Venezuela vies with political shakeups

By Logan Gladstone ‘28
All eyes have been on Venezuela as deadly riots and protests have erupted over the past few months following the results of July's elections. The crisis has been ongoing for years and is escalating by the day.

Many opposition leaders were forced into exile. Edmundo Gonzalez, the presidential candidate, was one of them, fleeing Venezuela for Spain after Maduro threatened to go after him. Gonzalez also had an arrest warrant issued by the Venezuelan court. Another opposition leader was kidnapped by Maduro loyalists.
    This year, Maduro ran for his third consecutive term in office against Edmundo Gonzalez, a diplomat. Gonzalez became popular instantly, becoming the favorite to win the office. Venezuelans saw the election as a “sign of hope” and the potential to break the cycle of authoritarianism.
    Before his run for presidency, Edmundo Gonzalez was heavily involved with diplomacy. He was the ambassador to Algeria and Argentina in the 1990s. Gonzalez was selected to run for presidency in April by the opposition party.
The way Maduro has been able to maintain power for over ten years is by arresting activists and other political opponents. This has happened over Maduro's entire presidency, especially since the recent election. After two and a half weeks of the election results, over 2,000 had been arrested for participating or being present at protests including over 100 children. Most of these opposition protests are peaceful and have been further escalated.
Protestors have been victims of tear gas and arrest. Many who are arrested are convicted of serious charges like terrorism with harsh sentences. The ICC (International Criminal Court) is observing Maduro for his intense crackdown on the opposition.
Freshman Tam Steinberg remarked, “It's important that Venezuelans have the right to protest especially against a leader who has weakened their country.”
    On the same day, the National Electoral Council claimed that Maduro had won the election with 51.22 percent of the votes securing his third term in office. Maduro promised “free and fair” elections however there have been many accusations of fraud and foul play. The opposition rejected Maudro's victory and claimed they won with 73% or six million votes.
Many people feel strongly about term restrictions like Freshman Joey Sherman who said, “Term limits are important to have democracy and stop people from abusing power.” 
Before Maduro took power in Venezuela in 2013 after Hugo Chavez's death, he was his Vice President from 2012 to 2013. He was also a member of National Assembly in 2000, became the body president from 2005-2006.
 Chavez was very popular and benefited Venezuela in many ways: The education system improved, GDP increased, poverty declined and the unemployment rate declined drastically. However, many Venezuelans believe that Chavez acted like a dictator.
Maduro tried to be like Chavez but since then, he has caused an economic collapse, mass poverty, starvation and the mass migration of nearly 8 million people. When re-elected in 2018, most people considered it unfair and were extremely unhappy. 
The economic collapse began in 2014 when oil prices dropped from $100 a barrel to $40 according to an article by the Economics Observatory. Maduro started allocating the country's money in the wrong places, causing people to spend money they didn't have. They continued printing money, leading to hyperinflation, which priced Venezuelans out of their own country.
Maduro's re-election has furthered the migrant crisis that is plaguing the Americas. Venezuela had already been struggling with mass immigration before July 2024 with 7.8 million people fleeing mainly due to the economic collapse.
 According to a survey done by the Washington Post in July, 17 percent of Venezuelans, or four million people plan on leaving if Maduro was re-elected. Many of these immigrants go to Colombia or the United States which overwhelms those countries and the countries in between.