Venezuela was once the richest country in Latin America. 0:39 It has the largest known oil reserves in the world. 0:42 And its democratic government was once praised world wide. 0:45 But today, Venezuela’s democratic institutions and its economy are in shambles. 0:50 The country has the highest inflation in the world, making food and medicine inaccessible 0:55 to most Venezuelans. 0:56 Over the last four years, its GDP has fallen 35%, which is a sharper drop than the one 1:01 seen during the Great Depression in the US. 1:04 The country’s murder rate has surpassed that of the most dangerous cities in the world. 1:09 These conditions have sparked months of protests against the president, Nicolas Maduro. 1:13 And it’s easy to see why: the country has become measurably worse since his election 1:17 in 2013. 1:19 A poll showed that about 80% of Venezuelans want Maduro removed from office. 1:25 But instead, the opposite has happened: Maduro has consolidated his power bringing the country 1:31 closer to authoritarian rule. 1:37 Maduro’s political ambition became evident in December 2015. 1:41 Two years after he became president, a coalition of opposition parties called the Democratic 1:45 Unity Roundtable or MUD, won a two-thirds majority in the National Assembly, putting 1:50 Maduro’s rule at risk. 1:51 In response, Maduro quickly forced out several Supreme Court justices and filled the positions 1:56 with cronies loyal to him. 1:58 In March 2016, the court ruled to strip the opposition-led National Assembly of its powers 2:02 -- a move that sparked massive protests across the country. 2:06 The ruling was reversed a few days later, but the damage was done -- protests continued 2:10 to grow and have left about 100 dead and thousands injured so far. 2:14 Despite the violence and public outcry, Maduro held a vote in July to elect a new governing 2:18 body called the National Constituent Assembly, which would have the power to rewrite Venezuela’s 2:23 constitution and replace the National Assembly. And leave virtually non opposition to Maduro's rule. 2:46 With Maduro's recent vote, Venezuelans didn’t have a say in whether the assembly should exist. 2:50 They only had the option to elect its members. 2:53 But when Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez proposed a constitutional rewrite in 1999, 2:58 he first called for a referendum to propose the election of the assembly. 3:02 After most Venezuelans voted yes, they elected a new National Constituent Assembly. 3:08 See, unlike Maduro, Chavez was a charismatic and beloved leader. 3:12 In the 90s, he burst onto television sets across the country. 3:15 He blamed government corruption and Venezuela’s elite for the economic inequality. 3:20 His populist message resonated with the country’s poor who eventually helped bring him to power. 3:24 The key moment in his presidency came in 2004 when oil prices surged. 3:30 Venezuela’s petroleum- dependent economy started booming and Chavez went on to spend billions from the 3:35 profits on social-welfare programs for the poor. 3:37 He subsidized food, improved the educational system, built an enviable healthcare system 3:42 and reduced poverty by more than half. 3:44 These programs certainly helped the poor, but they served a purpose for Chavez as well. 3:49 In order to be re-elected, he needed to keep millions of poor Venezuelans happy. 3:53 So he rigged the economy to do just that... 3:55 He didn’t scale back Venezuela’s dependence on oil and his unrestrained spending led to 3:59 a growing de