The recent results of the National Survey on Living Conditions (ENCOVI) were defined as “the sad reflection of the reality that Venezuelans are living at this time,” by the President of Venezuela and of the National Assembly (NA), Juan Guaidó.
He made this statement during the online session of the Parliament held on Tuesday, July 14th, where the “Debate on the serious crisis that Venezuelans are living, as reflected in the ENCOVI-2019 survey” was presented.
“ENCOVI’s results are the sad reflection of the reality of Venezuela’s people. They are not isolated numbers, nor cold numbers, but the reflection of what we Venezuelans are suffering at this moment. This is what we have been denouncing for years: the Complex Humanitarian Emergency, the difficulty to access goods and services, the size of migration”.
Among the data provided by the survey published approximately one week ago, it is worth noting that 96% of the households surveyed are income impoverished; 74% have moderate and severe food insecurity; 30% of children under five present chronic malnutrition (according to height and stature); among others.
In view of the “alarming” results of the study, Guaidó said that to understand the magnitude of these results, for example, the quality of democracy in Venezuela is compared to that of the Congo; famine is compared to that of Southern Sudan; the refugee crisis is compared to that of Syria; while the level of services, education, connectivity and inequality is compared to that of countries at war.
“This crisis was generated by a dictatorship. The war that exists in Venezuela is one of dictatorship against the citizen. A regime that simply wants to privilege itself, that prefers to buy luxury SUVs to respirators; that prefers to mount a pantomime, of which we have said that none will participate because it is a farce, than to buy protective barriers for our doctors who today unfortunately die in Venezuela (because of the pandemic)”.
Call for reflection
The President in charge of the country called on all sectors to join efforts around the internal pressure to advance in the struggle for political change that will lead to the end of the crisis in Venezuela which is becoming more acute every day, as reflected in the results of ENCOVI.
“We have to work hard. It is not only the international pressure, but the internal pressure that we must intensify. It is necessary to promote a powerful, strong, and united pact, not only of the democratic alternative, but of all sectors, to protect our citizens, to achieve a clear dialogue with those countries, but also with the factors that still in some way sustain the dictatorship. This is part of what we are going to do in the coming weeks.
He also indicated that within the work that needs to be done is to achieve the conditions to have a “real election”, and a National Emergency Government with which, for example, the Complex Humanitarian Emergency can be attended immediately.
“It is not a choice that the dictatorship poses, it is a trap. It is our duty to implement everything in our power to get rid of the dictatorship at a time when it has worsened and impoverished the Venezuelan people”.