Venezuelan-Canadians feel helpless as Latin American nation descends into chaos

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – More bad news for Venezuelans – who are having to line up for basics like flour and sugar.

Two airlines have announced they will no longer stop in the country, which is caught up in an economic crisis.

Venezuelans in BC can only look on and feel rather helpless.

Dropping oil prices for a major producer like Venezuela is only part of the reason for the crisis.

Laura Aveledo is with Vancouver-based Stand Up Venezuela and says the government’s foreign exchange controls are handicapping all sorts of industries who need to import raw materials.

“The government has been, for a long time, hasn’t been giving access to foreign exchange, namely dollars, to most manufacturers or distributors.”

Airlines flying to Venezuela have an estimated $3.8 billion trapped in the country because the government refuses to trade their locally earned currency for U.S. dollars, which are becoming increasingly scarce in the petro-state.

Coca-Cola and breweries are shutting down production, thanks to a lack staples like sugar and barley.

Aveledo says a dire situation is unfolding in hospitals: medication is running out and people are dying as a result.

“Until the government declares that there is a national emergency, there’s no way international bodies can help. The government doesn’t want to recognize that something is going on.”

To compound the misery, the country is having to ration its electricity.

Aveledo points out Venezuela used to produce a lot of goods locally, but the government took over a lot of those industries, and many of them are in bankruptcy.

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