Power Struggles and Continued Economic Crisis in Venezuela

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Venezuela’s legislative and executive branches threw down in their fight for dominance amid an economic crisis that is spiraling out of control.  The economy of the world’s fifth-largest oil producer has been slammed by plummeting oil prices, which since September 2014 have dropped from US$90.00 per barrel to US$21.00. Revenues from fossil fuels generate 95% of Venezuela’s income.  President Nicolás Maduro tried to push through an economic emergency decree that would give him enhanced powers, but was stymied by the now opposition-controlled Asamblea Nacional.  In the December elections the opposition coalition, Mesa de la Unidad Democrática (MUD), displaced the long-ruling Partido Socialista Unida de Venezuela (PSUV), though the MUD has yet to produce a viable plan to improve the economy.