Luis Vicente on the crackdown

I liked this article on Prodavinci by pollster / economist Luis Vicente León.

He says there are three main reasons for the government’s recent crackdown on the opposition: generating fear of protest in the face of a sharp deterioration in living conditions; changing the topic from an economic crisis to a political one; and increasing helplesness in opposition ranks, fueling the movement to abstain from participating in elections.

Explaining Venezuela’s complex events in simple terms is not easy to do, but he does it quite well here. León outlines his basic points in a clean, concise manner that may seem simplistic, but is actually sophisticated.

I don’t have much to quibble here, but there is a broader picture at play here. By putting most visible opposition political leaders in jail, you are doing a lot to ensure the end of organized opposition political parties and groups altogether.

I think León focuses on the immediate contingency and misses the long-term goal here. Still, it’s a good piece.