High on the hillsides of the Waraira Repano mountain, a sea of cinderblock homes pushes up to the edge of the forest.
This is the commune of Altos de Lidice. They have been organizing. Organizing to bring sports to local kids in the community. Organizing to ensure that everyone in the neighborhood has access to water, education, and, above all, health.
These are dire needs in 2019 Venezuela.
US sanctions are wreaking havoc. They were first imposed by Obama and then ramped up by Trump. They block Venezuela from trading internationally and selling oil, its top export. The sanctions have unraveled the economy and spiked inflation. Millions of Venezuelans are fleeing the country.
Broken cars sit along roadsides, because there are no parts to fix them. Water systems are failing, because replacement parts can’t be purchased from abroad. Health supplies are hard to find. So is medicine.
The shelves of pharmacies across the country are empty. Pharmacists say almost half of their product is impossible to acquire. The medicine they do have is so overpriced, it’s out of reach for most Venezuelans.
“People with cancer pretty much just die, because they just can’t afford it,” one pharmacist in Caracas tells me.
And that is what’s happening. According to one study, tens of thousands of people have died over the last two years, due to the sanctions. People with cancer, people who need dialysis, people with diabetes and hypertension, and who can’t acquire insulin or heart meds.
But neighbors in the Altos de Lidice commune are standing up for each other. They’ve created a community pharmacy. They get the medicine from anywhere they can. Donations from abroad. From individuals. Solidarity groups. Medicine has been brought to them from Australia, Brazil, Italy, and Chile.
It’s run by a health committee organized by a group of neighbors. They meet in one of their homes. The same place the pharmacy is run out of.
A sign sits out front. “Communal Pharmacy. Health for the Barrio.”
The medicine is all free. It’s delivered to those with a doctor’s note from the local community health clinic. Which is also free.
It’s one small service. But for those in the community here, it’s making a tremendous difference. It’s a matter of survival. A lifeboat in a sea of struggle.
Community resistance, in the face of harsh sanctions—and US intervention.
This is the sixth episode of Stories of Resistance.
Stories of Resistance is a new project, co-produced by The Real News and Global Exchange. Each week, we’ll bring you stories of resistance like this. Inspiration for dark times.
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Written and produced by Michael Fox.
You can find out more about the communal pharmacy in Michael’s 2019 story for The Real News: Venezuelan Community Builds Solidarity Pharmacy to Counter US Sanctions
Here is a report by the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research Center, which looks at the thousands of deaths that occurred in Venezuela during this period due to US sanctions: Report Finds US Sanctions on Venezuela Are Responsible for Tens of Thousands of Deaths
This content originally appeared on The Real News Network and was authored by Michael Fox.
Michael Fox | Radio Free (2025-02-24T18:47:12+00:00) Stories of Resistance: Venezuela’s communal pharmacy challenges US sanctions. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/02/24/stories-of-resistance-venezuelas-communal-pharmacy-challenges-us-sanctions/
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