Venezuela’s socialist government, besieged, finds worldwide support
Venezuela’s socialist government, besieged, finds worldwide support
by: W. T. Whitney Jr.
April 18 2016
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his socialist administration are dealing with serious inflation, difficulties in importing vital goods, black market control of dollars, falling oil prices, and worsening economic recession. All these problems have causes and effects that are intertwined. And worse: Maduro's political opposition and that of his predecessor, President Hugo Chavez, have sapped the economy through malicious manipulation.
However, the Maduro government had some good news on April 11 as Venezuela's Supreme Court declared the opposition-controlled National Assembly's March 29 amnesty law to be unconstitutional. The law would have exonerated dozens of people convicted of violent agitation, sabotage, and rebellion since 1999, the year President Chavez took office.
The Court held that the law denied justice sought by victims and would have granted impunity for people already pardoned for criminal, anti-government actions who went on to commit new crimes, or might have done so. The prominent opposition figure Leopoldo López, now serving a 13-year sentence, would have gone free under the law. He was convicted of organizing anti-Maduro protests in 2014 that led to 43 deaths. López was among those who resumed such activities after having received a pardon from President Chavez in December 2007 for their role in the failed anti-government military coup of 2002.
Yet the Court's decision hardly eases the extreme vulnerability of President Maduro's government. He won Venezuela's presidency in April 2013 by a thin margin, in sharp contrast to the string of more than 15 sweeping electoral victories of all kinds marking the tenure of President Chavez, who died March 5, 2013. Organizers of violent nationwide protests in 2014 advertised Maduro's ouster as their purpose. In December, 2015, right wing opposition forces gained a majority in National Assembly elections for the first time since 1998.
An epidemic of murders of leftists and police officers tasked with containing violent right-wing demonstrations descended on Venezuela in March. Victims included a mayor, a legislator, and two police officers.
Commemorations on April 11-12 of the failed 2002 coup against President Chavez took note of U.S. support for the plotters. Since then, the U.S. government has delivered millions of dollars to real or potential opponents of Venezuela's socialist governments.
More:
http://peoplesworld.org/venezuela-s-socialist-government-besieged-finds-worldwide-support/
= new reply since forum marked as read