Enrique Márquez blames Chávez and Maduro for Venezuela's crisis

Opposition leader and former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez has criticized the Venezuelan government for using international sanctions as a “wildcard” to deflect blame for the country’s economic and infrastructural collapse. In an interview with Globovisión, Márquez argued that while sanctions have had a pernicious effect on the economy, they did not cause the destruction of Venezuela or the ongoing electricity crisis.

Márquez, an electrical engineer, stated that the collapse of the power sector began under Hugo Chávez due to a lack of investment and mismanagement, noting that despite massive spending of approximately $120 billion under the Chávez and Maduro administrations, the system failed. He emphasized that blackouts in regions like Zulia were occurring before sanctions were implemented. While advocating for the lifting of sanctions to allow for a free economy, he urged the government to be truthful about the root causes of the nation's instability.