March 9.─ Hugo Chávez owed much to Raúl Baduel. When in 2002 Chávez was forced to step down as Venezuela’s president following a massacre of protesters in Caracas, it was General Baduel, an old political ally, who restored him to power after an opposition junta had illegally suspended the constitution. In gratitude, Chávez made General Baduel defence minister. But in retirement the general dared to oppose Chávez’s drive to abolish term limits. He was accused of stealing $10m and jailed. Two days before completing his sentence, this month General Baduel was charged with treason.
His treatment shows how cornered the government of Nicolás Maduro, Chávez’s chosen successor, feels. Mr Maduro has an approval rating of just 18% according to Datanálisis, a pollster. The economy is in freefall because of mismanagement and lower oil prices. To service its foreign debt, the government slashed imports to a third of their level in 2012.
Venezuelans are suffering privation previously unheard of in what was once South America’s richest country. According to a study by three universities, 82% of households now live in poverty. That compares with 48% in 1998, when Chávez came to power. The rise in poverty follows Venezuela’s biggest-ever oil windfall. Of the $1trn the regime received in oil revenue, perhaps a quarter was stolen by insiders, according to the International Crisis Group, a think-tank. Infant mortality is rising, and Venezuelans are needlessly dying because of the shortage of medicines. Those who can, leave; perhaps 2m Venezuelans now live abroad.
To remain in power, Mr Maduro’s state-socialist regime is extinguishing democracy. The opposition won a big majority in a legislative election in 2015. Since then, the government has used its hand-picked supreme court to nullify parliament. The similarly tame electoral authority blocked the opposition’s drive for a recall referendum. It failed to call an election for mayors and regional governors, due last year. The authority is now requiring the re-registration of opposition parties ...
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