A recent video of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro eating gourmet steak in Turkey —while millions go hungry at home— provoked outrage worldwide, which may be exactly what he wants, said Javier Corrales, Dwight W. Morrow 1895 professor of Political Science.
In a Spanish-language editorial for the New York Times, later published in English, Corrales suggested this is a political strategy for Maduro. The op-ed was translated and discussed by National Public Radio affiliate WLRN in Miami.
“An extremist government like his prefers economic devastation to economic recovery because misery destroys civil society, and with it the potential challenges to tyranny,” he wrote.
“The idea is that you’re glad to see people leave the country, to see that the state has no rivals," Corrales told WLRN. “That way, people "have to increase [their] dependency on the state in order to survive. [Madulro thinks], 'I don’t really want to fix [the crisis] because it’s making me stronger.'"