2020 Venezuelan Parliamentary electoral type event

[Red Velvet]

My impression from Venezuela is that Maduro and Guaidó are both very unpopular figures, while someone like Hugo Chavez, a dead person, is well-remembered by a significant amount. When the dead past leader is more liked than the two current alternatives, political apathy naturally grows as there is no good alternative showing a good path and hope for the future.

Opposition and big western countries counted on the military turning against Maduro and the Latin American in me felt this was wrong. Military cannot be trusted even if you think they can advance your interests, they represent more bad things than good and in Venezuela’s case specifically, they are deeply involved with the corruption and authoritarianism of Maduro’s government. Military doesn’t care about left or right, even less about democracy, they love authoritarians who give them power and large space to act.

To count on the military good senses without giving them something better than what they have is extremely naive. During the Cold War the military dictatorships supported by the US in places like Chile, Argentina and Brazil weren’t successful in their implementation because “they prevented leftism”, but because they were a possible path for the military and authoritarians to benefit and take control and skyrocket to total power. The strategy in Venezuela always seemed weird because it appeared to count on the military not being authoritarian-friendly and caring about democracy out of their good heart lmao. Of course they stayed with Maduro, he gives them power.

Focus should have been given to first the ousting of Maduro and then new fair elections, NOT the Guaidó is the self-declared new president complete nonsense. If you act like Venezuela has a president in Guaidó, you give him a power that he doesn’t have and indirectly implies that Maduro is powerless because he isn’t the real leader. It’s like pretending that a problem doesn’t exist and therefore, it can’t be directly fully addressed. Maduro is the leader of Venezuela, an authoritarian and undemocratic one who should be taken out by Venezuelans, but he is the one with actual power.

Also, Venezuelans appear to want to survive more than anything these days. I don’t think it must be good PR internally the politics of international sanctions that end up suffocating the citizens more than they do any harm to the Maduro government. Maduro is set to only strengthen himself internally. International western community went all in for Guaidó and it spectacularly backfired, to have him representing the opposition helps Maduro government more than it hurts. Maduro can campaign that he’s conspiring against them while literally buying the apathy of poorer segments of the population with government programs to feed them. Because those sectors are the ones who appear to be still affected by the economic crisis, not the richer ones.