Nationwide Power Outage in Venezuela Enters Its Fourth Day

Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, and other major cities in the country witnessed the fourth day of a nationwide power outage on Sunday, March 10. Nicolás Maduro, the president whose legitimacy has been questioned, accused the United States of a cyber attack against the Guri hydroelectric power plant. Maduro tweeted: "The country's power system has faced several cyber attacks, but we (the government) have launched extensive efforts to restore the electricity production and distribution system in the coming hours." Despite his claims, experts believe that a lack of investment in Venezuela's aging infrastructure has caused the failure of the country's electricity production and distribution system. The specialized publication Forbes also reported on the lack of investment and modernization of the country's electrical facilities, identifying it as a cause of the power outage. Statistics from the International Energy Agency indicate that Venezuela's electricity production has been continuously declining at a rapid pace since 2013. Venezuela holds the largest oil reserves in the world, but about three-quarters of its electricity is generated from hydroelectric plants. The country's daily oil production has also plummeted from 2.7 million barrels in 2013 to about one million barrels, attributed to insufficient investment needed to stabilize oil production. The widespread power outage and the dire economic situation, including hyperinflation of 10 million percent, come as Juan Guaidó, the opposition leader, called on protesting citizens to head to Caracas for a large-scale march. The United States, many South American countries, and Europe consider Maduro's government illegitimate due to what they call "fraud" in the 2018 elections, recognizing Guaidó as the legitimate president of Venezuela. Despite internal and external pressures, Maduro is unwilling to negotiate with the opposition. The extensive power outage, which began Thursday evening, has further despaired a population already facing shortages of medicine and food, unemployment, and rampant inflation. The lack of electricity leads to the spoilage of food in refrigerators, and men who have gone to remote areas for work cannot communicate with their families via phone or internet. Bakeries, shops, and restaurants are asking people to pay for goods in U.S. dollars, as credit card payments are impossible without electricity, and the country has faced a shortage of cash bolivars (Venezuelan currency) for years. According to official statistics, the lack of electricity and poor medical facilities have caused the deaths of 17 people in hospitals over the past few days. Power outages and shortages have occurred previously in Venezuela. In 2013, the capital and 17 provinces experienced an average of six hours of power outages daily. According to government statistics, last year, 10 provinces experienced daily power outages of 10 hours.