The discourse I have been most exposed to has been one of protests relating to violent crime rates and the idea that the government is not protecting its people from violence and criminals. The way it has been portrayed to me is that Chavez' social programs, while helping the impoverished and bringing a higher standard of education and healthcare, have done nothing to combat rampant violence. Thank you for sharing a more nuanced look at the unrest. For a writer who is obviously emotionally invested, I found that it was surprisingly less biased than I would expect, with the unfortunate exception of the phrase: "Over the last 15 years, since the election of Hugo Chavez, wealth has undergone a massive redistribution – no question a positive thing in an extremely uneven and disparate economic landscape – and the Venezuelan rich have been pretty upset about it; they kinda liked all their money. " which seemed to be the type of black and white thinking that the author is railed against.