Political Quotes

“I rise to speak briefly this afternoon on the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. There is a growing interest in the matter here among my colleagues in the Senate and the White House and other places--certainly, in the press--and thankfully so. This has been going on now for a significant period of time. Just to put it in context, a lot of times, when we talk about these sorts of showdowns around the world--these sorts of internal strife-- there is this notion that there is this government in place and there is this group that does not like the government and that they are arguing with each other about the future of the country. What is interesting in Venezuela is that both the opposition and the ruling party are in government. The government, obviously, at the Presidential level is controlled by someone who has turned himself into a dictator. He is a successor of Hugo Chavez's--he is the President, Nicolas Maduro--and those who surround him. Then there is the National Assembly that is elected by the people of Venezuela, the majority party in their legislative branch. What has happened over the last year and a half is that the President of Venezuela, Maduro--the now dictator--has nullified the legislative branch. He basically refuses to recognize the laws they have passed and has stopped allowing transfers. So, basically, today, those in the National Assembly in Venezuela are not getting paid. They have no funds for offices, and they have no funds for material.…”