EU urged to act as Venezuela faces ‘largest peacetime economic collapse’

Europe risks being long on principle and short on influence in its response to Venezuela’s political upheaval, a Venezuelan economist has warned, as Brussels reiterates its commitment to international law while holding back from direct engagement.

The European Union said on Monday that “under all circumstances, the principles of international law and the UN Charter must be upheld” in Venezuela, noting that members of the UN Security Council carry a particular responsibility as guardians of the international security architecture.

But declaratory diplomacy will not be enough, said Jorge Jraissati, a Venezuelan economist, who urged the bloc to play a more active role in shaping any political transition.

The scale of the collapse leaves little room for caution, Mr Jraissati told Euractiv. Once the wealthiest country in Latin America, Venezuela has lost about 70% of its gross domestic product since 2013 – “the biggest economic collapse in modern history outside a wartime context,” said Jraissati, president of the NGO Economic Inclusion Group and a former adviser to US government officials on Venezuela.

The social consequences have been severe. Around 80% of Venezuelans now live in poverty, with half in extreme poverty. Jraissati attributed the downturn to a combination of heavy-handed state intervention and entrenched corruption, arguing that production quotas and price controls hollowed out the productive economy while enriching regime-linked networks.

Against this backdrop, he said the US military operation that led to the arrest of President Nicolás Maduro has been broadly welcomed by Venezuelans living abroad. Inside the country, however, the presence of a repressive security apparatus makes public sentiment harder to gauge.

Signals from Washington pointing to a transition process involving interim President Delcy Rodríguez and other regime factions are far from ideal, Jraissati said, but could nonetheless open the door to a change of power in the coming months.

“The ultimate goal must be a government elected by the Venezuelan people,” he said. “Restoring security, political legitimacy and economic stability will be critical. That process should include the privatisation of industries nationalised under the previous regime and the return of confiscated property to its rightful owners.”

Any transition will be messy and imperfect, Jraissati said, but he urged the EU not to allow legal caution to become paralysis. In his view, Maduro’s claim to protection under international law is weak.

“He was an illegitimate ruler who himself violated international law,” Jraissati said. “That law cannot now serve as his shield.”

Meeting EU officials and MEPs in Brussels this week, Jraissati called on the bloc to move quickly. “The EU cannot be paralysed by the difficulty of the situation,” he said. “It should stand firmly by the values it espouses – transparency, justice and democracy – while recognising that any transition will inevitably fall short of perfection.”

(mk, cz)