The Bolivarian Revolution Has No Clothes

At the beginning of June, the government of Nicolás Maduro was exposed before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in an assessment made to Venezuela over its compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).  On that occasion, envoys of the Venezuelan government were unable to provide coherent answers to complaints on the persecution of workers and trade unionists, on the arrest and open trials against them nor the persistent reluctance of the State to discuss and endorse collective agreements of the public sector. Nor could they come up with credible arguments to support the food and medicines shortage crisis affecting the population of Venezuela, soaring inflation and a spike in poverty. Much less refute allegations on the lack of independence of the Judiciary, the criminalization of protest, the dire situation of prisons or the brutal repression by police and military forces during peaceful demonstrations in 2014. More…