Venezuela is a failing state, corruptly governed. The unfortunate citizens of the country, once the wealthiest in Latin America, scramble to find affordable food and must resort to the black market to buy antibiotics, painkillers and sutures. Nicolas Maduro, the stubbornly autocratic president, is effectively killing his own people.
To try to consolidate his power and marginalise the opposition, Mr Maduro staged an election yesterday for a so-called constituent assembly. The point was to sidestep the democratically elected parliament, which the opposition controls. The new assembly will be dominated by pro-government figures, from the trade union movement and leftist student groups. Dissidents were justified in their suspicions: even the Venezuelan election monitors are skewed in favour of Mr Maduro. The country’s 4.5 million public-sector employees,