Saturday morning syrias war escalated to a new level for the first time in thirty years israel lost a fighter jet to enemy fire as israel confirmed Syrian Air Defense shot at one of its f. Sixteen fighter jets the israeli Prime Minister was blunt israel iran and its syrian coast responsible for todays aggression we will continue to do whatever is necessary to protect our sovereignty and our security the crash followed the shooting down of a drone israeli army video shows what they say is the iranian drone flying towards the norden Golan Heights before it was downed in retaliation Israeli Air Force at targets in syria including the suspected Drone Command Center iranian targets and Syrian Air Defense syria launch surface to air missiles during the israeli raid and says it shot down the f. Sixteen which crashed in northern israel at the hands of. The syrian Political Leadership took a decision at the highest level to face to thaw simply any Israeli Military aircraft of a syrian in space today syria did what it promised to pipe down in israeli plane and striking at other planes this is clear for syria it is the decisive decision to confront the Israeli Air Force and its careless behavior. Both pilots ejected and parachuted to these re side of the border one is critically injured the Israeli Army Spokesman said it was wrong it was behind the launch of the drawing but didnt say whether it was armed or not the iranians have reacted theyve said that they are going to stand with syria against any felician us by. Israel the russians have also reacted saying that israel needs to respect syrian state to state sovereignty also what were hearing is that the israelis want to send a strong message to the russians to get iran out of the region iran current aljazeera western islam a Turkish Military helicopter has been shot down in Northern Syria during an operation against kurdish fighters this video is said to show the helicopter moments before it was hit the afrin killing two soldiers on board kurdish Led Syrian Democratic forces say its fight says shut down the aircraft but he says the cause is still unclear a total of eleven turkish soldiers were killed in the fighting on saturday making it the deadliest day for the countrys forces since they began the campaign after in last month. North koreas limping delegation has had a lunch meeting in seoul with the south korean Prime Minister lee yong the Group Includes the sister of the north Korean Leader kim jong il and on saturday she extended a rare invitation to the south korean president to visit pyongyang talks on the sidelines of the winter games the votes are being counted in sri lanka are after its most Peaceful Elections for decades its the first vote since of the electoral laws changed allowing a Record Number of women to campaign for a seat in local government the president and the Prime Minister ruled jointly through a coalition but they have campaigned for their respective parties separately. Thousands of demonstrators have rallied against racism in the italian city of much about a week after six africans were injured in a drive by shooting protesters warned of a revival of neo fascist sentiment during the campaign for next Months National election and see racism rallies also took place in rome and. Indonesia his navy has seized more than a ton of crystal meth and arrested for suspected drug smugglers the seas substances were displayed after being found on a boat in indonesian waters near singapore theyve been hidden under sacks of rice for taiwanese men have been arrested colorful costumes and musicians filled the streets of the bolivian city of the broader world as the connolly that began a four day festival leads up to the start of the christian season of lent the two hundred year old celebration is one of south americas most famous on the tracks nearly four hundred thousand people every year those are your headlines the news continues here on aljazeera after the big picture a lot of summary in about twenty five minutes. Oh. Then israel is gripped by crisis. Ravaged by economic collapse and mon by political decay. The government of Nicolas Maduro faces an existential threat. Mother who has been a bully in the middle of a big story. Latin americas once model democracy struggles to maintain order and feed a divided people. Have never seemed of the curation of Living Standards of this moment almost everywhere in the world a nation boasting the Worlds Largest oil reserves fight the economic survival as its called further apart. Polarization is there racially is there regionally is there by class its there in lol to pull multiple ways. But the seeds of its current demise was sown a century ago. When the events of its formative years in shared that the fate of venezuela would be written in oil. This country that was once that the wealthiest in the region what went wrong how did we get to this point in venezuela. The country starts among the installation process that is shaped by all of this puts a state becomes more and more powerful and they shape their country through the state charges and then my goodness regime try to create. This revolution and that led this people to destroy the whole business apparatus of the country. That unemployment did go down equality increased per capita g. D. P. Of course you could say that because of the oil wealth are at the same time or are that only wealth could have been distributed completely different there and i would say it was distributed much more equitably. And it was a very backward country before or birth of one of the poorest of latin america. Life expectancy was in your early thirtys and about three quarters of the country was a mature. Its very difficult to speak