VOA常速英语2014--Venezuelans Divided on Who to Blame for Economic, Social Woes 委内瑞拉民众在谁为经济社会困境负责的问题上存在分歧

Venezuelans Divided on Who to Blame for Economic, Social Woes 1 委内瑞拉民众在谁为经济社会困境负责的问题上存在分歧

Continuing anti-government protests in Venezuela are posing the greatest threat to the socialist 2 government of President Nicolas Maduro since the handpicked successor to the late Hugo Chavez narrowly won election to office last year.  In this oil-rich country nearly everyone is angry about food shortages, soaring inflation, and the high crime rate but there are sharp divisions over who is to blame and how to fix the problems.

自从去年被选定的接班人乌戈查韦斯在选举中险胜，委内瑞拉国内的反政府抗议活动愈演愈烈，这对以尼古拉斯马杜罗为首的社会主义政府来说是一个极大的威胁。在这个石油大国，几乎所有人都因食物短缺、通货膨胀和高犯罪率而愤怒。但是，国内人民就谁该为此负责以及如何解决这些问题存在严重分歧。

The student-led protests in Venezuela, that began weeks ago, have led to some violent and deadly confrontations 3 with police, and have sharpened the political divisions in the country.

在委内瑞拉，学生领导的抗议活动早在几个星期之前就开始发展。这些抗议活动已经演变成了与警察对峙的暴力流血事件，并且加剧了国内的政治分歧。

All Venezuelans are frustrated 4 with near hyper inflation rates, chronic 5 shortages of basic goods, and violent crime.  But Eric Olsen, a Latin America analyst 6 with the Woodrow Wilson Center, says they are divided over who to blame.

所有委内瑞拉人民都对超通胀率、基本商品的长期短缺和暴力犯罪感到沮丧。然而，在伍德罗威尔逊中心的拉丁美洲分析师埃里克奥尔森说，他们在谁该为此负责的问题上存在分歧。

“People who are protesting are trying to hold the government accountable for this, pointing the finger at mismanagement or policy problems on the part of the government," he said. "The government itself is blaming agitators 7, it's blaming the United States.”

“抗议者认为政府应对此负责，他们把矛头指向了政府内部部分问题的管理不周和政策漏洞，”他说道。“委内瑞拉政府指责煽动者，它还职责美国。”

Olsen says President Maduro’s recent expulsion of three U.S. diplomats 8 for allegedly helping 9 the student protests bolsters 10 his popularity among his supporters.

奥尔森说，马杜罗总理最近驱逐三位美国外交官，据说这三位外交官帮助学生抗议者在他的支持者中增加人气。

Meanwhile, Maduro says he wants to directly engage the U.S. on these charges and will send an ambassador to Washington to fill the long-vacant post.

与此同时，马杜罗称他将亲自与美国就这些指控进行交涉，并且将送一位大使到华盛顿来担任这个空缺已久的职位。

“I call for the dialogue now, I accept this challenge," he said. "Let's initiate 11 a high-level dialogue and let's put the truth out on the table.”

他说：“我现在需要这次对话，我接受这个挑战。我们将开始一次高端的对话，让我们用事实说话。”

For its part, the United States has denied any involvement in the Venezuelan protests and has reciprocated 12 by expelling three Venezuelan diplomats.  

在这个事情上，美国政府已经表明在委内瑞拉国内抗议活动中没有任何进展，并且也已经将三位委内瑞拉外交官驱逐出美国。

“When President Maduro calls for a dialogue with the U.S. president and an exchange of ambassadors, he should focus instead on a dialogue with the Venezuelan people, because that is what is at issue here," said White House press secretary Jay Carney. "This is not about the United States.”

“马杜罗总理在与美国总统开展对话并且呼唤大使之前，应该致力于与委内瑞拉国内人民进行交流，这才是问题所在。这些事情根本与美国没有关系。”白宫新闻发言人杰伊卡尼如是说。

Despite having the world's largest oil reserves, spending for the socialist programs providing free housing, health care and other services to the poor have burdened the economy.  Olsen says Venezuela has to find a way to live within its means while preserving these popular programs.

尽管委内瑞拉有世界上最丰富的石油储备，实施社会主义计划向穷人提供免费住房，但是穷人的医疗保健和其它服务都是其经济的负担。奥尔森说委内瑞拉必须要寻找一哥方法，不仅要量入为出，同时还要保留这些受欢迎的项目。

"So the question is can you continue those kinds of programs but have a better and more reformed economic policy that doesn’t create such a crisis and I think that’s the challenge for both the government and for the opposition 13 to some extent,” he said.

他还指出，因此问题在于是继续保持这些项目，还是制定一些更好的经济改革政策来保证解决危机。一定程度上来说，这对政府及其反对派都是一个挑战。

But so far the country remains 14 divided over what to do and who to blame.

然而，目前为止，委内瑞拉人们仍然在怎么做和谁该为此负责的问题上存在分歧。