Aside from being an assistant professor at UT, Jauregui-Becker is also a board member of an organization called ‘Venezuelans United in the Netherlands’, which aims to defend the rights of Venezuelan expats in the Netherlands. As it happens, this organization is also an unofficial representative of the Venezuelan opposition, by which we mean parties who stand against the current Venezuelan government and its practices.
Large protests
Jauregui-Becker explains: ‘As of February 2014, a huge wave of protests has emerged in Venezuela. Initially, people were protesting against the government´s inability to solve the current socio-economic crisis, but currently the protests are also against the regime’s unconstitutional practices. These protests were initiated by students, but nowadays have expanded to the general public.’
‘The government´s reaction to these protests has been rather violent – in the physical sense, but also in the meaning of violation of people´s constitutional rights. Some students, involved in the protests, have been killed, tortured and many of them were imprisoned, and so was Leopoldo Lopez, one of the most popular opposition leaders.’
Country in chaos
‘And because government has been focusing on repressing the protests, it has not been performing its duties well,’ Dr. Jauregui-Becker continues. ‘Venezuela suffers from economical, social and political problems. There is an extremely high crime rate; there is a deficit of food and basic products. The salaries are very low and the health care system has been destroyed – there is not enough medicine or capacity for the sick.’
‘Most of the industry has bankrupted and the country has huge depts.It is important to point out that the end goal of the protests is not to replace the government, but to bring the country back onto the path of development. The road to get there might require a constitutional replacement of the government, especially if we consider the fact that the last presidential elections were not completely transparent and the ruling government might not even be legitimate.’
Raising awareness
‘Venezuela in flames’ will take place on the 8th of May at 19:30 in Bastille and it will be presented by Drs. Sasha Ojeda Mendoza, a young political expert originally from Venezuela. She will explain what past events have lead up to the current situation, but will mostly focus on the ongoing protests and violations of rights happening in Venezuela.
