Venezuela: A Crisis Three Years in the Making

Nagel, Juan Cristobal

For the past few months, Venezuela has witnessed intense protests against the rule of President Nicolas Maduro by the opposition. In this article, I provide context for the protest movement, particularly its root causes. I explain that the students currently in the streets of Venezuela are too young to remember the opposition's past failures. I also link the current wave to the last three years of Venezuela's history, a period that witnessed a dying President, a rapidly deteriorating economy, a sharp rise in crime, and the curtailment of civil liberties.