I am surely not alone in having failed a few of my New Year's resolutions. With respect to "bridging our political chasms rather than widening them," the crisis in Venezuela is my near occasion of sin. Precisely, it took all of my effort to keep from parodying Christy Moore's Allende with snarky new lyrics, such as making the chorus end: "...and the people are starving all day!"
But rather than be satirical, one must be empirical, beginning with a simple question: how does a nation with the largest known oil reserves in the world and an equatorial climate find itself suffering from lineups for bread, ten million percent inflation and a government in total chaos?
Back in 1998, Hugo Chavez was elected to the presidency by a populist wave as he promised to make Venezuela an egalitarian paradise. His legislature rewrote the constitution and the Bolivarian Republic started on the road to serfdom where such policies inevitably lead. Chavez's ideals gave rise to strikes, attempted coups, and capital flight. Despite all this, high oil prices sustained his ideology and old Hugo died an unrepentant Marxist disciple in 2013.
Nicolas Maduro became president after Chavez's death, continuing his predecessor's policies. But then the oil crash of 2014 hit, cutting revenues; the recession caused strict rationing of basic goods, leading to malnutrition for all citizens. In an attempt to cut prices, the currency was devalued, creating a state of economic emergency through hyperinflation. These conditions have now resulted in civil unrest, as unarmed protesters clash with violent security forces.
Maduro was reelected in May 2018, but his presidency is not recognized by neighbouring countries, nor by Europe, the United States, and Canada, due to election fraud. Calls for his resignation echo throughout the free world, with Maduro's only defenders found amongst his own corrupt military, other autocratic strongmen, and, the leading members of the radical left, such as Jeremy Corbyn, Bernie Sanders and Canadian MP Nikki Ashton.
As anyone can see, the temptation of schadenfreude as well as righteous indignation is almost too strong to resist, parodying protest songs notwithstanding. But I will simply ask any and all left-leaning people not suffering from fever dreams to please firmly correct their own on this misstep, be that by discipline or ousting those members and their followers who believe starving children in Venezuela are a small price to pay in their quest to build the Marxist utopia.
Or to put it another way, there ought to be zero tolerance for the classic excuse "that was not real socialism, marxism, communism, etc." and the litany of contextualization that follows. Make no mistake, The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela has virtually unlimited potential thanks to its natural bounty: from climate to coastline, from fertile topsoil to oil rich deposits, Venezuela could have become a Scandinavian "third way" economy with more wealth and better weather.
But instead the people elected a radical Marxist and then engineered their society to match his ideology. Centralized controls meant to help the poor are now making starvation universal, and the police state necessary to enforce total equality of result is now a tool of oppression against the very citizens it was meant to serve. These things inevitably result from Karl Marx's philosophy, as evidenced by every regime and people group that has ever tried it.
What hope remains for Venezuelans? Plenty, if they can rid themselves of Maduro and the collectivist dogma holding them back. With an implementation of new currency, the simplest of market controls and an open door to global investment, the sky isn't even the limit.
The pressure on Maduro must continue to grow. Unless he and his ideology are vanquished, Moore's chorus ought to be changed to: "...and the bullets read 'Marx is just great!'"
