A Short, Simple Primer on What’s Happening in Venezuela
If you are wondering why Venezuela is back on the front pages, why the Trump administration is making such a big fuss about it, and why observers seem so anxious about the country’s political crisis, then this primer is for you.
Why is Venezuela in the news right now?
There are three immediate reasons, all related to a political crisis that has been building in the country for years.
First, popular protests against the government have been growing significantly in size. There’s increasing chaos in the streets as state security forces (but not the military, which is important for reasons we’ll discuss in a bit) crack down.
Second, an opposition lawmaker named Juan Guaidó declared the current government illegitimate and announced that he would be willing to lead a caretaker government. On its own, Mr. Guaidó’s statement can’t force any real change. But it has heightened speculation that outside actors like the military could push out the government.
Third, the United States and several other governments in the Western Hemisphere have announced that they consider Mr. Guaidó to be Venezuela’s legitimate leader.
What is Venezuela’s crisis?
The short version: Venezuela’s government has overseen the destruction of its democracy and its economy. Public outrage is coming to a head.
Twenty years ago, Venezuela was Latin America’s richest country and its longest-running democracy.
Today, it is nearly a failed state. Runaway inflation has plunged much of the country into desperate poverty. Food and drug shortages are widespread. Public order is collapsing and crime rising. As many as two million Venezuelans have fled the country, many as refugees.
Public anger is over more than corruption and mismanagement. The government is aggressively consolidating power and undermining democratic institutions, leaving Venezuelans without meaningful avenues for challenging or changing their leadership. So, many are taking to the streets to try to force change.
Why are things coming to a head now?
The most immediate trigger was the inauguration ceremony this month for President Nicolás Maduro. He won reelection in May in a vote that has been criticized as rigged.
Since that vote, opposition figures and foreign governments, including many in Latin America, have called Mr. Maduro’s leadership illegitimate. Protesters came out after Mr. Maduro’s inauguration to send the same message, hoping to pressure him to step down.
But in many ways, this is just the latest incremental step in a crisis that has been getting steadily worse for years.
How did things in Venezuela get so bad?
We wrote a full-length explainer last year recounting Venezuela’s collapse.
The shorter version starts not long after a left-wing populist named Hugo Chávez led a failed military coup in 1992, reflecting popular discontent with the political establishment. Mr. Chávez won the presidency in a 1998 election.
Initially, Mr. Chávez implemented popular changes to fight corruption and poverty. While Mr. Chávez was not wrong to see his country’s political and business establishments as riven with cronyism and graft, he took them on with presidential decrees that consolidated power for himself.
Things took a turn in 2002, when an economic downturn helped prompt antigovernment protests. When Mr. Chávez ordered the military to restore order, it instead imprisoned him and imposed an interim leader. The coup leaders quickly backed down, but Mr. Chávez returned to power apparently paranoid and bent on rooting out what he saw as enemies within.
From then until his death in 2013, Mr. Chávez waged war on Venezuelan institutions and civil society, hollowing out his country’s democracy. He turned to cronyism and handouts to maintain support among his supporters and crucial allies like the military.
Mr. Maduro, his vice president, took over after Mr. Chávez’s death. He was a weaker leader and therefore relied far more on handouts at a time when the government had even less money.
So Mr. Maduro simply pr
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