Power Analysis of a Real-World Example Social Sciences Essay

Power Struggle in Venezuela
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Power Struggle in Venezuela
The power struggle is a normal phenomenon in different parts of the world and various life settings, including social, political, and personal levels. The political arena is the most prevalent societal setting in which power struggle plays out, with leaders and parties trying to gain popularity in their quest to take over leadership from the current government. In most cases, political power struggles escalate into violent conflicts that end up affecting economies and the lives of citizens in the long run. Venezuela is one of the countries that have been undergoing difficulties due to the political power struggle between the current government and the opposition. Juan Guaido is the opposition leader and the recognized legitimate president who has been trying to oust the legitimate president, Nicholas Maduro.
Venezuela has been under pressure from foreign governments and international organizations to solve their political issues in the last five years. Political pressure has pushed the South American country into a humanitarian crisis as people continue dying, and others are fleeing the country on foot (Cerna, 2020). The country has a history of refusing humanitarian aid from the United States and other countries in its time of need. Venezuelan leaders have also rejected emergency supplies from the red cross and the United Nations, terming it as a means of controlling the countries politics indirectly. However, the height of political tension in the country forced Nicholas Maduro to accept humanitarian assistance from the United States and international humanitarian aid organizations. His decision to start receiving humanitarian aid seems like a show of guilt since the current problems are a result of a power struggle with Juan Guaido. The power struggle between the two leaders has also lead to mismanagement of the country's infrastructure that has caused major power blackouts in different parts of the country.
Power struggles between the two leaders started after Maduro's reelection in 2018 when opposition leaders began complaining about possible fraud in the elections. The election process was highly condemned by neighboring countries that supported the opposition leaders claiming that the vote got rigged. After Maduro's reelection, the only means through which the opposition leaders could rival the results was the constitutional right of protesting. The opposition used protests as an instrument of power to topple the current president. Still, for it to be effective, they made the protests violent to intimidate the government and support for Maduro (Cohen & Blumenthal, 2019). Most countries have constitutions that allow freedom of speech, freedom of expression, and freedom of protesting. Protests are meant to pressure the administration to act on a problem that has been too persistent or one that cannot get addressed through the regular constitutional means. However, some opposition leaders and politicians often take advantage of the legal rights and use them as instruments of power to attack other leaders.
In January 2020, newspaper images surfaced showing Juan Guaido trying to sneak into Venezuela's na...