Democracy, Populism and Unemployed Ambassadors: Ten Years of Chavez in Venezuela

In much of the popular political debate in English speaking media, issues of defense and economy often shape the question of what is considered a democracy. Defensive explanations for altering a country towards a democratic systems is most notable in Iraq and Afghanistan, where many who took the stance similar to the Bush administration that the actions the US and its allies took in Iraq were for the democratization of the country and its people. While the true effect of the war in Iraq will most likely be seen only in hindsight, the strategy of democratization of foreign countries in order to ensure stability was used before Iraq and Afghanistan were issues on the world stage, often claiming that open trade and stable economics is the root is democratic government.

Two of the regions which took to democratizations through economics were Asia, most notably China and Latin America. The first example, while a great success story in economic policy for China, is very much devoid of democratic ideals. To claim China as more of a democracy for its open economic policies is likely as creditable as saying the US is less democratic with the recent bout of economic troubles plaguing its financial industry and citizens as a whole. While an open economy can help with stability and help ensure democratic institutions, it is not the seed in which democracy is produced, and is often used as a rationale for linking democratic governments into those non-democratic ones by way of just cause. No one would argue that a stable economy does not help a democracy, but it is an issue of great debate if one can claim that an open neo-liberal policy is the root of a democratic system. Just this week the US Government took to paying down the debt of some of America's largest private companies, and even assumed control of Fannie and Freddie, bulking the trend of privatisations in the 1990s and post- 2000 era which was adopted by many in regions like Latin America in order to place corruption and populism in the background and grow democratic institutions from the ground up using private capital. Now government intervention is helping the economy, at least in crisis, and Latin America is progressing somewhat with a leftist leader in Brazil with sensible economic policy, a populist in Argentina who is dedicated to paying back her country's debts, an increasingly privatized Chile which is the darling of the region and a very populist Hugo Chavez trying to bring the region back into the 1970s with a lot of oil money and many words with have done little towards his popularity this year, even pushing the King of Spain to tell him to shut up on international television.

Venezuela has stood out as a pariah, linking his modern policies to those of past governments in the region which sought to claim economic independence from the US by way of populist policies and anti-foreign investment strategies. Neo-liberal economic activities by those in the US and other investor countries were often the catalyst for populist policies which could always look at failures in Iraq and other democratizing nations by way of defense or economic policy and gain local support by way of failures abroad. An interesting shift has taken place however, with the neo-liberals losing much of their influence and democracy and economy as a theory being unravelled with each American voter voting for anyone but Bush, as too do populist lose their support as the focus shifts from Bush to their local policies themselves.

This past year has been a clear example of how the waning interest in Bush has lead to increased criticisms of Chavez and his personal activities and policies as leader. With the year beginning with an insult from the King of Spain, well respected for his assistance in the democratization of Spain in the late 1970s, Chavez helped in the release of some kidnap victims in Colombia, followed by his open support for the FARC in Colombia and threats of attacks on Colombia due to their assault on a FARC leader in Ecuador and eventual pulling and reinstating of Ambassadors between the two nations. In a page from the same playbook, on September 11th Chavez pulled his ambassador from the US and recalled his own in support of political troubles between the US and Bolivia and claiming that the US Embassy in Venezuela was being used in an assassination plot against him within Venezuela itself. Despite all of these activities, the Bush administration has had little reaction to Chavez, allowing Colombia to take much of the lead on dealing with the FARC and Chavez while the world cheered the release of Ingrid Betancourt, and justified claimed that Chavez has been supporting the FARC and the drug trade which has left Colombia in ruins for the last 30 years. Sympathy and support could no longer be blamed on Bush and democratization in Latin America, as the narrative moved on, Chavez has been seeking a role to play in the next stage of the region's politics, hanging on with oil revenues and seeking to increase his power before oil prices and political ideals bring his term in office to an end involving economic collapse or violence.

In reality, democracy is and always will come from he construction of institutions which promote relative equality while balancing power in the hands of the people and their representatives as opposed to one leader. In Latin America there is an added dimension however, as poverty and democracy allowed for those in need of basic needs to have some influence on the government via voting, not a characteristic of a fully functioning democracy, but a move towards creating institutions and political movements in the long run. Economics, while not the source of democracy, is needed to ensure stability and create an environment where proper laws and rights can be formed around the relationship between citizens in the economy. Democratization can work if it is not seen as an alternative or used in the same way as populism. The intricacies of rights and culture create the economic relationship, in the same way in which the ambitions of one individual is not always reflective of the country itself. The result of each is often harsh, with failed democracies being born out of the policies of the last 8 years of Bush, also being reflected in a recent Human Rights Watch report on the restrictions on rights which have resulted within the last 10 years of Chavez in Venezuela. In either case, it seems that an end of an era in the Americas will come to an end with a new President and possible reductions in oil prices and support for Chavez as its result.

The HRW Report "A Decade Under Chavez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela," can be seen here.

For articles on the Expulsion of Ambassadors between Venezuela and the US, see the articles below:

Associated Press

International Herald Tribune

CNN