Four Years after Chavez’s Death, Venezuela Sinks Deeper into the Abyss

Venezuela’s dictatorship has tried to turn the fourth anniversary of Hugo Chávez’s death into a mystical experience of sorts—and a dose of much-needed political oxygen. Not a simple task in a country with inflation predicted to run at 1,600 percent, an economic growth rate of negative ten percent, a painful shortage of the most basic stuff, the highest crime rate in the world (120 murders for every 100,000 residents), and three-quarters of the people telling pollsters they repudiate the government. That said, it is certainly an accomplishment for Mr. Nicolás Maduro, Chávez’s chosen heir, to have remained in power this long after his predecessor’s passing. More…