Over the last three weeks, Venezuela has found itself engulfed in protests against current President Nicolás Maduroʹs administration. While the student movement has spearheaded this uprising, many Venezuelans have taken to the streets to voice their grievances against the countryʹs high levels of violent crime, high inflation rates, and the increasing scarcity of basic goods. …
A brief look at what we refer to as [Hugo] Chávez’s “political culture legacy” suggests that, in the absence of Chávez-like charismatic leadership and under the weight of the social and economic problems noted above, political instability was a likely outcome.
To understand the nature of democratic attitudes under the Chávez regime and how they might help us understand the political instability in the country today, this Topical Brief analyzes survey data from the AmericasBarometer in Venezuela between 2007 and 2012. CONT. – pdf
Mariana Rodríguez & Jonathan Hiskey, Vanderbilt U.