Work, education and youth: impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures (MCU) on Venezuelan youth

Abstract

Since 2014, the US administrations have maintained a policy aimed at affecting the political, economic, financial and commercial interests of Venezuela. For this purpose, they imposed a set of Unilateral Coercive Measures (MCU), presented to national and international public opinion as “sanctions”. These coercive measures are justified by the elites that govern that country, due to the alleged violation of human rights and the rupture, by the Venezuelan government, of the “rules of democracy”. However, this unilateral policy of the United States is in violation of the entire international legal order and is part of an offensive aimed at deposing the democratically elected and incumbent government of President Nicolás Maduro Moros. This aggression has been affecting the daily life of Venezuelan society, dragging an entire people to the brink of a humanitarian crisis; distorting the functioning of institutions, with the sole purpose of promoting a regime change that favors geopolitical control over the oil nation. Based on the critical reading of this context, the essay addresses the direct and indirect impacts of the MCU on the social policies of Venezuela. The analysis emphasizes aspects of the country's educational and labor policy, reviewing those aimed at Venezuelan youth and their relationship with job opportunities. Finally, the regressive impacts of the MCU on aspects of the social policies described are critically analyzed, configuring the complexity of the future of Venezuelan youth in a scenario conditioned by this type of aggression.