Economic mismanagement leading to widespread hardship, sham elections opening the door to constitutional changes giving the demagogic Nicolas Maduro unlimited power; opposition leaders arrested – and Venezuela slides further into chaos. The Venezuela attorney general lambasted the recent election. “This is the end of freedom of expression.” The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, slammed it as a “sham” which would bring Venezuela “another step toward dictatorship”. US national security adviser H.R. McMaster compared Maduro to Bashar al-Assad and Kim Jong Un; and US sanctions have frozen Maduro’s assets in the US.
Yet Venezuela under Hugo Chavez and then Maduro was supposed to have been a shining beacon of socialism at work. The country contains the world’s largest oil reserves which they promised to use to alleviate poverty and reduce inequality. The result of their efforts has been catastrophic shortages of food, electricity and medicines. Child malnutrition is widespread; maternal mortality went up by 66% last year. Inflation is expected to reach 1000% this year. Amnesty International reports a “mass of human rights violations” with 100 protesters killed since April and another 400 have been imprisoned – including judges and opposition politicians. The army has been expanded. Corrupt officials openly profiteer from their access to hard currency and basic goods. Venezuela has become a favoured route for drug-trafficking and is awash with arms. Tens of thousands of Venezuelans have fled to neighbouring countries.
In the UK, the hard-left Corbynites, enthusiastic supporters of the Chavisti approach to government, have been remarkably schtum about the present situation.
Nicolas Maduro, 23 November 1962 9.03pm Caracas (astro com) has certainly all the signs of an inflated ego with a focal point Sun Mercury in Sagittarius in the grandstanding 5th squaring onto Jupiter in a risk-taking (chancer’s) opposition to Uranus and in a forcefully-pushy opposition to Pluto. His Sun is also square his Mars/Pluto midpoint which does suggest a ruthless approach; though that apart it is not an especially brutal chart.
His Mars in Leo (where else?) will catch this week’s Lunar Eclipse and widely the Solar Eclipse, which will tend to make him more volcanic than usual. His birth time is based on a birth certificate so should be there or thereabouts. His midheaven will catch the tr Pluto square from early 2018 through 2019, which will shake him on his perch and further damage his reputation. And tr Neptune will square his Solar Arc MC in 2018/19 which will undercut his ambitions.
This fits with his Presidency chart, 10 April 2013 2.05pm, which has tr Uranus conjunct the Sun Mars in Aries from April 2018 for a year; at the same time as tr Neptune squares the 10th house Jupiter in Gemini – violence, insecurity, disruptions and dashed hopes. And he’ll be increasingly at odds with the populace over the next year with Solar Arc Saturn square the Moon.
Neither of the two Venezuela charts – 24 June 1821 and 22 September 1830 – look hopeful ahead for two or three years. The 1921 will get the discouraging tr Saturn in Capricorn bouncing off the Cancer Sun Venus opposition Uranus Neptune from this New Year. Plus tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter Saturn in Aries till March 2018 – which is interesting in itself since it shows a country struggling to balance idealism with materialism. Ideological socialism has won out recently but with disastrous financial consequences.
The 1830 chart has a discouraging and aggravated tr Saturn square to the Mars opposition Virgo Sun this year; and then picks up a devastating tr Pluto conjunct Neptune in 2018/19.
If ever there was an example of be careful what you wish for – this is it. Voters promised the earth and end up with even less than before.