In the 1960’s and 1970’s the country was
approaching the threshold of the first world. Venezuela had an increasingly
prosperous middle class, the best physical infrastructure in Latin America and
a democracy that had become the showcase of the region. In the mid70’s the Dutch Disease (over-dependence in oil
exports) hit the country hard. Democracy deteriorated, becoming a mediocre political
oligarchy, a two-party system gobbling up oil income at the expense of the rest
of the nation. As population increased the petroleum cake became smaller and
popular displeasure set in. By the end of the 1990’s the time was ripe for a
drastic change and this allowed Hugo Chavez to come to power.
There is no law that says that
change always has to be for the better. This one was not. 14 years of Chavez’s rule have been tragic for
the country. One example suffices to illustrate the point: Venezuela is now a
deeply divided nation, due to Chavez’s systematic preaching of social and
racial hatred. This cleavage is compounded by a chaotic economy, rapidly increasing
national debt, very high crime rates and government ineptitude. The country has
been falling to pieces.
As a result the approaching
presidential elections in Venezuela are no longer a matter of political choices
to be made, risk-free, in a stable and civilized national environment. They have become a matter of life or death. We are in crisis and face imminent
danger of violence. The reason is that, under the current regime, Venezuela is
being transformed from petrostate into a narcostate, involving significant
segments of the existing political elite. These people will not surrender power
easily, as they know that a new government
will act against them.
Friends of Venezuelan democracy: be on the alert, because your help might be
urgently needed.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario