While Maduro himself isn’t a very well liked leader, his party, the PSUV, and the social movement base that put Hugo Chavez and the PSUV into power to begin with, is very popular.
And that social movement base is made up of a network of communes and neighborhood committees which run their own infrastructure, train cadre, operate people’s militias, etc. In addition to the traditional, top-down organs of the Venezuelan military.
Plus, the opposition is even more unpopular than Maduro, within the country, and can’t even scrounge up anyone to represent them politically. Sure, right now it’s Machado, but does anyone remember Juan Guaido? A man that the US arbitrarily recognized as the real president of Venezuela, despite 80% of Venezuelans having never heard of him?
That’s much more significant than Sadam, who’s Baath party had no real social base by 2003, and was highly disconnected from the interests of most Iraqis.
Not to Mention that the geography is very different. Iraq, save for the northern mountains, is very flat. While Venezuela is very mountainous. The coasts aren’t flat, easy to land on, beaches. They’re giant mountains which give a lot of cover from naval artillery, and the rugged terrain means insurgents in the mountains who are nigh impossible to root out.
I’m not so sure, the last person that called the “bluff” was Saddam. I don’t think Maduro is in a better position.
While Maduro himself isn’t a very well liked leader, his party, the PSUV, and the social movement base that put Hugo Chavez and the PSUV into power to begin with, is very popular.
And that social movement base is made up of a network of communes and neighborhood committees which run their own infrastructure, train cadre, operate people’s militias, etc. In addition to the traditional, top-down organs of the Venezuelan military.
Plus, the opposition is even more unpopular than Maduro, within the country, and can’t even scrounge up anyone to represent them politically. Sure, right now it’s Machado, but does anyone remember Juan Guaido? A man that the US arbitrarily recognized as the real president of Venezuela, despite 80% of Venezuelans having never heard of him?
That’s much more significant than Sadam, who’s Baath party had no real social base by 2003, and was highly disconnected from the interests of most Iraqis.
Not to Mention that the geography is very different. Iraq, save for the northern mountains, is very flat. While Venezuela is very mountainous. The coasts aren’t flat, easy to land on, beaches. They’re giant mountains which give a lot of cover from naval artillery, and the rugged terrain means insurgents in the mountains who are nigh impossible to root out.