Venezuela is facing a serious economic crisis. There are long lines for basic foodstuffs and with oil prices expected to stay low there is no recovery in site for the resource rich country. The government has declared a “state of exception” that suspends human rights guarantees. Nicolas Maduro’s socialist party government wants to maintain its dominance in the National Assembly with elections scheduled for December 6th. They’ve disqualified opposition candidates. We’ll discuss their strategy to maintain power and the country’s ongoing economic problems with Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College and co-author of the book Dragon in the Tropics: Hugo Chavez and the political economy of revolution in Venezuela. (Photo: Flickr/Wilfredo Rodríguez)