If you have been following my blog, the ongoing chaos in Venezuela was entirely predictable. It remains the most underreported story on legacy media.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s an abbreviated storyline: Nicol\u00e1s Maduro recently won reelection in a sham vote. Two weeks after he was sworn in for a second term, Juan Guiad\u00f3 assumed the interim presidency, citing constitutional authority that permits the head of the National Assembly to create an interim government and plan for new elections. The Trump administration immediately recognized Guiad\u00f3\u2019s authority and instituted economic sanctions targeting Maduro. Guiad\u00f3 has received support from most other nations as well, but Maduro has the backing of the military and hasn\u2019t budged. Guiad\u00f3\u2019s politics are largely moderate to left-of-center by American standards, but he supports free speech, private property, and other basic constitutional rights. His claim to the presidency is legitimate.<\/p>\n
Venezuela was prosperous prior to Hugo Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s election in 1998. The Ch\u00e1vez and Maduro regimes have looted and destroyed the nation in just two decades. The current situation is chaotic and heart-wrenching. Poverty is rampant. Stores are empty while many citizens scour garbage for food. Inflation is well above 100,000%. Hospitals lack basic medicine. All of this is occurring in a nation with the world\u2019s greatest oil reserves.<\/p>\n
Going forward, there are 3 takeaways from the situation in Venezuela:<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear how the current standoff in Venezuela will end, but a civil war is not out of the question. Let\u2019s hope and pray that Maduro exits without mass bloodshed.<\/p>\n