Venezuelan Economy in Dire Straits, Ambassador Explains Media Misrepresentation

So while in southern Belize, there might be a boom due to cruise tourism, in Venezuela, the international media is reporting economic turmoil.  According to Ambassador Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, the impact of the steady fall in crude prices on the country’s financial affairs is being misrepresented by networks such as CNN and Fox News.  It is no secret that the ongoing decrease in the cost of oil on the world market continues to wreak havoc on the Venezuelan economy.  Just last week, the government announced a new foreign exchange system that many believe will devalue the Bolivar even more.  Despite the fact that a number of loans owed to Venezuela will become due later this year, anywhere from fourteen to sixteen billion dollars, a conscious effort is being made to keep as many of those monies as reserve currency in the central bank.  This morning, during a media gathering at the Radisson, Ambassador Perez Marcano said that the images portrayed do not reflect the reality of Venezuela’s current problems.

Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano

Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, Venezuelan Ambassador to Belize

“The media war is a very important strategy to destabilize Venezuela, you as reporters know that.  In front of our reality there are distinct looks and distinct conclusions.  The biggest media corporations have identified and are committed to a media campaign against the Bolivarian government of Venezuela.  They have done it for over thirteen years with the government of Hugo Chavez and also with the government of Nicolas Maduro.  But there’s also an economic war that makes the world, including Belize, confused about the reality, for example, it is not true that the people are dying of hunger in Venezuela.  It’s an absolute lie.  There is a problem with the [availability] of certain products in the Venezuelan diet and there are problems with the distribution of those products but whichever Belizean can travel to any state in Venezuela and would find in those markets enough food to satisfy to the needs of the families.”