4 ms·

This is madness. I can't believe people can live in such a nightmare. Isn't there any opposition or can't just people there revolt? Or maybe army makes a coup?

josu 10y ago
There are two options: either you end up in prison (see Leopoldo López [1]) or you leave the country. Regarding the coup, Chavez actually tried to gain power that way in 1992 and 2002, so my guess is that the government has strong ties with the army. A foreign intervention won't probably happen either. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_L%C3%B3pez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_L%C3%B3pez
rafaelm 10y ago
This is a military dictatorship, they're not going to make a coup. Maduro may be a civilian, but when you take a look at the people that hold all the ministries and important positions in the government, you see they are all former military that were put there by Chavez. This was his plan all along, the problem is he died. The military has every incentive not to let the government fall. They are the ones controlling everything and every single bit of corruption must pass through the military first. They control the currency, industry and even the drug trafficking. You think they are gonna let the government fall and possibly be tried and be brought to justice in the future? Unfortunately, the only way out I see for the country is an Ukraine or Egypt like situation where the military basically kills people in the streets for a month or two and then some kind of agreement is reached where they are granted immunity from justice. Or they take off their masks and just declare a formal military dictatorship.
xienze 10y ago
Might be easier for people to rise up against the government if guns weren't banned in Venezuela!
- rafaelm 10y ago
  Guns are only banned for normal citizens. The para-military forces that support the government are very well armed. This is one of the reasons you don't see people in the poorer areas protesting. They are scared of these groups.
  - xienze 10y ago
    > Guns are only banned for normal citizens. Right, that's the problem.
  - aclsid 10y ago
    You mean the armed thugs. Calling them paramilitary forces gives them too much dignity. They are thugs on bikes that will probably end up dead by the time they reach their 30s.
aclsid 10y ago
It is madness, and the govt was about to fall 3 weeks ago, but to this day, millions of people like me still do not understand why the opposition sat down to negotiate anything with the govt during Vatican sponsored talks, and in turn, ended up cooling the streets.
TulliusCicero 10y ago
The opposition controls the legislature due to the last elections, but the executive branch and judicial branch (packed with judges the President has picked) just ignores everything they do, and a fair bit of their constitution as well.

josu 10y ago

There are two options: either you end up in prison (see Leopoldo López [1]) or you leave the country. Regarding the coup, Chavez actually tried to gain power that way in 1992 and 2002, so my guess is that the government has strong ties with the army. A foreign intervention won't probably happen either. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_L%C3%B3pez https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldo_L%C3%B3pez

rafaelm 10y ago

This is a military dictatorship, they're not going to make a coup. Maduro may be a civilian, but when you take a look at the people that hold all the ministries and important positions in the government, you see they are all former military that were put there by Chavez. This was his plan all along, the problem is he died. The military has every incentive not to let the government fall. They are the ones controlling everything and every single bit of corruption must pass through the military first. They control the currency, industry and even the drug trafficking. You think they are gonna let the government fall and possibly be tried and be brought to justice in the future? Unfortunately, the only way out I see for the country is an Ukraine or Egypt like situation where the military basically kills people in the streets for a month or two and then some kind of agreement is reached where they are granted immunity from justice. Or they take off their masks and just declare a formal military dictatorship.

xienze 10y ago

Might be easier for people to rise up against the government if guns weren't banned in Venezuela!

rafaelm 10y ago
Guns are only banned for normal citizens. The para-military forces that support the government are very well armed. This is one of the reasons you don't see people in the poorer areas protesting. They are scared of these groups.
- xienze 10y ago
  > Guns are only banned for normal citizens. Right, that's the problem.
- aclsid 10y ago
  You mean the armed thugs. Calling them paramilitary forces gives them too much dignity. They are thugs on bikes that will probably end up dead by the time they reach their 30s.

aclsid 10y ago

It is madness, and the govt was about to fall 3 weeks ago, but to this day, millions of people like me still do not understand why the opposition sat down to negotiate anything with the govt during Vatican sponsored talks, and in turn, ended up cooling the streets.

TulliusCicero 10y ago

The opposition controls the legislature due to the last elections, but the executive branch and judicial branch (packed with judges the President has picked) just ignores everything they do, and a fair bit of their constitution as well.