Just three years after the death of iconic Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, his successor Nicolas Maduro is floundering. Not only is the country mired in a crippling economic crisis, Maduro was also hit by an unprecedented electoral setback in December and is now locked in a power-sharing administration with the opposition.

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In the parliamentary elections on December 6, the opposition won two-thirds of the seats. It was a political earthquake, the first defeat for Chavez and his heirs in 17 years.

Battered by the collapse in oil prices (oil exports account for approximately 95% of Venezuela's revenue), record inflation and rampant crime, Venezuelans expressed their exasperation at the polls. The opposition managed to win at the ballot box even in Chavist strongholds, to everyone's surprise.

Digging the country out of its current economic crisis and remaining united is the priority, while finding a way of working with the Chavist camp. The Chavists do not plan on standing idly by and will do their utmost to preserve the legacy of the "Bolivarian Revolution".

FRANCE 24 went to meet political players, both Chavists and opponents, but also Venezuelans in the streets, to understand the causes and challenges facing the country in this new era.

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