Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. They are significantly underrepresented in the legislature and government and even fewer work for agencies overseeing indigenous affairs. The result of this is a breakdown of the relationship between the Venezuelan state and indigenous people, and a return to the longstanding struggle over territory and mining resources. Back to the index of American Indian tribes More than 2,000 Yanomamis have been killed due to conflict and disease since 1986. without consideration for the often disastrous impact it has on the local inhabitants. Numbering only about 1.5 percent of Venezuela’s 23 million people, they are divided into about 28 different ethnic groups. Specifically, land rights are collective, inalienable, and non-transferable. google_ad_client = "pub-8872632675285158"; Many lack health and educational services and are undernourished (ECOSTR99 = 10). Culture; Venezuela: Indigenous people are forgotten victims of crisis as profits trump rights. Never before has this previously marginalized population enjoyed such recognition and rights. Other indigenous groups of Venezuela suffer from similar problems. This is significant because governments have long exploited Indigenous lands for their wealth (hydro-electric power in Chiapas, oil in Ecuador, uranium in South Dakota, etc.) Chávez often returns to the themes of Indigenous rights in his talks and during his weekly live call-in program Aló Presidente, traveling to rural communities and inviting Indigenous peoples to join him on TV. Area Country Study: Venezuela (1990). President Nicia Maldonado, a Yekuana, notes that the organization was born as a popular struggle in the context of the Caracazo riots in 1989 against the government’s neoliberal reforms: IMF-mandated oil price hikes that caused a popular uprising that left dozens dead. International environmental groups (such as Conservation International) have provided some support for these indigenous groups, though how effective this support has been remains unclear. ", “Venezuelanalysis is a refreshing corrective to the one-sided reporting in the establishment media on Venezuela.". "I can't think of another website on the web more deserving of support. Various reports. The indigenous of Venezuela have few of the risk factors for rebellion. 1993, 1994, 2001-2003. By December 1999, he had pushed through his plan to write a new Constitution. 2002-2003. Despite the protection of the Venezuelan government, Yanomami land is still encroached upon; the Guiana Gold Rush (which started in 1989) introduced disease, as well as prostitution (MIGRANT = 2).