Under what conditions did Venezuelan citizens live under the Maduro regime and what might be the consequences of his arrest? A conversation with Paulo Figueiredo, Brazillian journalist.
What is the significance of Nicolás Maduro's arrest? How was his rule connected to other extreme regimes in South America, and what was the situation of Venezuelan citizens while he governed the country? To analyze these matters, an NTD news presenter spoke with Paulo Figueiredo, a journalist and grandson of João Figueiredo, former president of Brazil.
According to Figueiredo, "If you talk to almost any Venezuelan who is not a professor at an American university or from the left or the Democratic Party, you will find hopeful people. Happy people. The scale of the disaster that occurred in Venezuela over the last 20 years—sometimes its significance is downplayed, not only by the American media but also by the international community.
We are talking about a country from which 8 million people have fled, including to Brazil, my homeland. People were in desperate conditions, with 80% of the population living below the poverty line, many of them starving. In Brazil, for example, we have taken in so many refugees coming from Venezuela. The problem we had with them was that they ate their pets, meaning their dogs and cats, on the way while fleeing from Venezuela to Brazil. The situation there was that severe. And we heard no outcry from the international community, from the left, from those people who are now protesting."