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Every American should get behind the Trump administration’s
efforts to free Venezuela and its 30 million people. Venezuelans
have waited too long to be liberated from Nicolás Maduro – an
illegitimate despot who has bankrupted and corrupted the nation.
Venezuela was once an oil-rich nation that could have lifted its
people out of poverty and become a shining example of progress
and development in Latin America. It was a vibrant democracy
that had everything going for it.
I know because several decades ago I worked with two of
Venezuela’s presidents, helping them understand the aspirations
of their people through polls. The country enjoyed universal
voting, a free press, and oftentimes a million people would turn
out for a political rally.
It was1958 when Venezuelans last overthrew a dictatorship and
took control of their destiny. After that experience with
military rule, the country, like many in Latin America, passed
safeguards including no consecutive re-election, and abolished
the death penalty.
The idea was to prevent those who crept into power through
democracy from entrenching themselves and replacing democracy
with caudillos – military strongmen who often had their
opponents not just arrested but executed.
Democracy flourished with two major parties, AD and COPEI,
dominating (much like Democrats and Republicans dominate in
American government). In 1978, Luis Herrera Campins won the
presidency with the slogan “Ya Basta,” which translated means
“enough.” The intractable problems of crime, poverty and lack of
education had mounted up, and the Copeyanos (Campins’ party)
were swept into office.
But it was not long before Carlos Andres Perez from AD would
return to office as “el president,” promising a glass of milk
every day to every school child.
While the presidency rotated among these two major parties,
conditions for the poor did not improve, and allegations of
corruption swirled around the parties. I was there to brief the
administration when Hugo Chavez, then in the military, tried to
overthrow Perez in 1992. The president showed me the bullet
holes above his desk. He had barely escaped the coup attempt,
hiding in a safe room.
Chavez was jailed but not executed for attempting to kill the
president. He was released a few years later as part of a
program of national reconciliation.
Chavez then entered politics, capitalizing on the discontent
with the major parties. In 2002 he won the presidency, running
as a third-way alternative.
Once elected, he wasted no time undermining all of the
institutional safeguards so that he would be able to rule even
after his support had evaporated. Human rights were curtailed,
political opponents had their businesses nationalized, and he
aligned with Cuba and Castro, declaring a socialist revolution.
Despite continued economic decline and dwindling support,
Chavez’s hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, won a term in
the wake of Chavez’s death. During his term, the country became
even more crime-ridden, lost 3 million people, faced widespread
shortages of food and medicine, and some in the military turned
to drug smuggling on a massive scale.
Given these conditions, the recent legislative elections
produced a legislature with super majorities of the long-
suppressed opposition. Maduro’s response was to hold an
unscheduled fake national election, jam the Supreme Court, and
try to defrock the legislature.
Facing death, the head of the National Assembly, Juan Guado,
stood up last week and used what was left of the constitution to
declare himself interim president until fair elections can be
held.
[The crisis in Venezuela] demonstrates that both of our major
political parties need to beware of gridlock and failure to
solve the people’s problems. That is what spawns evermore
radical choices by dissatisfied voters. People everywhere want
results, not resistance.
It was a brave stance against corruption and oppression, and the
U.S. is not alone in supporting him. Brazil and Colombia quickly
recognized Guado as the legitimate leader; Europe is offering
support.
The state actors backing Maduro include Russia, Syria, Iran,
Turkey, China and Cuba. Some of them have invested billions in
the regime.
Helping Venezuela recover its self-determination is squarely in
our national interest and the right thing to do. For one thing,
it’s a country in our own hemisphere, and Maduro has let
Venezuela become a client-state for most of America’s global
enemies, creating a source of regional instability. In addition,
the economic collapse is creating millions of refugees, and the
basic human and economic rights of an entire nation have been
suppressed.
Venezuelans did not choose this outcome – their system that was
designed to prevent the return of self-perpetuating strongmen
was systematically destroyed.
Few Americans will likely be interested in what’s going on in
this small country the size of New York state, and yet it offers
major political lessons for our country. First, it demonstrates
that both of our major political parties need to beware of
gridlock and failure to solve the people’s problems. That is
what spawns evermore radical choices by dissatisfied voters.
People everywhere want results, not resistance.
Second, it shows how our policy toward Latin America needs
fundamental rethinking. Our problems at the border are the
result of the tremendous economic disparity between the U.S. and
the deteriorating countries in Central America. Today, we spend
billions of dollars in Europe, yet we neglect our own backyard
and fail to find constructive policies to lift these countries
up. We have all but abandoned them since President Reagan
focused on Nicaragua and President Bill Clinton sent aid to
Colombia.
And third, it underscores that socialism is not the way forward
for us or for Latin America, especially when accompanied by the
politics of self-perpetuating strongmen.
This is a chance for all Americans to put aside their political
differences and unite with Latin America behind a just cause to
restore freedom, democracy, food and medicine to a neighbor that
has suffered for too long. It is a good fight. We can’t fix all
the wrongs of the world, but there are brave Venezuelans
standing up for their people today and we must help them.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/mark-penn-could-the-us-end-up- like-venezuela-it-might-if-we-dont-learn-these-three-critical-
lessons
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