Power-shortages in energy-rich Venezuela, combined with rampant inflation and corruption, rising crime and unemployment, are creating “a worrying picture for chavismo,” a government supporter concedes.
Yet President Hugo Chávez’s response has been characteristically quixotic. “Some people sing in the bath for half an hour,” he told a recent cabinet meeting, broadcast live. “What kind of communism is that? Three minutes is more than enough!”
Several critics of Chávez were released from jail today, but his opponents remain divided and harassed:
The opposition is hampered by indictments against some of its best-known figures, such as former Chavez minister-turned-dissident Gen. Raul Baduel, who is in jail charged with illicit enrichment. Others, such as former governor of oil-rich Zulia state Manuel Rosales, have fled abroad into exile. And some, such as Caracas mayor Antonio Ledezma, have simply had their power stripped away.
Having recently eliminated proportional representation and with Chávistas controlling the key state institutions, it seems unlikely that growing social protest will benefit the democratic opposition.
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