Ever since he assumed office in 2013, Nicolas Maduro has presided over the downward spiral of the Venezuelan economy. As he snacked on empanadas from his desk drawer during live television addresses to his nation, the rest of the Venezuelan citizenry was reduced to eating pets. The nationalization of the oil industry and pegging the currency upon it worked when oil prices were extremely high, but when the price bottomed out, the economy collapsed to unmeasurable depths. The Venezuelan currency was so inflated, they had to weigh stacks of paper notes in order to calculate any of its value.
At the moment, the people have risen up. They’ve taken to the streets and have begun to stand for change. The White House has decided they will recognize the new interim President, Juan Guaido, to replace President Maduro. Guiado has already sworn himself in as the interim President. And Nicolas Maduro had given the U.S. Staff 72 hours to vacate the country. It’s a fluid situation at the moment, but it looks as though the balance of power is shifting in one of the most volatile and Anti-American regimes in our hemisphere.
Hundreds of thousand of Venezuelans were due to march against President Nicolas Maduro on Wednesday after dozens of smaller violent protests overnight.
Opposition parties are trying to force socialist Maduro from power as he starts a second six-year term following an election that many consider illegitimate.
Angry citizens protested late on Tuesday in at least 60 working-class neighborhoods around the country, burning trash and clashing with troops in an echo of violent street demonstrations two years ago that saw at least 165 people killed.
A 16-year-old was shot to death at a protest in the poor west end of Caracas, according to Venezuela’s Observatory of Social Conflict.
There was no official confirmation of the death, and the Information Ministry did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
Meanwhile demonstrators also burned a statue of Hugo Chavez, who established the socialist system in Venezuela.
Videos shared on social media late Tuesday show the statue in the city of San Felix in flames as residents bang pots and pans.
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Adrian Slade Show 