Venezuela’s Life-Saving Social Networks
Amid supermarket rationing and lines of empty store shelves, Venezuelans are taking day-to-day survival into their own… smartphones. Twitter, Facebook, and messaging service WhatsApp have become go-to platforms for thousands of Venezuelans as they undertake the increasingly difficult task of finding and paying for everything from cooking oil to cancer medication. @delmercadoencontre (“At the market I … Read more
Venezuela: Is This the Final Straw?
To see a full list of electoral irregularities that have occurred since Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro took office, scroll to the bottom of the page I recently wrote about the one institutional factor that, in my opinion, is keeping Venezuela’s government alive. I called it the judicial shield, which refers to how the Supreme Court … Read more
How Latin America Should Address the Crisis in Venezuela
This morning’s call from the chief of the Organization of American States (OAS) for an emergency meeting to discuss the erosion of democracy in Venezuela signals that regional leaders are taking a tougher stance with the Caracas government. But to go beyond mere rhetoric, Brazil and Argentina must also step up. Susana Malcorra and José … Read more
After Brazil, Will Venezuela Be Next to Remove Its President?
Throughout Latin America, there is talk about presidential interruptions, again. In the last seven years, four presidents have left office prematurely – Manuel Zelaya in Honduras, Fernando Lugo in Paraguay, Otto Pérez Molina in Guatemala, and now Dilma Rousseff in Brazil. Many analysts think that Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro is next. However, there is good … Read more
Venezuela’s Zika Outbreak May Be 150 Times Worse Than Reported, Study Says
When it comes to the Zika virus’ impact on Venezuela, it’s the government’s word versus Google and Twitter. Based on data gathered in part from the search engine and social network, the watchdog health group Observatorio Venezolano de la Salud (OVS) estimates that nearly 700,000 people have been infected with Zika in Venezuela. That’s around 150 … Read more
Cómo es vivir en la ciudad más violenta de Venezuela – y del mundo
Read in English La capital venezolana ya es la ciudad más peligrosa del mundo; incluso peor para miembros del ayuntamiento como Jesús Armas. A los veinte y nueve años, Armas, quien fue elegido por primera vez en diciembre 2013, ha sido testigo del crecimiento de la tasa de asesinatos a 120 homicidios por 100.000 personas … Read more
This Week in Latin America: Obama in Havana, Venezuela in Crisis
Sign up here to get This Week in Latin America delivered straight to your inbox every Monday. Cuba, Argentina Host Obama: Cuba and Argentina each play host to U.S. President Barack Obama this week, with human rights issues shading both visits. Today, Obama will hold a working meeting with Cuban President Raúl Castro, who will then host a state dinner … Read more
Venezuela’s Media Isn’t Smearing the Opposition; It’s Making Them Invisible
With legislative elections on December 6 fast approaching and faith in President Nicolás Maduro’s government at an all-time low, Venezuela’s opposition senses an opportunity for a big win. Polls indicate a 15 to 30 point advantage for opposition candidates, which means that for the first time since the early 2000s the opposition has a real … Read more
Leopoldo López’s Prison Treatment Amounts to Torture, His Wife Says
In September 2015, a Venezuelan judge sentenced opposition leader Leopoldo López to nearly 14 years in prison for his role in anti-government protests that swept the South American nation in early 2014. On October 1, AQ sat down with Lilian Tintori, a human rights activist and López’s wife, to talk about conditions in Venezuela, her … Read more
The Trump-ification of Venezuela
Welcome to the Trump-ification of Venezuelan politics. By closing one of the busiest sections of the border with Colombia, and launching mass deportations of citizens from that country, the government of President Nicolás Maduro has actually implemented what the Republican presidential candidate only dreams of doing. Indeed, Maduro’s policies constitute a low point in the … Read more
AQ Slideshow: El Bote at Cambalache: Life at a Landfill
“El Bote” is a fitting name for a large, now-defunct landfill in the community of Cambalache, along the Orinoco River in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. The Indigenous people known as the Warao rely on El Bote—often translated as “the can” or “throw away”—for their livelihood. The Warao once lived far up the Amazon River, but years … Read more
AQ Video: Entrevista con Sergio Dahbar
Americas Quarterly habló con el periodista venezolano-argentino Sergio Dahbar durante su visita a Nueva York sobre el estado de la libertad de expresión en Venezuela. Nacido en Argentina, Dahbar trabajó en el diario venezolano El Nacional durante 20 años, donde sigue siendo columnista. Es además fundador de la revista El Librero y de los sellos editoriales … Read more
AQ Video: An Interview with Lilian Tintori
Venezuelan opposition leader Leopoldo López was just one of several political leaders—including current Mayors Daniel Ceballos of San Cristóbal and Enzo Scarano of San Diego—arrested after a wave of peaceful student protests that began in Venezuela on February 12, 2014. The protests soon turned deadly as demonstrators flooded the streets to protest high inflation, rising … Read more
In Aftermath of Venezuela’s Protests, Whither Chavismo?
The wave of social unrest that hit several cities in Venezuela in February and March is nothing new for a country that has been deeply polarized politically since Hugo Chávez assumed the presidency in 1998. What is different this time is that Chávez—who died of cancer in March 2013—is no longer around, and the protests … Read more
AQ Slideshow: Venezuela’s Colectivos
Caracas has been the scenario of violent clashes between Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s government forces and opposition groups, led mainly by opposition politician Leopoldo López, since February 12. So far, the conflict has left at least 41 people dead, and armed chavista groups—nicknamed “colectivos”—have been blamed for many of the casualties. However, members of the … Read more
