Umpteenth demonstration against the backdrop of the endless economic crisis in Venezuela. To the sound of pounding pots and pans, several hundred Venezuelans marched on August 2 on a “walk of empty pots” through the streets of Caracas. Led by public sector unions, teachers, nurses and retirees marched past the Ministry of Labor. They demand the payment of several bonuses by the government of Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2014: the vacation bonus – 1.48 euros per month – to teachers, which was to be granted in July, was not.
22 events per day
The calculation of this, paid to education employees at the end of the school year, was made on the basis of salaries for 2021 by the National Budget Office (Onapre). The unions assure them that they have not received this bonus (like others) and denounce a violation
of their labor rights.
Also read. Venezuela. “The salary is unworthy”: six out of ten teachers have stopped teaching
Far from being an epiphenomenon, it is a new manifestation of the anger that is now expressed daily in the country. In the first half of 2022, the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflicts registered 3,892 in the country. More than 1,600 of them took place to demand decent wages. Figures that make you dizzy: on average, this represents 22 demonstrations per day, an increase of 15% compared to last year.
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The teachers of this demonstration express, like the rest of the population, their difficulty in just eating: one of them in the foreground holds a poster on which is written: “Hambre”, hunger. © EPA/MAXPPP
The country is going through a deep economic crisis since 2015, initially caused by the fall in the cost of oil, the country’s main economic resource. US sanctions, mismanagement of the economy due to corruption have caused hyperinflation (up to 3,000% in 2020) and plunged the inhabitants into misery. Three quarters of the population currently lives below the poverty line. The economy is bloodless: in nine years, the national GDP has fallen by 80%.
Back-to-school threats
At the start of 2022, a slight recovery was recorded with the recovery in oil prices linked to the war in Ukraine and the widespread adoption of the US dollar. But while inflation is still climbing (53% in 2022), wages have stagnated. For a teacher, the average income has been around 50 dollars (48.5 euros) per month since last March. A derisory sum, while the price of the average food basket of a Venezuelan is almost eight times higher. And remains inaccessible for most households.
In Caracas yesterday protesters handed in their demands to the Ministry of Labor and announced that they will remain on the streets until they get a response from the authorities. The Venezuelan teachers’ federation, which brings together a large part of the teachers, has said it is preparing not to ensure the start of the school year in September, if the Maduro government does not does not fulfill its obligations
towards the teaching staff.
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