A new survey shows that Venezuelans on both sides of the political aisle are losing faith in President Nicolas Maduro's ability to lead the country through the current economic and political crisis.
A new survey shows that 70.9 percent of Venezuelans do not trust that Maduro and his government are able to solve the economic problems facing the country and 84 percent believe that Maduro cannot handle the economic crisis.
The information comes from the national survey "Governance and political situation," which interviewed 800 people and was conducted by the Venezuelan Institute for Data Analysis (IVAD), one of the biggest names in public opinion polls in Venezuela. In the past, government sympathizers have used surveys by this firm to highlight the support for Maduro's regime.
The survey shows that 75.1 percent of respondents believed that the "direction that things are going in Venezuela" is wrong.
If presidential elections were to be held today, 61.1 percent would vote against Maduro, according to the analysis. Moreover, 57.8 percent "agrees Nicolas Maduro should resign the presidency and new elections should be held."
Maduro's management is evaluated as poor by 52.5 percent of respondents, moderate by 31.9 percent, good by 12.3 percent and excellent by just 2.9 percent.
Violent crime remains one of the main problem for Venezuelans -- 71.6 percent of respondents highlighted this as a concern. Venezuela has one of the world's highest homicide rates. Just in the month of September, the capital Caracas registered 425 violent deaths.
Government announces two arrests in the murder of chavista leader
Two of the alleged perpetrators of the assassination of Venezuelan chavista legislator Robert Serra and his partner, Maria Herrera, were arrested and presented in front of the courts, according to the Supreme Tribunal of Justice (TSJ).
Eduwin Torres and Carlos Garcia, presented Saturday at a court in Caracas, have been accused of "aggravated murder, conspiracy and other offenses under the Penal Code and the Organic Law against Organized Crime," detailed a statement from the TSJ. The accused could be sentenced to up to 30 years in prison, the maximum sentence in prison Venezuela.
The information comes the day after Maduro revealed that "all perpetrators are identified" and "many have been imprisoned," and expressed confidence that the same will happen with the masterminds of the crime.
Serra and Herrera were killed Oct. 1 in the legislator's home in western Caracas. Serra received about 40 stab wounds, most of them to the chest, in a crime that authorities attribute to a political crime disguised as a simple criminal act.
"Sooner rather than later ... we'll get to the truth," Maduro said Saturday, recalling that Serra was elected in 2010, at 23 years old, as a legislator for the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV).
Serra was the youngest member of the National Assembly, and one of the most passionate Hugo Chávez supporters and one of the most prominent leaders of the PSUV youth.
Within hours of the murders, Maduro accused Colombian President Alvaro Uribe and "criminals" protected by the United States government of the "intellectual" responsibility for the deaths.
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