She draws a clear distinction between unavoidable natural destruction and state neglect, corruption and oppression. In her view, entrenched corruption, crumbling infrastructure, hollowed out public institutions, and the absence of an effective emergency response transformed a natural disaster into an immense human tragedy.
Nowhere, she argues, is Venezuela's institutional decay more starkly exposed than in the aftermath of the earthquake. In most countries, she notes, the military and National Guard are among the first responders, mobilized to rescue survivors and coordinate relief efforts. But as she examines the scenes emerging from Caracas and La Guaira, she sees a striking absence.
"You barely see any uniformed personnel," she says. "Where is the National Guard? This is the same National Guard that, over the last 30 years, has been quick to suppress protests. They have killed protesters. That is what they have been trained to do. Today, they are nowhere to be found. There are no federal rescue operations, and the military is nowhere to be seen in Caracas or La Guaira."
For Rodriguez Paleo, the earthquake did not merely expose the vulnerabilities of Venezuela. It revealed the profound failure of a state that, when confronted with its greatest test, was unable or unwilling to protect its own people.