Friday, April 25, 2014

Venezuela Economy: Venezuelan Government Keeps Adding Fuel to the Fire

04/25/2014

From the Editors of VenEconomy

The Venezuelan economy is in free fall, the streets of the country are on fire due to protests and the peace dialogue between the Government and the opposition and business leaders has shown no signs of a genuine intention of the State in changing course. On the contrary, it maintains an unbending stance while it keeps tightening the screws of castro-communism in the country.

So true this is that Nicolás Maduro and his entourage will do what it takes to complete their task of building the “new man” required for the perpetuation of the so-called Socialism of the 21st century; and to that end, the Government has called for a “National Consultation for the Quality of Education” that started on Wednesday throughout the 29,000 “simoncitos” (communal preschool education centers), public/private schools and secondary education establishments nationwide.

This consultation is supposed to open a wide debate for five months throughout the national territory, which supposedly would involve all segments of the population, including parents and guardians, teachers and students. The goal of this “debate” would be that of defining “three fundamental components” through which the country’s educational system will be conducted in the future. Legal instruments derived from the current Organic Law of Education, the National Curriculum and the Ten-Year Educational Plan. As if the Government had not fully defined these already!

The “Bolivarians” don’t mind at all that the subject of education is a nerve center and epicenter of conflicts with civil society and the sector comprised by students and teachers. This has been a highly controversial subject since the beginning of the revolutionary onslaught against the Venezuelan educational system in 2000 with an attempt to impose the “Decree 1011,” which sought to regulate the teaching profession and create the figure of roving supervisors with extensive powers so they could intervene in the affairs of any public or private school.

It is a provocation on the part of the Government to start a “consultation” like this in times of student protests. Besides that it has no sense of opportunity since the impression we get from the controversial peace dialogue between the State and members of the MUD opposition party is either a pamphlet without a purpose of change or some adjustments to policies of the Revolution.

Another point in this controversial “consultation,” which will be carried out in two phases (concentrated and expanded), is the factor of trust from arbitrators and judges to evaluate a series of surveys to be conducted in public places, on the telephone, via e-mail and on the web site consultacalidadeducativa.me.gob.ve, according to a statement by the Ministry of Education. Who can believe these surveys will be objective and impartial, in a country where neither justice nor electoral processes are transparent?

This consultation is seen as a joke, such as all the previous ones that have been carried out for the enactment of socialist and revolutionary laws, such as those of renting spaces at shopping malls, media outlets and labor, just to mention three of them. Alleged “popular consultations” for the “legislating” people, in which only have participated organized groups loyal to the ruling party indoctrinated to agree with everything the Government says or does without having a critical opinion or previous analysis.

The reason why the entire educational community and civil society are on a heightened state of alert is because they anticipate this scenario of unidirectional, monolithic and undebatable “consultation” process may be repeated any time in the future with another public sector. We all know well that the bad intentions of the Maduro administration will make the purpose of this “National Consultation for the Quality of Education” different from improving the educational system, a task that would be commendable and plausible, as it will end up attaching education to the interests of the castro-communist process.

VenEconomy has been a leading provider of consultancy on financial, political and economic data in Venezuela since 1982.
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