviewed her to get her point of view
“This is not easy to put into words,” Alissa Lovera, sophomore digital communication and social media major, said. “I despise Maduro to put it in the more honest and blunt way.”
Alissa Lovera grew up in Venezuela and moved to Uruguay in December of 2015. She moved to Uruguay to continue her university education after she felt she could not continue studying in Venezuela due to the political and socioeconomic crisis. After two years spent in Uruguay, she left to come to the United States to continue her higher education because she was struggling in Uruguay to find a good job.
More than three million Venezuelans have left the country over the past few years. This is due to public health plummeting, insufficient goods and lack of power. On Jan. 23, Juan Guaido announced himself as president to challenge the current president of six years, Nicolas Maduro. Venezuela is currently in the worst humanitarian crisis that has occurred in a while.
“This a condition we as Venezuelans never expected to be in,” Lovera said.
Before Maduro became President, [Hugo] Chavez was in the presidency. Lovera said Chavez was full of hate to anyone who was not his supporter, often calling them names and being hostile.
“He (Maduro) is basically doing absolutely nothing for the people he claims his government is for,” Lovera said.
Lovera says the majority of Venezuelans feel as though Maduro should not remain president due to the economy collapsing under his presidency last term. Although Maduro won the recent election, Lovera said Venezuelans said the election was unfair because Maduro won due to many of his opponents being jailed or having escaped the country in fear of being imprisoned
“The situation in Venezuela is now terrible. There are no medicines in hospitals and there is no food in the supermarkets. A minimum salary is not enough to buy even 5 percent of the first necessity items which we call ‘cesta básica,’” Lovera said.
Venezuelan money is practically worthless and everything costs millions due to the devaluation of their currency and the hyperinflation estimated at over one million percent. People die every day out of lack of medicine to treat their diseases and the low-income class is literally starving to death.
There is a shortage of medicines in Venezuela and people often exchange them via social media for food or other items. There are no medicines in the hospitals to treat patients, people are dying every day because of the health crisis. Lovera said people in Venezuela are starving because food production is being shut down due to government expropriation of the private industry which collapsed due to poor management.
Lovera saw how the media that wasn’t controlled by the government and opposed it, was shut down. She said she saw how slowly food started to disappear from shelves, how they began to make lines to be able to buy milk and toilet paper, how the money they made working lost all its value because of the hyper-inflation and economic crisis.
“I myself have been a victim of government repression in pacific protests, being attacked by National Guards with the use of – not tear gas – mustard gas. I saw how my friends got killed just to have their phones stolen… I saw how the value of human life was less than the value of the money.” – Alissa Lovera
The National Assembly, a group of representatives of the nation, insisted that the election was unfair due to those circumstances and Maduro is a “usurper.” President Trump is siding with the national assembly and agrees, Juan Guaido should be the official president.
Juan Guaido has been involved in the resistance against the Chavez and Maduro regime since it has begun. He was a young Venezuelan who grew up watching his country decay in every level and who wants things to change. Lovera said there is a new generation of Venezuelans who are aware of their selves and collective potential as a nation. They want Venezuela to be a great country where they can all live because they love their country.
“I believe in Juan Guaido because I know where he comes from, and because he is doing things the right way. He is very brave to face the dictatorship the way he is doing it,” Lovera said. She compares him to Leopoldo Lopez who was sent to prison for going against the regime, like many others, Lovera believes Guaido can help make a difference.
Although many Venezuelans like Lovera feel Maduro and his entire party are not fit to run a government, at all, they are doing very well in the drug business.
The United States has recently been trying to take away all jurisdiction of Venezuelan bank accounts and property from Maduro and give it to Juan Guaido. They have been trying to do this by making oil revenues go directly to Venezuelans and go around Maduro.
“I am grateful that the United States is officially helping us solve this crisis. But to say that takes away the many years of Resistance and enormous amount of efforts Venezuelans have invested in fighting to overthrow a dictatorship and restore our country.”
The United States has been trying to send food and medicine to the border of between Columbia and Venezuela. They do not know how these goods will get across the border with Maduro banning outside hauls.
“The government blocked the highway from Colombia to Venezuela where the humanitarian aid would come from. Now tell me, why would they want people to starve?”
Lovera agrees with the temporary cessation of the oil market because it cuts money off the dictatorship. She said it is necessary to protect Venezuelan funds that are being put away in personal bank accounts because they know time is up. Once they can restore democracy and choose a new representative leader, the market will slowly start to recover.
As for how Maduro should be removed from office, Lovera does not want military intervention as it “would be devastating.” She does want Maduro and his party to be removed from Venezuela and to go through the appropriate legal instances to be sentenced for all the crimes against humanity they are responsible for.
Lovera has been devastated for years watching her home country become what is has. She has been fantasizing and dreaming about the end of this cruelty in her home country for many years.
“I am nervous and worried and excited to think about all the possibilities in Venezuela once we are able to get rid of the dictatorship. There is a lot of work ahead but I think all Venezuelans are willing to work hard to rebuild our country and watch it excel worldwide as we used to in other time,” Lovera said.
