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I think it is the Indian economist Amartya Sen who said that when all is well, when everyone gets rich, people can even tolerate authoritarianism. This is the case of China today, from Brazil in the 1970s, from Venezuela to the apogee of Chavismo. The problem is when the crisis comes up and you remember that you no longer have the right to give an indication on how the account will be split.
That is why, by the way, Brazil must strangle any authoritarian advances of the Bolsonaro government in power. case of improvement of the economic scenario. Venezuela did not stay that way because Chávez had given a coup, but because it slowly eroded the freedoms and institutional guarantees while the economy was doing well.
Chavismo stops producing benefits for Venezuela for a very long time. He survives power only because the elections were rigged and Maduro offered the army something that no democratic government could offer: total control over Venezuela's wealth.
The Latin American left supported Chavez far beyond what would be reasonable. The defense of Maduro in the present circumstances is frankly grotesque.
In some cases, the support was due to the benefits that Chávez offered to the friendly governments of Cuba or Nicaragua with Venezuelan oil. On other occasions – and this was the case with the Brazilian left – support for Chavismo was a way to compensate local radicals for their commitments to the institution. The PT, for example, praised the combative attitude of Chavismo day and night with the PMDB
In recent times, this complacency has diminished, at least in the rest of Latin America
Last year, I attended a conference on the Latin American left promoted by the American magazine Dissent. There were speakers from every country on the continent who had recently formed a left-wing government. Some had a more socialist profile, others were closer to European social democracy. But even the speakers who were clearly to the left of the PT – who, in Brazil, would be the PSOL, knew – knew that Maduro had gone wrong.
There was a diversity of opinions. For example, many people said that the early years of Chavism brought important achievements. Some speakers pointed out that other Bolivarian experiences yielded better results – as in the case of Bolivia, for example.
What I did not hear anyone say, is that Chavismo was still worth it.
And many people from countries with parties The Social Democrats, like Chile or Uruguay, complained of the weapon Maduro had given to the far right continental
It is unfortunate that a Venezuelan democratic transition must begin with neighbors like Trump and Bolsonaro. Trump, remember, I've already said, "I can not believe we left Iraq without taking oil!"
But the Continental Left has done it itself. A few years ago, there were leftist governments everywhere. A transition offering better guarantees for Venezuela's sovereignty would have been much easier. This opportunity has been lost.
It remains now only to follow the advice of old Mujica, one of the big names of his generation of leaders. It is necessary to defend free elections in Venezuela, because the alternative will be a war.
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