Editor's note: Samuel
Moncada has been the Ambassador of Venezuela to the United Kingdom since
2007 and holds a PhD in Modern History from Oxford University. He is
solely responsible for the content of this analysis.
(CNN) -- Reading the international press, one would be forgiven for thinking that Venezuela is on the verge of collapse.
Over the past decade, all
sorts of predictions have been made, ranging from catastrophic election
defeats to the implosion of the Venezuelan economy. But the fact these
predictions have failed to materialize has not deterred many of
Venezuela's most fervent critics in their quest to engineer a constant
and misleading narrative of impending disaster.
The reality is that ever
since President Hugo Chavez was first elected, Venezuela has defied
these negative predictions and brought unprecedented social progress to
the country over the last 14 years. Since 2004 poverty has been reduced
by half and extreme poverty has been cut by 70%.
University enrolment has doubled, entitlement to public pensions has
tripled, and access to health care and all levels of education have been
dramatically expanded.
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Venezuela now has the lowest levels of economic inequality
of any Latin American country as measured by the Gini coefficient. Our
country has already achieved many of the Millennium Development Goals,
and is well on target to achieve all eight by the 2015 deadline.
This progress has been
achieved by using Venezuela's vast oil revenues to transform the lives
of ordinary people. The sheer scale of our oil reserves -- the world's largest
-- guarantees the complete sustainability of the model in which the
country's resources are used to stimulate growth in the economy and aid
development.
But Chavez's most
significant achievement has been to trigger the awakening and
empowerment of the majority. A majority of Venezuelans have seen vast
improvements in their living standards and, as a consequence, they have
continued to defend their interests at the ballot box.
The Venezuelan people are very clear about what they want. President Chavez was re-elected
in October 2012 with 54% of the vote in an election that boasted an 81%
turnout. The Venezuelan people showed their support for the government
again in December 2012 in the gubernatorial elections, which saw
Chavez's political party win 20 out of 23 states.
Governments in Europe and
other parts of the world could only dream of these levels of support
after 14 years in power. This shows that social progress in Venezuela
has been consolidated and that there is a desire to further expand this
progress.
In the coming years, the
Venezuelan government will continue to respond to the needs of the
Venezuelan people. Hundreds of thousands of new homes have been built
over the last two years which have not only greatly improved living
standards but also provided jobs and contributed to a boom in the
construction industry. The government is well on its way to meeting its
target of building three million new homes by 2019.
While many economies around the world are shrinking, the Venezuelan economy grew by 5.5%
in 2012. Against the backdrop of a continuing international financial
crisis, commerce in Venezuela grew by 9.2% and communications by 7.2%,
manufacturing grew by 2.1% and the oil sector grew by 1.4% -- making
Venezuela one of the fastest growing economies in Latin America.
At a time when many
countries are attacking the rights of the most vulnerable sectors of
society, Venezuela is providing ever greater protection for low-income
senior citizens and single-parent families with younger children or
disabled dependents.
The failed development
models of previous governments condemned millions of Venezuelans to
poverty. Before the election of Chavez in 1998, Venezuela suffered years
of falling GDP. The country had one of the worst economic records in
the world -- a record that led to mass social unrest and violent
military crackdowns.
Venezuela will continue
on its path of social progress and empowering ordinary citizens. The
greatest hope for the future is the people know that they alone hold the
power to determine the direction the country will take.
After so many failed predictions, isn't it time to respect Venezuela's democracy and the will of the people?
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