I have not been really paying attention to our neighbor to our South. But lately, they have been printing in newspapers and showing on tv the latest street protests against the government of Maduro. Also, they have showed Maduros supporters having rallies in support of the government. So I decided to catch up on news on Venezuela. In March, the Ven. Supreme Court dissolved the Ven. Congress which has been controlled by the opposition since early 2016. So Maduro now has most of the power. This explains why the supporters of the opposition are protesting in the streets since the balance of power has tilted toward the Pres..
Going back, before the oil price collapse, Ven. was chugging along with its social programs which were effective when it came to the have nots. They are still giving people who cannot afford a new home, free homes. However, with oil down, the government cannot continue to afford these gran social projects. When it comes to imports. Ven. relies on imports for many things. But there monetary mess, devaluation and running out of money means they cannot afford to import most basic items.
Found an article from Colombian writer Mauricio Cabrera Galvis. He seems to have hit it on the nose what is Ven. main problem. He says its economical. That without solutions to the economy that the political problems cannot be solved. He points out that in Ven. neithier the government or the opposition which controlled the congress ever came up with a plan to deal with the economy which explains why the congress got forcibly dissolved by the supreme court. The writer concludes that neithier Maduro, the dissolved Congress or the 28 opposition political parties (which agree on tossing Maduro out) want to declare any austerity plan since it will mean instant political destruction.
So I think he is right. None of the political parties including the government wants to touch this hot potato which would mean angry voters getting really angry because of tough austerity plans. In the meantime, there foreign reserves keep going down and down. So what do you think NS.
This will take you to Mauricio Cabrera Galvis article but its in Spanish - http://www.portafolio.co/opinion/mauric ... 017-504885
Fighting words. In Ven. talking badly about Chavez can get you into trouble.