In recent weeks, the South American nation of Venezuela has been embroiled in a conflict that’s spilled onto the streets. As citizens become increasingly vocal in their protests and their attempts to effect social change, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro is staring down the barrel of a potentially violent end to his brutal regime. In short, things in Venezuela are headed south and the odds aren’t very good things will get better before it gets worse. But how did the nation get to this point? Is someone to blame? And is there any way to solve the problem before a calamity occurs?
1. Let’s Start with Why This Is Partly OPEC’s Fault
Up until recently, Venezuela wasn’t doing too bad (or at least it’s upper class wasn’t doing too bad) thanks to its vast oil reserves. As a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), there was always a steady influx of cash into the country. Then, OPEC produced too much oil and gas and the prices plummeted internationally. At that point, Venezuela — along with the rest of OPEC’s members — decided to cut production of oil in order to clear the glut. That would have worked, if the leadership of the United States had played along, but they didn’t. While OPEC cut their production, the US ramped up their production, thereby further increasing the excess supply of oil in the world. What does this all mean for Venezuela? Well …

2. Venezuela Needs Oil to Survive
He may be one heck of an oppressive socialist dictator, but Nicolás Maduro has no clue how to diversify an economy. So, while he spent the last several years lavishing gifts on the country’s upper class (and feeding the poor just enough to keep them subdued), he would have been better served finding one other thing that Venezuela could use to make money. He didn’t, and now that the oil cash is slowly drying up, The economy of Venezuela is tanking something fierce.

3. Venezuela’s Decline By the Numbers
In just about 36 months, Venezuela’s gross domestic product has dropped by one-third. Even worse, the citizens are seeing the brunt of that hardship, being forced to endure a thousand percent inflation — right now, one American dollar is worth about 800 Venezuelan bolivars.

4. Basic Goods Have Gone Missing Throughout the Country
One of the end results of hyperinflation like the kind Venezuela is experiencing is that it’s increasingly difficult to import goods into the country. After all, if your currency is worthless, you have to spend way more money to get way less stuff. As a result, products like food, medicine, and other basics have essentially vanished from store shelves.

5. The Average Venezuelan Is Now Both Hungry and Poor
Some measurements put the number of poverty-stricken Venezuelan citizens in excess of 70 percent. That increased discontent among the population resulted in a huge legislative victory for the opposition party in 2015. They gained two-thirds of the country’s National Assembly — which is the equivalent of the Venezuelan Congress. Fortunately for Maduro (and unfortunately for Venezuela’s people), the country’s Supreme Court has overturned every legislative attempt by the opposition to set things right.

6. An Attempt to Take Down Maduro
In 2016, the opposition used its advantage in the National Assembly to try and institute a recall election aimed at ousting President Nicolás Maduro. Things had been so horrible in the country, that the general belief was that he’d lose his office if a public election were held. After running through a ridiculously labyrinthine process, Maduro had his loyal judiciary simply cancel the petition. The federal government has taken that move one step further by indefinitely delaying regional elections in the country.

7. Shutting Down the National Assembly
Apparently, the National Assembly had become too much of a nuisance, what with their insistence that they determine the future of their country. As a result, earlier this year, the Maduro-loyal Supreme Court nullified the National Assembly and assumed all legislative powers within the country. Fortunately, the rest of the world swooped in at this point and pounded the Supreme Court with criticism until they returned some power to the duly elected Assembly.

8. The Thin Veneer of Democracy
Regardless of how you think the United States’ democracy is working at the moment, it is living proof that if you upset a group of people in this country enough, they can hit the streets and effect real change. Stupid, orange, cotton-coifed change. The point is: the people still determine the course the country takes. The xenophobic, ignorant, stupid course of — anyway … in Venezuela, nearly two years of legislative efforts have resulted in the Venezuelan people seeing only decline in spite of every attempt to play by the rules. All of a sudden, Nicolás Maduro is looking more and more like a dictator (which … duh).

9. The Problem with the Army
While Maduro’s Supreme Court works to suppress the opposition, Venezuela’s armed forces have remained largely unmoved. Several factors have contributed to the army’s inability to effect change. First, a big portion of the army is corrupt. Some suggest that if the army actually did help the opposition, some of the highest ranking military officials would be indictable on grounds of crimes ranging from sexual misconduct to drug dealing. Second, another big portion of the military is loyal to Maduro, and they’re actively working to meet his needs. To replace those military officials who remain paralyzed to do anything, Maduro has enlisted paramilitary groups who have been using brutal tactics on the assembled protestors.

10. Taking to the Streets
In response to the crack down by Maduro’s regime, the opposition have pledged to protest peacefully until they can get their message across. Though they appear to remain dedicated to peaceful opposition, the authorities in Venezuela aren’t as committed. Protestors have been attacked with rubber pellets, tear gas, and even buckshot. Still, protestors remain persistent in their desire to loudly (and peacefully) protest their government.
