Venezuela's Lights Keep Going Out — and So Does the Government's Credibility

A demonstrator holds a sign calling for improvements to electricity services during a march demanding the return of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to Venezuela, in Valencia, Venezuela, on September 25, 2026. (Credit: Photo by Jacinto OLIVEROS / AFP via Getty Images)

A demonstrator holds a sign calling for improvements to electricity services during a march demanding the return of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado to Venezuela, in Valencia, Venezuela, on September 25, 2026. (Credit: Photo by Jacinto OLIVEROS / AFP via Getty Images)

Venezuela's electricity crisis reached a new breaking point in 2026. Outages stretching from several hours to entire days have displaced any sense of routine in much of the country, and whatever tolerance once absorbed chronic dysfunction has collapsed alongside the grid itself. What accumulated over many years of policy failure has now become the engine behind the largest sustained wave of civil demonstrations the country has experienced in years.