Venezuela: it's scary to live here
Venezuela was swept by crime when Hugo Chavez came to power. While 1998 killed thousands of people in the country in 4,5, then in 2010, we can speak of more than 20 thousands of people killed, and in 91% of cases, the killers are not caught. Abductions of people occur a little less, according to statistics about 17 thousands of people per year disappear. Under Hugo Chávez, Venezuela became the first country in the world of anarchy.
Even in Iraq, which constantly participates in wars and exceeds Venezuela only by 4 million inhabitants (31 million in Iraq and 27 million in Venezuela), 2009 4 people were killed for 644 a year, when in Chavez's country 16 047 people were killed According to the NGO Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia. Last year, that number jumped to 20 thousands. Caracas, the capital of the state, is rightly considered the most dangerous city in the world, the annual population decline due to the killings is 130-200 people per 100 thousand inhabitants. It is impossible to say more precisely, since the Venezuelan authorities themselves cannot name the exact population of the capital, estimates vary from 3 to 5 million people, if we consider the suburbs, then we can speak about 8 millions. The second place in the world crime situation ranking is occupied by South African Cape Town (98 kills per 100 thousand people). Bogota, the capital of Colombia, is considered a paradise for all bandits, but there this figure is only 22,7, and in Sao Paulo in Brazil - 14 people.
In the spirit of Venezuela is the twin of Russia. For more than 10 years the country has been under the control of one person - Hugo Chávez, it is easy to draw a parallel with Putin. He sings on television in the same way, flies around on helicopters everywhere and considers America to be the main culprit of all troubles. On 80%, Venezuela’s exports consist of oil, which is also 30% of GDP. Like Russia, the state imports the most necessary goods. Science and industry are not developed at all.
And yet, in some respects, Venezuela can be considered a more developed country than Russia. The average life expectancy of their men is 71 year, when in Russia this figure is kept at the level of 59-61 of the year, taking into account young people from Central Asia. The multi-party system and competitive elections in the country are not only words, three parties are represented in parliament, and one of them (40% of the seats) takes an extremely opposition position with respect to Hugo Chávez’s policy. Women make up about 60% of the total number of municipal deputies. On 93%, the country's population lives in cities, the urbanization rate is one of the highest in the world. In Russia, it is 73% according to official data and 50% according to calculations of individual experts.
Oil revenues in the country are distributed in such a way that the social system is more humane. In addition, the cost of a liter of gasoline is only 3 Russian rubles.
At the same time, Venezuela has to pay dearly for its social experiments. If the minimum wage in a country is about 170 dollars, then the poverty and unemployment benefit is 300. It is not surprising that the majority of the population from the lower classes does not want to work, since the state pays for doing nothing. According to official statistics, the number of unemployed in the country is 6-7%, in fact, 70-80% people in the slum population refuse to work, while 30-40% of the country's population are below the poverty line. As in the countries of the Second World, they prefer to rob the rest of the population, and the most violent and cunning gather in gangs and deal with much more complex crimes.
A passerby can kill for a handful of small things in a wallet, elderly women in their own apartments, owners of small enterprises who refuse to pay tribute. Listed up to 60% of the entire business. Exceptions are large enterprises with serious security or belonging to revolutionary officials.
Up to 70, fishermen from the northeast shore of Lake Maracaibo are subject to a tribute, including 2,5 thousands of boats from the Miranda municipality. The bandits allow you to put decals on the sides of the boats with a huge Nike sun as a sign that the tribute has been paid. These highly visible markings from afar save fishing vessels from being killed and robbed.
In the same municipality (areas of Punta Vihia and Sabaneta de Palma) for two days 30 motors with a total value of 16 thousands of local bolivars each were removed from fishing boats, which is approximately 2500 dollars.
In the areas in the south of the lake (Valmor Rodriguez and Baralt) there are gangs who prefer to wear military uniforms. They require a down payment from the fishermen on the 150 Bolivar and the subsequent 100 monthly (23 and 15 dollars respectively). But this money also guarantees only the inviolability of the vessel, and not the fisher himself, who can be kidnapped for ransom. This is another favorite entertainment of the local poor.
During the 12 months alone during the 2009-10 period, according to the National Institute of Statistics, 16 917 people were abducted in Venezuela. With a family stolen, a ransom of 6-12 of his monthly income is demanded, that is, 1-2 is thousands of dollars for a poor person.
As already noted, 91% kills are not revealed. And the main reason can be called a radical change in the work of the police under the current government. Hugo Chavez is absolutely sure that the police must serve as preventive and educational, and not repressive. Before he came to power, as in all Latin American countries, there were special units in the Venezuelan police, local “death squads”. They suddenly broke into the neighborhoods of the poor and carried out an ambulance for any offense, they could kill for the only cartridge they found. The Venezuelan president dismissed these “squadrons”.
The only thing that is still somehow capable of holding gangs from slums is civilian militias of rich neighborhoods. As a rule, they consist of wealthy white youth. Local leftists call the members of these compounds fascists. In neighboring Colombia, the same "fascists" are fighting with the red partisans, along with government punishers.
In this situation, the president can only blame America and world imperialism for the sweeping criminality that has swept the country. Neighboring Colombia is added, Hugo Chavez calls it Latin America’s Israel. The bourgeois past of the country is also considered the “culprit” of the evils that have occurred. Venezuela has a law that Russia applies to Chechen fighters - a gang can lay down weapon, “Repent” of their sins and promise to take the right path, stopping to commit murder and kidnapping. In 2003, this law pardoned Sementero, one of the largest gangs in the capital. Around 150, criminals surrendered to the mercy of the authorities and were released.
One of the reasons why criminals remain at large is overcrowded prisons, which are designed only for 14 thousand people. However, 38 of thousands of criminals are already in them. Every year, 400-450 prisoners die in Venezuelan prisons.
The exodus of the white minority, which is about 20% of the country's population and for the most part belongs to the middle class or the top of society, creates additional difficulties for the events. The number of blacks comes to 10% of all residents, the rest are mestizos and purebred Indians.
The Venezuelan Data Analysis Institute (IVAD) recently conducted a study, the results of which showed that 71,9% of the country's population considers crime as the main problem of the country. Spain's consul in Venezuela, Anibal Jimenez, shared with the Venezuelan press that more and more people are consulting on the necessary documents to enter Spain. Over the last decade, 130-140 of thousands of indigenous Venezuelans and the descendants of Spaniards went there, another 60 of thousands of people just returned to their homeland.
Gregorio Castro, a sociologist, says that the main factors that cause the population to flee to Spain are high crime and degradation, social and political, which is painfully given to the middle class.
Only in Caracas, thousands of people visit 1,5 every day at the Spanish consulate and 500-600 people in other cities of Venezuela visit it. 300-600 people come to the consulates of Italy and Portugal per day.
Thus, it can be said that the policy of Hugo Chávez created the first state of anarchy in the world in which the authorities simply ignore many processes, and the “working people” themselves deal with the issues of the lower classes. Such a situation is similar to the USSR in the 1920 of the year. It should be expected that the power of Chávez will be replaced by a reaction, up to a semi-fascist dictatorship. This development is very characteristic of Latin America.
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