The collapse of Venezuela, explained

Venezuela was once the richest country in Latin America.

It has the largest known oil reserves in the world.

And its democratic government was once praised world wide.

But today, Venezuela’s democratic institutions and its economy are in shambles.

The country has the highest inflation in the world, making food and medicine inaccessible

to most Venezuelans.

Over the last four years, its GDP has fallen 35%, which is a sharper drop than the one

seen during the Great Depression in the US.

The country’s murder rate has surpassed that of the most dangerous cities in the world.

These conditions have sparked months of protests against the president, Nicolas Maduro.

And it’s easy to see why: the country has become measurably worse since his election

in 2013.

A poll showed that about 80% of Venezuelans want Maduro removed from office.

But instead, the opposite has happened: Maduro has consolidated his power bringing the country

closer to authoritarian rule.

Maduro’s political ambition became evident in December 2015.

Two years after he became president, a coalition of opposition parties called the Democratic

Unity Roundtable or MUD, won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, putting