Historic turnout in legislative elections, region-leading drops in poverty and inequality, steady progress towards achieving Millennium Development Goals. These are just a few examples of the progress Venezuela made in 2010 in the promotion and protection of human rights. This progress was seen in political, economic, social, and cultural rights, a demonstration of Venezuela’s government continuous commitment to the integral development of its people.
Historic Levels of Political Participation
Over 11 million Venezuelans – 66 percent of all voters – turned out to peacefully cast their ballots in the September 26 legislative elections, Venezuela’s sixteenth election since the first election of President Hugo Chávez in 1998. The turnout was the highest for any such electoral process in the country’s history.
This election was also significant because signaled the reincorporation of the opposition to the democratic game after having participated in the 2002 coup, the 2003 oil sabotage and the 2005 boycott of legislative elections. In the September elections, a coalition of 10 opposition parties won 65 out of 165 seats in the Venezuelan National Assembly.
The success of the legislative elections follow a decade worth of advances in promoting political and civil rights in Venezuela by increasing and deepening citizen participation at every level of government. It also reflect the consolidation of an Electoral Power transparent and trustworthy.
According to a 2010 region-wide survey conducted by polling firm Latinobarometro, support for democracy in Venezuela reached 84 percent in both 2009 and 2010, the highest in the region. Venezuela’s support for democracy has climbed steadily during President Hugo Chávez’s tenure. In 1996 and 1997, before he was elected, it stood at 62 and 64 percent, respectively.
Led Regional Drop in Inequality
Venezuela’s gains in human rights also extended to economic, social and cultural rights, which are vital to the full enjoyment of political and civil rights.
According to an October 2010 OAS/UNDP report, between 1998 and 2008 poverty in Venezuela fell by 44 percent, representing the single biggest decrease in the region. Additionally, and just as importantly, economic inequality fell 17.9 percent, a rate five times higher than Venezuela’s regional neighbors.
The decreases can be attributed to increased government spending on innovative social programs addressing health, education, and employment. Between 1988 and 1998, the year President Chávez took office, social spending stood at 9.5 percent of GDP. Since then, it has averaged 17.5 percent – amounting to more than $330 billion in social spending.
That spending has gone to programs like Barrio Adentro, an innovative health initiative that places doctors and medical clinics in low-income communities. It also funds programs like Misión Milagro – Miracle Mission – which in 2010 reached a significant milestone by having offered one million free eye surgeries to Venezuelans and citizens of other countries. It has also offered basic food at subsidized prices to over 14 million Venezuelans.
During the UN Millennium Development Summit in New York in September 2010, Venezuela announced that it had achieved a number of its development targets ahead of schedule and would meet the remaining ones by the 2015 deadline set by the organization.
According to the 2010 Latinobarometro report, 52 percent of Venezuelans stated that the government’s policies improved their lives, third in the region behind only Uruguay and Chile. They also ranked their country highest in the region in terms of distribution of wealth, with 38 percent saying it was “Very Just” or “Just.” The regional average was 21 percent. When asked whether or not they were satisfied with their lives, 84 percent of Venezuelans answered affirmatively, second only to Costa Rica in the region.
