Before, Venezuela was just another 3rd world country lucky enough to get a spot on CNN during prime time, it was a rich land with  the potential to have one of the most powerful economies in the world. With oil reserves three times as large as Saudi Arabia’s (excluding the terrain that has yet to be  explored, Venezuela has the materials to become one of, if not, the richest country in the world. The beginning of Venezuela’s plight was marked by Chavez, the man who preyed on that glaring vulnerability of classism, and harnessed it to destroy the nation.
Hugo Chavez’s venomous influence began to take root in 1992 when  he attempted a coup d'etat. He was arrested until 1994, when he was given a presidential pardon, and  it was then when venezuela’s fate had been sealed. From his promises of cleansing the country’s heavily polluted rivers, creating functioning hospitals, curing homelessness,  building lasting educational infrastructure, deprivatizing formerly private industries, giving free electricity to all, emerged Chavismo: an ideology grounded in Chavez’s promises that mixed elements of socialism, internationalism, Latin  American integration and rejection of imperialism. Seemingly revolutionary, this was the nail in the coffin for the Venezuelan people.
It is an incredibly desperate situation ; however, there are ways in which we can help.
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Change takes time, and although recent attempts to overthrow the authoritarian regime have failed, we need to do everything possible to help our brothers and sisters in need in the meantime.