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10 - Authoritarian Healthcare: Venezuela and the US are not so far apart
18 Plays1 month ago
Venezuela's public health system is a mess. Dictators don't care about their people's wellbeing; only about their obedience.
But are we that much better? How do we fare against the "brutal" and "inhumane" governments of the rest of the world, in terms of taking care of our people? You'd be surprised.
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Transcript
Military Incursion and Health Concerns
00:00:06
Speaker
The American military incursion into Venezuela is on everyone's mind these days. Dictatorships and authoritarian governments are usually a disaster for public health.
00:00:18
Speaker
The Maduro government was a major setback for the health of the Venezuelan people. When a junta runs a country like Venezuela, pollution and extraction of natural resources by multinational corporations takes precedence over the health of the local people.
00:00:35
Speaker
As a result, cancer rates rise over time and cancer hotspots emerge
Healthcare Neglect in Venezuela
00:00:41
Speaker
locally. In Venezuela, hospitals were often shuttered, running out of supplies and trained personnel. Routine prevention, such as immunizations against the preventable infectious diseases of childhood, become scattered or fail altogether, resulting in widespread outbreaks and mortality.
00:00:59
Speaker
Diseases that were considered eliminated, like measles, come roaring back. The government directs national spending to military purposes and away from healthcare. Patriotic slogans replace policy.
00:01:12
Speaker
Women are encouraged to stay out of the workforce and have more children. Mussolini was a big fan of patriarchy, control of women's bodies, and large families with stay-at-home moms.
Impact of Authoritarian Rule on Health
00:01:24
Speaker
Emergency response systems can also start failing, and maternal and infant mortality start rising. These are well-known indicators of social stress and breakdown. Under these conditions, medical personnel also start fleeing the country.
00:01:40
Speaker
Some of the citizenry can become passive and despairing, giving up hope that their voice and democratically expressed wishes have any impact on strongman rule.
Parallels with Russia's Health Issues
00:01:50
Speaker
Self-medication through drugs and alcohol can become epidemic.
00:01:55
Speaker
The lifespan of Russian men 20 years ago had fallen to 59 years, largely due to vast consumption of vodka and resultant liver cirrhosis, although an anti-drinking program in Russia has since improved those numbers.
00:02:10
Speaker
But Putin is clearly no savior of public health.
00:02:19
Speaker
I will not attempt to predict what happens next in Venezuela.
US Public Health Concerns
00:02:23
Speaker
There are too many unknowns, but every characteristic about public health in Venezuela that I just mentioned is also true in the United States to varying degrees.
00:02:34
Speaker
Consider the skyrocketing costs of American healthcare. care With the end of subsidies under the Affordable Care Act January 1st, at the same time the US military budget is bloated beyond recognition.
00:02:46
Speaker
Hospitals in rural states and red states will see reduced services, staff shortages and bankruptcies at accelerating rates as Medicaid funds vanish.
00:02:57
Speaker
Patients will have to drive hundreds of miles for a stroke, a heart attack, a broken finger to deliver a baby. A lot of ambulances will not make it in time.
00:03:09
Speaker
Food assistance programs were suspended late last year before federal judges reversed the government diktat. Consider also the a re-emergence of measles and whooping cough and rising maternal and infant mortality, especially in Trump voting counties.
00:03:25
Speaker
Oil industry pollution has long been identified as an origin of high cancer prevalence, especially, for example, in the notorious Cancer Alley of Louisiana, and fracking in Colorado and Pennsylvania are linked to acute leukemia in kids.
00:03:41
Speaker
Environmental protections are being undone at an alarming rate, and we should expect more cancer death in America. Physicians and scientists are also leaving the United States in growing numbers as the manufactured stress continues to destroy America's healthcare and medical research infrastructure.
Patriarchal Systems and Voter Disenfranchisement
00:04:00
Speaker
Consider also the proposal to strip American married women of their vote by declaring the name on a birth certificate must match that on the voter registry. Women who've changed their names by marriage are therefore immediately disenfranchised.
00:04:13
Speaker
The health and rights of women and children in a patriarchal society are usually sacrificed to the egos of the white male ruling class. Patriotic slogans about the Monroe Doctrine and the new imperial America bullying the whole world may speed the heart rates of some supporters but will not hide the deep destruction of public health.
Comparison of Health Decline in US, Venezuela, and Russia
00:04:34
Speaker
America is looking less and less like Canada, with its robust educational and health systems and longevity, and more and more like Venezuela or even Russia, in denial that the game is already over and the whole world sees it.
00:04:48
Speaker
American voters seem passive, showing up for demonstrations but in not nearly large enough numbers, and returning to TikTok and Instagram and online shopping for their entertainment.
Call to Action for Podcast Support
00:05:03
Speaker
Margaret Atwood seems to be sitting in an armchair to my left, sipping her black tea quietly and avoiding eye contact.
00:05:21
Speaker
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Fifth Column Podcast. If you enjoyed it, please don't forget to subscribe on the platform of your choice and to share our podcast with whomever you think might resonate with our message and our mission.
00:05:34
Speaker
Mainstream platforms do not like the kind of disruptive narratives we're trying to build, so we rely on your support for our growth. Thank you so much for being here and for supporting our show.
00:05:45
Speaker
See you next time.