How Maduro Has Clung Onto Power In Venezuela (HBO)
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Published 2019-04-19
He's been locked in a power struggle with 35-year-old Juan Guaidó since January, when the young opposition leader declared himself Venezuela’s rightful interim president with the backing of 50 countries, including the U.S. He's faced several rounds of sanctions that have crippled the country’s oil sector and sharply exacerbated an already disastrous crisis, making an economic recovery all but impossible any time soon. He's overseen one massive power outage after another, leaving entire neighborhoods without running water for days or even weeks at a time.
In spite of all this, Maduro has managed to hang on to power. He’s done so in part by maintaining control of key political institutions, especially the military, through a combination of patronage and intimidation. But he also counts on a hard core of support among the population, which has less to do with Maduro himself than with the legacy of the man who was president before him: Hugo Chávez.
Over his 15 years in power, Chávez became a national hero of near-mythic proportions by lifting millions out of poverty: He reduced hunger and extreme poverty by half, nearly wiped out illiteracy, and transformed Venezuela's barrios by supplying them with proper housing and basic goods and services, organizing them politically in the process. And while the catastrophic economic breakdown Venezuela is currently suffering has badly weathered support for Maduro among the poor, many still have faith in the larger chavista project, and don’t see the U.S.-led opposition as a viable alternative.
“Yes, people are disappointed, but even though they’re disappointed, they’re not with the opposition — they’re passive,” said Olga Andrade, a resident of a Caracas barrio. “Because what exactly does the opposition have to offer? How long have they been fighting for this or that, and what have they accomplished? They haven’t done anything.”
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All Comments (21)
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Loyalty to what? I'm from Chile and i really can't understand how a country that can easily be one of the richest countries in South America (as it once was) it is like it is now. It's a shame!
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As an American born Venezuelan it breaks my heart to see how far this country has fallen last time I went was in 2006 and things were already starting to get bad but I didn’t wanna leave I love Venezuela and always will
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The fact that people are defending Maduro is insane imo
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3:54, bottom left
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A 20 year debacle isn't undone in a year. Let's be realistic,people. I'm from Venezuela,and let me tell you: it's hard. Really hard.
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"our great chance to advance is to advance"
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People, NOT ONE PERSON on this planet should have to endure these hardships!
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In Venezuela we are about 30Million inhabitants, 20Millions vote, Chavismo resolved to defend the Plan of the Bolivarian Socialist Homeland we add about 8Million, the opposition does not reach 7Million among all 6 parties named, but each with its own candidate. The popular classes most benefited by the social policies of the state are the most vulnerable and the middle-upper class social classes support the opposition or reject chavismo. In Venezuela there is a class struggle that has been resolved with the strength of DEMOCRATIC VOTE. Our economic crisis would be solved without the interference and continuous sabotage of the United States regime. We are determined to remain free and sovereign. We will not surrender because of hunger, nor because of fear, nor because of tiredness, and less because of false propaganda and false promises of the genocidal empire of the United States. If they bombard us, we will multiply with more strength in numbers, in votes and in friends, because we would be joined by other free and sovereign countries in defense of the largest oil and gold reserves in the world. It would start a 3rd world war. Are you willing to live with it in your consciousness?
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VICE. you should show what happens when Guaido drives into the barrio.
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Military , food and fear
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Those Venezuelan armed forces defectors should go back and form the backbone of the opposition’s forces to challenge Maduro more. Form the opposition’s army with US support in Colombia before crossing back under the pretext of Guaido’s power to pardon.
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I like how Juan just dodged his future strategies and that people may get sick of him
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Dammm VICE your leaving out a lot from your story...makes me think twice about all your stories now 🤔🤔🤔..maybe under same company CNN and FOX is ..
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I’ve read and watched so many of these types of stories over the years. Things are supposedly getting bad enough for Maduro to lose the support of the barrios. Maybe next year...
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never give up for you future ..for your childrens future ..you have that brave heard...you will be very reach if you don.t give up
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Maduro's days are numbered. All he can do is just to prolong his regime a bit more. But he can't avoid what is unavoidable.
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had a conversation with an uber driver yesterday, been in America ten months had to learn English and I told him he spoke well, he said he had to leave because his life was in danger, by who I asked, "the government" but why? he showed me three books he had written that were published in Venezuela they were about the lies and secrets the government had been committing , he says that Maduro is a dictatorship and they were trying to kill him because of what he wrote so he escaped with his daughter here, incredible to see the news but even more to meet someone experiencing it
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what did the socialists use before they had candlesticks ? Electric Lighting : (
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Oh boy my country was so lucky the economic crisis only lasted around 1 year, the people rioted together and the dictactor would step down without any significant blood massacre.
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You have to admit even if you don't like the guy but Maduro is smart to be able to stay in power in a situation like this
