One thing in Venezuela is definitely not in short supply: presidential rhetoric. In fact, while the economy veers toward 700 percent currency inflation, Maduro’s never-ending daily national television speeches, if anything, have created hyperinflation of presidential verbiage.
Venezuela’s descent into chaos is making headlines, not least because no one knows what will come next. The only other country to go through such an economic meltdown in recent history is Zimbabwe.
When it comes to gun ownership and homicide by guns, the patterns in the Americas are not what you’d expect.
The international community is trying to encourage the Venezuelan government and the opposition to sit down to a dialogue. But democratic dialogue requires commitment to principles, and the government has never shown—nor is showing now—any willingness to commit to those values.
With massive food shortages and many citizens not finding enough to eat, more and more Venezuelans are surviving on the country’s bounty of tropical fruit. But what happens when the season ends?
Using the World Justice Project’s annual Rule of Law Index, this stats shot examines how countries in the Americas score when it comes to the efficiency of the criminal justice system.
A little-known UN Committee recently denied consultative status to the NGO Committee to Protect Journalists, another example of the growing trend of authoritarian governments extending their intolerance for human rights and civil society to a global level.
Secretary General Luis Almagro has invoked the Democratic Charter of the OAS, calling for a meeting of the body’s Permanent Council to discuss the situation in Venezuela. How the hemispheric body responds will be a test of its role and future in a divided hemisphere.
Global Americans/LatinAmericaGoesGlobal.org is 1 year old! To celebrate this admittedly minor milestone, the editors picked over our contributions from the past 12 months and chose our favorites.
With the Venezuelan economy in a free fall, massive shortages and President Nicolás Maduro renewing a state of emergency and calling for military exercises, the question of political upheaval and state collapse in Venezuela is no longer a matter of if, but when. And when it does happen, Venezuela’s neighbors will have themselves to blame for letting it get this far and this bad.
