My unified theory of May 20th: the government had a pathetically easy time engineering what has become a poisonous, pus-oozing split at the heart of Venezuela's opposition.
In 2015, we published a piece about an authoritarian regime about to collapse after rigging a vote. It was the political landscape of 1957, that looked a lot like 2015… and a lot like today.
The Marxism-Sadomasochism Era is here: Venezuela’s begun ailing the people it most needs. The revolution charged Chevron managers with treason, an unseen realm of wanton national self-immolation.
Fighting a dictatorship means facing nothing but bad options. Choosing one is a responsibility our politicians have mostly defaulted on. So, what are the real options on the table? And who will dare to look at them dispassionately?
For a long time, we’ve been working toward regime collapse. But maybe the regime won’t collapse. Maybe transition is a messy, drawn-out, compromise-laden process.
No government can feel easy going to an election with inflation running at 85% per month. But even if Henri Falcón wins the April vote, the transition that follows will be organized entirely around the losers' needs.
After the dialogue collapsed in the Dominican Republic today, the government decided to move ahead with "elections" on their own terms. (Hence, the scare-quotes.)
In a sign of things to come, the regime bars the opposition coalition from appearing in April's ballot just hours after VP took itself out of contention, as well.
With hyperinflation raging, wage-rises in Venezuela now lag so far behind normal people can't afford to turn up to work. At what point does that turn from curiosity to system-threatening crisis?
Venezuela’s relationship with its oil has been so self-destructive for so long, we’ve almost forgotten it doesn’t have to be this way. In their new book, Leopoldo López and Gustavo Baquero set out another way.
We’ve been able to hang on for 22 years in one of the craziest media landscapes in the world. We’ve seen different media outlets in Venezuela (and abroad) closing shop, something we’re looking to avoid at all costs. Your collaboration goes a long way in helping us weather the storm.
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