Venezuela

Jóvenes Venezolanos criados bajo el chavismo hoy protestan en su contra

Read in English Lorena recuerda su primera impresión de Hugo Chávez. Era el hombre del afiche que su padre, luego de votar, traía del centro de votación. “Me explicó que era el presidente y que estaba en una reelección,” cuenta Lorena. “Tenía yo seis o siete años. Me dijo que un presidente es quien se … Read more

Chávez’s ‘Golden Generation’ Is Now Fighting Chavismo

Leer en español Lorena remembers her first impression of Hugo Chávez. He was the man in the poster that her father brought from the polling station after casting his vote. “He explained to me that he was the president and he was facing a re-election,” Lorena recalls. She was around six years old. “He told … Read more

First Aid on Venezuela’s Front Lines

Violent clashes between Venezuelan protesters and government forces wielding tear gas, rubber bullets, water cannons and tanks have killed at least 29 people since April 1 and left many more injured – including members of the security forces. As marches continue this week, this grim tally is expected to climb. Hoping to mitigate risk and … Read more

Can’t We Give Venezuela’s Opposition a Little Credit?

Venezuela’s opposition is perhaps one of Latin America’s most criticized political forces. Even within the opposition itself, critics abound. Every opposition voter I meet has a long list of complaints about the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD, in Spanish), the grand coalition of parties that since 2008 has led the opposition to Chavismo and now President … Read more

“Crude Nation: How Oil Riches Ruined Venezuela”

This article is adapted from AQ’s special issue on the U.S.-Mexico relationship. To receive AQ at home, subscribe here. The story of Venezuela is one of Latin America’s most tragic. Home to massive oil resources, and once considered the region’s wealthiest country, Venezuela is today a nation in self-inflicted collapse. The ruling chavista movement — named for former President Hugo Chávez, who … Read more

Why Protesters in Venezuela Should Resist Responding to Violence with Violence

Most Venezuelans taking part in today’s “mother of all marches” against President Nicolás Maduro are planning to do so peacefully. Even the country’s most outspoken opposition leaders are using the language of nonviolent resistance. Not everyone is on board. Government security forces have cracked down violently on dissent; regime-backed paramilitary groups attacked marchers and have … Read more

Why Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro Doesn’t Look Finished Quite Yet

While it’s tempting to describe President Nicolás Maduro’s government as crazy or erratic, a closer analysis reveals that decision-makers in Caracas operate according to a clear – and effective – set of principles. Indeed, Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chávez have long been aware of the fact that high-profile ruptures of democratic order – such … Read more

Five Ways Venezuelan Businesses Are Coping with Crisis

Businesses and entrepreneurs in Venezuela are responding to the country’s crippling economic crisis in all sorts of ways. Many are simply closing their doors – not surprising in a country whose GDP shrank by at least 10 percent last year. But others have reinvented themselves to survive in the country’s off-kilter economy, as new … Read more

Movidas en el poder: Cómo el presidente venezolano está afianzando sus defensas

Read in English Basta con sondear el ánimo de los venezolanos para entender cómo perciben al gobierno del presidente Nicolás Maduro: más anclado al poder que nunca. Y con razón. A pesar de Venezuela está viviendo una de las crisis políticas y económicas más profundas que haya vivido ningún país latinoamericano en la historia reciente—y … Read more

Power Moves: How Venezuela’s Maduro Is Shoring Up His Defenses

Leer en español If the mood on the streets of Caracas is a guide, Venezuelans are increasingly reconciling themselves to an uncomfortable idea: President Nicolás Maduro isn’t going anywhere. Despite Venezuela enduring one of the most profound economic and political crises of any Latin American country in recent memory – and amid yearlong calls for … Read more

Chávez on TV: What “El Comandante” Says About Rising Populism

Moisés Naím doesn’t shy away from new projects. But the Venezuelan economist and TV host’s latest creative endeavor has sparked more than the usual controversy. “El Comandante,” a telenovela about Venezuela’s late former President Hugo Chávez , takes liberties with the strongman’s biography even as it considers his legacy and sheds light on his rise … Read more

Enfrentando a Maduro: el nuevo plan de la oposición venezolana

Read in English ¿Puede un nuevo año y una nueva estrategia ayudar a la coalición opositora venezolana, MUD, a resolver diferencias internas? La oposición Venezolana ha tenido que auto-examinarse. A pesar de un año marcado por protestas masivas y rechazo internacional a las movidas antidemocráticas del presidente Nicolás Maduro, la Mesa de la Unidad Democrática … Read more

Fighting Maduro: The Venezuelan Opposition’s New Plan

Leer en español Venezuela’s opposition has had to do some soul-searching. Despite a year punctuated by massive street protests and international condemnation of President Nicolás Maduro’s anti-democratic turns, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD), a coalition of opposition parties, ended 2016 with little to celebrate. Its effort to force a recall referendum on Maduro came to … Read more