State Of Emergency Declared In Venezuela

Venezuela is struggling both economically and politically, facing massive food shortages, regular blackouts, skyrocketing inflation and an increasingly dire public health situation. Hospitals lack beds, antibiotics, medical equipment, doctors, even running water. U.S. intelligence officials said Friday that the country may be on the verge of a crisis. Just hours later, President Nicolas Maduro declared a 60-day state of emergency to “stabilize our country, and confront all the international and national threats against our fatherland.”

Here & Now’s Robin Young talks to Derek Thompson, senior editor at The Atlantic, about what’s going on in Venezuela, and why.

Copyright 2016 NPR. To see more, visit NPR.