Venezuela Enters New Political Era After Maduro’s Removal

Projects such as the misiones and preferential oil sales became unsustainable during Chávez’s 14 years in office, as his government consolidated control over the Supreme Court, reshaped electoral institutions and pressured independent media. Even physical symbols of the Chávez years are disappearing. The “eyes of Chávez” murals have in some places faded or been removed across Venezuela.

The color red long associated with Chavismo is giving way to a more varied palette on public murals and propaganda. Interim President Delcy Rodríguez is wearing mostly blue. In a downtown Caracas office lined with images of Hugo Chávez, Simón Bolívar, Che Guevara and Vladimir Lenin, Jorge Navas sits surrounded by revolutionary literature.

Navas is a member of the Resistance and Rebellion collective, known as Resistencia y Rebelión. “We are not surrendering. We are being intelligent. We are buying time,” he said of recent changes under Delcy Rodríguez.

He rejects the idea that the shifts signal the end of Chavismo and calls Maduro the legitimate president. Rosa Albina García remains devoted. “I will be loyal ... until the day I die,” she said, expressing nostalgia for the president who once visited her hillside neighborhood.

“No other president had ever come this high,” García recalled of seeing Chávez greet store owners and neighbors on the street as a candidate. U.S. dollar hangs in her living room as a symbol of aspiration.

Com reported that the socialist movement built on promises of inclusion is now riven by internal divisions and a growing disconnect between its anti-imperialist rhetoric and its actions. The reckoning follows nearly three decades of Chavismo dominance that began when Hugo Chávez took office in 1999.