“In 2012, Venezuela had lost US$20 billion. In addition, Odebrecht had 41 contracts for around 30 projects, 19 were not completed. The costs of 23 of those projects with addendums and extensions reach US$60 billion. These figures are extraordinary”, she argues.
Although she was never a member of a party, she was always linked to political life from within the civil society, which, in the decade of the 90s, was still very incipient in Venezuela. In her university years, in Caracas, she deepened her knowledge of the processes of State Institutions and their roles. Almost twenty years later, with her suitcase full of medicines for when she returns to her homeland, she explains to us with sadness how the chavista dictatorship has broken not only the economy, but also the lives and dreams of millions of her fellow citizens.
At what point did it become clear that Venezuela was on the wrong track?
All presidents raised the anti-corruption flag since the end of Venezuela’s first dictatorship in ’58. President Hugo Chávez also used that flag to win the elections, but it turns out that in the end he was the most corrupt president in Venezuela’s history.
Why?
First, because he had an egregious level of income, never before seen in the country; and, later, because of his success in controlling the entire State. He began by creating a new Constitution that centralized the power in the presidency, then he incorporated the Armed Forces as a politically active entity; meaning, that he removed the military from the barracks and began to give them positions in the entire structure of the State. Then he began controlling the justice system, audit institutions, police, political groups and, each time, with more money.
How is it that Chavez achieves to have that power for so long?
Chavez broke the country by putting money into Misión Vivienda (Housing Mission) to win the elections. In 2012, he won by a small amount, because not only did he give away refrigerators, televisions and cars, but also distributed apartments. Imagine! Who beats that?
How much money did Venezuela lose at that time?
Jorge Giordani was Chavez’ minister for ten years, he was very important because he was in charge of the State’s budget. He said that only in that year US$20 billion had been lost. From then on, Odebrecht’s corruption has cost my country US$1.2 billion. In Venezuela there were 41 contracts for about 30 projects, 19 of which were not completed. The costs of 23 of those projects – which are the ones we have contracts for – with addendums and extensions add a total of US$60 billion. In other words, we are talking about extraordinary figures.
What did the government do with so much money it handled?
Due to his “generous” spirit, President Chavéz gave gifts to everyone. Not only to his direct friends from Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, Ecuador, El Salvador and the Caribbean, who received free oil and also forgave their debts, but he also gave gasoline to the poor in London. Chavéz felt at Disney, as if he was the great world leader, at the expense of corruption and the country’s institutions.
Which are the most important factors that triggered the crisis?
I believe that it’s the attempt to monopolize and control everything: production, public authorities, communications. Accountability was eliminated and balances in power ceased to exist. Chavéz in his TVs shows said: “Put him in jail for thirty years”. He dictated sentences and the courts approved it.
What is the role of the military?
We never thought that the Armed Forces would play such a sad role in sustaining a dictatorship. Currently, military officials are in positions such as ministers, presidents of state enterprises, mayors, governors, and ambassadors. And they have the absolute control of the food sector since the creation of the Ministry of Food in 2004. Besides, Nicolás Maduro approved in 2016 the Misión de Abastecimiento Soberano (Sovereign Supply Mission) and assigned to the minister of the defense the control of all the structures that are related to food: seed companies, agro-food, distribution companies and supermarkets. Thus, in Venezuela we have the rice general, the coffee admiral, the sugar general, the flour colonel. The military control of life is absolute.
How is the day-to-day life of a Venezuelan under that dictatorship?
Very complicated because they get up in the morning and there is no water. There’s no light and there’s no coffee, because it’s very difficult to get it, so you eat what you can. You want to take your son to school, but they suspended classes because the teacher didn’t show up; moreover, it’s not worth taking them because they don’t get enough food at school and the dropout rate is very high. Also, there is no transportation, so you have to leave many hours in advance and, sometimes, it’s not worth going to work because you pay more in transportation than what you earn in the day. You spend hours at supermarket doors to see if chicken, flour or eggs have arrived. Also, you have to watch out for criminal gangs because they charge bribes (extortion) for not kidnapping your child, and the Police also charge for not taking your child to jail, where your child will most likely die or be raped. You go from hope to hopelessness, despair, and sadness.
How can you survive?
Fighting day by day. That’s why people leave. All Venezuelans have relatives who have left, who work at whatever they can find and send some dollars back home to be able to survive. I carry a lot of medicine in my suitcase. Any Venezuelan who returns carries a lot of it. Migration is getting worse and worse because the crisis is getting worse as well.
Is a military intervention viable?
There are many people who would like an intervention, as if this were a film where someone enters, takes the bad guys and life begins to flourish. Everything beautiful. But that film doesn’t exist in reality. The truth is that even if a peaceful transition is achieved, the crisis is already of such magnitude that it will take years to resolve it. We need a new country that doesn’t look like the one we had.
CARD
– “I am 58 years old. In 1998 I did a project to be part of Transparency International because Venezuela lacked an anti-corruption agency. From there, I began to see the impact of corruption in the public sector, and in 2004 we formalized ourselves as Transparency Venezuela Chapter”.
– “I studied History at the Universidad Central de Venezuela, I finished in 1986. I worked in a spare parts company, while I was studying; then I was in Venezuela Competitiva: Mirador Democrático; and I founded Transparency Venezuela. I’ve also been a consultant”.
– “I don’t like self-help. I like classical and contemporary literature. I also listen to classical music, but what I love is salsa and merengue; I love Madonna, Lady Gaga. I listen to bands like Coldplay and U2. I have a broad musical spectrum, it depends on the moment and what I am doing”.
