'Sanctions not only create social chaos but also end up shooting the US in the foot'
517'Shooting the US in the foot' 👎 🏽 💸
Although more than 140 countries have already been targeted by unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States, these measures have not been effective in bringing about political regime change. This is the assessment of analysts Miguel Stédile, historian and political commentator, and Lorenzo Santiago, correspondent for #BrasildeFato in Venezuela, in an interview with the videocast #OEstrangeiro.
Although the UN Charter provides for sanctions only with authorization from the Security Council, and has only used them three times, the US applies unilateral measures without international legal backing. "This type of sanction is a weapon of mass destruction. [...] The US uses [sanctions] excessively and in a completely inhumane, disproportionate, and lawless manner," concludes Stédile.
Santiago points out that, even with severe blockades on oil and trade, Venezuela is resisting. "At the beginning of the [Donald] Trump administration, I expected the [Nicolás] Maduro government to fall within weeks. That didn't happen." He considers, however, that the country is experiencing consequences such as hyperinflation, a humanitarian crisis, and mass migration.
For him, the parallels with Cuba and Iran show that sanctions, while failing in their political objectives, are effective in destabilizing economies and causing lasting suffering. "Indeed, sanctions are not a very effective strategy. They, in fact, only cause suffering to local populations and do not effectively result in regime change in these countries," he summarizes.
The journalist also believes that sanctions are "shooting the US itself in the foot," because these countries "resort to other tools, such as trying to exit the dollar and conduct transactions in their own currencies."
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