Venezuela has freed 79 political prisoners in recent months, to global plaudits. But the hard-line regime has also charged 100 military officials with conspiracy. Does President Maduro fear overthrow?
Maduro’s landslide May 20 re-election marks the official death of democracy in Venezuela. Dozens of nations worldwide have declared the vote illegitimate, and the US imposed new sanctions.
The Venezuelan opposition is asking people not to vote in the country’s May 20 election, which they call a ‘farce.’ President Maduro regime has jailed or blacklisted most of his competitors.
Venezuela – once known for its friendly people, oil wealth and beauty queens – ranks 102nd of 156 countries surveyed in this year’s World Happiness Report, which measures well-being worldwide.
The Venezuelan government has just announced that it will hold a presidential election by the end of April. Despite pervasive hunger and discontent, democracy still doesn’t stand a chance.
Venezuela’s ruling Socialist Party won 39 of 40 major mayoral races on Dec. 10. A victorious President Nicolás Maduro is now likely to call a snap presidential election early next year. Can he win?
President Nicolás Maduro has announced he will run for reelection, a sign that Venezuela’s authoritarian regime now has an electoral strategy for beating the opposition.
China, Russia and the International Monetary Fund are among those contemplating a Venezuela bailout. But help for this debt-stricken nation seems far from assured.
After the Maduro regime won Venezuela’s recent gubernatorial elections, results are contested, people are desperate and the opposition has fractured. Can the resistance survive this setback?
New US sanctions against Venezuela deliver a clear condemnation of the Maduro regime’s authoritarian maneuvering but overlook two key problems: Russian meddling and the humanitarian crisis.
The loyalty of Venezuela’s soldiers is getting shaky. History shows from the Arab Spring to Latin American coups, when the military withdraws support for a leader, a fall from power is imminent.
Venezuela’s opposition has called a 48-hour strike to stop the Maduro government from rewriting the nation’s constitution. But grassroots democracy may not be able to save the Bolivarian Republic.
Stephan Schmidt, The Conversation and Catesby Holmes, The Conversation
The best news and analysis of Venezuela’s dangerous descent into crisis, written by local economists and political scientists who are living it every day.
How is a country that was once South America’s richest now on the verge of bankruptcy? A Venezuelan economist breaks down his country’s descent into chaos.