Twenty years ago, the late Hugo Chavez promised to save democracy in Venezuela. Today, Venezuela is moving toward a dictatorship, with the opposition divided against authoritarian President Nicolás Maduro. Late last year there were massive street protests, and this weekend the Supreme Court stripped the legislature of its power. When the rest of the world took notice, that ruling was mostly reversed -- but economic depression continues, and the government refuses food or medical aid. We hear what life is like in the nation with the world’s largest oil reserves -- and hear a debate about how it got that way.
Are Venezuela's troubles the legacy of populism?
More
- Rosati on Venezuela top court reversing decision to strip power from opposition-led National Assembly
- Bloomberg on why Latin America is moving away from populism (video)
- Lansberg-Rodríguez on why China should stop supporting Venezuela
- WOLA on dissolution of Venezuelan National Assembly, need for multilateral diplomacy
- WOLA on Latin America's response to Venezuela's deepening political crisis
Credits
Guests:
- Andrew Rosati - Bloomberg - @andrewrosati
- Daniel Lansberg-Rodríguez - Northwestern University / Foreign Policy magazine - @DLansberg
- Mark Weisbrot - Center for Economic and Policy Research - @markweisbrot
- John Walsh - WOLA - @WOLA_org