WILL VENEZUELA'S GOVERNMENT SURVIVE?

[warrior1972]

(CNN) -- Student protesters pack the streets. Violence surges. Tear gas billows.

Opposition leaders and government officials blame each other for the unrest, and both sides show no sign of backing down.

No matter who you believe, it's clear that tensions are running high in Venezuela.

The anti-government demonstrations are the biggest threat President Nicolas Maduro has faced since his election last year. And inside and outside the South American country's borders, there's a major question many are asking: Could this be the beginning of the end for Venezuela's socialist government?

Searching for truth in Venezuela

The situation doesn't look pretty. Inflation topped 56% last year. Crime rates are high. Goods shortages have left store shelves bare.

McCain: Venezuela fed up with socialism But the next election is years away, and experts say it's likely too soon to start ringing the death knell for Hugo Chavez's revolution just yet.

A variety of scenarios could play out in the coming days, depending on the steps authorities and protesters take. And, with so many factors in flux, it's difficult to guess what's next.

"Anything can happen now," said Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College. "This is a real crisis on all fronts. The government has ways to survive...but at the same time, it can lose this battle."



www.cnn.com/

[101ABN]

The problem with popular revolutions like Venezuela an Ukraine is that one can never be certain who will fill the power vacuum.

I'm all for deposing the communists. Let's hope they aren't replaced by fascists.

[warrior1972]

More....


The face of Venezuela's opposition.


Caracas, Venezuela (CNN) -- When Leopoldo Lopez turned himself in to authorities this week, he did it on his terms -- and not before climbing onto a statue of a Cuban national hero to deliver a passionate message to hordes of his supporters gathered at a square in the eastern Caracas neighborhood of Chacaito.

Lopez, 42, a former mayor and presidential candidate, had planned the event in advance, making extensive use of social media to summon his supporters to Brion Square.

He went into hiding last week after the government of President Nicolas Maduro accused him of terrorism and murder and blamed him for inciting anti-government protests throughout Venezuela. The protests have so far left several people dead and countless injured.



After staying in a secret location for days, Lopez announced to Venezuelans, and the world, that after talking it over with his family, he would turn himself in. That announcement came via a YouTube video.



Later that night, his wife, Lilian Tintori, told CNN that Lopez was in good spirits behind bars. "The last thing he told me was don't forget why this is happening, don't forget why he's going to jail. He's asking for the liberation of political prisoners and students and an end to repression and violence," Tintori said.

Lopez, a fiery speaker and charismatic leader, has long been a threat to the socialists in power in Venezuela. Back in 2008, the government of then-President Hugo Chavez banned him from running for public office, accusing him of corruption and misuse of public funds. Lopez countered that it was all political retribution and that he had nothing to hide. He took his case all the way to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, where he was cleared three years later.


www.cnn.com/2014/02/21/world/americas/profile-leopoldo-lopez/index.html?iid=article_sidebar

[peck]

My concern is that Maduro will be deposed and the military, which after the 2002 coup which deposed Chavez was completely revamped and the old guard purged in favor of Chavez's people will most likely take over. 

We can blame it all on Carter who legitimized the power of Chavez, even though Chavez didn't even follow the rules with the Carter FOundation in the vote counting.  Jimmy Carter, still Fucking things up after all these years.