Venezuela is dealing with the world’s highest inflation, severe food shortages, high crime, and political repression. Venezuela is also home to the world’s largest oil reserves. So what explains the political and economic turmoil?

Mike Gonzalez, author of Hugo Chavez, argues that as President Nicolas Maduro’s anti-democratic government battles violent right-wing forces, ordinary Venezuelans are watching the gains of Chavismo slip away. 

Guests:

Alejandro Velasco, associate professor of Latin American History at New York University, and author of Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela

Mike Gonzalez, retired professor of Latin American Studies at the University of Glasgow, UK, and author of Hugo Chavez: Socialist for the 21st Century

Ana Vanessa Herrero, reporter for the New York Times based in Caracas Venezuela

 
Web Resources:

UC Press: Barrio Rising: Urban Popular Politics and the Making of Modern Venezuela

University of Chicago Press: Hugo Chavez: Socialist for the 21st Century

Jacobin: Being Honest about Venezuela

NY Times: As Maduro’s Venezuela Rips Apart, So Does His Military

The Dig Podcast: Alejandro Velasco: Explaining Venezuela's crisis

Al Jazeera: Venezuela's crisis explained from the beginning

The Guardian: Nicolás Maduro: will Venezuela’s president drag his people to the edge?

The Guardian: US hits Nicolás Maduro with sanctions after Venezuela's 'sham' election

New York Times: Venezuela Musicians Rise Up After Violist, 18, Is Killed at Protest