Venezuela: A Nation Damaged by Democratic Collapse

In 1998, Hugo Chávez, a renowned political figure in Venezuela, was elected president. In the beginning of his time in power, he achieved approval ratings, the system used to track how well a candidate or president is liked,  which increased both his confidence and eventually his power. In 2000 he rewrote the Venezuelan constitution, requiring every official to seek reelection within the next year. Only a year after these drastic changes, a military coup arrested Chávez and removed him from power, but he quickly returned to power after his Vice President pardoned him. That Vice President was Nicolas Maduro, who is now the dictator in Venezuela. In his ten years as the president of Venezuela, he has stripped away the rights of the people and created an authoritarian state. By changing the laws, Maduro has used his position to expand his influence over key governmental institutions, such as the military, the judiciary system, and the voting process. This centralization of power has disintegrated checks and balances, resulting in the destruction of the democratic processes that Venezuelan citizens had used to elect Chávez in the first place. 

Recently, Maduro’s regime has sparked nationwide protests and created a humanitarian crisis within Venezuela. Since COVID about 9.3 million citizens, about a third of Venezuela’s population, have lived in poverty. This situation has led to a concerning amount of political unrest within the nation and among the people. However, Maduro has suppressed these protests and rigged elections in order to retain his power. In 2017 Maduro created the National Constituent Assembly (ANC), an alternative governmental institution to the National Assembly. Maduro used the ANC to neutralize the opposition-controlled legislature, allowing him to further bypass the few remaining checks and balances, creating laws that favor his government and give him more power. Additionally, Maduro has become infamous for rigging elections. He has consistently disenfranchised many groups in opposition to Maduro’s regime in order to ensure victory. He has also used the military to stop opposition leaders, such as Leopoldo López, Henrique Capriles, and Juan Guaidó through force and intimidation. For example, López was imprisoned for several years under charges widely seen as politically motivated, while Capriles has been banned from running for office. Guaidó, who briefly declared himself interim president in 2019, had to hide from the government to ensure his own safety. Through these methods, Maduro has turned the Venezuelan people into victims of his ever-worsening authoritarianism. 

Another issue in Venezuela is that despite all of the people currently suffering, there is lack of support and media coverage of these issues. In the United States particularly, few media outlets report on stories about Venezuela. While The United States provides foreign aid to countries such as Israel, Ukraine, Afghanistan, Yemen, and many more, they do not provide Venezuelans the same luxury. Due the United States’ lack of military involvement in South America, and the lack of media coverage around this issue, giving Venezuelan resistance weaponry or support is extremely unlikely. Without the support of the American general public, this move would have no upside for future representatives of the US government and could cause further unrest. This issue, however, goes far beyond the government as many American citizens do not know much about the issue. When speaking with Riverdale students, only one of these students had prior knowledge of the ongoing humanitarian issues in Venezuela. Sophomore Florian Kroker-McCormack, a student with some knowledge of these issues, pointed out that “probably not as many Americans as there should be are educated on this issue.” Additionally, sophomore Eli Prawer noted that “the United States [isn’t] as connected to what is going on in Venezuela, which is why it may not be a part of our political values and beliefs.” The lack of media coverage in the United States highlights that issues in regions like South America may not be a priority on the agendas of U.S representatives. Sophomore Leo Sternberg agreed with this sentiment saying “a lot of people see Venezuela as a second or third world country, and do not give it a second view”. This point is even more relevant given the false perceptions around Venezuela as a country. Kroker-McCormack emphasized the main reasons why we should pay more attention to Venezuela “this issue is important for two reasons: because of the illegal immigration that is coming from Venezuela [and to] learn from another dictatorship, and heed the warning to not let power be vested into the wrong hands.” 

Through Maduro and Chávez’s actions over the last 25 years, the world has seen a once prosperous Democratic nation fall to dictatorship and authoritarian rule. In light of the United States’ current political situation and President-elect Donald Trump, it is imperative to recognize the warning signs and take proactive steps to prevent similar issues from arising in our own nation and in democracies around the world.