"The New York Times" describes this "split personality" as representative of a long-standing class divide within the country and a potentially crippling fault within the anti-government movement, recognized both by opposition leaders and President Maduro.Later in the protests, however, many in Venezuela's slums that are seen as "bulwarks of [government] support" thanks to social welfare programs, supported the protesters due to frustrations over crime, shortages, and inflation and increasingly began to protest and loot as the situation in Venezuela continuously deteriorated.