Venezuela is on the edge of an abyss
With President Maduro refusing to call elections, continued volatility and violence seem inevitable
Given the volatility in Venezuela in recent days and the growing public anger against the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, the country is now at tipping point. Mass demonstrations against Maduro have resulted in 37 deaths and injuries to scores of protesters as civil unrest and disobedience simmer.
Just before his death four years ago, after a lengthy battle with cancer, the charismatic and widely supported Hugo Chavez had handpicked Maduro to succeed him. While Maduro was a loyal Chavezista, he has failed to tackle the growing social and economic ills befalling Venezuela.
Chavez maintained his popularity with a generous socialist agenda funded by petrodollars and the nation’s abundant supplies. With oil at the $100 (Dh367.8) per barrel mark, it was easy to fund free health care and social payments and to court left-wing regimes across South America and the Caribbean.
But with the collapse of commodity prices and with oil lingering at the $50-mark, the Venezuelan economy has essentially collapsed — with Maduro failing to take the measures needed to halt the slide. In what used to be the richest country in South America, four families in five now endure economic hardship; kidnappings and murders occur with frightening regularity; its health-care system is irrevocably broken and its economy is subjected to inflation of near-Zimbabwean proportions. Stores across the country have shelves empty of items such as toilet paper and cosmetics, and anger at the decline in living standards and the economic malaise has fuelled a growing protest movement.
In the past days, millions of Venezuelans have taken to the streets in a series of protests to put pressure on Maduro to step aside. The president says he’s staying out, and has offered a constitutional reform programme to try and curtail the protests.
As far as the opposition is concerned, constitutional reform isn’t needed — what is needed is a new presidency and new elections. And with the level of sentiment being so strong against him, Maduro is not prepared to dissolve the parliament and call freash elections. The level of dissent now has reached a stage where the very image and memory of the Chavez era are being eroded, and there are reports that a statue of the former president was toppled by students.
Maduro insists the unrest is being fuelled by the United States and its desire for regime change. Unless there’s a dramatic break to this deadlock, Venezuela is sliding further into the abyss.
