A unique closeup of the Venezuelan crisis by a Finnish Ambassador and award-winning author.
Author: Mikko Pyhälä
Swedish original: Kun yö saapuu Venezuelaan
Publisher: Siltala, 2019
Genre: nonfiction
Number of pages: 328 pp.
Reading material: Finnish original, English sample, English synopsis
In 2018 Venezuela emerged on the world stage. There was a serious humanitarian crisis in the country, which had driven millions of people into exile and had been allowed to develop for a long time.
During his term in office President Hugo Chávez squandered an enormous amount of the state’s wealth and put the country into debt. Alongside the autocratic system there was widespread corruption, which also involved foreign powers. Cuba became a major player.
President Nicolas Maduro drove the Venezuelan people into misery. There was an explosion of human rights abuses and drug trafficking, and Russian oligarchs gained access to the finances of the Venezuelan state. Shortages of food, electricity and medicines fuelled opposition protests, and violence escalated. The crisis was exacerbated by the ongoing power struggle between Maduro, supported by Russia and China, and Parliament speaker Juan Guaidó, backed by the United States.
Venezuela from Riches to Rags is a unique overview of the current situation in Venezuela and the developments that have led to it, seen from an international perspective. Its author, Mikko Pyhälä, worked in Venezuela as Finnish Ambassador from 2006 to 2013 and saw at first hand how an incompetent administration and an enormous waste of resources led to the collapse of the Venezuelan state.
“The author, with his uncommonly good networks, has a lot of startling information to share. His analysis and predictions arewell-founded.”
– Satakunnan Kansa newspaper
About the author:
Mikko Pyhälä