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<font size="1"><a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14824">https://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/14824</a>
</font><h1 class="gmail-reader-title">Venezuela’s Coronavirus Response Might Surprise You</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">By Leonardo Flores - Common Dreams - March 26, 2020<br></div>
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<div><p>Within a few hours of being launched, over <a href="https://twitter.com/jaarreaza/status/1242549385512312832" target="_blank">800 Venezuelans in the U.S. registered </a>for
an emergency flight from Miami to Caracas through a website run by the
Venezuelan government. This flight, offered at no cost, was proposed by
President Nicolás Maduro when he learned that 200 Venezuelans were stuck
in the United States following his government’s decision to stop
commercial flights as a preventative coronavirus measure. The promise of
one flight expanded to two or more flights, as it became clear that
many Venezuelans in the U.S. wanted to go back to Venezuela, yet the
situation remains unresolved due to the U.S. ban on flights to and from
the country. </p>
<p>Those who rely solely on the mainstream media might wonder who in
their right mind would want to leave the United States for Venezuela. <a href="https://time.com/5807142/venezuela-maduro-coronavirus-oil/" target="_blank">Time</a>, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/why-the-spread-of-covid-19-in-venezuela-is-a-particularly-frightening-prospect/2020/03/19/47d94d20-693f-11ea-9923-57073adce27c_story.html" target="_blank">The Washington Post</a>, <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/international/488539-the-perfect-storm-in-venezuela" target="_blank">The Hill</a> and the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/op-ed/article241279781.html" target="_blank">Miami Herald</a>,
among others, published opinions in the past week describing Venezuela
as a chaotic nightmare. These media outlets painted a picture of a
coronavirus disaster, of government incompetence and of a nation
teetering on the brink of collapse. The reality of Venezuela’s
coronavirus response is not covered by the mainstream media at all.</p>
<p>Furthermore, what each of these articles shortchanges is the damage
caused by the Trump administration’s sanctions, which devastated the
economy and healthcare system long before the coronavirus pandemic.
These sanctions have impoverished millions of Venezuelans and negatively
impact vital infrastructure, such as electricity generation. Venezuela
is impeded from importing spare parts for its power plants and the
resulting blackouts interrupt water services that rely on electric
pumps. These, along with dozens of other implications from the <a href="https://www.codepink.org/maximum_pressure_march_us_hybrid_war_on_venezuela_heats_up" target="_blank">hybrid war on Venezuela</a>, have caused a decline in health indicators across the board, leading to <a href="https://www.codepink.org/venezuela_asks_global_court_to_condemn_us_sanctions" target="_blank">100,000 deaths</a> as a consequence of the sanctions. </p>
<p>Regarding coronavirus specifically, the sanctions raise the costs of
testing kits and medical supplies, and ban Venezuela’s government from
purchasing medical equipment from the U.S. (and from many European
countries). These obstacles would seemingly place Venezuela on the path
to a worst-case scenario, similar to Iran (also battered by sanctions)
or Italy (battered by austerity and neoliberalism). In contrast to those
two countries, Venezuela took decisive steps early on to face the
pandemic. </p>
<p>As a result of these steps and other factors, Venezuela is currently
in its best-case scenario. As of this writing, 11 days after the first
confirmed case of coronavirus, the country has 86 infected people, with 0
deaths. Its neighbors have not fared as well: Brazil has<a href="https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/" target="_blank"> 1,924 cases with 34 deaths</a>;
Ecuador 981 and 18; Chile 746 and 2; Peru 395 and 5; Mexico 367 and 4;
Colombia 306 and 3. (With the exception of Mexico, those governments
have all actively participated and contributed to the U.S.-led regime
change efforts in Venezuela.) Why is Venezuela doing so much better than
others in the region?</p>
<p>Skeptics will claim that the Maduro government is hiding figures and
deaths, that there’s not enough testing, not enough medicine, not enough
talent to adequately deal with a pandemic. But here are the facts: </p>
<p>First, international solidarity has played a priceless role in
enabling the government to rise to the challenge. China sent coronavirus
diagnostic kits that will allow<a href="https://albaciudad.org/2020/03/venezuela-recibe-4-015-kits-de-diagnostico-de-covid-19-provenientes-de-china/" target="_blank"> 320,000 Venezuelans to be tested</a>, in addition to a team of experts and tons of supplies.<a href="https://albaciudad.org/2020/03/presidente-maduro-llegan-al-pais-130-medicos-de-cuba-y-material-medico-desde-rusia-para-ayudar-en-la-lucha-contra-el-coronavirus/" target="_blank"> Cuba sent 130 doctors</a> and<a href="https://albaciudad.org/2020/03/maduro-venezuela-cuenta-con-interferon-cubano-para-tratar-posibles-casos-del-coronavirus-covid-19/" target="_blank"> 10,000 doses of interferon alfa-2b</a>, a drug with an<a href="https://see.news/china-is-using-cubas-interferon-alfa-2b-against-coronavirus/'" target="_blank"> established record of helping COVID-19 patients recover</a>. Russia has sent the<a href="https://twitter.com/telesurenglish/status/1242330303441645568" target="_blank"> first of several shipments of medical equipment and kits</a>.
