Head Chair: Adam Medina Vice Chair: Parsa Arshi Moderator: Lucas Morton
Position papers will be due on February 5th, 2021. The position paper format and all other important conference documents can be found on our conference website, http://lhhsconference.weebly.com/. Email all position papers to our committee email: [email protected]. Feel free to contact us via email if you have any questions or concerns!
Glad to have you, delegates! My name is Adam Medina and I will be acting as this year’s head chair. I am currently in my last year at LHHS and also my fourth and last at this school’s MUN program (sad, but a good four years!). Besides my involvement in MUN, I am also a member of the National Honors Society and often tutor other students at our school. I also happen to livestream on Twitch, draw, and edit videos in my at-home life. I am excited to have all of you for my last conference at LHHS!
Hello, delegates! My name is Parsa Arshi and I will be your vice chair this year. I am currently a junior at Laguna Hills High School, and this is my third year in MUN. Outside of MUN, I am the head of publicity in the Asian Student Union, a commissioner for ASB, and a member of our school’s Comedy Sportz team. I can’t wait to see all of you very soon!
Hey, delegates! My name is Luke Morton and I am looking forward to being your moderator this year. I transferred to LHHS as a senior, and this is my first year in MUN, and so far I have loved it! I originally transferred to be a part of the volleyball team, which has turned out great. Looking forward to seeing you at our conference!
Topic: Stabilization of Venezuela
Background: Venezuela has been undergoing a deeply entwined and complex political and economic crisis affecting the vast majority of the population. Heavily supplied with oil, Venezuela was once an incredibly wealthy nation subsidized by this natural resource with many benefits for those less fortunate in social welfare programs and universal healthcare systems. However, its reliance on oil and the consequences of change in this regard came to a head when Nicolas Maduro took Hugo Chavez’s spot as leader of the nation in the presidency. This was unfortunately timed with a massive fall in the price of oil, leading to Venezuela losing much of its economic power; Maduro did very little to stabilize the economy at this point and instead began consolidating power, overturning the checks and balances system of the government and making changes to its constitution not reached upon by general consensus. This led to a steep divide between the citizens of Venezuela and its leading elite, eventually turning into protests and the brink of civil war with the currency inflating and many starving. As of January 23rd of 2019, Juan Guaidó has challenged Maduro’s presidency and declared himself acting president of Venezuela, creating a further split in the nation’s political crisis and growing conflict further.
UN Involvement: In the past, other countries in the United Nations have attempted to mediate the economic crisis occurring in Venezuela. In February of 2019, the United States attempted to offer humanitarian aid to those affected by the rapidly rising inflation rates. However, The Venezuelan Minister of the People’s Power for Foreign Affairs, Jorge Arreaza, claimed that the United States was using humanitarian aid as an opportunity to infiltrate the country. Arreaza also requested for a new resolution to be drafted regarding the sovereignty of the country. Since then, the UN has passed relief bill H.R.854 sending humanitarian assistance to Venezuela; however, some countries have made efforts to sanction money towards Venezuela’s economy without affecting their sovereignty. Despite these efforts to support and sustain the economic infrastructure of Venezuela, many of the citizens are forced to leave until a definite solution is met. Over 80% of the 5.1 million migrants and refugees that have left Venezuela are currently residing in other Latin American countries. In maintaining neutrality, the UN continues to focus on further negotiating humanitarian aid, streamlining a large-scale economic recovery and remaining impartial from the current conflict between President Maduro and Juan Guaidó.
Bloc Positions: Western Bloc: More than half of the states in the European Union support self-declared interim president Juan Guaidó. The others are calling for new elections (with some having their individual preferences). The United States and Canada also decry Nicolas Maduro’s actions and support Guaidó, even in the current year in which his movement has been considered to be ineffective. Funding from many of these Western countries has been dedicated to supporting the people of Venezuela.
Latin Bloc: The vast majority of other Latin American countries support Guaidó, with the exception of Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Cuba. Cuba has a large stake in this matter as it has had a relatively strong trade relationship with Venezuela and they are close allies. Many other Latin American countries have agreed to impose sanctions as a result of Venezuela’s corruption to induce change.
African Bloc: Although few African countries have made statements on the Venezuelan crisis, South Africa has communicated with the country and mentioned “strengthening bilateral relations” while supporting Maduro.
Asian Bloc: Many notable Asian countries are in support of Maduro’s leadership. Quite a few also criticize sanctions placed against Venezuela. Russia has seen particular involvement with this topic, being one of the nations criticizing these sanctions (particularly from the United States as they believe it to be a roundabout way of undermining Russia), and helping Venezuela to partly avoid the negative effects of sanctions by trading with the nation.
Questions to Consider:
The collapse of Venezuela’s economy can be traced back to its dependence on oil prices staying stable. In what ways can Venezuela avoid having to rely on oil while building its economy back up?
How can Venezuelan bolivars recover from their massive scale inflation?
How might it be ensured that Venezuela endures a peaceful transfer of power?
Should Juan Guaidó be formally recognized as the leader of Venezuela?
Should those involved in helping to reconstruct the economy of Venezuela seek to offer aid to those that suffered most?
Are sanctions a viable strategy to ensure reform?
Sources Used:
“Venezuelans Must Resolve Crisis Themselves, Security Council Delegates Agree While Differing over Legitimacy of Contending Parties | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases.” United Nations, United Nations, 26 Feb. 2019, www.un.org/press/en/2019/sc13719.doc.htm.
“Real Negotiation among Venezuela's Main Political Actors 'Only Way Forward' to Resolving Protracted Crisis, Under-Secretary-General Tells Security Council | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases.” United Nations, United Nations, 20 May 2020, www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14193.doc.htm.
Berg, Ryan C. “Russia Is Gearing Up for a Conflict With the United States in the Caribbean.” Foreign Policy, Foreign Policy, 9 Oct. 2019, foreignpolicy.com/2019/10/09/russias-putin-venezuela-evade-oil-sanctions-preparing-conflict-united-states/.