Stopping Debt Payments Could Worsen Venezuela's Crisis
債務(wù)違約可能會(huì)加劇委內(nèi)瑞拉的危機(jī)
Venezuela is struggling to pay back an estimated $150 billion in debt.
委內(nèi)瑞拉正在竭力償還大約1500億美元的債務(wù)。
The country's financial crisis only makes life worse for people like Luber Faneitte.
該國(guó)的金融危機(jī)只會(huì)讓Luber Faneitte這樣的人生活愈發(fā)艱難。
Faneitte lives in a run-down building in downtown Caracas. She receives disability payments from her job and survives on less than $9 each month.
Faneitte住在加拉加斯市中心的一棟破敗的房子里。她領(lǐng)著因公傷殘補(bǔ)貼，每個(gè)月只有不到9美元的生活費(fèi)。
Faneitte lives with a daughter and four grandchildren. They all depend on her small income. She struggles to have enough food to eat and to pay her bills. She depends on food the government sells once a month at reduced prices.
Faneitte跟她的女兒以及四個(gè)外孫一起生活，她們都依靠Faneitte的微薄收入過(guò)活。Faneitte努力弄到足夠的食物并支付賬單，她依靠政府每月低價(jià)出售一次的糧食生活。
Health problems add to her worries. Faneitte has lung cancer. Doctors say she needs chemotherapy to treat her cancer. But Faneitte stopped chemotherapy in January because of the severe shortage of medicine.
健康問(wèn)題增加了她的擔(dān)憂。Faneitte患有肺癌。醫(yī)生說(shuō)她必須化療來(lái)治療她的癌癥。但是由于藥品嚴(yán)重短缺，F(xiàn)aneitte在一月份停止了化療。
Instead, she prepares a homemade mixture of liqueur, honey and aloe vera.
相反，她準(zhǔn)備了自制的利口酒、蜂蜜和蘆薈的混合物。
"I leave it outside for two days, then I take a spoonful in the morning and another at night. I think I breathe much better when I take it," she said.
她說(shuō)：“我把它們?cè)谕饷娣胖脙商?，然后早晚各吃一勺。我認(rèn)為服用時(shí)我的呼吸順暢多了。”
The poor in the South American nation are especially suffering because of the economy. The International Monetary Fund predicts that inflation will reach 2,300 percent in 2018.
由于經(jīng)濟(jì)危機(jī)，這個(gè)南美國(guó)家的窮人過(guò)得尤為艱難。國(guó)際貨幣基金組織預(yù)計(jì)，到2018年委內(nèi)瑞拉的通貨膨脹率將會(huì)達(dá)到2300%。
A member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, Venezuela depends on oil for almost all of its export income.
作為石油輸出國(guó)組織(歐佩克，OPEC)成員國(guó)，委內(nèi)瑞拉幾乎所有出口收入都依靠石油。
But oil prices remain low. That means Venezuela has less money to import many goods that it needs. The decrease in imports has worsened the seemingly endless shortages of basic supplies such as soap and toilet paper.
但是油價(jià)仍然很低迷。這意味著委內(nèi)瑞拉沒有足夠資金進(jìn)口所需的許多商品。進(jìn)口減少使得肥皂和衛(wèi)生紙這類基本生活用品看似無(wú)休止的短缺更加惡化。
The idea of Venezuela ending its debt payments is seen as a possible short-term political gain for the country's largely unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. He is expected to seek re-election in 2018.
委內(nèi)瑞拉停止償付債務(wù)的想法被認(rèn)為是該國(guó)很不受歡迎的馬杜羅總統(tǒng)一種可能獲得的短期政治收益。預(yù)計(jì)他會(huì)在2018年尋求連任。
If Maduro stops debt payments, or declares default, the money could be used to buy imports and do election campaigning. It would also decrease the risk of street protests.
如果馬杜羅停止償付債務(wù)，或是宣布違約，這些資金就可以用于進(jìn)口商品和進(jìn)行競(jìng)選活動(dòng)，這也會(huì)減少街頭示威的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。
But experts say the long-term effect of defaulting would be extremely bad. Alejandro Grisanti is with the group Ecoanalitica which provides business advice. He says Venezuela would face legal action from its creditors. It would also have its property held in foreign countries seized as a result.
但是專家表示，違約的長(zhǎng)期影響會(huì)非常糟糕。亞歷杭德羅·格里桑蒂(Alejandro Grisanti)就職于Ecoanalitica，這是一家提供商業(yè)建議的組織。他說(shuō)，委內(nèi)瑞拉將會(huì)面臨債權(quán)人的法律訴訟，也會(huì)導(dǎo)致委內(nèi)瑞拉在國(guó)外的資產(chǎn)被扣押。
Maduro has said he wants to refinance and restructure Venezuela's debt. But the idea of default is a looming concern for people who could be affected.
馬杜羅已經(jīng)表示，他希望對(duì)委內(nèi)瑞拉的債務(wù)進(jìn)行再融資和重組。但是違約的想法對(duì)可能受影響者來(lái)說(shuō)是一個(gè)迫在眉睫的問(wèn)題。
I'm Jonathan Evans.
喬納森·埃文斯報(bào)道。
Venezuela is struggling to pay back an estimated $150 billion in debt.
The country’s financial crisis only makes life worse for people like Luber Faneitte.
Faneitte lives in a run-down building in downtown Caracas. She receives disability payments from her job and survives on less than $9 each month.
Faneitte lives with a daughter and four grandchildren. They all depend on her small income. She struggles to have enough food to eat and to pay her bills. She depends on food the government sells once a month at reduced prices.
Health problems add to her worries. Faneitte has lung cancer. Doctors say she needs chemotherapy to treat her cancer. But Faneitte stopped chemotherapy in January because of the severe shortage of medicine.
Instead, she prepares a homemade mixture of liqueur, honey and aloe vera.
“I leave it outside for two days, then I take a spoonful in the morning and another at night. I think I breathe much better when I take it,” she said.
The poor in the South American nation are especially suffering because of the economy. The International Monetary Fund predicts that inflation will reach 2,300 percent in 2018.
A member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC, Venezuela depends on oil for almost all of its export income.
But oil prices remain low. That means Venezuela has less money to import many goods that it needs. The decrease in imports has worsened the seemingly endless shortages of basic supplies such as soap and toilet paper.
The idea of Venezuela ending its debt payments is seen as a possible short-term political gain for the country’s largely unpopular President Nicolas Maduro. He is expected to seek re-election in 2018.
If Maduro stops debt payments, or declares default, the money could be used to buy imports and do election campaigning. It would also decrease the risk of street protests.
But experts say the long-term effect of defaulting would be extremely bad. Alejandro Grisanti is with the group Ecoanalitica which provides business advice. He says Venezuela would face legal action from its creditors. It would also have its property held in foreign countries seized as a result.
Maduro has said he wants to refinance and restructure Venezuela's debt. But the idea of default is a looming concern for people who could be affected.
I’m Jonathan Evans.
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Words in this Story
run-down – adj. being in poor repair
chemotherapy – n. the use of chemicals to treat or control a disease such as cancer
liqueur – n. a sweet, strong alcoholic drink that is usually flavored with fruits or spices and drunk in small glasses after a meal
default – n. a failure to make a payment, such as a payment on a loan
looming – adj. something close to happening, used especially of unpleasant or frightening things
