For those who would like to read more about staying in power as a dictator, or for that matter any kind of political leader, I found "The Dictator's Handbook: Why Bad Behavior is Almost Always Good Politics" [1] a good read on the topic.
Of note is the required number of supporters can be quite low when you have a government supported by resource extraction.
Of note is the required number of supporters can be quite low when you have a government supported by resource extraction.
[1] https://www.amazon.ca/Dictators-Handbook-Behavior-Almost-Pol...