Is the US trying to instigate a coup in Venezuela?

Strong words from the Trump administration have emboldened the Venezuelan opposition in a seeming attempt to destabilise President Nicolas Maduro - who has repeatedly defied sceptics by holding on to power.

Venezuelan opposition parties are gearing up for fresh protests as the US ensures support against the Maduro government.
AP

Venezuelan opposition parties are gearing up for fresh protests as the US ensures support against the Maduro government.

A reinvigorated opposition in cash-strapped Venezuela is hoping to rally thousands of people in demonstrations on January 23 in its latest push to remove President Nicolas Maduro from power. 

This month, Maduro began another six-year term in office after a lengthy constitutional crisis and winning an election that his opponents say was rigged. 

He has held on to power despite hyperinflation that hit 80,000 percent, food and medicine shortages, and worsening living conditions which according to the UN, forced 3 million people to take refuge in neighbouring countries. 

The protests come just days after a failed mutiny by a few soldiers who called on Venezuelans to help them overthrow the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which has been in power for more than a decade. 

Hope — at least among Maduro’s detractors — is high with the entry of a fresh contestant on the country’s shaky political stage. 

A new kid on the bloc 

Unknown to most people outside of Venezuela just a few weeks ago, Juan Guaido, a 35-year-old politician, has emerged as a unifying force within a fractured opposition. 

Elected as head of the opposition-controlled national assembly this month, he has mounted a challenge to Maduro’s presidency, calling for a transition government to hold elections within 30 days

While Venezuelan opposition has shown street power by organising massive demonstrations before, it has not managed to transform widespread public discontent into a victory at the polls.

AP

Out of nowhere, the 35-year-old Juan Guaido has emerged as challenger to Maduro's government.

Maduro, who took office in 2013 from the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, has effectively withstood the onslaught of the opposition coalition, which is made up of parties of varying ideologies from across the political spectrum. 

He has also used political manoeuvers to ensure that opposition doesn’t have the means to undermine his government, writes Harold Trinkunas in a report for the Brooking Institution. 

After losing control of the legislature in 2015, Maduro’s government nominated its supporters to head the country’s top court, which blocked legislation that could have kept checks on government officials.

Then, under the pretext of not getting cooperation from the legislators, he set up a constituent assembly — a parallel legislature that was designed to elect members from rural areas, where Maduro’s popularity is intact. 

It was also given the task of rewriting the constitution, a move that opposition referred to as a ‘self-coup’, whereas Maduro justified it as necessary to guarantee the stability of the country.

The American hand 

“Hola, I am Mike Pence...let me express the unwavering support of the United States as you the people of Venezuela call for freedom,” the US Vice President said in a Tweet on January 22, a day before the planned protests. 

He also wrote an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal where he called Maduro a dictator and openly backed Guaido’s bid for the presidency — even though no elections are in sight. 

“Venezuela’s crisis will worsen until democracy is restored. That is why under President Trump, the US strongly supports the National Assembly and Mr. Guaido. Nicolas Maduro has no legitimate claim to power. Nicolas Maduro must go,” he wrote.

AP

US Vice President Mike Pence has openly acknowledged US support for planned demonstrations by the opposition parties.

Pence said the US supports Guaido in declaring Maduro “a usurper and call for the establishment of a transitional government.” 

Maduro called Pence’s statement a call for instigating a coup in another country. 

"Never before has an official of the highest level come out in the name of his government, he spoke on behalf of the President of the United States, to say that in Venezuela, the opposition must overthrow the government," Maduro said in a televised message.

More than 150 people were killed in 2017 when the opposition parties had led protests against the government. 

In recent years, Washington has flexed its diplomatic muscle to ensure Caracas gets isolated in the region. Earlier this month the Organisation of American States passed a resolution by a majority vote that said it didn’t recognise Maduro’s presidency, citing distrust over the elections held last year. 

 The US has also imposed stifling financial and economic sanctions on Venezuela, targeting both the individuals and barring the country from raising money in American financial markets. 

A sinking economy

Venezuela has the world’s largest proven oil reserves, higher than even Saudi Arabia, but the economic mismanagement of the last few years has turned that resource into a liability. 

 Between 2004 and 2013, when oil price was higher, the socialist government spent heavily on welfare projects including healthcare and housing schemes, lifting millions of people out of poverty. 

However, the government did little to diversify exports or promote domestic manufacturing. Around 90 percent of the foreign exchange was generated from oil sales. Petrodollars made it easier for Venezuelans to import daily-use necessities, food and medicines. 

After the oil price drop in 2014 hit Venezuela’s revenue, Maduro’s government resorted to printing money, which led to hyperinflation. 

Now that oil prices have stabilised, Venezuela has still not been able to lift itself from the economic crisis because its petroleum infrastructure remains in need of desperate investment and US sanctions have made financing difficult. 

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