The Mysterious Resilience of the Maduro Regime

In Venezuela, everything is crashing except the government. Shortages in food, medicine, clean drinking water, money, and even the paper needed to produce passports continue to cause mass suffering in the oil-rich country. Despite the wealth of resources in Venezuela, mismanagement and global economic trends have led to the collapse or malfunctioning of almost every sector of the formal economy. And yet, the Maduro administration has survived for four years. How much longer can it last in this crisis-torn country?

On Wednesday, March 29, Hudson Institute’s Center for Latin America Studies hosted a discussion on the political factors that explain the resilience of the Maduro administration. Javier Corrales, a professor at Amherst College and author of Dragon in the Tropic: The Legacy of Hugo Chávez, analyzed the situation in Venezuela, drawing comparisons with crises elsewhere in Latin America and identifying the key components of the Venezuelan government's survival strategy. Gustavo Coronel, a distinguished Venezuelan geologist and political scientist, and Hector Schamis, a professor at Georgetown University, offered commentary on Professor Corrales’s remarks. The discussion was moderated by Hudson Senior Fellow Ambassador Jaime Daremblum.

View Dr. Corrales's slides.

View Mr. Coronel's slides.