Global Politics

Venezuela has the largest proven oil reserves in the world. But in the last three years its economy has collapsed. Hunger has gripped the nation for years. Now, it’s killing children. The Venezuelan government knows, but won’t admit it. Doctors are seeing record numbers of children with severe malnutrition. Before Venezuela’s economy started spiraling, doctors say, almost all of the child malnutrition cases they saw in public hospitals stemmed from neglect or abuse by parents. But as the economic crisis began to intensify in 2015 and 2016, the number of cases of severe malnutrition at the nation’s leading pediatric health center in the capital more than tripled, doctors say. 2017 was even worse. (Source: NYT)

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• What is the situation in Venezuela? 

• What led to the crisis?

• What can be done to solve it?

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We will look at the questions through a video and a reading.

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• Warm Up

• Reading: "As Venezuela Collapses, Children are Dying of Hunger" and Study Guide

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