"A little more than 80 years ago, a group of young military officers joined with Venezuela's main opposition party to overthrow the country's ruling dictator. The man who took power, Rómulo Betancourt, became known as the father of Venezuelan democracy. He quickly set to work expanding suffrage, carrying out social and economic reforms, securing oil revenue, and settling European refugees who had fled World War II."
"Today there is again talk of regime change in Venezuela. The country's popular opposition leader, the recent Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado, calls President Nicolás Maduro's rule illegitimate and promises to return the country to democracy. The Trump administration seems inclined to act on her behalf. The administration cut off dialogue with the Maduro regime earlier this month. It then ramped up air strikes against alleged drug-trafficking boats off Venezuela's coast and offered a $50 million bounty"
About 80 years ago young military officers allied with Venezuela's main opposition to overthrow a dictator. Rómulo Betancourt assumed power, expanded suffrage, enacted social and economic reforms, directed oil revenue management, and settled European refugees. Betancourt confronted a weak, oil-dependent state, stacked the government with partisans, and provoked military unease that produced a 1948 coup and a decade without democracy. Betancourt later shared power with major parties, helping democracy endure until its erosion under Hugo Chávez after 1999. Today opposition leader María Corina Machado and U.S. policies have escalated toward efforts to remove Nicolás Maduro.
Read at The Atlantic
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