Civil war prospects are brewing in Venezuela as thousands of people take to the streets, clashing with authorities and protesting what they consider to be election fraud. Once again, a socialist paradise has metastasized into a pit of anguish, corruption, and poverty. Dedicated advocates of socialism in North America and Europe might be sprinting to their nearest department stores to purchase blindfolds and earbuds.
The National Electoral Council, stacked with government allies, announced on July 29 that socialist President Nicolas Maduro secured his third six-year term. The election results triggered thousands of individuals to march through the dilapidated streets of Caracas and cities across Venezuela, accusing the incumbent of stealing the election and extending the quarter-century single-party “Chavismo” rule.
“The will expressed yesterday through your vote will be respected. We have in our hands the tally sheets that demonstrate our victory,” Gonzalez told a crowd of supporters. “A free people is one that is respected, and we are going to fight for our freedom. Dear friends, I understand your indignation, but our response from the democratic sectors is of calmness and firmness.”
However, Maduro claimed that he will release full voting ballot records in the coming days as world leaders demand the Venezuelan government publicly verify the results. In a nationally televised address, Maduro alleged there had been an attempted coup against his regime. “We have never been moved by hatred. On the contrary, we have always been victims of the powerful. An attempt is being made to impose a coup d’état in Venezuela again of a fascist and counterrevolutionary nature,” he said. “We already know this movie, and this time, there will be no kind of weakness.”
In the meantime, the international community is responding. The White House urged the Maduro government to publish a detailed tabulation of votes, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressing “serious concerns that the result announced does not reflect the will or the votes of the Venezuelan people.” Reportedly, the US administration is considering various options to punish Venezuelan officials if Maduro does not comply with Washington’s demands, including individual sanctions or US travel bans.
Regionally, libertarian Argentine President Javier Milei called it an “electoral scam,” leftist Chilean leader Gabriel Boric thinks the results will be hard to believe until they are published, and Panama President Jose Raul Mulino announced that he is “putting diplomatic relations on hold.” Maduro’s allies in China, Iran, and Russia reportedly congratulated him on a victory.
Young people have promised to flee Venezuela if Maduro maintains his grip on the throne. But if it were a socialist paradise, why would these people want to leave? Power outages, chronic shortages of vital goods, a currency crisis, and the evisceration of civil rights are life in Venezuela, and the prospects are bleak.
How did Venezuela reach this point? In a single generation, beginning with Hugo Chavez and continuing to the present Maduro government, endeavors affiliated with socialism devastated a country that had been ranked the largest economy on the continent. Despite an oil-centric economic landscape – Venezuela controls the world’s largest proven crude oil reserves, totaling more than 300 billion barrels and accounting for nearly a fifth of worldwide reserves – the Chavez crusade overspent, installed economic policies that had been proven failures, and eroded the citizenry’s rights.
Indeed, a blend of socialist hallmarks, from price controls to production quotas to astronomical money printing, inflicted ever-lasting wounds on 29 million people. Today, the question is no longer, “What public policy can reduce poverty by 15%?” Instead, the question is, “Which zoo animal will be enough to feed my starving children?” It is a full-blown humanitarian crisis.
As past examples of socialism dictate, these states transform into dictatorships that destroy economies, decimate democracy, and deprive the people of not only food but also freedom. Author William Neuman may have said it best: “The responsibility for the disaster in Venezuela lies with Maduro, and Chavez before him. They own the wreck of Venezuela.” The public realizes this, tearing down statues of Chavez. But Western socialists and communists might have had a role, too, insisting that this vacuous and hazardous ideology is the panacea to everything that ails the planet. And, unfortunately, these kids will ensure Sisyphean socialism survives until they live it.