These three countries, routinely characterized by the U.S. foreign
policy establishment as evil, offer solidarity and material support.<a href="https://thegrayzone.com/2020/03/17/italy-uk-help-cuba-china-venezuela-coronavirus-us-sanctions/" target="_blank"> The United States offers more sanctions</a> and the IMF, <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkWeisbrot/status/1240279242803482629" target="_blank">widely known to be under U.S. control</a>, denied a Venezuelan request for $5 billion in emergency funding that even <a href="https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/EU-Supports-Iran-Venezuela-Bids-for-IMF-COVID-19-Funds-20200323-0012.html" target="_blank">the European Union supports</a>.</p>
<p>Second, the government quickly carried out a plan to contain the
spread of the disease. On March 12, a day before the first confirmed
cases, President Maduro decreed a health emergency, prohibited crowds
from gathering, and cancelled flights from Europe and Colombia. On March
13, Day 1, two Venezuelans tested positive; the government cancelled
classes, began requiring facemasks on subways and on the border, closed
theaters, bars and nightclubs, and limited restaurants to take-out or
delivery. It bears repeating that this was on Day 1 of having a
confirmed case; many U.S. states have yet to take these steps. By Day 4,
a national quarantine was put into effect (equivalent to
shelter-in-place orders) and an online portal called the Homeland System
(Sistema Patria) was repurposed to survey potential COVID-19 cases. By
Day 8, 42 people were infected and approximately<a href="https://albaciudad.org/2020/03/maduro-cuarentena-importancia-contra-coronavirus/" target="_blank"> 90% of the population was heeding the quarantine</a>. By Day 11, over<a href="https://twitter.com/Mision_Verdad/status/1242268618567684098" target="_blank"> 12.2 million people had filled out the survey</a>,
over 20,000 people who reported being sick were visited in their homes
by medical professionals and 145 people were referred for coronavirus
testing. The government estimates that without these measures, Venezuela
would have<a href="https://twitter.com/Mision_Verdad/status/1242264195799879681" target="_blank"> 3,000 infected people and a high number of deaths</a>.</p>
<p>Third, the Venezuelan people were positioned to handle a crisis. Over
the past 7 years, Venezuela has lived through the death of wildly
popular leader, violent right-wing protests, an economic war
characterized by shortages and hyperinflation, sanctions that have
destroyed the economy, an ongoing coup, attempted military
insurrections, attacks on public utilities, blackouts, mass migration
and threats of U.S. military action. The coronavirus is a different sort
of challenge, but previous crises have instilled a resiliency among the
Venezuelan people and strengthened solidarity within communities. There
is no panic on the streets; instead, people are calm and following
health protocols.</p>
<p>Fourth, mass organizing and prioritizing people above all else.
Communes and organized communities have taken the lead, producing
facemasks, keeping the CLAP food supply system running (this monthly
food package reaches 7 million families),<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B98Ms22hV5G/?igshid=d9l79eu1p6hb" target="_blank"> facilitating house-by-house visits of doctors</a>
and encouraging the use of facemasks in public. Over 12,000 medical
school students in their last or second-to-last year of study applied to
be trained for house visits. For its part, the Maduro administration <a href="https://venezuelanalysis.com/news/14819" target="_blank">suspended rent payments</a>,
instituted a nationwide firing freeze, gave bonuses to workers,
prohibited telecoms from cutting off people’s phones or internet,
reached an agreement with hotel chains to provide 4,000 beds in case the
crisis escalates, and pledged to pay the salaries of employees of small
and medium businesses. Amid a public health crisis - compounded by an
economic crisis and sanctions - Venezuela’s response has been to
guarantee food, provide free healthcare and widespread testing, and
alleviate further economic pressure on the working class.</p>
<p>The U.S. government has not responded to the Maduro administration’s
request to make an exception for Conviasa Airlines, the national airline
under sanctions, to fly the Venezuelans stranded in the United States
back to Caracas. Given everything happening in the United States, where<a href="https://time.com/5806312/coronavirus-treatment-cost/" target="_blank"> COVID-19 treatment can cost nearly $35,000</a> and the government is<a href="https://twitter.com/BrianBeckerDC/status/1242306994066898945/photo/1" target="_blank"> weighing the option of prioritizing the economy over the lives of people</a>,
perhaps these Venezuelans waiting to go home understand that their
chances of surviving the coronavirus – both physically and economically –
are much better in a country that values health over profits.</p>
<p><em>Leonardo Flores is Latin American policy expert and campaigner with CODEPINK.</em></p>
<p><em>The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do
not necessarily reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.</em></p>
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