As a magnitude 7.5 earthquake slammed Venezuela, residents are digging through the rubble of collapsed buildings with their bare hands, without heavy machinery, to rescue family and neighbors. While buildings collapsed due to a natural disaster, some analysts say the delayed rescue and virtually paralyzed disaster response are the result of a socialist system that has weakened the state's capacity over more than 20 years.
The Financial Times (FT) reported on the 28th that "the quake has laid bare the scars Chavismo left on Venezuela's state system." FT assessed the crisis not as a simple natural disaster but as an event that reveals the structural problems left by Chavismo.
Four days after the quake, many residents are still clearing concrete chunks with their hands instead of shovels to find family in the debris. With a severe lack of rescue equipment and personnel, volunteers and residents have effectively taken on the rescue work. FT reported that anger at the government's slow response is growing, with survivors shouting "Get out" at interim government leader Delcy Rodríguez who visited the disaster site.
Experts trace the cause of the failed disaster response to more than two decades of Chavismo. After taking power in 1999, former President Hugo Chávez poured massive finances into expanding social welfare while weakening state institutions and using the military as a tool to maintain power, badly damaging the disaster response system. Venezuelan political analyst Edward Rodríguez said, "More than 72 hours after the disaster, the government still failed to respond properly," adding, "There was a lack of planning and command, and the military has long focused on control rather than helping the public." Orlando Pérez, a political science professor at the University of North Texas at Dallas, also noted, "Firefighters without equipment, hospitals overflowing with patients, and buildings that collapsed because construction standards were not followed are all the result of weakened state institutions over more than 20 years," adding, "There were resources, but they were spent on corruption and regime maintenance."
La Guaira, the area hit hardest by this quake, was where a massive landslide occurred shortly after Chávez took power in 1999, killing up to 30,000 people. At the time, the Chávez government rejected a U.S. offer of aid, and FT reported that the country's disaster response capacity, which has changed little since then, is again under scrutiny in light of this quake. Ángel Rangel Sánchez, who led the national disaster response agency at the time, said, "Over the past 15 years, the military's mission has shifted from disaster response to quelling protests," adding, "Prioritizing purchases of riot-control gear over firefighting equipment has led to today's rescue failures."
The United Nations estimated that about 6.76 million people were affected by the quake and that economic losses will reach $6.7 billion (about 10.35 trillion won). The Venezuelan government said so far 189 buildings have completely collapsed, 585 have been partially damaged, and 38 hospitals need repairs. The death toll has risen to 1,450, and further casualties are likely.