Tyrants doing what tyrants do.
On Thursday, the opposition accused the government Thursday of persecution after the supreme court this week sentenced two of its mayors to 15 months in prison for not preventing anti-government protests. Both were also barred from holding public office.
The verdict brought to 23 the number of mayors targeted by legal action, according to the opposition.
“Is this the peace that Maduro is talking about?” said Gerardo Blyde, another mayor who is the target of a legal investigation.
The Constituent Assembly has already sacked the attorney general, a Maduro appointee-turned-critic who opposed its creation as unconstitutional.
The developments fuelled tensions that have been flaring in Venezuela for the past four months. Nearly 130 people have been killed in clashes between protesters and security forces.
The protests have lost steam in the past week as security forces have stepped up repression and demonstrators have grown discouraged by the opposition’s failure to bring about change.
Socialists do what socialists do.
From multiple sources: Venezuela’s opposition-led congress announced on Wednesday that inflation in the country’s economy quickened to 248.6% in the first seven months of the year and is expected to jump to almost 700% by December. Some experts are predicting 1200% or more by year end.
The Venezuelan bolivar currently trades around 710 per U.S. dollar under the Dicom exchange rate and at 10 under the Dipro rate, Venezuela’s other official rate. On the black market, however, a dollar can fetch around 3,000 bolivars.
There are government-owned stores that offer food at a subsidized price, which makes them more affordable but customers can only buy food on a certain day of the week, standing in lines for hours — with no guarantee that there will be food left to purchase.
Food can be purchased on the black market. A dozen eggs which here cost $1.50, in Venezuela cost over $150!