8/14/2019 EDITORIAL -On Dependency

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EDITORIAL OnDependency

Attheentranceof CiudadMiranda,anewlydevelopedsocialhousingproject,onefindsahugebanner

ofPresidentChavez;bothofhisarmsare raised ina gestureofpowerand leadership,while in the

backgroundthousandsofhouses lineup inanmilitarylike repetitiveness.Inacartoonishperspective

thebannerseems tosay:Thehousesarehere.Weresaved!.Funnyat firstglance, the imagealso

raisesquestionsabouttheimplicationsofsocial governmentalprojects.

Puttingtoomuchemphasisontheleadermayturnhimintoanevenfurtherromanticized figureinthe

eyes of the people following in the footsteps of Simon Bolivar, Chavez promises to free poor

Venezuelansfrompoverty,hunger,insecurityandhazardousliving.Toconquertheterritoryfromwithin

andreturnittoitsrightfulowners thepeople.Everydaysmallvictoriesareachievedalloverthecountry

bridges,roads,dams,housing.

Thequestion:

Is

the

nowadays

president

the

answer

to

the

countrys

long

term

problems?

remains

a

moodpointonethingissureconstrainedbypovertymostofthepeoplehaveanchoredthemselveson

hiseverpresentimage.Underlyingthepaternalattitudeofthestate,presentineverymediaavailablea

subversiveprocessofdependencyhasbeenslowlyconsolidatingovertheyears.

By monopolizing rescue efforts, the government not only makes international aid and private

developmentdifficult,butalsodirectlydetersthepeoplefromtakingactionthemselves.Basedonthe

hugeamountofrevenuescoming fromthenationaloilcompany PDVSAconsiderablesumsofmoney

arespenteverydaysubsidizingfoodproducts,gas,residences,orbysimplygivingmoneytopeoplefor

free.Thispoliciesgohandinhandwiththecentralsaviorimagepreviouslymentioned,andgradually

turn

aid

(or

the

more

ambitious

salvation)

in

to

a

syndrome

of

internaldependency,

of

the

people

to

TheGovernment.Atthesametimeallthesocialawarenessmessages,alsoabundantlypresent inthe

mediatendtobecomesecondary,almostinvisible.

Thedependencysyndromealsoinfluencesurbandevelopments.Thenewresidentialneighborhoods(i.e.

CiudadMiranda),ordormitorycitiesastheyareoftencalledhere,wherehousesareofferedforvery

littleornomoneyatall seem tobe incubators fordependency.These citiesefficientlymeethousing

shortagebutatthesametime,duetolocationusuallyoutsidebigcities,inflexibilityoftheurbanplan

andstandardizationbecomeboth isolatedanddependentongovernmentalaid.Confusedbyasudden

fulfillmentoftheirdreamthroughexteriorforcespeopletendtoforgetallaboutpersonalaction.

Anothergood

example

is

the

Barrio:

this

spontaneous

process

of

urbanization,

which

from

the

first

built

ranchioaimsatbecomingpartofthecity,and fulfillacityrelatedvisionofgood, isheavily inhibited.

Instead of working towards integration most people become anxious to voluntarily achieve their

helplessconditionastheydependonitforgovernmentalmoney.Theideaofcommunityisreferredtoassomethingthatshouldbe,butneveris,asindividualsprofitindividuallyfromthegovernmentshelp.

8/14/2019 EDITORIAL -On Dependency

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Afterthelandslidesof1999manyofthepeopleintheVargasstateweremovedtohousingprojectslike

Ciudad Miranda. Being unable to rebuilt a lifestyle they ended up selling what they got from the

governmentandreturningtotheareaofthedisaster.Someofthemgotbacktotheir initialjobs(like

fishermen)others

simply

took

advantage

of

governmental

aid

during

the

rebuilding

period.

The

more

unusual caseswere invasionsofdesertedprivateproperties,orevenbuilding in thehighrisk zones,

givenpeopleknewtheycouldreceivemoneyformovingtheirhouses voluntaryvictimization.Whiletheformalsectorslowlyrecovered,theinformallostmostofitsenergyprofitingtheopportunisticeconomy

oftheredevelopment.

Just like foreignaid, internalhumanitarianactionsaremeantathelpingpeople inamomentofacute

needandjust like foreignaid ifprolongedbeyonda certainpoint theseactionsgive rise tonegative

effects that inhibitdevelopment.While helpingmomentarily they also seem to deepen the artificial

divisions of the country. Between left and right, , between reach and poor, between formal and

informal.