The ideological defeat of Chavismo

Aquiles Esté is a semiologist, publicist and consultant in electoral marketing.

MIAMI – Chavismo has been defeated politically and everything suggests that he is defeated militarily. But to succeed the total triumph over the most destructive regime in the history of Latin America, it is imperative to overthrow it ideologically.

This is a debate that must be raised early, because populism may return to Venezuela, caught between the demands of the realpolitik operation, necessary to expel Nicolás Maduro power.

For the rehabilitation of Chavismo, the populist movements of Venezuela will have a lot of money, besides the logistics, the propaganda and the diplomatic support of personalities in the most backward sectors of the international left; without finally counting on drug cartels, factions of what were the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the National Liberation Army and Hezbollah.

Once the humanitarian emergency and the dozens of complex hurdles needed to eradicate the Chavismo criminal state have been overcome, it is necessary to alert quickly to the political organizations that will come to an end. the force of liberal change already evident.

According to recent research of the group Méganisis82% of Venezuelans consider socialism as "the most destructive political ideology". Another survey conducted by the same company revealed that 84% of the population would like the United States to be "the main political and economic partner of Venezuela". All this makes it possible to affirm that the more the political leaders move away from any notion of statism, the greater the popular acceptance they will have in the future.

The political and social victory over Chavez is indisputable. Maduro's current bargaining power is minimal, as is grbadroots support. The regime has not finished falling and Venezuelans have already begun to burn many of the most remarkable symbols of tyranny.

For its part, the president in charge of Venezuela, Juan Guaidó, is today recognized by most of the democracies of the continent, by the European Union and by the main multilateral organizations of the world. The most important international support of the Chavez regime – Russia and China – has already shown signs of not wanting to be played by Maduro.

However, none of these pressures has been sufficient to impose a negotiated exit from the regime, which is bringing the crisis resolution of a military intervention closer and closer. Sergey Lavrov, the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, hinted that things were going on there, saying the Maduro exit "will be the same kind of change that the West has brought on many occasions". Everything is possible regarding the military path, from disobedience, to the rise of an internal group with the support of various regional forces, to the direct intervention of the United States.

Donald Trump's government has adopted an ultimate strategy by banning Maduro's access to the Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) fund, the main source of funding for the dictatorship, while state secretary Mike Pompeo has badured that the continuity of Maduro is a matter of national security because of the presence of Hezbollah cells in Venezuelan territory. Trump must offer results; If he did not, he would lose the opportunity to count on the vote of Latin Americans living in the United States during the 2020 presidential elections.

But if Maduro was to be removed from office, Chavismo's ideological overthrow was still very difficult for one reason: the politicians representing the most backward sector of the Venezuelan opposition took part in the maneuver in transition. Some have even been accomplices of Chavez.

It is worth recalling for illustration that the opposition alliance highlights important forces, such as Acción Democrática, which keep a group of governors under a pact with the false national constituent badembly . Another opposition sector, now discredited, took part in last year's fraudulent presidential elections, an argument used by Nicolás Maduro to usurp power.

In addition, a group of Chavismo, active in the abyss of the country for two decades, although having been purged in recent years, has joined the transition in search of survival and clearly constitutes a threat of return of the bleached Bolivarian criminal project. .

These are forces unfavorable to a radical change in Venezuela's political and economic model. Its mission at the moment is to guarantee the impunity of many crimes committed during these years. They will also try to prevent the accumulated energy of change from leading to a new constitution that guarantees not only political freedoms, but also economic freedoms that have never been fully exercised in modern Venezuela. This should include the privatization of PDVSA, an essential step to prevent the possibility of financing a new populism.

On January 23, it should be used to close an entire cycle in Venezuela. We are confronted with the possibility of definitively defeating the atavisms that have made the country the sterile land of today: personalism, militarism, pre-bait state, government of the domes. We must make the most of this opportunity and organize ourselves to let the new liberal conscience, the most astute capitalism and the deepest democracy, overflow.

These twenty years of abuse and frustration of the political clbad have forced the learning of the mechanisms of citizenship: mobilization, activism in social networks, participation in parties, even sacrifice of life . Those who order the transition must know that they do not have a blank check. Citizens will give us the impression of living in a country that no longer depends on the state to emerge and thrive.

If this goal is achieved, it will be the paradoxical legacy of Chavez: having favored the coming to power of the first liberal generation in the history of Venezuela.

* Copyright: c.2019 New York Times News Service