of a National Policy much less of a national culture. Then we have an extraordinary developments in one thousand nine hundred scene when venezuela sinks its those wells begins pumping oil for the first time. In this way that enters the era of commercial heavy Oil Production and not only is the british and the dutch involved but now the u. S. Also comes to venezuela to partake in oils production. Foreign oil giants such as Royal Dutch Shell and the American Standard oil company were granted concessions by the military dictatorship of one percent take on them as allowing them to drill for oil and allowing us to get rich. A rival of the Oil Companies the development of the industry parallels the rise of one be sent the gold mist and the rise of the venezuelan state even though venezuela really begins to develop its all economy the venezuelan state doesnt benefit hugely because in essence its only charging rent for the land. By the mid one nine hundred thirty s. The once lease collective of largely coffee exporting regions had become a consolidated nation state formed and transformed by oil. We have the beginnings of a mass process of urbanization so people coming out of the move the country signs in city the big cities because the major london is the selling off the Oil Companies the very idea of oil became imbued with the notion of modernity that the oil camps with the north american presence the british presence with electricity water sewage would then become social laboratories that other venezuelans should emulate on the one hand there were people who were living in the oil camps who received all the benefits of working for all companies and then on the outside of these comes you have the majority of Venezuelan Society who didnt have access to all of the health care and benefits and education benefits. One percent take on as died in one thousand nine hundred eighty five but he laid the blueprint for other dictators to follow developing infrastructure suppressing to sand and getting rich off oil deals. The first half of the Twentieth Century would see venezuela ruled by oppressive military regimes for all but three years on a popular push for democracy in one nine hundred forty five briefly on seated dictatorship. But the Political Party cemented in that democratic interlude axion democratic eighty and kapan question democrats remained a persistent opposition to authoritarian rule. By the mid one nine hundred fifty s. The rule of another dictator general marcos paris and then as it creates a vastly expanded and increasingly unequal state we enter what some of called the bulldozer years in venezuela the state will now use the funds the profits of oil to engage in broad scale developmental as projects those are all great opportunities for development but also for corruption because in the process of developing those projects the military and their associates were all benefiting from industry the big problem is that the only way paris in minutes can maintain itself in power is through brutal repression. What we see is a real climb down brutal climb down position. You start to seeing also the very clear parameters of two venezuelas venezuela benefits from oil and the venezuela that actually still remains in the shadow of the oil industry. And that venezuela is rural that venezuela is poor that venezuela is illiterate that venezuela isnt seeing and looking at the evolution of the other but is not benefiting from it. As venezuelas elite rich and its poor but getting left behind the forces for democracy once again dad to take on a dictator. You begin to see rumblings in the military you begin to see younger officers protest in much the same way they had protested before theres also an active social movement being led by dissidents in the communist party in our own democratic even the social democrats and others theyre actually cooperating to undermine the menace. Said perez humanise that is the effectively have thrown through another coup which then brings us to moccasin been swimming in one nine hundred fifty eight. Democracy had fallen to dictatorship a decade earlier right now to survive unity was a must. There is an attempt to form a pact so eydie comes to the table with its union impossible its who framework copay comes to the table the christian democrat right so what you have around the table is essentially all of the key financial and political interests in the country the Roman Catholic church is also essentially politics in these negotiations as is the military these parties signed. And began was being called in venezuela. Meaning there was an agreement which the parties. I agreed not to go in conflicts that could risk with mr allen democracy. Venezuela was moving inexorably toward the socalled first world with growing confidence. It had broken the cycle of military coups and now the printer fiar pact ensured progress would be underwritten by democratic process. In a certain length is a kind of golden age because it has more than inflation going on now for two decades and it also has now a democracy that means to be an example for the rest of latin america. In one nine hundred sixty venezuela helped establish the organization of Petroleum Exporting countries. And in one nine hundred seventy three following the hike in oil prices after war in the middle east it was awash with petrol dollars. Venezuela was asserting itself as a global player. And in colors andrus peres it would have a president ready to take the next big step and take back its well. That was the dream of democracy and so colors and this is ive got the money why not lets do it. So we nationalize the oil industry in one nine hundred seventy five its called with it. What it essentially