Opposition candidate Edmundo González Urrutia has a familiar plan for Venezuela's economy. File photo.
Undoubtedly, the candidate of the Democratic Unitary Platform (PUD) for the presidential elections on July 28, Edmundo González Urrutia, has shown characteristic features that diminish his strength. Among them are the lack of concrete proposals for Venezuela, his emphasis on presenting himself as a candidate in the shadow of María Corina Machado, and his lack of effort to connect with the people.
These features have been maintained since he declared his candidacy. However, what is becoming clearer is the real focus that the economic policy of a hypothetical González Urrutia government would have. This approach is not at all different from the failed formulas of governments aligned with neoliberalism and would have profound consequences for Venezuelans.
The opposition candidate, when asked, in an interview with Prodavinci,about his vision for the “reconstruction” of the country , responded that his team has a “Country Plan” which is “a study and complete diagnosis of the Venezuelan reality.” He said that he has teams that have been “analyzing the economic and social crisis for months” in order to determine the measures that should be applied once they reach the government. In the candidate’s words:
“Everything is in two fundamental documents. One, Venezuela Tierra de Gracia and the other is a summary, perhaps, of the Country Plan that the Unitary Platform made. In there are the actions that the government should take to face this drama, social and economic, and it covers the roots of the generalized crisis that overwhelms us.”
A few weeks ago, he began to reveal that his government’s plan to address economic issues is the same as Machado’s. In this interview, he adds another element by admitting that, in addition to Tierra de Gracia, the plan that Juan Guaidó presented in 2019, when he attempted to install a parallel presidency, will also be used. This plan included consultation and contributions with imperialist countries aligned with the failed coup strategy against Venezuela.
Agradecido con los expertos que elaboraron el Plan de Gobierno “Venezuela Tierra de Gracia” por permitirme escuchar y profundizar en sus planteamientos.
Encuentros como este son esenciales para la reconstrucción del país. pic.twitter.com/JGFadeeyM5
— Edmundo González (@EdmundoGU) May 3, 2024
Both plans, which claim that their goal is to rapidly recover the country’s economy, align perfectly with González Urrutia approach. They have in common the fact that they fail to mention that the economic detoriation of Venezuela stems from the illegal economic coercive measures—euphemistically referred to as “sanctions”—imposed by the US and its allies and supported by numerous Venezuelan opposition politicians, including former politicians Machado and Guaido.
In a previous article, Misión Verdad mentioned that Tierra de Gracia is a plan that proposes to limit the role of the state by eliminating subsidies and social programs. In addition, it aims to incur national debt through borrowing from the Washington, DC-based International Monetary Fund (and other organizations), and aims for broad privatization of companies and public assets, especially in the oil and gas industry.
Although, at first glance, the Country Plan does not directly propose the Tierra de Gracia approach in terms of privatizations and reduction of the state, in essence, it does not differ substantially.
Instead, González Urrutia uses sophistry to reiterate familiar neoliberal narratives, promising to “Establish rules that promote entrepreneurship and competition”, “re-establish market mechanisms and economic freedoms”, “lift the system of controls that stifles national production”, “recreate an independent judicial system that guarantees private property” , “reinsert the country into the concert of free nations of the world that allow society to organize autonomously to solve its problems” and so on. In sum, it reads like a neoliberal program similar to that applied by Javier Milei in Argentina or Daniel Noboa in Ecuador, both of whom have plunged their respective countries into ruin.
The first six months of Javier Milei’s government have left the Argentine economy mired in a deep crisis, characterized by a severe recession, high levels of unemployment, and a significant drop in purchasing power. The adjustments applied by the ultra-liberal government has had a devastating impact on the real economy, affecting national producers and creating a challenge for local production due to food imports. The scale of the disaster has also been reflected in the loss of purchasing power of retirees and a significant decrease in salaries. Protests and social conflicts have multiplied throughout the country.
On the other hand, Ecuador is presented as the highest phase of what can be aspired to following this formula. To understand why violence has reached critical levels in the South American country, one only has to examine the political and economic decisions made by the governments that followed Rafael Correa’s presidency. The return to neoliberalism and its consolidation since then have facilitated the dismantling of the state, US militarization, and the general destruction of the nation.
These portraits are the most complete versions of what Edmundo González offers as a plan to supposedly recover the country, using Machado’s proposals as a model.
Seeing the serious consequences that it has had in Argentina and Ecuador and considering that there is another model planned and executed by the government of President Nicolás Maduro makes it clear why Venezuelans should vote for the incumbent on July 28.
The economic program of President Maduro and the PSUV has benefited the country’s most needy, extending food programs, healthcare, and education to the general public even while the country has been subjected to economic warfare at the hands of the imperialists.
In recent years, the PSUV’s economic plan has demonstrated positive effects in overcoming the state of foreign economic siege, patiently recovering the economic situation of the country while becoming increasingly self-sufficient, diversifying the economy away from a strict dependency on petroleum, and building new and enduring partnerships with regional and international stakeholders.
(Misión Verdad) with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/KW/SL
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
