Venezuela Slips Deeper Into Political Chaos
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News of Venezuela's descent into dysfunction and violence continues to spread across the globe. Over the weekend, a group of 20 armed men stormed a military base, captured weapons, and recorded a video declaring that they are "in legitimate rebellion, united today more than ever, with the brave people of Venezuela, to disown the murderous tyranny of Nicolás Maduro.”
But the future of Venezuela did not always look so bleak under Maduro. In April 2013, Maduro was elected by a margin of less than one percent, following the 14 year rule of the country's populist and spiritual figurehead Hugo Chávez.
We look back at our coverage of Venezuela following Maduro's election, from oil prices dropping in 2015, to food shortages and increasingly large protests in 2016. Ana Vanessa Herrero, New York Times reporter in Caracas, then gives an update from the latest in Caracas. And Alejandro Velasco, a professor at New York University and author of “Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela," places the most recent events in the longer history, untangles the power vacuum, and discusses who is being hurt most in Venezuela.
