Venezuela: Democratic Change From Within
Last week’s surprising events in Venezuela have understandably raised some concerns of ill-fated military coups and U.S. intervention in Latin America. But a closer look at what is happening in Venezuela shows it is anything but a throwback to the era of Cuban invasions or the toppling of elected Latin government. It is much bigger than President Trump or the United States alone. In fact, it is about a welcome development of Latin American nations defending democracy in their own neighborhood and about democratic change from within Venezuela.
I had the opportunity to visit Venezuela last year and experience firsthand the country’s economic, political, and humanitarian collapse. While Hugo Chavez originally won at the ballot box after tapping into legitimate frustrations over corruption and failure to help the poor, he and his successor Nicolas Maduro followed the path of so many autocrats at heart and began to dismantle the country’s democracy.
By the time I met with Maduro, the government was, in reality, a criminal dictatorship that locked up opposition voices and filled its pockets amid staggering malnutrition and economic calamity. The only remaining viable democratic body was the National Assembly, which Maduro tried to disband after the opposition won in the last legitimate election held in 2015. I told Maduro what the region’s key democracies had also made clear — that if he went ahead with a rigged 2018 presidential election he would find himself more isolated and his people in greater misery. Tragically that is what he did.
Not surprisingly, the results were dismissed by the General Assembly of the Organization of American States (OAS) and the European Council, and earlier this month the Permanent Council of the OAS approved a resolution “to not recognize the legitimacy of Nicholas Maduro’s new term …. and to call for new Presidential election with all necessary guarantees of a free, transparent, and legitimate process to be held at an early date attended by international observers.”
Meanwhile, the Venezuelan National Assembly elected one of its own members — Juan Guaidó — to serve as the body’s president. The assembly then voted to deem the office of the President vacant due to the illegitimate election as noted by key regional and international voices. Under Article 233 of the Venezuelan constitution, when such a measure is passed by the National Assembly, the national presidency is assumed on an interim basis by the Assembly’s leader until new timely elections can be held.
This is the process the duly elected Venezuelan National Assembly followed and why all the key democratic nations in the region, as well as Canada, the United States, Australia, and others have all recognized Guaidó’s interim position — and why I have as well. In fact, the former center-left politician who is the OAS Secretary General offered such recognition even a week earlier. It is also telling that only dictatorships such as Russia, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Turkey have sided with Maduro.
Much like when West African countries recently used collective diplomatic muscle to force one of their region’s own dictators in the Gambia to leave office after losing in an election, we should be welcoming of Latin American democracies also upholding democratic principles and the OAS Democratic Charter in their own neighborhood.
Yes, President Trump supported the move as well, but as one of many right and left leaning democracies in the region and around the world. In fact, just this weekend more than 200 Venezuelan civil society and human rights groups from across the political spectrum made this appeal to the region and world, “A sector of the international public opinion has simplified the conflict in Venezuela as tension between the government of Nicolas Maduro and Donald Trump…We just ask that you do not ignore in your opinions the situation of the Venezuelan people and their desire and aspirations over what their destiny should be.” As such, we should all be hoping for Guaidó’s success in the Venezuelan National Assembly’s constitutional move to right the state of ship and reverse the country’s collapse.
