“Increasing numbers of low-income Venezuelans are souring on Maduro as they suffer a declining economy, the highest inflation in the Americas, chronic shortages of basic goods and one of the world’s highest murder rates. Swelling frustration in the tough slums dotting Caracas’s rolling hills means Maduro is much more vulnerable, especially as oil prices fall to around five-year lows. Currency controls have fomented a black market where dollars now fetch over 27 times the strongest official exchange rate, hitting imports of basic goods. Wealthier Venezuelans dodge the long waits by hiring people to shop for them, buying goods abroad, turning to high-end stores or simply leaving the country.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/10/us-venezuela-chavistas-idUSKBN0JO1C820141210