The Summit of the Americas
During the Summit of the Americas, there was one leader that didn't receive an invitation, Nicolas Maduro. The different nations in the Summit discussed on trade deals and on fixing their political fences. They all had a question in mind of what to do to help Venezuela's problem of Nicolas Maduro's Power. Many of the nations have agreed to just to isolate Venezuela by not helping the government, but actually helping the people who flee towards freedom of the tyranny. Since President Trump was absent in the summit the Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence, took his place to represent the U.S. and he stated, "we'll continue to do everything in our power to provide sustenance an support to those who have fled this tyranny." The U.S. has agreed to help the refugees from Venezuela, meanwhile Bolivian President has stated he will be helping the government instead.
- Do you believe that the Americas should isolate Venezuela's tyranny?
- What other possibilities should be done to help the people of Venezuela?
- Do you believe it was a good idea to not invite Nicolas Maduro to the Summit to the Americas?
To help the people of Venezuela, the UN should acknowledge this situation as a refugee crisis. If other countries are aware, they will donate money to Latin American countries who are receiving the Venezuelan refugees, like Brazil and Columbia. Then those countries' economies will benefit and they will continue to take in refugees. I think it was a good idea to not invite Nicolas Maduro to the Summit so the other countries could freely discuss what they should do about his government. However, they need to meet with him sometime to try to resolve certain issues and keep him accountable, so the situation doesn't get worse.
ReplyDeleteNot inviting Maduro is a good first step for dealing with the problem, although its effect is pretty minor overall. Still, I think that the US should be isolating Venezuela's tyranny as it sends a powerful message and backs up the many other Latin American countries who are also doing so, and isolation takes its toll over time. I think it is also possible to air-drop supplies into Venezuela or donate money for humanitarian aid groups to help refugees in Brazil and Columbia like Abby mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Abby and Kevin in the fact that rescinding Venezuela's invitation to the summit was a good start, since it allowed the leaders to discuss the subject without Maduro's intervention. However, I don't believe complete isolation and sanctions alone will do much to help the situation there. According to an analysis done by Princeton on the effect of sanctions on authoritarian governments, sanctions only tend to negatively impact personalist dictatorships. They tend to be counter-productive when dealing with single party or military dictatorships (1), which is what Venezuela seems to be, judging by the actions of Maduro so far, what with banning opposition parties and violently suppressing protest (2). Therefore, isolation and sanctions alone may not be the best option for crushing Venezuela's tyranny. Other possibilities include increasing humanitarian aid for refugees like Kevin and Abby suggest. However, offering widespread relief for those in Venezuela would be difficult if the country is completely isolated. I personally believe cultivating and financially supporting an opposition party within Venezuela may be more effective, despite the effort it would take, especially if peaceable means like sanctions and isolation won't work.
ReplyDelete1)https://www.princeton.edu/~piirs/Dictatorships042508/Escrib%E0.pdf
2)https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/12/07/venezuelas-slide-dictatorship
Especially given that South America is generally more developing then developed, steps to discourage the formation of oppressive regimes must be taken now, while the order of things hasn't yet been solidified. Drastic action must be taken to prevent the formation of on oppressive Venezuelan government before it develops into a fully formed damaging regime like that of Russia and North Korea. Efforts like these are a good start, and willingness to take Venezuelan refugees is a good sign for the future.
ReplyDelete