Lisa Sullivan makes two very important points at the end, that, a) the majority of Venezuelans have benefited from the Chavez/Maduro government with continued, dramatic improvements in educational opportunity, medical care, housing, good jobs/benefits and policies that encourage public participation and inclusiveness; and b) most Venezuelans--including most of the opposition--dislike the violence of the far right (trashing government buildings, public bus systems, etc.)--i.e., don't approve of destructive protests.
I think she also makes the point, early on, that the chavistas recently creamed the opposition in the municipal elections, in an election system that Jimmy Carter has called "the best in the world." THAT fact has to be weighed against the mass protests that have been organized by the USAID-funded/tutored rightwing opposition to exploit problems (street crime, and more recently, inflation and food shortages) that the Chavez/Maduro government has not yet solved. The Chavez/Maduro government has solved, or is solving, immense problems such as poverty, and the opposition has nothing to say to this--no reasonable platform--as Ryan Mallett-Outtrim points out. The chavistas are the only functioning, successful problem-solvers in the country. That's why they keep winning elections.
And yet another important point made in this report is that Maduro's RESPONSE to the protests has been to call for peace, and invited the opposition to a conference on resolving problems and differences through peaceful dialogue. Some opposition individuals and some notable opposition groups and businesses attended, though MUD (rightwing political party) boycotted the conference. I think that the MUD will pay for this at the ballot box in yet more electoral losses. Venezuelans may march in the streets on issues like street crime, inflation and shortages, but they do NOT want their bus systems and other public institutions trashed. They want problems to be solved, NOT more problems created.
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