FROM THE GUARDIAN: Venezuelas opposition has played into Nicolás Maduros hands A year after Chávezs death, the opposition – by failing to reach out to the poor – has missed a golden opportunity to weaken his successor Julia Buxton The Guardian, Tuesday 4 March 2014 20.45 GMT Crime and corruption are longstanding, inherited by Chávez from the politicians of the old regime who sought to remove him in the failed coup of 2002. They were exacerbated by constant ministerial turnover and the governments failure to engage with these issues as social and institutional problems, rather than facets of capitalism that would fade under Chávezs model of 21st century socialism. High inflation and shortages are the result of an overbearing state that is intended to frame the socialist economy. In the early 2000s price and exchange controls had logic in the context of private-sector lockouts, massive capital flight and the need to ensure access to high-price goods and services for the poor – Chávezs core supporters. But the rationale for their retention has long expired. Instead of addressing the root causes of these problems, Maduro has tinkered at the edges. This is partly because he doesnt want to be perceived as betraying Chávezs legacy. High oil export prices have helped him, but the opposition Mesa de la Unidad Democrática – MUD, an alliance led by Henrique Capriles – has increased the political pressure on Maduros government. At first Chávezs successor appeared to have time on his side, facing no significant challenge to his six-year term aside from the possibility of a recall referendum permitted by the constitution in 2016. But in recent weeks students savvy in the use of social media have launched a wave of destabilising protests. The initial mobilisation focused on the governments failings on crime, corruption and the economy, but this quickly morphed into demands for la salida – the exit – of Maduro. This brought students into alliance with elements of the hardline opposition of Leopoldo López and Maria Corina Machado, committed to removing Chávez and now Maduro by any means. Like the student movement, the anti-regime radicals have benefited from foreign funding, largely from the US and designated as democracy assistance. READ WHOLE ARTICLE AT: theguardian/commentisfree/2014/mar/04/venezuela-opposition-nicolas-maduro-chavez-poor-outreach
Posted on: Tue, 04 Mar 2014 23:49:36 +0000
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