by Carlos L. Diaz
Living conditions in Venezuela have been on a steady decline since the death of caudillo turned demigod, Hugo Chavez. Apparently the statements made by Diosdado Cabello, the gang’s head minion and president of the National Assembly, were spot on. Back in March, a few weeks before the elections, Cabello warned the opposition about their prospects after the death of “El Comandante,” he told them that Chavez was the “retaining wall” for his “crazy ideas.” Now that the wall is underground and Cabello’s puppet, Nicolas Maduro, is president the “crazy ideas” and their consequences can be seen in action everywhere.
We have learned that basic products like eggs, sugar, milk, flour, and, most recently, toilet paper have become scarce in the country with the world’s largest oil reserve. The cause for this scarcity is simple, the government has implemented price controls on the price of goods. Many times the price is below that of production and producers refuse to lose money. Now the Catholic Church is saying that it is having a hard time finding the wine it needs to perform mass, this time the scarcity lies solely on the government’s shoulders again.
It turns out that other things are rapidly vanishing as well. Since Chavez took power in 1998, the Venezuelan press has been losing freedom and today it has lost most of it. The last bastion of anti-government rhetoric was Globovisión, but that changed recently. The sale of Globovisión to investors with close ties to the regime was the coup de grâce to the opposition. Friday night one of the network’s hosts was fired after transmitting a speech by opposition leader Henrique Capriles–yes, broadcasting Capriles is now a crime. When political tactics have failed in silencing different opinions, Cabello has turned to techniques that are more fitting to his bully personality. There have been various reports and videos of members of parliament being physically assaulted inside the assembly for speaking against the regime. When it comes to silencing voices, the current Venezuelan government even attacks its own. Recently a video was released in which Mario Silva, Chavismo’s favorite journalist, is heard talking ill of Cabello with a Cuban intelligence officer. On his next appearance Silva claimed that his show would not continue, citing a health problem as the cause.
This state of affairs gives hope to many that Chavismo will finally die and democracy will be established, or reestablished, depending on your view of the past. It is true that the leadership of the government is in disarray and some fault lines seem to be emerging, but there is no clear sign that the end is near. The death of this regime will probably come, but in a slow manner. Popular support has been dwindling and the recent shortages only contribute to this trend. Other indicators which hit people where it hurts most, like crime, inflation, and corruption, have also been on the rise.
All of us who promote and support the virtues of pluralism and liberal democracy should pay close attention to the developments in Venezuela. Nicolas Maduro’s six year term seems to be headed for an early end. What or who replaces him is the key to knowing what the future of Venezuela will look like. I think that Venezuela can come out of this looking like other Latin American countries, such as Peru, Uruguay, Brazil and Chile. In those nations the link between the left and totalitarianism has been erased. They have elected leaders who are avowed leftist but have no dictatorial aspirations, as a matter of fact they are defenders of democracy and even free market policies.
Eclectic Affinities 