It's been 13 straight days of violent protests over a bad economy in Venezuela. Hard to believe a country that sits on the world’s largest known oil reserves could be doing this badly.
The country's economic woes are what's fueling the unrest and protesters say their leftist President Nicolas Maduro is to blame. (Via Al Jazeera)
USA Today explains, specifically, the protesters point to soaring inflation — which has grown to 56.3 percent over the past 12 months and also rampant violence, including a murder rate which may be the highest of any country.
Not to mention, basic necessities like toilet paper have grown scarce due, in part, to the government's rigid price controls. (Via Bloomberg)
But as a biographer for the country's late president Hugo Chavez told The Globe and Mail, the crisis really comes as no surprise.
“To be Venezuelan today is to live on the edge of the apocalypse, convinced it will happen tomorrow … But then, we’ve been expecting the crisis at any moment for years now.”
Which brings us to the current protests — the worst unrest Venezuela has seen since Maduro came into power just over a year ago. (Via NTDTV)
Carrying red, blue and yellow Venezuelan flags, about 3,000 anti-government protesters, mostly students, took to the streets of Caracas Saturday. Police fired tear gas and water cannons into the crowd. (Via RT)
The government has ordered an arrest warrant for Leopoldo Lopez. He’s the opposition leader Marudo’s accused of organizing what he called a U.S.-backed, “fascist” plot to oust him. (Via Wikimedia Commons / Camila84)
The U.S. has denied the allegations, and Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed his concern over the growing protests.
