U.S. threats, opposition infighting help Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro cling to power.

AutorGaudin, Andres

Just when Venezuela's internal crisis, along with pressure from abroad, seemed to spell the inevitable fall of the government of President Nicolas Maduro, everything shifted radically in a matter of days, allowing the Partido Socialista Unido de Venezuela (United Socialist Party of Venezuela, PSUV) to reassert its hold over the country.

The political astuteness of the PSUV's leaders, infighting among the members of the Mesa de la Unidad Democratica (Democratic Unity Roundtable, MUD) opposition coalition, and a threat of military intervention issued by US President Donald Trump turned the chaotic situation on its head and allowed "Chavismo" to re-establish control.

With Venezuela's sovereignty now apparently at stake, Maduro even drew a show of solidarity from the majority of Latin American countries, including from governments that oppose him ideologically and had, just days earlier, berated his administration for holding constitutionally questionable elections for an Asamblea Nacional Constituyente (National Constituent Assembly, ANC).

The Maduro government scheduled the elections for July 30. In a preemptive move, the MUD organized and held its own unofficial election, a referendum, on July 16, inviting Venezuelans to side with them on two subjects: their rejection of the government's ANC initiative, and their interest in possible political intervention by the armed forces, a call for military subversion that the MUD first made in late May.

It's impossible to know how many people really participated in each of the two votes, which took place against a background of violent protests that, in the last four months, cost more than 120 lives (NotiSur, July 7, 2017). In both cases, organizers said that more that 7 million turned out. Lawmaker Freddy Guevara, one of the spokespeople for Voluntad Popular (Popular Will, VP), an extreme-right party that wants to oust Maduro, said beforehand that after the elections, the opposition would begin "a permanent protest that will end the dictatorship." Instead, the opposite has happened: The street demonstrations have stopped.

Earlier, the Maduro administration faced a barrage of criticism from abroad. More than 30 presidents refused to recognize the legality of the ANC, and the Mercado Comun del Sur (Southern Common Market, MERCOSUR)--a trade bloc that includes Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay --suspended Venezuela's membership sine die.

The government responded by calling for regional...

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