Let's learn from Venezuela to Protect our Democracy

As a Venezuelan (and now US citizen) people keep telling me, "but we're not Venezuela" but let me remind you that we in Venezuela kept saying "but we're not Cuba." We never thought our Constitution would be changed so drastically for the worse - but it did slowly - and LEGALLY - over a period of time. It changed in favor of an ego-centric leader who became a dictator and turned our beautiful, rich, oil-producing country into a major humanitarian and economic crisis. We never thought that our flag would change! We never thought our history books could be re-written! I urge all Americans - we shouldn't worry about what our new President has done, but what he could potentially do. We need to understand, have empathy for WHY he was elected, work to fix those problems, and urge our leadership - republicans and democrats alike - to examine every proposed amendment to change the constitution very carefully through the lens of the long term impact it will have on our democracy. I may never see Venezuela recover in my lifetime, but we still have the chance to keep our great United States' democracy in tact.

Reaction to “Black Activists Honor Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro In Harlem”

It is appalling and hypocritical to see people in Harlem, who have fought for freedom and equality, to cheer on a dictator who has violated human rights, freedom of speech, and freedom of the press in Venezuela. More than 23,000 Venezuelans died last year by the hands of criminals supported by a dictatorship government, and the government spends millions of dollars preaching lies about socialism and the Bolivarian revolution while their people suffer.

We Venezuelans know that men like Danny Glover - who has praised former Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chávez so strongly - benefit from these dictators’ donations of millions for his various projects for spreading the “wisdom” of Venezuelan “socialism.”

I will tell Mr. Glover that the “free money” from Venezuela to fund his projects will stop soon and we, the people of Venezuela, will recuperate our country, our freedom, our democracy. Black lives matter, and democracy matters too.

A Great Victory for Democracy in Venezuela

The Opposition’ s on December 6’s Parliamentary election, (99 seats the Opposition and 46 seats the government party PSUV), marks the beginning of a new era for Venezuela. The current National Assembly, headed by the Narco-boss Diosdado Cabelllo, must move aside to make way for the new National Assembly and start picking up the pieces. The systematic destruction of Venezuela was started by a traitor named Hugo Chavez and continues today with Nicolas Maduro.

 There were a few main factors that forced this dramatic victory for the Opposition:  the economic reality that is facing the country (now practically in ruins) combined with the International pressure that forced the regime to respect the will of the people. Their votes were respected this time. The disoriented dictatorship will have to abide by the dictates of a new National Assembly. Restoring the institutions of government, today sequestered by the regime, and recuperating the economy, now shambled by an inept regime, will not be an easy task.  We can’t forget that Venezuela also faces other challenges: Drug trafficking and Terrorism that circulate freely in the country. Success in the Parliamentary is a good start but we all, including the international community, need to pitch in to help Venezuela create task forces to clean the county and restore Democracy again

Nicolas Maduro is Deceiving the World while he Steals the Parliamentary Elections

In his quest to stay in power Nicolas Maduro has done everything, from repressing dissidents, incarcerating opposition leaders and student protesters, to even standing in front of the United Nations announcing possible violent acts from the Opposition “to alter the Parliamentary elections.”  

He has vowed to demonstrate his “vocation for a democratic and peaceful elections”, while in practice to Human Right Watch, uses the judicial system as a tool to penalize the Opposition. A case in point is the one of Political leader Leopoldo Lopez who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for leading peaceful protests against the regime. Seventy-eight others have also paid a huge price for protesting the regime, with torture and jail time.

Nicolas Maduro and his oppressive government, in another  move to maintain complete control of the electoral process, has prematurely retired 13 Supreme Court judges. The reason for this blatant disregard for the Venezuelan Democratic process is so he can replace those judges with those in favor of the regime and without the intervention of the Opposition. Maduro did the same a year ago, when 14 judges were replaced before of their scheduled retirement.

of their retirement.   At that time these judges were appointed bypassing any input from the opposition.

Maduro has also paralyzed the Opposition by banning them from running for parliamentary elections.  To top it all, Maduro has rejected foreign observers as was proposed by the the OAS, to observe the December electoral process in Venezuela. I will continue asking the same question:  Can a country where there is no transparency and the institutions of government are sequestered, have fair elections this December 6, 2015?

Venezuela Celebrates Independence Day under an Oppressive Regime

July 5th commemorated Venezuelan’s Independence Day.  Simon Bolivar Liberated Venezuela and four other nations, and in 1811 Venezuela became separated from Spain’s control.  

Simon Bolivar broke the chains in order to establish a new nation based on the premises of equality of individuals, ending of suppression and the right to freedom of expression. The Chavez regime and now the Maduro regime have purposely violated these democratic principals from which Venezuela was founded.

I find it ironic that Secretary of State John Kerry this past Thursday urged Venezuela's government and opposition to find a "peaceful resolution" to their disputes before the Dec. 6 parliamentary election. After 16 years of a failing government first under the Chavez, and Maduro regimes, it is unthinkable to believe that peace can be achieved with a government that allows high levels of corruption, economic devastation and death.

The Maduro regime under the controlling leadership of Diosdado Cabello, President of the Venezuelan National Assembly isn't interested in creating and atmosphere of peace and understanding for the December 6 Parliamentary elections. 

For the past 16 years the elections in Venezuela have been run under an atmosphere of dishonesty, threats, and confusion. The Venezuelans are not dealing with democratic individuals that believe in the vote as a mean for a democratic and peaceful government. Elections in Venezuela have been used to perpetrate the Chavista regime, and the tradition continues. The end to this madness may not be by a democratic voting means. The people of Venezuela must rise against this stifling government to regain control of their country and destiny.