VenEconomy: Maduro's Regime Starts off June on a Bad Note From the Editors of VenEconomy Latin American Herald Tribune June 12, 2015
This first half of June has been devastating for the image of the regime of Nicolás Maduro.
Reports everywhere have shown it has not fared well in any area of performance.
On the one hand, the World Justice Project's Rule of Law Index 2015, an initiative of the American Bar Association that dates back to 2006, showed that Venezuela was the worst-ranked country among 102 nations evaluated. This poor result highlights the deterioration of the rule of law and justice in the country.
This index evaluates how the population of a country experiences the rule of law in everyday situations, through surveys conducted in some 100,000 households. These surveys are analyzed by 2,400 specialists, based on 44 indicators grouped into eight categories: absence of corruption, restrictions on government power, openness of the government, respect for fundamental rights, compliance with regulations, order and security, civil justice, and criminal justice.
And on the other, local NGO Transparencia Venezuela released early this month its report on corruption found in "social missions," the key wealth distribution programs created during the government of the late Hugo Chávez, and now expanded by Maduro, that have yielded so many electoral dividends for the PSUV ruling party.
This report evaluated "the impact of corruption on the enjoyment of social rights for understanding the deficiencies of policies and programs to which the State has assigned numerous resources in the last decade."
The study revealed that this scourge has infringed upon human rights in individual cases and has negatively impacted the exercise of economic, social and cultural rights due to the lack of transparent rules, systems and procedures and of responsible institutions to prevent, restrict and punish abuses, the diversion of resources, over-invoicing and influence peddling. The failure of the missions is reflected in the increase of poverty, which according to the Living Conditions Index (ENCOVI) 2014 went from 46% in 1998 to 48% last year.
Another report that condemns the administration of Maduro is one released by local NGO Provea for the year 2014, which shows figures, statistics and testimonies of the massive violations of human rights in Venezuela. Among other violations, Provea reported the criminalization of human rights defenders, the reversal of the progress made in poverty reduction in Venezuela, the shortages of medicines, the privatization of healthcare services through direct action, the construction of a police state, and an increase in insecurity.
In addition, there is a lack of direct dialogue with the State, which is forcing Provea to turn to international bodies so the State provides answers to questions about the human rights situation in the country.
Meanwhile in economic matters, HSBC Bank raised its forecasts of economic contraction for Venezuela to 7.5% in 2015, 0.9 percentage points higher than the forecasts at the beginning of this year. According to the HSBC report, inflation will close at 175% (31 percentage points higher than expected.)
But it seems that Maduro and his people couldn't care less about all this bad news. The speech of violence and confrontation continues unperturbed, as demonstrated by Maduro a few days ago, when, from Ciudad Belén (a slum in Miranda state), he said in a threatening tone that "if the Bolivarian revolution ever fails and imperialism takes control of the country, may Venezuelans be prepared for times of massacre and death."
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