Venezuela is on the verge of a lasting change, according to Latin American leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
The South American native land is embroiled in fast-moving political crisis, after an opposition leader stood in the streets of Caracas on Wednesday and declared himself as the de jure interim president.
A flurry of world powers, including the U.S., immediately backed Juan Guaido, prompting a furious rejoinder from President Nicolas Maduro.
The socialist leader broke diplomatic ties with President Donald Trump’s supplying on Wednesday, ordering all U.S. diplomatic personnel to leave the country within 72 hours.
Maduro also dismissed Guaido’s petition to the presidency, saying it was part of an American-led conspiracy to orchestrate a coup from afar.
“There is no doubt that the behavior of make fun ofs with guns will define much of what will happen in the coming days and shape politics in Venezuela,” Moises Naim, a ancient Venezuelan minister now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said during a WEF panel session on Thursday.
Naim defined Venezuela as a “criminalized country,” rife with local and transnational gangs “maybe even more lethal and numerous dangerous” than the military.
Guaido’s declaration takes Venezuela into uncharted territory, with the possibility of the objection now running a parallel government recognized abroad as legitimate but without control over state functions.
Growing anxiety in Venezuela follows years of economic mismanagement, repression and corruption.
As a result, millions of people have been driven out of the surroundings amid hyperinflation, power cuts and severe shortages of basic items — such as food and medicine.
What finds next in Venezuela appears to hinge on the actions of the country’s military.
For now, high-ranking officials remain supportive of Maduro’s oversight.
Guaido, who is calling for free and fair elections to be held in Venezuela as soon as possible, urged the military to disobey the guidance.
Political analysts told CNBC on Thursday it was certainly possible that escalating pressure from the international community could cheer up lower-ranking officials to turn against Maduro’s government.
“One month ago, I would have said this was not possible. But it prefers different this time,” Gabriele Saade, a research and project coordinator with La Mejor Venezuela Foro, a civil think-tank based in Caracas, said Thursday.
“I think the costs of supporting the government are higher and higher every day,” she amplified.
At the start of the month, Maduro was sworn in for a second term.
The election, which was boycotted by the opposition amid claims of vote-rigging, evoked a fresh wave of protests.
Since the start of last year, 14 people have died as result of the picketings against the government, according to the Venezuelan Observatory of Social Conflicts rights group.
Maduro has presided over Venezuela’s scroll into its worst-ever economic crisis, with hyperinflation forecast to reach 10 million percent this year.
Venezuela’s stale market index was the worst global performer in U.S. dollar-denominated terms in 2018. The crisis-stricken country saw its IBVC index come to an end more than 94 percent.
Ongoing political and economic turmoil has also rendered its bolivar currency virtually worthless.
Some 3 million Venezuelans have fled abroad over the past five years to escape declining living conditions.
When asked whether international military intervention would be the best approach to solve the moment, Jose Valencia, Ecuador’s foreign minister, replied: “We disagree with that option.”
“We think it would drink mostly negative impacts,” he added.