Ground Truth Briefing: Venezuela Protests: How Big the Crisis?
Exactly one year after the death of former Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, serious questions are being raised again about the viability of his movement and the government led by his hand-picked successor, Nicolás Maduro.
With inflation over 50 percent, widespread scarcity of basic goods, and alarmingly high rates of violent crime, public discontent has boiled over and into the streets. Opposition rallies and marches—along with counter-marches by government supporters—have taken place in numerous cities, with some turning violent.
Each side accuses the other of responsibility for a mounting death toll. The government has mounted a strong show of force, cracking down on the international press and blaming “fascists” and international conspiracies (including from the United States) for the unrest.
Three prominent experts on the ground in Venezuela discussed the unfolding crisis.
Event Sponsors
Speakers
Observatorio Venezolano de Violencia
Professor, Center for Development Studies (CENDES), Universidad Central de Venezuela
Hosted By
Latin America Program
The Wilson Center’s prestigious Latin America Program provides non-partisan expertise to a broad community of decision makers in the United States and Latin America on critical policy issues facing the Hemisphere. The Program provides insightful and actionable research for policymakers, private sector leaders, journalists, and public intellectuals in the United States and Latin America. To bridge the gap between scholarship and policy action, it fosters new inquiry, sponsors high-level public and private meetings among multiple stakeholders, and explores policy options to improve outcomes for citizens throughout the Americas. Drawing on the Wilson Center’s strength as the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum, the Program serves as a trusted source of analysis and a vital point of contact between the worlds of scholarship and action. Read more