A milestone in Venezuela's monthslong standoff between the government and the political opposition approaches this week. Tuesday is the deadline for the National Electoral Council (CNE) to issue its ruling on whether a proposed recall referendum against the president can proceed. Approval by the CNE would allow the opposition to begin collecting signatures in support of the proposal -- a necessary preliminary step before holding a nationwide recall referendum.
Under regular political and economic conditions, a referendum would not necessarily threaten the government. After all, securing public approval through political patronage was a key tactic of previous United Socialist Party of Venezuela governments. But given Venezuela's current socio-economic and political crises, the recall referendum has taken on added importance for the administration of President Nicolas Maduro and the government as a whole....
