“Kidnapping”, some say. Others talk about “capture” o “extraction”. The semantic dispute is a side point. The events of January 3 that led to he beheading of Nicolás Maduro and his immediate transfer to the United States leave two irrefutable verifications: Donald Trump It collapsed the weak foundations of international regulations that govern conflicts between states. But, the most important thing has to do with what the accomplished action left behind, beyond the protests of China, Russia, Brazil and other countries: Venezuela is no longer the same as it was a month ago. Although the future is uncertain and the “transition”, another fetish word of this moment, is still nebulous, the political process begun in 1999 with Hugo Chavezcontinued in 2013 by its controversial executor, has had an interruption as dramatic as announced.
The name of the new political phase is irrelevant for now, and will be as long as they are not resolved. the tensions and grievances accumulated like tectonic layers, nor is there a solution in sight to the risks derived from the new relations of forces or, other unpredictabilities arise that concern the survival of the matureness as it has been known.
“Venezuela, the gringos have arrived.” The phrase went viral in the early hours of January 3, according to the portal cocuyo effect. Maduro once imagined citizen concentrations around the barracks to occupy a place in the resistance. The crowds took place in front of supermarkets, pharmacies and service stations. Since the first and surprising news became known, ordinary men and women looked for provisions, fuel and medicine. Added to the pre-existing shortage was the fear of a greater shortage.
From hour zero, Trump allowed himself to give consistency to his update of the “Monroe Doctrine”, called by him “Don Roe”, to self-celebrate. Speak as if he were the true administrator of the South American country. He presented himself as the “guarantor” of the “president in charge.” He commended her for her stealthy diligence without forgetting to wave the sword of the threat of a new incursion at any disrespect. He forgot about drug trafficking and even Venezuela’s democratic deficit. He talked about what he was going to do with the crude oil and, in a return to the 19th century, how the Venezuelan oil income would also result in purchases of North American products.
First changes
As the first days of stupor passed, the Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, presented himself as the designer of the roadmap for post-Maduro Venezuela. The economic opening to foreign capital, preferably from the US, the freedom of political prisoners and, when the conditions are met, a different institutional framework arising from free elections. “The final objective is that we have a friendly Venezuela, stable, prosperous and democratic.
Rubio serves as architect. The opposition, listen, nod or remain silent. But he doesn’t participate. Trump has gone from disqualifying María Corina Machado to promising her some role in an indefinite tomorrow after she repaid her gratitude with the Nobel Peace Prize medal. The moderate sectors are just spectators at a party to which they are not invited either. Rodríguez, meanwhile, divides herself between the provisional stateswoman who does not stop displaying national wounds and proclaiming its attachment to the ideals of origin, and, at the same time, a contingent representative who, for the moment, responds in fact to the general demands of Washington. The “president in charge” has accepted an oil agreement with the US, reforming the Hydrocarbons Law that increases the profit rate of future investors. He has also revamped his cabinet of ministers, renewed part of the military leadership and, most importantly, has just proposed a general amnesty for dissidents since the Bolivarian era began in 1999. The releases continue to be daily news. The landing of Laura Doguthe one in charge of opening the US embassy after seven years. ““My team and I are ready to work.”.
Occupation
Elías Jaua He was Venezuelan vice president. It was said in 2013 that he was going to be Chávez’s heir. It didn’t happen and he temporarily put himself at the service of Maduro, from whom he ended up estranged. His diagnosis of the present was stark and infuriated some former traveling companions. “Although it sounds harsh, we are a militarily occupied country. We don’t see the marines in the streets, but we have a naval, aerospace and electronics occupation”. The provisional government is only maintained for “reasons of stability”. It must, according to Jaua, “guarantee the very urgent need for energy” for the United States. Rodríguez, therefore, is conditioned. It has to work “according to the directives of the occupying power.”
The renowned television journalist Vladimir Villegas matches that x-ray: “The capacity of the Venezuelan Government to make autonomous decisions in this context is very limited“. Óscar Murillo, general coordinator of the NGO Provea, relentless in his criticism of the Miraflores Palace over the years, is, at this time, another of the voices of discouragement. “We are facing a loss of sovereignty. That is to say, we Venezuelans are not the ones who take the reins of the leadership and the programmatic lines of what a Government is.” And this occurs in the midst of a desperate social situation.. “There are states in the country that have a school absenteeism rate that is close to 50%.” And he emphasizes: “There is no time to lose. Here we cannot delay, delay any further, the need for profound transformations.”
uncertain horizon
But Rubio, the man who, on behalf of the United States, claims to control the clock of this history, asks for patience, especially from the Government’s historical adversaries. Wield as virtuous examplesalthough without a precise calendar, the political transitions of Spain and Paraguay. Others remember the cases of Nicaragua and Chile, in 1990. The horizon only draws questions. “The actors who remain in charge do not guarantee a true democratic transition, since their nature is to cling to power,” said the promoter of Ideas for Democracy, Griselda Colina. But the other internal “actors” still have no place in the script nor have they claimed it in the streets.
Meanwhile, the lives of millions of people revolve around supply. The prices of some products such as meat and chicken have not increased. Venezuela has begun to receive money for its oil sales under North American control. Can Rodríguez be the administrator of an eventual boom cycle? “People will not settle for supposed economic well-being without democracy”Colina believes. There is something that unites during these hours those humiliated by the military attack, the varied expressions that have expressed relief or joy with what happened and even the millions of migrants who do not know whether to pack their suitcases to return. The fear of another irreversible frustration.
Subscribe to continue reading