donts is it nationalizes the bureaucracy of Oil Exploration its nationalization to create a Company Rather than nationalization all Venezuelas Oil sector to say many of the world workers maintain their privileged status in the oil camps and this is the period in venezuela that many refer to as loving as well as the image of saudi venezuela in which the notion is that one of the terms in venezuela is. Its cheap to me to venezuela have that kind of wealth. The dream of a state oil company had been realized with head of the south. Paris now im on a nationwide spending spree funding social programs housing projects and nationalizing industries with the price of crude oil at a record high such lavish spending could also be supplemented by borrowing. He wanted to an industrialized country and he could be could be had a lot of. This also puts us in loans and more loans and more than that continues as long as the price of oil is good as the all price begins to fall back venezuela doesnt reduce its financial outlays. You have this huge bureaucracy which will surges in venezuela and huge amounts of corruption government high post implicitly have the benefit of helping yourself and helping others in your Social Circle but instead of addressing any of these problems the strategy of the government is instead to borrow money that. Becomes more difficult to. Under that environment. Is the election one thousand nine hundred to go to war to have a market economy. Inflation begins to take off corruption becomes an even more profound problem and yet we have no effort made by any of the governments in the 1980s to actually address the overwhelming reliance on oil which is falling in by. Successive governments of Axion Democratica and co pay did little to check the economic decline social inequality and the corruption of the ruling class. In december one thousand nine hundred eighty eight. Paris was reelected to office promising to bring back the cash rich glory years of his first. But rhetoric could be trumped by reality. He is sworn into power. He. Tells the reserve people. Who go. To the. Venezuela to go to an agreement with the International Monetary fund saying there was no choice no choice of the time because an assailant was in the venezuela you had to go to some adjustment structure roach adjustment to launch. The growth again the problem is greg this i. M. F. Loan comes with some very difficult terms and conditions you have and you have a segment of the population that hasnt benefited from the boom times Living Conditions have been deteriorating through the eightys and now comes this i. M. F. Loan where yet again theyre feeling the effects should areas have anticipated this. Certainly on huh. Because it affected again the poor who had been already suffering it affects them even more but i would say just one step back also in terms of an alternative i think we have to keep in mind on the one hundred at that time the liberal kind of policy paradigm was absolutely had to monitor and around the world and so it certainly appeared that way i think that there was no alternative i would argue from todays perspective there probably were some alternatives one of them would have been perhaps to actually default on the debt which of course you know has all kinds of other consequence in part about trying to for example tax the wealthy more or some other way of raising revenues other than cutting back on. The parts that. Have an impact on the poor or what do you say to that cost people are still suffering in terms of unemployment and wages yeah because the when you change when you have to the idea in the second last on this but as a government was that the country couldnt be resorting all Oil Resources couldnt be depending on the state resources they had to promote private an intrapreneur ship they have to promote the participation of a business we had to promote for a National Investment in oil and in other industries that where state owned how we change always implies pain and but who are listening to lessen the pain for the majority there were some of the most advance parole or arms about timing. That later on where an you know taken by brazilian man made mexico to. Something then i have a different perspective on that i mean you would you want to change us from from one day to the other into a free market economy when we have been a state economy throughout all the Twentieth Century i mean you cant do that and i think the problem was not that the taint had to come and we have still we still havent been able to have a market economy in some way that will lead us to to create a population that thirty million of and as soon as that we are but the problem was the way it was put out it was a political problem the political problem was gunderson that it said you know what we cant take this in what with change and were going to do a radical change would also how to play the major role in the moment were trying to cover some of the voters ran on a platform and tony a liberal when he ran for president and then made this big turnaround i mean thats why there was a hundred eighty degree turn after he came into Office Actually i think it was a major impact on what happened afterwards as well actually i think thats not accurate because he said in his Electoral Campaign that he was going to bring may use changes in in a Straight Line the economy and political round but what is true is that he represent. All the years that. We had in the senate in one thousand seven hundred standing he was perceived in one way and then does the opposite and that was exactly what was this adding insult to injury injury being cut back some. Subsidies for transportation or for food and at the same time thi