Agence France-Presse photographer Ronaldo Schemidt won the prestigious 2018 World Press Photo of the Year Award Thursday with a fiery image of a masked Venezuelan protester which judges said symbolised a country “burning”.
Schemidt’s photo, taken during violent clashes with riot police and protesters demonstrating against president Nicolas Maduro’s regime in Caracas last year, invoked an instant emotion, the judges said.
Mexico-based Schemidt was covering the demonstrations for AFP in May 2017 when the then 28-year-old Victor Salazar went up in flames as he and other protestors were trying to destroy a police motorbike and the gas tank exploded in his face.
“I felt the explosion behind me and I felt the heat and at that moment I turned around, already shooting, but without seeing what was going on,” Mr Schemidt said.
His searing image shows Salazar – who is wearing a mask – running as a cloak of fire envelopes his body. He survived the incident with first and second-degree burns, the competition’s organisers said.
For the chair of the jury, Magdalena Herrera, Geo France’s director of photography, it is “a classical photo” which has “an instantaneous energy and dynamic.”
It has “colours, movement and is very well composed. It has strength. I got an instantaneous emotion,” she said.
But Thursday’s prize is a bittersweet recognition for Schemidt, 46, who is Venezuelan himself, even though he left the country 18 years ago.
“I have conflicting emotions,” he said. “I know as well as anyone what Venezuela is going through.”
Schemidt’s own family has been caught up in the hunger, hyperinflation and shortages that sparked the protests – four months of street battles that left 125 people dead.
Accepting his award and speaking in Spanish, Mr Schemidt said he dedicated to photo “to his family and all the people of Venezuela.”
The seven-member jury heaped praise on the image.
“It’s quite symbolic,” said Whitney C. Johnson, National Geographic’s deputy director of photography.
“The man, he has a mask on his face. He’s come to sort of represent not just himself and himself on fire, but sort of this idea of Venezuela burning.”
Hard hit by sharply lower oil prices on the global market, Venezuela is enduring one of the worst crises in its history. Inflation for this year is forecast to hit 13,000 percent.
From April to July last year angry Venezuelans took to the streets in protest, with 125 people killed as the demonstrations degenerated into clashes with security forces.
Another jury member, Bulent Kilic, AFP’s chief photographer in Turkey, highlighted “one small detail in the picture. There was a gun (painted) on the wall. It reads ‘paz’. It means peace.”
“That also makes this picture strong,” he said.
“This is an immensely powerful photo and this is not an easy picture to take,” Lars Boering, World Press Photo’s director told AFP after the ceremony.
Schemidt said he was “very emotional, and very excited” about the award, adding: “I didn’t think in that moment that I would win any prize with it, but I was really shocked by what I was seeing because I had never seen something that violent.”
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Four reasons global stock markets are falling right now
There are many factors worrying investors right now and triggering a rush out of stock markets. Here are four of the biggest:
1. Rising US interest rates
The US Federal Reserve has increased interest rates three times this year in a bid to prevent its buoyant economy from overheating. They now stand at between 2 and 2.25 per cent and markets are pencilling in three more rises next year.
Kim Catechis, manager of the Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Emerging Markets Fund, says US inflation is rising and the Fed will continue to raise rates in 2019. “With inflationary pressures growing, an increasing number of corporates are guiding profitability expectations downwards for 2018 and 2019, citing the negative impact of rising costs.”
At the same time as rates are rising, central bankers in the US and Europe have been ending quantitative easing, bringing the era of cheap money to an end.
2. Stronger dollar
High US rates have driven up the value of the dollar and bond yields, and this is putting pressure on emerging market countries that took advantage of low interest rates to run up trillions in dollar-denominated debt. They have also suffered capital outflows as international investors have switched to the US, driving markets lower. Omar Negyal, portfolio manager of the JP Morgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust, says this looks like a buying opportunity. “Despite short-term volatility we remain positive about long-term prospects and profitability for emerging markets.”
3. Global trade war
Ritu Vohora, investment director at fund manager M&G, says markets fear that US President Donald Trump’s spat with China will escalate into a full-blown global trade war, with both sides suffering. “The US economy is robust enough to absorb higher input costs now, but this may not be the case as tariffs escalate. However, with a host of factors hitting investor sentiment, this is becoming a stock picker’s market.”
4. Eurozone uncertainty
Europe faces two challenges right now in the shape of Brexit and the new populist government in eurozone member Italy.
Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG, which has offices in Dubai, says the stand-off between between Rome and Brussels threatens to become much more serious. "As with Brexit, neither side appears willing to step back from the edge, threatening more trouble down the line.”
The European economy may also be slowing, Mr Beauchamp warns. “A four-year low in eurozone manufacturing confidence highlights the fact that producers see a bumpy road ahead, with US-EU trade talks remaining a major question-mark for exporters.”
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final:
First leg: Liverpool 5 Roma 2
Second leg: Wednesday, May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
TV: BeIN Sports, 10.45pm (UAE)
