The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

The Independent Student Newspaper of St. John's University

The Torch

President Maduro is Turning Venezuela Into a Dictatorship

President Nicolas Maduro holding a press conference in October of 2017
Photo Courtesy/Wikimedia Commons/Ernesto Cortes
President Nicolas Maduro holding a press conference in October of 2017

With all the stories that are covered on TV, there are some stories that are too important to be ignored. Whether they happened in the U.S. or not, these stories should be heard — everyone should know the situation happening in Venezuela.

Ever since President Nicolas Maduro came into power in 2013, the entire country of Venezuela has gone into a downward spiral.

Food has become scarce, medicine is expensive to buy and there’s corruption throughout many parts of Venezuela. All of this revolves around Maduro, who has been called a dictator by media outlets such as The Guardian and Vox.

According to the Atlantic Council, an American think tank, 60 percent of Venezuelans placed the blame of the country’s economic crisis and inflation on Maduro and his government.

Honestly, I believe that Maduro is turning Venezuela into a dictatorship by doing everything he can to stay in power.

Earlier this year, Maduro announced that the government would be holding the 2018 Presidential Election in May instead of in December. As a result of the change, many people and several opposition parties felt that this election is unfair and decided to not participate in it, as was reported by the New York Times.

According to the news publication, before the election, the Venezuelan government disqualified several political parties and candidates from the election because they want to stay in power at any cost.

As a result, many countries throughout the world like the United States, Australia and other members of the United Nations rejected this election and did not recognize the results. I agree with that because this proves that Maduro and his administration are destroying democracy in Venezuela.

Before this “election,” the government imprisoned several people, including political opponents, that were critical against Maduro and his administration.

During Maduro’s campaign, the government provided people with boxes of food to get them to vote for him.

What kind of government would resort to committing these despicable acts to stay in power? A dictatorship that’s what.

As someone whose family lives in Venezuela it has become so hard to keep hearing these stories everyday. I haven’t been to Venezuela in four years because of this situation.

Several times a year, my family and I have to buy food, medicine, clothes,and other supplies, to send to Venezuela for our loved ones. I just hope that a solution for Venezuela can quickly be found so that I can finally see my family again.

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