{"text":[[{"start":6.05,"text":"Ever since Delcy Rodríguez was installed as Venezuelan leader in January, following the US raid to seize President Nicolás Maduro, Donald Trump has been effusive in his praise. The US president has called her a “terrific person” and has insisted that Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice-president, is doing a “great job”. "}],[{"start":25.85,"text":"After two large earthquakes on June 24, he has stepped up his backing. “Outside of what happened last night . . . it’s a happy country again,” he said the following day. Those earthquakes, one 7.2 in magnitude, the other 7.5, have devastated a number of cities on the country’s north coast, and have also exposed flaws in the American strategy of backing Rodríguez and fending off discussions about new elections. "}],[{"start":52.05,"text":"It was always an unusual proposition for the US to endorse a socialist regime that was behind the spectacular collapse in Venezuela’s economy and is widely believed to have stolen the 2024 elections. This contradiction has become even more glaring in the aftermath of the earthquakes, which have demonstrated the state’s lack of competence and legitimacy. Even if Washington’s goals are limited to reviving the country’s oil industry, as Trump has sometimes suggested, that is going to be difficult to achieve under the current political structure."}],[{"start":83.3,"text":"By some estimates, Venezuela’s economy shrunk by as much as three-quarters between 2013 and 2021, the victim of economic mismanagement, corruption and — especially since 2017 — tough US sanctions. Rodríguez was a key member of the Chavista elite behind one of the most disastrous economic records in recent times for a country not at war. Last month’s earthquakes have also been a revealing moment because they have exposed how two decades of misrule have hollowed out the capacity of the Venezuelan state."}],[{"start":114.5,"text":"Although the worst-affected areas have been in the cities around the country’s main airport and parts of the capital, residents report that in some cases it took days before they received any genuine help. Opinion polls show that Rodríguez is deeply unpopular among Venezuelans. In her first public appearance at a disaster site, she was heckled by angry survivors. At her one press conference since the earthquakes, Rodríguez blamed “media laboratories” for giving the impression of chaos."}],[{"start":142.8,"text":"More broadly, the earthquake has highlighted the shortcomings of Washington’s strategy towards Venezuela. In January, secretary of state Marco Rubio outlined a three-stage approach — stability, economic recovery and only then a political transition. Since then, Rubio and other US officials have talked in general terms about elections, but they have given no timeframe and have opposed the return to Venezuela of opposition leader María Corina Machado."}],[{"start":171.4,"text":"Yet the past six months have shown how hard it will be to orchestrate a sustained economic recovery without first addressing political issues. Many companies are interested in investing in Venezuela, but a lot of them are wary of doing so under the current regime. The Chavista elite who still run Venezuela are the same people who appropriated the assets of a series of international companies. There is no rule of law, nor is there confidence that long-term contracts will be upheld. The threat of sanctions still hangs over Venezuela’s economy."}],[{"start":204.35000000000002,"text":"Trump has made it clear that promoting democracy is not one of his priorities. He wants Venezuela to be a country that is safe for US energy companies to invest in and generate substantial profits. But he will struggle to achieve that goal as long as the Rodríguez dictatorship remains in place. Free and fair elections are not an obstacle to Trump’s plans — they are key to unlocking a lasting economic recovery inside Venezuela."}],[{"start":237.80000000000004,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783387922_9519.mp3"}